We have (I mean, have had) a logo

There's finally a logo for this blog!...Actually, the stickers have been circulating around town for nearly several months now and the image has been on a number of event fliers, but now it's finally appearing here:



(I drew this up w/ a pen).

One reason why this blog existed without a logo for about a year is because it was hard to settle on an image that represented a cyclist w/ mic control. I also wanted something that helped explain the name of this blog which can be confusing because it phonetically looks like it should be pronounced 'bick control,' but actually is pronounced 'bike control.' It's a play on mic control (as in microphone control) which is pronounced 'mike control,' rather than 'mick control.'

Prolly Is Not Probably said it best: 'Bic Control (think mic control)...'

Speaking of Prolly, the above image is a hand-drawing of a picture that Prolly took of Tom Mosher at the Mid-West Mayhem:



Tom Mosher has bike control and mic control. He makes shit happen. Besides being one of the founders of TrickTrack.org and being an insanely talented cyclist and self-described 'trick nerd' (see Death Pedal 1 but especially his section in The Revival), Tom is a DIY crafter to the fullest effect:



Tom and his friend Tony Mammoliti founded, run, and hand-make all products for their DIY , Toronto-based, start-up company YNOT Cycle. They specialize in pedal straps, backpacks, messenger bags, hip packs, u-lock holsters, and more. (The website isn't fully updated w/ all the bags they've made so far. For those, peep their former blog site). Support companies (w/ high-quality product) run by the kids!

So there it is--The logo for Bic Control: Bicyclists on the Mic.

Free stickers soon.

New San Diego Reader Article Does SD Bike Movement Justice

Today, the San Diego Reader published a front-page story that does the San Diego bike movement justice.

It seems that the weekly publication that once employed a man--Josh Board--who admitted to assaulting a cyclist by hitting him/her w/ a rock, then premeditated vehicular assault against cyclists and lying in court to cover it up, has come along way.

San Diego Reader writer Bill Manson has provided an accurate representation of San Diego's progressive bike world. Mr. Manson rode Halloween Critical Mass, interviewed SANDAG Bike Planner Chris Kluth, bike shops owners from Coronado to La Mesa to South Park, SD Bike Polo, and lawyers who represent cyclists in crashes. Mr. Manson even addressed the issue of violence committed against cyclists by some motorists, intentional attacks on cyclists, distracted drivers who kill cyclists, road rage, and seems to truly sympathize w/ the bike life struggle on roads dominated by motorists.

And it looks like Mr. Hanson found his way over to Bic Control at some point. Note the 9th paragraph down in the first section that reads:

Back in 2006, SANDAG (the San Diego Association of Governments) estimated that only .03 percent (point three of one percent) of San Diego county commuters were bike commuters. Compare that to Copenhagen, where nearly 40 percent bike to work. Then again, in ’06, Critical Mass attracted only about 35 riders… So something’s happening, folks.

Compare that to the Bic Control mission statement excerpt which reads:

According to SANDAG’s 2006 Transportation Model data, only .3 (point three)% of commuters in SD were bike commuters. Something is seriously wrong here. One of the purposes of this blog is to find out why. While it’s true that ridership in SD was pathetic in 2006, this bike community has transformed into one of the most progressive communities in USA. For ex., Critical Mass has grown from 35 people in October ‘05 to 1,300 people in July ‘09.

Mr. Hanson didn't site where it is that he got those numbers. I'm assuming it's from the Bic Control mission statement. I'm actually honored that he chose to focus his article's thesis around the mission statement of this blog. Mr. Hanson didn't just regurgitate info. To find out why the SD bike world is the way it is, Mr. Hanson dug deep--he rode rides for himself, tried things that weren't normal for him such as playing bike polo, raced down the strand on a high-end road bike, ventured across dangerous sections of SD w/ respected bike planners, interviewed many, and probably (based on the above comparison) read this blog.

Cheers to Mr. Hanson for great journalism. And check this cover!:



So good. Nice ode to the Bicycle Alliance of Washington who originally came up w/ the "Carlane" image. It'd be perfect if it said 'These roads are our roads, too.'

The original article is available here: here

Tomorrow @ 3pm: Ride to the first Sharrow in the City of SD & Malcolm X Library

12/29 UPDATE: This ride is being rescheduled to a non-stormy day. TBD.

An impromptu bike ride is being organized to visit the new sharrow--"bikes allowed full lane" marking--on Imperial Avenue in South East San Diego. This is the first sharrow in the entire City of San Diego! We hope it's a sign of things to come.


(Photo by Kathy Keehan, Executive Director of the Bike Coalition).

The SD bike community is ready for more sharrows--especially on 30th St., which is a plan being supported by businesses on 30th, the local community planning group, residents, the Executive Director of the Bike Coalition, and our City of SD City Councilmember.

The sharrow on Imperial Ave. is a bit of a mystery. Many bike advocates in San Diego expected the first sharrow to be on 30th--where there was and continues to be serious community demand and political will. It's unclear how much community demand there was/is for the Imperial Ave. sharrow or why the City chose this particular section to debut something that bike advocates in South Park, North Park, and Uptown area have long demanded.

Nevertheless, the Imperial Ave. sharrow is a good sign that traffic engineers in the the City are ready to install this clever lane-marking which reaffirms CVC 21200--cyclists, like motorists, are allowed to use the full lane when they decide it's safe to do so.

Check it out for yourself. Join the ride heading there tomorrow (Wednesday). Meet at 3pm at Rebecca's Coffeeshop at 30th & Juniper.

In addition to visiting the sharrow, the ride will also be visiting the Malcolm X Library, a block down the street.


(Illustration by Charles Lilly for The Autobiography of Malcolm X book cover).


(Muhammad Ali being photographed by his philosophical adviser Malcolm X after defeating Sonny Liston to become the world champ of his weight class. Photo by Bob Gomel).

By the way, I originally thought that sociologist Steven Spitzer coined the expression 'social dynamite,' until I read Malcolm X use it in his autobiography which I am currently reading. That expression--one of my favorites--has been used to define the mission statement of Bic Control (located to your right) since this blog started 18 months and 230 entries ago. Malcolm X had masterful mic control.

Bike SD: Does San Diego have a bicycle culture?

Editor's note: Sam Ollinger at Bike San Diego has written a fantastic essay about the state of bicycling in SD that has left me compelled to share. She, undoubtedly, has mic control:

Does San Diego have a bicycle culture?

Posted By Sam Ollinger on December 27, 2010

A few weeks ago, two students from the University of Copenhagen made their way over to San Diego to study the city’s bicycle culture. These women, Sidsel Birk Hjuler and Anne Grethe Pabst, are working on their Masters degree with the thesis covering what a bicycle culture means and how a city can go about attaining it.

They were comparing and contrasting a European city (Barcelona) with an American city (San Diego) to determine if there were tangible characteristics that contributed toward an identifiable bicycle culture. Both cities have a similar climate, a similar sized population and historically have had very low bicycle modal shares, or at least Barcelona did until very recently.

I spent a better part of two weeks with them riding around San Diego showing them what we did have, and what we didn’t. And the list of what San Diego didn’t have was exceedingly shocking to our Danish visitors. From the lack of continuous bike lanes and the lack of interconnected bike infrastructure to the lack of bicycle parking at destinations they finally began to see why San Diego wasn’t quite the bicycling mecca that Copenhagen or Amsterdam is.

The City of San Diego provided Hjuler and Pabst with a forum to present how Copenhagen came to be what it is along with their findings about Barcelona. In both places, the biggest source of change came from a strong political will to change the transportation dynamics.

Photo of cyclists in Copenhagen by Mikael Colville-Andersen

Copenhagen made a change in transportation policies after the 1973 Oil Crisis by instituting Car Free Sundays which gave its citizens a chance to reconnect with their community outside of an automobile. Then the city continued to create bicycle friendly infrastructure and promote bicycling as a viable, financially savvy mode of transportation. The city is now on track to be carbon-free by 2050.

A more recent example of change can be seen in Barcelona. The city of Barcelona implemented a bicycle sharing service that grew by over 180,000 subscribers in two years. By integrating the bicycle share service with the public transit service, residents now could go further distances by being multi-modal.

Meanwhile, here in San Diego we’ve got missing bike lanes that then turn into sharrows with no warning or announcement or even fanfare:

Imperial Ave Sharrow. Photo by Kathy Keehan, SDCBC Executive Director.

Riding up various mesas and into the valley and alongside speeding traffic with no protective barrier, our Danish visitors began to understand why the bicycle modal share in San Diego is so abysmally low. But where there were no bicycle infrastructure to be found, they did find a very warm and welcoming bicycle community.

Both the students were able to take part in the Tweed Ride and wondered why Copenhagen didn’t have such a fun activity that involved a dressing up to go on a bicycle ride. During their stay, Both Hjuler and Pabst were able to talk to many planners, advocates, and other movers and shakers in the bicycle community. What they found was that San Diego was indeed in the midst of a change. While San Diego appears to lack the the political will to institute change in its transportation policy, the Danes found many citizens who were taking control to demand change for both themselves and the future citizens of this city. As a city that came of age during the automobile boom, there is much that will change in the coming years to ensure that transportation dollars aren’t unfairly being diverted to a single mode of transportation.

With American cities like Portland and New York leading the way in showing what a city of the future looks like, it only makes sense for San Diego to follow suit rather than continuing to subscribe to an old dying transportation paradigm.

Tomorrow, Tuesday Nite: Bike Coalition End of the Year Party @ BLAH

The SD County Bicycle Coalition is organizing an end of the year party set to take place tomorrow, Tuesday night at the bike-friendly Blind Lady Ale House. From 5pm on. Goldsprints by Richie Ditta. All cyclists are encouraged to attend.

More about Blind Lady here (click on pic):

Awarewolfs Full Moon Ride, Dec. 21

After the Thunderfuck Cross Cat throw your hoodie on and join the Awarewolfs on their ride which goes down every full moon.

Tuesday Dec. 21 is gonna go off. Can't wait.

This Saturday Nite: Acamonchi Art Show in North Park

(Acamonchi in his North Park studio. Photo by Laurie Cat Bennett).

My boy Gerardo "Acamonchi" never stops. Whether he's mashing down 30th St. to Pokez or gittin' drrrty w/ his unmatched screen-print skills, dude's always makin' moves. Despite being constantly busy, Gerardo can't help but dedicate his brain power to local bike advocacy ideas and issues. Gerardo is one of the most passionate bike advocates in the city. He's always coming up w/ great new ideas and, importantly, he follows through on them. (More on that in an interview coming soon).

In the meantime, come support and check out his art show tomorrow night, Saturday, Dec. 11 at Ray At Night in North Park:



If you're not familiar w/ Acamonchi's work, here's a taste. He painted this custom frame for Fraser Cycles:

So fresh and so clean.

Winter Solstice Full Moon Thunderfuck Cross Cat! Dec. 21

This is gonna be ill!

Tweed Ride, Saturday Dec. 11

Bikes Del Pueblo Video on Bike Drive

The Bikes Del Pueblo collective does great things for San Diego. Every Saturday they're out at the City Heights Farmers' Market fixing working-class peoples' bikes in exchange for donations. At the Veloswap people donated bikes and parts to the International Rescue Committee in partnership w/ Bikes Del Pueblo to help get immigrants and refugees on two wheels. Here is a new video about that project and about their vision for growth:

Bikes Del Pueblo from Brian Hedden on Vimeo.

If you know of anyone w/ a space available on El Cajon Blvd. area in City Heights, please contact them. Thanks.

CM & CRETINS' Black Friday Ride!

Round up your biggest shopping bags and your most brutal stomping boots this Friday because it's time to SHOP 'TIL YOU KILL!


(Shop 'Till You Kill spokecard by Marcus, circa 2008).

What a better day for a bike ride (or two) than Black Friday, where millions of Americans engage in one of the most questionable and social-Darwinistic days of the year--Get out of the way or you'll get stomped to death...

That's what happened to 43-year-old Wal Mart employee Jimmy Overby who was killed by hundreds of Black Friday shoppers who stomped on his body as they ran to buy things. And a couple years ago two people died in a Black Friday gun battle in Toys-R-Us.

So rather than stressin' yourself by rushing to the mall this Black Friday to replace your whole DVD collection w/ Blu Ray versions, take your bike out and go for a ride around your neighborhood. Invite your family and/or your friends. Ride for fun. Ride for you.

If you live in San Diego join Critical Mass for the highly anticipated Black Friday ride. Meets at 7pm at The Fountain in Balboa Park.

After Critical Mass come back to The Fountain for a special CRETINS' Black Friday ride. THE CRETINS' ride meets at The Fountain at 9pm and departs at 10pm. Route to be determined. What has been determined is that there will be dodgeball after!


Free bike ride, dodgeball, thrills, laughs w/ friends > lines, money burning, bad music, and canned experiences at the mall. Hmm... Your choice.

Recap: Bunnyhops For Breastcancer

Bunnyhops For Breastcancer this past Sunday went off. Despite the rain, kids came out, the tricks were bangin', the alleycat was a rush, and chunk of money was raised. Over $300 was raised and all of it was donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to fund breastcancer research.

Documentation:

Bunny Hops for Breast Cancer from Matthew Spencer on Vimeo.

Jakob Santos' 360. Photo/Matt Lingo.


The first event of the day was the alleycat race from Barrio Logan to National City spots and back.


California transportation. This is how we get around.



The route for the alleycat was money. Not too many races go to National City. This one did. Fun racin' in an area that most kids aren't super familiar with.


Up next was the trick comp. Above 3 photos by Matt Lingo.


Josh Boothby keepin' it DIY. Photo by VeloReality.


Jakob Santos. Photo/Lingo.


Matt Spencer. Above and below photo by VeloReality.



Josh Boothby ended up winning the trick comp. He's a nice dude and his riding is super solid. Here's a little edit that Matt Lingo filmed around the time of the Bunnyhops event:

Elevated Engineering presents Josh Boothby from Matt Lingo on Vimeo.

Thanks to Gus and Rocco for making this event happen. Good work!

Jingle Jam Alleycat, Next Saturday, December 4

Drawing by Meg at Sleeping Giant Tattoo. Graphics by Cam.

Organized by 'Zoni! It's his 1st time organizing an alleycat in SD. Should be interesting. Lookin' forward to this.

"Sprawing From Grace": Free Screening @ Velo Cult, Saturday

Velo Cult Bike Shop invites you to a free screening of Sprawling From Grace, a documentary film which examines the consequences of suburbanization. Sounds interesting. Check it out.

Goodbye, Tommy. Adventure boldly.

Our friend Tommy has moved out of SD to travel Southeast Asia by bike. But before his mega bike tour, he's going to be working at a bike shop and also working to help disarm land mines in Vietnam for Clear Path International. Wow! My friends are the most badass people in the world.

Stolen Bike Recovered, Alleged Thief Arrested

Our buddy's Milwaukee Bruiser stolen on Friday, October 29 has been recovered!

The perpetrator allegedly walked in to our mutual friends' bike shop to try to sell the bike for $150. The bike shop employee (who recognized the bike) called the owner and then the cops. The cops showed up and arrested the dude! Bike justice! Never underestimate the San Diego Bike Community.

Previous related Bic Control entry:

Stolen Bike Alert: White Milwaukee Bruiser

This Sunday!: Bunnyhops For Breastcancer is here!

After being rained out in October and rescheduled for Nov. 21, the Bunnyhops For Breastcancer event is finally here this Sunday! I was looking forward to it then and I'm even more excited now:



This is gonna be a riot! This is has got to be one of the biggest non-monthly DIY bike events to ever happen in San Diego. The amount of sponsors that Rocco and Gus from Fast Pace Zine have pulled for this event is insane. They've been busting their ass for this. Huge props to them in advance.
Also, thanks to Will for the ramps.

There's talk about rain this weekend...but that won't stop us this time. Note the alternate location on the flier in case of rain. Bring your ponchos, boys and girls.

See you Sunday! Spread the word!

Tomorrow!: Bike The Boulevard!

Stoked to see more local businesses supporting bicycling.

Just noticed that Bike The Boulevard will be having a DIY Bike Light Workshop segment for this event. Haha. Rad. Props to my friend Cairie Rainey for organizing the first-known DIY Bike Light Workshop ever (here and then here). The word is spreading!

Felony Charges Dropped on Rich Hit-and-Run Motorist so they won't Jeopardize His Job

Rich people deserve more rights than poor people. Don't you know this? No, I'm not talking about India's caste system which institutionalized and legalized classism. I'm talking about Vail, Colorado, a place recently characterized by unapologetic rich-privilege and extreme injustice against cyclists.



Martin Joel Erzinger, who manages rich clients' investments at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, was driving his 2010 Mercedes when he allegedly veered onto the side of a highway and struck an innocent cyclist from behind. The cyclist, Dr. Steven Milo who works to save other other peoples' lives, was suddenly laying on the side of the highway fighting for his own. Dr. Milo's spine was damaged and his brain experienced internal bleeding.

The hit-and-run perpetrator Erzinger fled the scene, according to police. Further down the road, Erzinger pulled over where he called his Mercedes dealership to report damages to his bumper, rather than calling 911. According to court documents, he did NOT alert authorities or request assistance for the cyclist. Erzinger was arrested.

Erzinger's complete lack of remorse for human life is deplorable.

But according to Vail, Colorado District Attorney Mark Hulbert, what Erzinger did only warranted a couple misdemeanor charges. Last week DA Hulbert dropped felony charges against Erzinger citing that the charge could have 'serious job implications' for Erzinger.


(Vail, Colorado District Attorney Mark Hulbert)

This degree of explicit rich-privilege is intolerable and in no way represents equality.

Hit-and-run victim Dr. Milo's lawyers were apparently livid to learn that the felony charges were dropped. Dr. Milo writes, 'Mr. Erzinger struck me, fled and left me for dead on the highway. Neither his financial prominence nor my financial situation should be factors in your prosecution of this case.'

Theoretically, all prosecutions have 'serious job implications' for all people. If DA Hulbert's is so obsessed w/ making sure that his rulings have no 'serious job implications' for violators of the law w/ no remorse for human life, then the last job he should have is a district attorney position!

Help bring hit-and-run motorist Erzinger to justice. Help remind DA Hulbert what justice means.

1. Sign the petition at Change.org to help urge DA Hulbert to reconsider dropping the felony charges.

2. Urge the Department of Justice to investigate this case and take appropriate action: 202-353-1555 , askdoj@usdoj.gov

3. Urge Colorado's Attorney General John Suthers to investigate this case and take appropriate action: 303-866-4500 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, Attorney.General@state.co.us

The petition has nearly 10,000 signatures and both DA Hulbert and the CO Attorney General have removed their Facebook pages after being buried in comments about this case. The word is getting out! Help fight for justice! You can help.

SANDAG Staff Recommends $2.6 BILLION for Bike Infrastructure!

Great news from SANDAG via the Bike Coalition!:

'Remember how we asked you to call your SANDAG Board members and ask them to put 3% of the transportation dollars in bike and ped programs and projects?

SANDAG staff yesterday recommended they allocate $2.6 BILLION for the bicycle and pedestrian program.

For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 2.6% of the total $100 billion transportation spending in the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). It’s quadruple what they allocated in the last RTP four years ago. It’s $65 million a year for bike/ped stuff over the next 40 years. It’s a lot of money. It’s good stuff!

But the work is not done just yet. The SANDAG board still has to vote to support the staff recommendation. So please, before Friday, call your SANDAG Board representative and say thanks to SANDAG staff for listening to us, and ask that the board member support the proposed $2.6 billion for bike/ped programs and projects.'

The above info is from an email from Bike Coalition Exec. Director Kathy Keehan. For a list of SANDAG Board reps, please see the following Bic Control entry:

Urgent Action Needed: Your Phone is a Mic--Help Fight for $ for Bike Infrastructure

Monday nite!: Dia De Los Muertos Ride by The Cretins

Come out this Monday nite on a bike ride to honor life and death.

Free face paints by a professional face paint artist.

Tour our city where we live our lives and bury our dead.

Stolen Bike Alert: White Milwaukee Bruiser

Please keep your eyes out for our buddy's white Milwaukee Brusier which was stolen last Friday in SD. The fixed gear bike had purple trim, a black rear wheel on a Velocity rim, a front wheel on a Sun rim, and Demolition cranks.

The bike was stolen by a 16-20 year old male in the Loma Portal area off Midway Dr. My buddy parked it briefly in the doorway of a liquor store when the perpetrator ran up, grabbed it, hopped on, and rode off.

Bummercore.

Please email any leads to BicControl[at]gmail[com]. Thanks.


UPDATE: This bike has been recovered! Alleged thief has been arrested!

Bunnyhops For Breast Cancer Rained Out, Postponed 'til Nov. 21

If you woke up in SD yesterday morning before 10:30am you would've noticed that it was pouring. As a result, the Bunnyhops For Breast Cancer Benefit trick comp and alleycat have been postponed and rescheduled for November 21. See you then.

UPDATE: The event has been changed from Nov. 20 to the Nov. 21 so it wont conflict w/ an event in LA.

This is gonna be amazing!

Biggest Bike Weekend All Year Continues w/ CM Tonite + More

This is got to be the biggest bike weekend in SD all year; 5 straight days of killer bike events.

Last nite The Cretins' 5th Annual Halloween Ride was a smash.

Tonite is Halloween Critical Mass! It usually turns out to be one the most fun rides all year. Riders, please keep the ride fun, positive, and peaceful. CM is a celebration of the bicycle. If you chose to exploit the mass by using it as a medium for your aggressive, violent (when not in self-defense) tendencies, stop coming out. There isn't a single veteran SD Critical Mass rider who would disagree w/ that statement.

CM didn't just magically turn into a huge, popular, fun event. 5 years ago to the day, SDCM had 35 riders. Tonite there will be an estimated 1,000+ people. How do you think it got like that when other free monthly and weekly rides faded out? The answer is because a group of dedicated bike advocates put their time and energy into the ride to make it fun, creative, positive, and different every time. So don't ruin the ride for those who worked hard to make it awesome.

Two years ago to the day the following statement, The Importance of Communication and Diffusing Conflict @ SDCM, was written and handed out by veteran CM riders to hundreds of riders at the fountain. The ideas expressed here are still valuable and pertinent:



The Importance of Communication & Diffusing Conflict at SDCM

October 31 Halloween 2008 San Diego Critical Mass Riders,

Some of us ride San Diego Critical Mass to celebrate sustainability, to exercise energy independence, to practice solutions to global warming, to be healthy, to make friends, to restore civic life to public streets normally dominated by speeding automobiles, to make a statement, or to enjoy the landscape of San Diego. But one overarching goal that we can all agree on is our celebration of Fun, via the Bicycle.

To keep SD Critical Mass rides fun, we can all work on the following:

-Communicate: Communication is our most vital asset. See something you don't or do approve of? Then make a comment. Communicate to that person or persons. This is the people's ride. It's up to all Critical Mass riders to do their part and contribute their two cents, in person, at the ride. Don't be complacent to something you don't agree with. Now is the time for self-regulation. Speak up. If you have a voice, use it, positively.

-Dealing with Impatient Motorists: Most motorists that drive by Critical Mass smile or cheer in support of the awe-inspiring bike ride. Many of them think, "I want to be with them on a bike right now!" However, there are a small minority of motorists who are bent on an inflated ego and who subscribe to the Culture of Immediacy school-of-thought which places their immediate priorities far above the well-being and livelihood of other human beings. The Culture of Immediacy is why the majority of freeway-using motorists regularly speed above the speed limit on neighborhood streets.

If you (unintentionally) slow down a motorist w/ a dangerously inflated ego, then many motorists will take this personally, and will occasionally get Road Rage, and may act violently towards you. Any cyclist who rides on the streets, or even any motorist who drives on the freeways, will tell you that Road Rage is real and scary. Road Rage is a facet of auto-dependency and American culture which sociologists, psychologists, police officers, or any user of a public street, for that matter, are well aware of.

As everyday bike riders, and as Critical Mass riders, we need to remember that Road Rage exists.

If you see a motorist that looks impatient or frustrated try talking to that person in a polite manner. Say, "Thank you for waiting. We'll be out of your way shortly."

Motorists like to see that someone on the ride is concerned about them waiting. If they're determined to drive through the group, and they start to act irate, then it's usually best not to challenge them, but to let them through. At that point, you (the corker) should step up your game, and communicate to other cyclists. Warn them that the motorist is determined to drive through the flow of cyclists despite our safety. Warn the cyclists, "Look out! Be careful! This person is determined to drive through!"

If we do this, then we can reduce the likeliness that a bicyclist will get hit or ran over by a motorist; something which no cyclist deserves. Period.

In the streets, you earn respect by practicing it. Share the road.

Have fun tonight! Celebrate! Be spooky. To prevent something too scary from happening, show respect for other human beings around you. By practicing respect, even those who aren't on the ride can have fun, too.

See you tonite!

Other rad events this weekend include tomorrow's Bunnyhops For Breast Cancer by Fast Pace Zine, the Veloswap Meet this Sunday at the Velodrome, and The Cretins' Day of the Dead Ride this Monday (flier up tomorrow).

This Thursday!: 5th Annual CRETINS Halloween Ride!

It's time! The 5th Annual Cretins Halloween ride is finally upon us!

Ride meets at Gala Foods in South Park at 7pm this Thursday, Oct. 28.!

Pinata smashing, pumpkin bowling, dodgeball, and a performance by Satan's Dance Party!

Flier by Color Deco.

Follow Up: The Fight For Bike Infrastructure Funding

According to an email from one of my favorite people in SD--Kathy Keehan, Bike Coalition Executive Director--there has been some progress in the fight for bike infrastructure $.

Apparently, there was some constructive discussion amongst decision makers at a big SANDAG (SAN Diego Association of Governments) meeting yesterday.

But the battle isn't over.

Here's Kathy's email synopsis of the meeting yesterday and a follow up to the previous blog entry Urgent Action Needed: Your Phone is a Mic--Help Fight for $ for Bike Infrastructure:

Thanks! We're on our way but we're not done yet...

Hi all,

THANK you to everyone who called or emailed SANDAG this week! I heard comments from several members of the board that they heard from their local constituents, and they were definitely paying attention today.

The SANDAG meeting went fairly well today – thanks to Jim, Hans, Nicole, Nick(?), plus support from Move San Diego, Walk San Diego, Sustainable San Diego, and others. Thank you all for being there! It was terrific that all the people who stood up to speak today supported dramatically increasing the amount of money spent on bicycling and walking.

The good news is that staff claims they will be ‘fully funding’ the bicycle and pedestrian program. The bad news is that they carefully did not establish what ‘fully funded’ means. It could mean that they are fully funding the regional bike plan. That would be nice, but that’s only $430 million. We just don’t know yet. It’s almost certainly not 3%, though, so we’ve got more work to do.

The other good news is that many of the board members spoke up questioning staff about the bicycle and pedestrian program. We definitely got their attention, and they want to do the right thing. I’m hopeful that if staff gives them the option to spend significantly on bicycle and pedestrian programs, they will vote to do so. We’ll be working on getting a meeting with staff to clarify what ‘fully funded’ means next week, and we’ll be counting on you all to make some noise leading up to the November 12^th Transportation Committee meeting, where they will be deciding on their ‘preferred alternative’. We need the preferred alternative to include significant money for bicycling and walking, and we’ll be trying our best to make that happen in the next three weeks.

For right now, we’ll be holding off on asking you to call or email your representatives again until we find out more about the staff recommendation. Thank you for reaching out! It made a difference. One board member actually said to me ‘ok, I get it! They can stop calling me now!’ So rest your dialing and typing fingers, but be ready for another big push in the next couple of weeks.

Kathy

----------------------

Kathy Keehan

Executive Director

San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

740 13th St, Suite 502

San Diego, CA 92101

858.487.6063

execdir@sdcbc.org

www.sdcbc.org

Urgent Action Needed: Your Phone is a Mic--Help Fight for $ for Bike Infrastructure!

Tell your local representatives that more of the same freeways-first, active-transportation-last prioritizing will NOT cut it! The following message is from the Bike Coalition and Walk San Diego:

We need your help this week!

One of the things we try to do at the Bicycle Coalition is have input on the Regional Transportation Plan, the document that guides how all the transportation money in the San Diego region will be spent over the next 40 years. It’s updated every four years or so, and it’s time again for the discussion about how those funds will be spent.

SANDAG staff has released the ‘revenue constrained’ plan. This is the plan that actually gets down to the nitty gritty of allocating the amount of money we can reasonably expect to see in the region over the next 40 years. They have determined that $100 to $110 BILLION will be available over those 40 years, and have settled on how to spend all but about $3 to $3.5 billion of that money. Now they’re trying to figure out how to spend that last 3%.

There’s a staff report that outlines four scenarios for spending that 3% - a ‘Transit Emphasis Scenario’, a ‘Rail/Freight Emphasis Scenario’, a ‘Highway Emphasis Scenario’ and a ‘Fusion Scenario’. If you are interested in finding out what is in each scenario, http://www.sandag.org/uploads/meetingid/meetingid_2756_11871.pdf (agenda item 3) is the staff report. It is important to note that under all four scenarios, SANDAG modeling predicts that bike/ped mode share actually decreases from the existing share and the no-build alternatives. That means that in all four of these options, biking and walking will go DOWN rather than up.

We need an ‘Active Transportation/Transportation Demand Management Emphasis Scenario’. 3% of the total transportation budget is not an unreasonable amount to spend on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, programs, and improvements.

But SANDAG won’t even analyze this scenario unless we make some noise. So I’m asking you to make some calls. PLEASE call or email your SANDAG Board representative and ask them to tell SANDAG to include an Active Transportation Emphasis Scenario. Tell them you want SANDAG to spend at least 3% of the transportation dollars on bicyclists and pedestrians.

Here’s who you should call if you live, work, or play in each of the following cities. The first name on the list is the SANDAG Board representative from that city, and the ones with (A) beside them are alternates. Leave a message for one or for all if you can -

City of Carlsbad - 760-434-2820
Hon. Matt Hall, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Bud Lewis, Mayor
(A) Hon. Ann Kulchin, Mayor Pro Tem

City of Chula Vista - 619-691-5044
Hon. Cheryl Cox, Mayor
(A) Hon. Rudy Ramirez, Deputy Mayor
(A) Hon. Steve Castaneda, Councilmember

City of Coronado - 619-522-7320
Hon. Carrie Downey, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Al Ovrom, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Hon. Michael Woiwode, Councilmember

City of Del Mar - (858) 755-9313
Hon. Crystal Crawford, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Carl Hilliard, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Mark Filanc, Councilmember

City of El Cajon - (619) 441-1788
Hon. Mark Lewis, Mayor
(A) Hon. Jillian Hanson-Cox, Councilmember

City of Encinitas – 760.633.2600
Hon. Jerome Stocks, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Teresa Barth, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Dan Dalager, Mayor

City of Escondido -
Hon. Lori Holt Pfeiler, Mayor
(A) Hon. Sam Abed, Councilmember

City of Imperial Beach – 423- 8300
Hon. Jim Janney, Mayor
(A) Hon. Patricia McCoy, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Hon. Jim King, Councilmember

City of La Mesa – 619.463.6611
Hon. Art Madrid, Mayor
(A) Hon. Mark Arapostathis, Councilmember
(A) Hon. David Allan, Vice Mayor

City of Lemon Grove – 619.825.3800
Hon. Mary Teresa Sessom, Mayor
(A) Hon. Jerry Jones, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Hon. Jerry Selby, Councilmember

City of National City – 619.336.4241
Hon. Ron Morrison, Mayor
(A) Vacant
(A) Hon. Rosalie Zarate, Councilmember

City of Oceanside – 760.435.3065
Hon. Jim Wood, Mayor
(A) Hon. Esther Sanchez, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Charles "Chuck" Lowery, Councilmember

City of Poway - (858) 668-4530
Hon. Don Higginson, Mayor
(A) Hon. Jim Cunningham, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Carl Kruse, Deputy Mayor

City of San Diego - (619) 236-6330
Hon. Jerry Sanders, Mayor
(A) Hon. Anthony Young, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Sherri Lightner, Councilmember

Hon. Ben Hueso, Council President 619.236.6688
(A) Hon. Marti Emerald, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Todd Gloria, Councilmember

City of San Marcos - (760) 744-1050
Hon. Jim Desmond, Mayor
(A) Hon. Hal Martin, Vice Mayor
(A) Hon. Rebecca Jones, Councilmember

City of Santee - (619) 258-4100 x114
Hon. Jack Dale, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Hal Ryan, Councilmember
(A) Hon. John Minto, Councilmember

City of Solana Beach - (858) 720-2490
Hon. Lesa Heebner, Deputy Mayor
(A) Hon. Dave Roberts, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Mike Nichols, Councilmember

City of Vista - (760) 639-6130
Hon. Judy Ritter, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Hon. Bob Campbell, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Steve Gronke, Councilmember

County of San Diego – 619.531.5533
Hon. Pam Slater-Price, Chairwoman
(A) Hon. Greg Cox, Supervisor
(A) Hon. Ron Roberts, Chair Pro Tem

Hon. Bill Horn, Vice Chairman 619.531.5555
(A) Hon. Dianne Jacob, Supervisor

Kathy

----------------------

Kathy Keehan

Executive Director

San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

740 13th St, Suite 502

San Diego, CA 92101

858.487.6063

Bunnyhops For Breast Cancer Benefit

DIY crafters Fast Pace Zine (from Murrieta and now SD) present a very important event...



Yes, you read correctly--a frame will be given to the first place winner of the trick comp and a frame for the first place winner of the alley cat race! Damn, FPZ doesn't f*ck around! They got that sponsor pull.

This will event will be goin' off! Not to miss. Notin' like a super fun, ragin' benefit bike event for a good cause. Is there anything better?

P.S. Thomas Bike Shop now has copies of Fast Pace Zine Issue #4. How could you not be down w/ a free zine loaded w/ ill full color photos?

This Sunday: SD Bike Union Fall Haul-In and Picnic

The SD Bike Union is organizing their first, but not last, official community bike event this Sunday.

The Union is composed of some great SD bike advocates including Sky Boyer (Velo Cult owner, SDBikeCommuter.com creator), Jay Porter (The Linkery and El Take It Easy owner), Thomas Bahde (BikeSD.org contributor), Andrew Woolley (a respected champion of bike justice), and Fred Ollinger (a contributor on SDBikeCommuter.com forum) for the time being. With a core group of people like this, programs like the SDBikeCommuter.com Discount Program, and events like this Sunday's picnic, the Union is bound to grow into a great organization.

Flier and official statement below:



The San Diego Bike Union is hosting our first annual Fall Haul-In and Picnic at Trolley Barn Park in University Heights on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17^TH @ 2:00pm.

Bring a picnic and lawn games, bring the kids, invite the neighbors!

The idea is to use your bike to transport everything to the park--we’re talking baskets, panniers, racks, backpacks, messenger bags, Xtracycles, cargo bikes, trailers, whatever you have that will turn your bike into a hauling machine--no cars needed!

This is a fun, FREE, and casual event for everyone to enjoy. You don't have to be nuts about bikes to come and enjoy good food, good community, and some fun games.

Folks from San Diego Bike Polo will be on hand to give a demonstration and let people try the sport for themselves.

Representatives from the bike kitchen Bikes del Pueblo will also be on hand to answer basic technical and repair questions.

Matt Lingo Photo Essay: Tecate, Mexico's Kilolibra

Damn! Back-to-back-to-back entries from work by Matt Lingo. Dude's on-hit lately. When your work is this good, what do you expect?:


Matt and Alex made a little trip down to Tecate, Mexico to ride w/ their friends from Kilolibra, who make riding-inspired art and clothing. I love riding bikes in Mexico, from Tijuana to Mexico City. As such, I feel inclined to share this photo essay:










Bikepool.


For the complete photo essay from Matt click here. That's where I learned about this live art show organized by Kilolibra this coming Saturday:

Matt Lingo Films SD's DJ Mull

Matt Lingo filmed this playful and fun-to-watch video of San Diego's DJ Mull for one of DJ's new sponsors, Copy. I haven't seen a fixed trick video set to Cake yet, but if anyone can make it happen it's Matt:

Copy presents DJ Mull from Matt Lingo on Vimeo.

I like how DJ hits shit really fast. In addition to speed, DJ makes it look clean.

Leader Catalog by Matt Lingo

These photos by SD's Matt Lingo for the Leader Bikes catalog have been up for a week now but they are most certainly worth sharing here in case you haven't seen them yet. To miss them would be a true loss. I can't think of a photographer who has created more unique photo representations of bicycling than Matt Lingo.

Tyler Johnson and Terrence Patrick. The SD urban history nerd in me loves this. El Cortez hotel looks omnipresent.


Dan Arel on B St.


Tyler Johnson bombing B St.


Matt Spencer in the Barrio.




The San Diego Business Journal wishes.