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The Dream Ride Challenge 2020 Was a Huge Success!

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Among many silver linings during a difficult year, the first-ever Dream Ride Challenge stands as a success. We had a great “turnout” and we raised over $25,000 to support CalBike’s work in the coming year!

9 days, 4,500 miles, $25,000 raised for CalBike

When CalBike made the decision to cancel 2020’s annual California Dream Ride, the in-person 5-day bicycle experience along some of California’s most beautiful and memorable bicycle routes, we knew there would be a few things we would miss. Not only is the California Dream Ride a huge fundraiser for CalBike every year, but it provides the experience of sharing bicycling alongside a fun and supportive community. 

When CalBike launched the Dream Ride Challenge this October, our goal was to deliver the spirit and joy of the in-person Dream Ride right to the front door of bicyclists across California. We wanted to create a virtual experience to motivate and inspire you to get out on your bike and engage with your bicycle community. We had some experience with this: we had already made our Dream Ride Experiences into self-directed rides. But the Dream Ride Challenge was a bigger lift. Happily, it was an outstanding success.

Dream Riders took on the Challenge

From October 3rd to October 11th we were joined by over 50 passionate bicyclists and advocates for sustainable transportation. Over 9 days of bicycle and fundraising challenges, these Dream Riders cumulatively rode over 4,500 miles and raised over $25,000 through their own fundraising pages, all to support CalBike’s vital work to bring better biking to all California communities.

Dream Riders also went the extra mile as part of “the challenge.” They wrote to their local elected officials, submitted shining reviews to uplift their local bike shops, picked up trash along bikeways, and took on a number of extra bonus activities throughout the event. Our daily pop-up challenge in honor of World Post Day, for example, saw a number of Dream Riders placing their election ballots in the mail. 

An Opportunity to Connect

In the evenings, we took part in engaging Zoom sessions. We heard updates from our Ride Director Debbie Brubaker and Dream Ride veteran Jon Riddle. Riders had the opportunity to share photos and stories. We were also lucky to be joined by competitive cyclists, grassroots advocates, bicycle industry pioneers, and one world-record holder. The discussions were inspiring and lively. 

During our first session of the week, we were joined by Johanna Iraheta, an educator and bike touring pro who brings bicycle touring to young people in Los Angeles. CalBike Board member and founder of SoCal Cross, Dorothy Wong, joined the session to speak about establishing the cyclocross scene in Southern California. World-record holder Denise Mueller-Korenek closed the session, and spoke about her record-breaking performance at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2018, where she trailed a pace car on a custom bicycle at 184 miles per hour! 

Mid-week, we heard from advocates working to advance cycling across the state. Speakers included Damian Kevitt of Streets Are For Everyone and Zachary Rynew of Gravel Bike California. We were also joined by Levi Leipheimer, former pro cyclist and founder of Levi’s GranFondo, a cycling event that draws thousands annually and has raised over $3 million for Sonoma County charities since its inception in 2009. 

At our last Zoom session and final Dream Ride celebration, we were joined by mountain biking pioneer Gary Fisher. Gary shared stories of competitive cycling in California during the 60s, and the early days of clunker bike rides on dirt trails that laid the foundations for modern mountain biking. Gary shared a passionate message with Dream Riders, stating that “this is the time for change” as we continue the fight for more sustainable transportation, more livable cities, and more space for bicycles. 

With the 2020 Dream Ride Challenge, we managed to overcome a difficult situation and pull together as a cycling community. Thanks to all of our Dream Ride Challenge 2020 participants, sponsors, and panelists for making this event a success. 

CalBike Releases Quick-Build Guide to Create Safer Streets

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 13, 2020

Contact: Dave Snyder, California Bicycle Coalition, dave@calbike.org | 916-251-9433‬

CalBike Releases How-to Guide for Building Safer Streets Quickly and Cheaply

The California Bicycle Coalition and Alta Planning + Design today released a Quick-Build Guide for planners, officials, and community leaders to encourage the construction of safe bikeways quickly and affordably. 

The guide promotes the “quick-build” method for safety improvements. Quick-build projects use materials that can be installed quickly and at a low cost. Quick-build design allows active transportation projects to be completed in months rather than years. Because quick-build projects rely on inexpensive materials, they are a good fit for California’s COVID-strapped municipal budgets.

The 77-page Quick-Build Guide, created by Alta Planning + Design, is available for free. This resource will help planners, city staffers, and advocates understand the tools and processes that lead to successful quick-build projects. 

In addition to the guide, the project includes a 4-page introductory brochure. Both are available online at calbike.org/quickbuild.

“We hope this guide will help California capitalize on the huge increase in biking and walking we’ve seen during the pandemic,” said CalBike Executive Director Dave Snyder. “Quick-build allows communities to build on that momentum to create the kinds of safe, separated spaces that people of all ages need to feel comfortable biking and walking in their neighborhoods. There’s no good reason to wait years for safer streets and plenty of reasons to act quickly.”

“Rapid implementation of bike and pedestrian networks through Quick-Build is one of Alta’s core priorities for transformative investment in transportation,” said Brett Hondorp, President of Alta Planning + Design. “This guidebook gives communities the resources to quickly, inexpensively, and equitably create safe spaces for people on our streets, turning the pandemic walking and biking boom into sustained active transportation mode shift.”

The partnership to create this guide matches Alta Planning’s design expertise and experience with CalBike’s network of planning and advocacy communities throughout California. It will give cities a tool they can use to build safe biking infrastructure when and where it’s needed.

The Quick-Build Guide was made possible by funding from the Seed Fund and the SRAM Cycling Fund.

Download the Quick-Build Guide 2020.

From the Quick-Build Guide:

“Quick-build works to meet mobility needs by helping people to choose active modes more often. Those mobility needs will vary depending on the community and may include safer crossings, slower streets, an extended bikeway network, or safer routes to transit, schools, and essential workplaces. In every case, people require a safe, connected, and comfortable network for active transportation.”

“We as transportation experts need to be thinking strategically about whether or not we need to spend three years talking about doing something important, or three weeks to just try something.”

― Warren Logan, Transportation Policy Director of Mobility and Interagency Relations at Oakland Mayor’s Office

A Preview of the CalBike 2021 Agenda

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Oh, 2020. It’s been a hard year for too many. We extend our sympathies to everyone who is suffering from loss. 

Looking ahead to 2021, we here at CalBike have reasons to be optimistic. Among the silver linings of this tough year is that many people have turned to bicycling during the pandemic. Our demands for safer streets will be buoyed by a larger constituency.
Another silver lining is that our light legislative agenda this year gives us more time to plan for an ambitious 2021. We’re excited about the opportunity to make meaningful change for health, safety, community, equity, prosperity, and climate.
Here’s a preview of what we’re thinking.

CalBike 2021 Agenda

CalBike’s plans for 2021 are still developing, but we have five initiatives already in the works. 

  • E-bike purchase incentives. Our e-bike rebate bill, which would allow people to get a voucher to buy an e-bike, was one of the casualties of the pandemic in 2020. We’ll bring it back better than ever in 2021. Electric bikes have been proven to be the best option for replacing car trips. They have surged in popularity this year. However, the price tag for an e-bike puts one out of reach for many Californians. We believe an e-bike purchase incentive program is the most effective way to make energy-efficient transportation available to everyone. 
  • Micromobility. Shared bikes and scooters should be integrated with public transit and accessible to all. We want cities to take ownership of their shared mobility systems so users aren’t subject to the whims and price increases of a private company. This will also ensure that micromobility options are available in neighborhoods that have been historically underserved by transit.
  • Complete Streets at Caltrans. Despite the pandemic, CalBike was able to work with Caltrans to greatly improve its Complete Streets policies in 2020. The agency increased funding for biking and walking improvements and made positive changes to bring the needs of people who aren’t in cars into their planning processes. However, there is still more work to be done to change decades of car-centric planning at Caltrans. In 2021, CalBike will redouble our efforts to transform Caltrans-controlled local streets into Complete Streets.
  • Rewriting the street design rulebook. Two manuals hold sway over local planning decisions about street design in California: the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and the Highway Design Manual (HDM). If you’ve ever been at a planning meeting in your city and watched an innovative bike facility get rejected, the MUTCD and HDM may have been to blame. Planners are often reluctant to approve roadway designs that aren’t in them. CalBike is working with state administrators to revise these manuals to include designs for safer streets for people on bikes. These changes could turn a no into a yes the next time your local bicycle coalition lobbies for a new protected bike lane or protected intersection. 
  • Equitable traffic enforcement. CalBike is committed to doing our part to change state laws about traffic enforcement to reduce the risk of police violence for Black and Brown people. The measures we are considering include:
    • Automated speed monitoring and ticketing.
    • Changing the Vision Zero grant process to money doesn’t go pay for more police traffic stops and instead goes to measures that will be more effective at reducing traffic injuries and fatalities.
    • Decriminalizing walking and biking. This includes legalizing mid-block crossings (jaywalking) and the Idaho stop (which would allow bikes to treat stop signs as yields).
    • Reforming Office of Traffic Safety grants so they don’t support police stings of bike riders running stop signs on quiet, low-traffic residential streets.

Finishing 2020 strong.

CalBike has two important initiatives that we’re still working on that we believe will make a big difference for bikeable communities.

Quick-build

CalBike has partnered with Alta Planning to produce the Quick-Build Toolkit. Quick-build is a revolutionary philosophy that streamlines the roadway design process. This puts the bike lanes and other safety features we need on our streets in months rather than years. Our design manual (coming very soon) will give planners across California the tools they need to quickly implement bike projects as we emerge from the pandemic and confront the climate crisis.

Election 2020

Many of us are, understandably, laser-focused on the presidential election this year. However, as we know from firsthand experience fighting for bills in unfriendly committees in the State legislature, the people we choose to represent us in our state and local government play a bigger role in shaping how bike-friendly our communities are.

We have endorsed candidates in several races that we believe will be crucial to achieving our ambitious goals for 2021. Please check out our endorsements and support bike-friendly candidates.

Ride your bike + Raise money for CalBike = Fun!

The California Dream Ride is one of CalBike’s biggest annual fundraisers. This year, the Dream Ride Challenge is a self-guided 300-mile ride to wherever you choose. Ride all 300 miles in the saddle, or earn miles and get rewards for taking on fun, bike-related activities and daily pop-up challenges along the way. 

As a Dream Rider, you’ll join a fabulous bicycling community online to share the joy of riding in a brand new way. We’ve got perks and prizes, tips and tricks, an awesome support team, Happy Hours with special guests like mountain biking pioneer Gary Fisher, and so much more.

Best of all, the Dream Ride Challenge is a great way to raise money to support CalBike’s work in 2021 and beyond. You can register for as little as $25 and raise money as you ride. We hope you’ll join us from October 3-11 for this fun event.

We hope that 2021 is better than 2020!

No one can argue with the fact that 2020 has been crazy. For a lot of people, it has been a simply terrible year. Our heart goes out to anyone who’s dealing with  COVID-19 or who lost a loved one, everyone who lost a job or had to risk their health to keep a job, everyone on the West Coast dealing with fires and smoke. In addition, while racist violence and oppression started long before 2020, the burdens of our inequitable society have supersized this year’s many tragedies for Californians of color.

Here’s to a better year in 2021.

Governor Signs Bills for Bikes, Wrapping Up California’s 2020 Legislative Session

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Originally published September 3, 2020. Updated September 30, 2020. 

The pandemic took a big bite out of CalBike’s 2020 legislative agenda, but we were still able to win two important legislative victories in this session. This was due in no small part to the thousands of CalBike members and supporters who emailed your representatives to urge them to support bike-friendly laws and amendments.

Big win for bike plans

California’s environmental review law, CEQA, is vital to ensuring that construction projects mitigate any damage they cause to the natural environment. However, it makes no sense to force projects that are inherently environmentally beneficial to go through the lengthy and expensive CEQA review process.

SB 288 exempts certain public transit and active transportation projects from CEQA for two years. Even better, it requires large projects to conduct a racial equity analysis that would not be required under CEQA. This will help California expand its public transit offerings as we emerge from the pandemic. And it will allow our state to build the bike network we need much faster. 

This bill passed the legislature and Governor Newsom has signed it into law. Now it’s up to California communities to take advantage of this new law and move quickly to implement much-needed bike projects.

Bike share survives

AB 1286 would have effectively ended bike and scooter sharing systems in California. It included several onerous provisions. The worst would have ended liability waivers. That would have made bike-share system operators liable for every injury, no matter who was at fault. 

Thanks to lobbying by CalBike and our allies and pressure from constituents, the bill’s author removed this provision, so that CalBike withdrew our opposition.

 

CalBike Statement on Governor’s Executive Order to Promote Clean Transportation

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For Immediate Release

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Contact: Dave Snyder, 916-251-9433, dave@calbike.org

Governor’s Executive Order to Promote Clean Transportation Is Weak and Vague on the Most Important Strategies to Address the Climate Crisis

Sacramento, CA—Governor Gavin Newsom today released Executive Order N-79-20,  calling for reduced carbon pollution from the transportation sector. Cars and trucks account for nearly 40% of all greenhouse gases emitted in California. The order gives strong support to electric cars but fails to set goals for reducing dependence on automobiles. California needs much more if we are to have any hope of forestalling a severe climate crisis and worsening poverty. 

The first five of the order’s 12 clauses relate to converting gas-powered vehicles to electric. They set the goal of prohibiting the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and call for various other measures necessary to meet that goal. Other clauses refer to gradual reductions in oil extraction in California.

Only one clause calls for giving Californians better ways to get around than private electric cars. It requires the state’s transportation agencies to “identify near term actions and investment strategies to improve clean transportation.” The order specifies that those strategies should include “supporting bicycle, pedestrian, and micro-mobility options, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities in the State, by incorporating safe and accessible infrastructure into projects where appropriate.” This is too vague and weak at a time when bold action is called for.

Statement from CalBike

“We’ll never solve the climate crisis unless we also address the economic crisis, and we can’t do either without reducing our dependence on cars and trucks. California needs to replace gas-powered cars with electric ones, very quickly, but doing that alone is a recipe for total failure. We need to make it dramatically easier for people to walk, bike, and take transit to reduce greenhouse gases from the transportation sector and still provide affordable mobility, improve health, and create good jobs.” — Dave Snyder, Executive Director, CalBike

This executive order is an important first step for California toward finally taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, where we have made next to no progress toward California’s climate goals. 

Governor Newsom’s order provides specific direction to six state agencies to achieve the important and necessary goal of eliminating sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035. It calls for a just transition to a carbon-free transportation sector by emphasizing the creation of good jobs and the improvement of infrastructure in disadvantaged communities. 

However, the order is vague when it comes to the transition away from automobiles to public transit, walking, and biking. This transition is critical, especially for the state’s disadvantaged communities. Public investment in charging stations in disadvantaged communities will not serve the majority of households in these neighborhoods who cannot afford an electric car, even with a subsidy. Nor will such investment in electric cars serve the one-in-three households in low-income communities in the Bay Area, for example, who don’t even have a car.

Reducing the need for cars and trucks is paramount to the successful mitigation of climate change. Reducing car dependence reduces costs for the lowest-income Californians, improves health and safety for everyone, and creates more jobs than other transportation investments. 

The Governor’s order specifically calls out the need to support micro-mobility in disadvantaged communities. Expanding access to public transit by including shared bikes and scooters as part of public transit systems is the key to equitable mobility. CalBike’s work to create the Clean Mobility Options for Disadvantaged Communities program supports this expansion, but much more investment is needed. 

The Governor specifically called on three agencies to improve clean transportation: the California State Transportation Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the Transportation Commission. CalBike will work with all three to help define a future where Californians have clean transportation options beyond gridlocked freeways and expensive EVs. As the agencies ‘identify the near term actions” necessary to implement Governor’s order, CalBike will work to ensure they focus on making the improvements needed by those who would bike, walk, or take public transit if given the opportunity.

CalBike Endorsement: Vote for Josh Newman for Senate District 29 in the November Election!

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CalBike is pleased to endorse Josh Newman for Senate District 29.

As a former member of the state senate, Josh Newman already has experience championing what a fossil-free economy can look like in the capitol. He is up for the necessary fight to achieve this important goal because he knows we have no time to waste. Newman understands that our carbon-based economy absolutely needs to change, especially in our transportation sector, which is responsible for a large part of California’s emissions.

Josh Newman is no stranger to making this change, he was an early and strong supporter of SB 127, our Complete Streets bill that passed both houses of the legislature in 2019 before being vetoed by Governor Newsom.

Senate District 29 straddles the intersection of three counties: Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino. Centered on the Chino Hills and the northern Santa Ana Valley, it includes Walnut in the north and Cypress in the west. The main transportation corridor, Highway 57, is almost exclusively designed for fast car movement. As a result, the district is yet another area dominated by unfriendly infrastructure for cyclists. But that won’t stop Newman from supporting policies that make streets more walkable and bike-able. In 2017, Newman voted for SB 1, which directed funds to active transportation programs, fighting climate change, and improving livability and public health in at-risk communities. Although Newman was subsequently targeted for that vote, he says he has “no regrets about the actual vote,” which he would make again today, “especially given the obvious need for investment in California’s aging infrastructure and the inclusion of the active transportation provisions.”

The rest of Newman’s questionnaire responses are equally impressive for their breadth and depth of knowledge. For these reasons, CalBike is excited to see Josh Newman emerge as the leading candidate in the SD 29 race. We look forward to seeing him provide the leadership needed to work toward safer and more sustainable transportation alternatives for all Californians.

CalBike endorses Josh Newman for Senate District 29. Please visit his website to see how you can pitch in and vote for Josh Newman by November 3, 2020. 

Click here to see Josh Newman’s full questionnaire responses.

View all of CalBike’s endorsements and Bike the Vote!

CalBike Endorsement: Vote for Steve Bennett for Assembly District 37 in the November Election!

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CalBike is pleased to endorse Steve Bennett for District 37 Assembly Member.

Steve Bennett’s platform reads like a bicycle advocates’ dream. He understands the importance of bicycling as a component of sustainable transportation and a socially just society. He has an excellent record on bike issues as a Ventura County Supervisor. With Steve Bennett as Assembly Member, we’ll have an ally who will have our back no matter how bold our demands.

Assembly District 37 stretches along the coast from Ventura to Lompoc, with Santa Barbara right in the middle. Bennett has always been a strong supporter of active transportation a region that has and will continue to see drastic changes due to our climate crisis and the transportation systems that fuel it. As a sitting member on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, Bennett has the knowledge to put forth new bold ideas, including expanding safe and equitable bike options. For example, in a recent Ventura County Star article citing Bennett’s leadership in developing a 30-mile ‘Rails to Trails’ network across the county, he is quoted saying “The world is changing…we have to reduce carbon emissions with different approaches to our lifestyle.” We couldn’t agree more.

Bennett’s responses to CalBike’s questionnaire are equally impressive for their breadth and depth of knowledge. For these reasons, we are excited to see Steve Bennett emerge as the leading candidate in the AD 37 race. We look forward to seeing him provide the leadership needed to work toward safer and more sustainable transportation alternatives for all California residents.

CalBike endorses Steve Bennett for District 37 Assembly Member. Please visit his website to see how you can pitch in and vote for Steve Bennett by November 3, 2020.

Click here to see Steve Bennett’s full questionnaire responses.

View all of CalBike’s endorsements and Bike the Vote!

CalBike Endorsement: Vote for Alex Lee for Assembly District 25 in the November Election!

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For the open seat in Assembly District 25, we hope you will vote for Alex Lee in November.

Alex brings a lot of new energy to the San Jose/South Bay area, and for all California residents. On issues from biking to affordable housing and transportation justice, Lee gave excellent responses to our questionnaire. We believe he holds great promise for AD 25.

Assembly District 25 centers around Milpitas and includes parts of East San Jose, while also encompassing most of Fremont. The area is served by regional transit (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and has recently seen the expansion of BART into San Jose.

Thousands of South Bay workers commute north every day. However, this route is so dependent on cars that Interstate 880 is constantly bogged down with congestion and toxic air. CalBike is very pleased that Alex Lee understands the need for this to change. His transportation platform focuses on mobility options that can help meet our state’s environmental sustainability, public health, and social equity goals.

Lee is clearly making it a priority to serve all residents of his district, including low-income populations that are often marginalized, especially in suburban areas. In his questionnaire responses, he said he believes “we should be doing much more to make our transit system people-centric, not just car-centric. We should be robustly investing in bike and pedestrian ways AND creating communities that support that in the future.” That is the type of change we can get behind for AD 25, which is why we are endorsing Alex Lee.

The rest of his questionnaire responses are equally impressive for their breadth and depth of knowledge. For these reasons, we are excited to see Alex Lee emerge as the prominent candidate in the Assembly District 25 race. We look forward to seeing him provide the leadership needed to work toward safer and more sustainable transportation alternatives for all California residents.

CalBike endorses Alex Lee for District 25 Assembly Member. Please visit his website to see how you can pitch in and vote for Alex Lee by November 3, 2020. 

Click here to see Alex Lee’s full questionnaire responses.

View all of CalBike’s endorsements and Bike the Vote!

CalBike Endorsement: Vote for Dave Min for Senate District 37 in the November Election!

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CalBike is pleased to endorse Dave Min for Senate District 37.

“I believe that climate change is the defining crisis of our time and that California must be a leader in promoting policies that radically reduce carbon emissions, not only in our state but across the world.” Those are the first words Dave Min wrote in his answers to our candidate questionnaire. He’s running to unseat an incumbent in Senate District 37 whose views on climate change are exactly the opposite. Min’s proposals to mitigate this “defining crisis” aren’t just electric vehicles. He wrote: “We must move away from the car culture that has defined California development over our past 100 years.”  That’s why we’re endorsing Min’s broad vision for SD 37 and beyond.

Senate District 37 is entirely within Orange County. It includes the cities of Huntington Beach, Irvine, Orange, and Tustin. It is one of our state’s most wealthy senate districts. It also has some of the most rapidly changing demographics and now includes a large population of people of color who are often also low-income. Min knows that his dynamic district would benefit from more people walking and biking, not just for environmental, safety, and health reasons but for economic health and equity too. As a nationally-recognized expert on economic policy, Min understands the financial side of a Green New Deal-type framework. He knows that bold changes can lower carbon emissions and reduce our environmental footprint without sacrificing California’s economic vibrancy. His plan to implement these changes emphasizes active transportation initiatives such as “progressive bikeway design, low-stress bikeway networks, and complete streets with adequate space for pedestrians, bikers, and mass transit.” It’s about time for a leader in SD 37 who will think about the economy, environment, and equity in tandem. That’s why we’re endorsing Dave Min for SD 37.

The rest of his questionnaire responses are equally impressive for their breadth and depth of knowledge. For these reasons, we are excited to see Dave Min emerge as a prominent candidate in the SD 37 race. We look forward to seeing him provide the leadership needed to work toward safer and more sustainable transportation alternatives for all of the state’s residents.

CalBike endorses Dave Min for Senate District 37. Please visit his website to see how you can pitch in and vote for Dave Min by November 3, 2020. 

Click here to see Dave Min’s full questionnaire responses.

View all of CalBike’s endorsements and Bike the Vote!

Vote Dave Min Senate District 37

 

BLACK LIVES MATTER

California will never have the equitable, prosperous and inclusive communities that CalBike advocates for until we address and redress anti-Black violence. We want to actively contribute to ending systemic racism, especially in transportation policy, and most especially in bicycling advocacy. We promise to listen and learn how we can best do this work. To our community members who experience the violence of racism on a daily basis: we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you.

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