As a UC Davis supported project Sinead Santich, Huck Vaughn and Duke Cha are going to create a video that shows why Davis, California is the true Bike Capital of America. With the Virtual Tour of Davis I am building from the Hallmark Inn at its center, their end result will act as a model to show the 20 National Bicycle Greenway cities that connect San Francisco with Washington, DC what is possible when you place the bicycle at the top of the transportation mix. At present, HERE are the places we have on line this video will draw on to show where to ride, eat, sleep, shop and play in this true bicycle wonderland.
As testimony to the very high level of quality we can expect, here is the video about the bicycle way of life Sinead did last Fall –
Their film production will include video of representative:
Greenbelt trails
Underpasses
Overpasses
We have also talked about including the Davis bike map and the quality bike roads that go to Winters, Dixon and Sacramento as well as Bike Party Davis, the Bicycle Hall Fame, Davis Farmers Market, the high octane Davis Bike Club and getting some sound bites from Car Free Mayor Robb Davis. I have also asked them to get footage of the the 1927 Lincoln Hwy (America’s first coast to coast car road) bike path along I-80 and along Russell. Hopefully there will be narrative that accompanies this that explains the exciting symbolism of Davis once again being part of a road network that now connects the coasts via bicycle, our National Bicycle Greenway!
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On Sunday July 24, Hot Italian Emeryville, helped us celebrate the life of the man who laid the foundation for the renaissance the City of Oakland is currently enjoying. The magnet it has become to those seeking quality of life city living is in large part due to Ron Bishop.
A highly regarded green architect, Ron conspired with then Mayor Jean Quan, who he did his best work with over a long Oakland bike advocacy career, to establish the bicycle as an important part of the transportation mix. The city got quieter, Oaklanders breathed better air, they exercised more, their streets became more tame and all the new health oriented food concessionaires that are springing up everywhere have become the result. This last fact is so because bike riders need top grade fuel in their bodies!
With all this in mind, instead of riding to Berkeley this year, we stayed as close as we could to Oakland. Toward that end, we rode the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge bike path to Treasure Island that Ron’s friend Alex Zuckerman (RIP) pioneered.
Amy Oleynik, who is ramping up to cross the USA (her blog) on a HiWheel followed PhD safety consultant, Tom Ayres, lead as we rode across half of the San Francisco Bay, an unthinkable deed before the Loma Prieta Quake and before Ron started showing Oaklanders that bikes are not just toys for kids anymore.
The ride was about as perfect as they come. The views were spectacular. The t-shirt weather was blessed with a light breeze as we slowly ambled up the gentle grade that took us to the path’s end. Soon, word has it that by summer’s end, the 20 or so foot section we saw on the island’s edge below will be installed! When this happens Yerba Buena Island will be accessible to bike riders from Oakland and the rest of the cities Bike East Bay (the coalition that wants to help us honor Ron next year) so powerfully advocates for!!
Joe Wasik came all the way from Dublin, CA to honor Ron. Leah Galasso kept Amy company. Eric Warp came down with me from Davis. Valerie Winemiller also rode strong for Ron as did Gail Nelson Robinson and Karen Stewart.
The Hot Italian Emeryvile location made for a fitting end to our ride. A beautiful facility with a massive wall of windows that look out on the adjacent train tracks and other businesses, they even had a DJ spinning tunes for the throngs of people who came and went. We all enjoyed our delicious health food pizza selections as we also talked about how we are going to make this a bigger and better ride next year.
We’re trying to figure out, for example, how to recover access to the well over a hundred different local on-line riding maps Ron concocted. We also developed strategy for how we can resurrect Ron’s huge mailing lists. And THX to Joe Walik, it does look like this effort will have traction!
What a day! What a ride!!
Thank U everyone for coming out and out and helping us make this ride real!
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In the picture above. Sam Citron, at left, a Harvard educated attorney, is joining our National Bicycle Greenway as a Board member, while Lucas Frerichs, next to him is a results getting councillor for the City of Davis. At the far right is Phoebe Hill. Phoebe’s video work has played a large part in making the BikeParty Sacramento phenomena real.
The above picture was taken at Sudwerks at our Friday Bike Party Davis ride.
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Pedal Fest Oakland!
Apologies for the lack of chronology here as we produced this post in the order of each news item’s importance as it relates to our present moment timing. That said, PedalFest at Jack London Square in Oakland on Saturday was awesome!!
Lightning Cycle Makes Davis NBG Fest Real!
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