Bike Buzz: August 2017 News from Bicycling Monterey

Twenty-six items of bike buzz—a summary of what’s new on the Bicycling Monterey website since the last “Bike Buzz” was published 4/27/17. This will be the only issue of “Bike Buzz” this summer.

• To keep up-to-date date between issues, use the “Archives” widget in the sidebar for news by month. Also check the master calendar for alerts that may appear there, such as restricted dates for bicycling Pebble Beach, upcoming Safe Routes to School workshops, and deadlines for giving input on infrastructure issues.
• Scroll the sidebar for a variety of popular posts. At the bottom of the sidebar, a menu highlights some upcoming events.

Since founded May 2009, the Bicycling Monterey site and projects are a 100% volunteer gig for the founder. You’re encouraged to support the Bicycling Monterey work with a contribution in any amount. Optionally, you may also set up an automatic monthly contribution. See ways to contribute and FAQs.

1. New post: “Protected Bike Lanes / Class 4 Separated Bikeways / Cycle Tracks.” Included is a link to California Bicycle Coalition’s webinar on this topic. (Just fyi, such infrastructure is known by different terms around the United States. In California, the legal term adopted with the Protected Bikeways Act [Assembly Bill 1193] is “Separated Bikeways.”)
2. New post. “Remembering Charles Lewis,” who—on a street without any sort of bike lanes in Monterey County’s largest city— was choosing to bike on a sidewalk when he collided with a vehicle at a gas station driveway. 
3. Updated post. “Biking between Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula:Monterey-Salinas Hwy 68” includes opportunities to give input about proposed solutions to improve safety and traffic congestion on California State Route 68. 
4. Updated post. “Aug 11-20: Trucks, buses, and other big vehicles sharing the road with bicycles – Tips for commercial drivers and people who bike” provides safety tips for Monterey County’s Concours d’Elegance and other “Car Week” events (August 11-20). These tips, in Spanish and English, are also useful anytime.
5. New post.  “Public Outreach” was published in conjunction with updating of the page “PROJECTS – Summary of Bicycling Monterey Projects, 2009-2017,” which features 12 projects.
6. New post. Seaside: West Broadway Urban Village and other transportation infrastructure improvements – Plus Seaside places that reward people who show “bikes mean business!”
7. New post. “Fleet & Family Support: Family Fun Day” provided an opportunity for La Mesa Village residents and other families to get bicycling safety and road skills intel, route tips, and more from Bicycling Monterey’s founder, Mari, and from bike booth co-organizer Geoff Arnold, a Monterey County bike community leader who is a League of American Bicyclists certified instructor / LCI.
8. New post. “July 2017 to Fall 2018: Brief delays on rec trail at Hoffman Ave, Monterey” tells what to expect during this lengthy construction period.
9. New post. “Monthly Meetings: TAMC Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee — Public welcome” points out that—even though 2017 Bike Month stickers helped highlight more of big, diverse Monterey County—there is still no Bike-Ped Committee representative or alternate for Supervisorial District 3; no voice at the table for the cities of Gonzales, Greenfield, Sand City, or Soledad; an alternate only for cities of Marina and Monterey; no representative for Pebble Beach; and numerous other vacancies on the committee. Refer to the post for details, and how you can get involved.
10. New post. “Where to report a bikeway maintenance need in Monterey County, plus maintenance needs for California State Highways” as well as the updated section 8. REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE for Bikes and Bikeways, Including DIY of the Tips for Bicycling Monterey County 20-section guide include photos showing examples of some types of conditions you are urged to report.
11. New post. “Stay in Your Lane.” Besides Bicycling Monterey’s own videos, Bicycling Monterey occasionally spotlights a video created by others. Check out a new favorite, and how one of its creators served as inspiration for a Bicycling Monterey project launched in 2012.
12. Updated post. “Audio: Bikes are taking to the streets–and it’s not where you might expect” AKA http://bit.ly/NovelsToStreets has been updated with an alert about an October 15, 2017 event.
13. Updated post. On June 29, 2017 at the Monterey County Probation Department Youth Center, education and treatment providers who received certificates of appreciation at the 14th Annual Appreciation Day included volunteers who provide bicycling education.
14. Updated post. Skirt guards aren’t a common accessory in Monterey County—yet. But a county native, travel blogger Passport Voyager, saw many on her recent trip to Copenhagen. See Bicycling Monterey’s “Bike Fashionistas” post for an example, plus DIY tips on skirt guards.
15. Updated post. As reminded in updated posts “Camping in Monterey County” and “Independence Day Weekend in Monterey County: Fireworks, Memorial Bike Ride, Bike Valet Parking, and More,“ help prevent fires such as the Soberanes Fire in 2016.
    

    View from Garrapata Ridge along the Big Sur Coast

16. Updated post. HER Helmet Thursdays spot “Happy Girl Inspiring a New Generation of Putting Food By.”
17. Updated post. “Bike to Bach, as Carey Beebe does – Carmel Bach Festival” celebrates Australian visitor Carey Beebe’s 19th year of biking to venues of the Carmel Bach Fest, a HER Helmet Thursdays participant. Photo provided courtesy of Carey Beebe.
18. Updated post. Roundabouts points out that Carey found drivers not yet savvy about roundabout rules. Links to more info about navigating roundabouts are included—among them, a video shot July 28, 2017, when volunteer Geoff Arnold—a local Bike League LCI—along with Transportation Agency for Monterey County staff member Ariana Green and others helped kids at YMCA summer camp learn about navigating roundabouts. 
19. Updated post. Christian Amezcua, 23, was shot while riding a bicycle on July 8, 2017 and died at the scene. He is remembered in this Bicycling Monterey post in memory of people murdered in Monterey County while bicycling. The post includes ways to help create safer, healthier communities.
    Photo provided courtesy of Michael Deighton.
20. Updated post. Adult barricade volunteers are again needed this fall for the youth-led initiative Ciclovía Salinas, still just an annual event and still Monterey County’s only Open Streets. 
21. Updated post. A fourth annual memorial ride honored the life of Adrian “Kilu” Garcia and his family, friends, and the bicycle community in Salinas. It also served to remind how important it is for drivers of motor vehicles to respect that people are biking all hours of the day.
22. Updated post. “ICE Advisory for People Who Bike” was updated to alert that among the Central Coast’s 54 arrestees in June, 16 of them had prior convictions for driving under the influence [reminder: biking under the influence is likewise illegal] and 1 had previously been convicted of another traffic offense .
    
23. Updated posts also included July 15, 2017 “Kiddie Capers and Colmo del Rodeo (Night Parade)”  and…
24. Updated post July 8, 2017 “Race Night on the Row and other Cannery Row tips.”
25. Updated post. “Sept 15-17 is the 60th Monterey Jazz Festival,” and as usual, bike valet parking will be provided.
26. New post. “Oct 15: Ciclovía Salinas — Open Streets in Monterey County.” Note the change of hours; the October 15, 2017 event will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (This is a change from 2013-2016 hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)

Thank you to a Monterey County bike community leader, League of American Bicyclists certified instructor / LCI Geoff Arnold, for surprising Bicycling Monterey with the gift of creating a new poster / tabletop sign, as shown below.  Very thoughtful, Geoff, thanks!