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Youth Who Bike: Dani

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Biking Monterey County

by Dani Heimer

I love riding my bike, and it’s something I have been doing for around 12 years. I have so many memories of riding to Lovers Point with my dad on the weekend and going to the Fisherman’s Wharf to try every single clam chowder sample.

As I got older and started to ride by myself, I realized how we could improve our county and make it easier for bike riders to get around. Even though we have the bike path that goes from Pacific Grove to Castroville, there are many places around Monterey County that aren’t easily accessible by way of bike. Especially the highways, such as Highway 218 and Highway 68, are not that bike friendly—even though, since they aren’t freeways, you can legally bike on them.

It is sometimes intimidating riding where there aren’t bike paths, even in town, and it would be so much easier if there were more bike paths around Monterey County. I think that by improving our infrastructure—including more bike racks too—it would encourage more people to ride bikes. I frequently see cars drifting into bike lanes (class 2), and it would be much safer if we added more bike paths (class 1) and protected bike lanes (class 4), especially class 4 lanes with a physical barrier.

What does Dani mean by those classes of bikeways? Click here for photos and definitions.

Below: Dani by some of the 110 new bicycle parking racks being installed in 2018 on West Broadway, in the Monterey Peninsula city of Seaside.

Riding bikes is not only fun, but a great way to reduce our carbon footprint and an exciting way to exercise. It’s nice to get out in nature and take a break from our chaotic world; it can truly affect our mindset and way of thinking in a positive way.

I know it’s not possible for everyone, but I encourage those who can to get on a bike and try it out as a mode of transportation in place of a car. If more people rode a bike even once a week instead of driving a car, it would make a huge difference in their personal lives and for the environment.

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to children, teens, and young adults.

Bike-and-ride options including Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) can be helpful, for example, at times when you didn’t bring bike lights because you hadn’t planned on night riding—you were just having too much fun, and the day got away from you! Unless it seems best to have a family member or friend to pick you up, check the MST schedule to see if you and your bike can catch a ride on the bus: http://mst.org/maps-schedules/overview/. (BTW, bicycles ride free with a paying passenger.)

A sampling of some

Bicycling Monterey website

For additional relevant info, check the Children, Teens, and Schools section of this website.

This post was published on 18 February 2018. One or more changes last made to this post on 15 March 2019.

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