Hasti's Project Challenges & Progress

Last week, I downloaded a digital version of the Santa Cruz County bike map from SCCRTC's website.

I plan to use this file to highlight recommended routes to share via People Power's Facebook page.


Amelia Conlen and I discussed a route that starts downtown on Pacific Avenue and heads South ending at Seacliff Beach. I took a screen shot of the section of the bike map that I wanted to highlight but the image was too low resolution when I tried to edit it in a simple editor. I'm planning to use a more sophisticated editor tomorrow on campus in the Porter Lab. Using Adobe Illustrator, I think I can just import the entire pdf file then crop the section I would like to highlight.

Sharing images of highlighted routes through social media encourages people staring at a screen to go outside and get active. I would also like to encourage people that take the recommended route to share a picture from the destination or somewhere along the way.

I have a meeting at the People Power headquarters tomorrow to discuss promoting People Power's upcoming bike commuting workshops. We will be receiving a batch of posters to distribute around town. I will put up posters around campus and also talk to local businesses like bike shops about posting them. We plan to discuss some ideas for promoting the workshops online.

So far, I have really enjoyed participating in bike related events ranging from group rides to helmet decorating with reflective stickers. I feel as though events have been one of the most effective methods of advocacy in action. With the group rides we are encouraging individuals to bike in a group and enabling them to do so safely by taking turns to stand at intersections. With the helmet decorating workshop, we cut reflective stickers to make ourselves much more visible at night in a creative way.

Corin's Project & How to advocate for sustainable transportation

   One of the biggest problems I have faced in my project is showing people that it is relevant. Some people that are already involved with bike advocacy don't realize how much more they can do. They just think that they should keep doing what they know and that other endeavors are not worth the trouble. I understand the difficulties that they are talking about, but I think that gaining more knowledge about the cyclists on campus could be put towards making it easier for them to ride and encourage others to ride as well.
    An approach I have seen work well is to just take the time to talk to someone and get to know their perspective. A lot of advocates  try to do this, but people can become intimidated or even bothered when somebody with fliers is waiting for them outside a store and starts firing questions at them or a lot of information. This is why I don't think talking to people on street corners and stuff while they are trying to go about their business is necessarily the right way to spread the word in all cases. To relay the information you want too, they need to come to you in interest and on their own terms.
    Getting people to come to an event or a regular meeting can be difficult, but making a chain of friends to spread the word can be a great help. Friends with interests in common will tell each other about these things because they think they're cool or interesting. Obviously, this might seem like a really slow approach for something big, but the internet has really sped up the process and I think a concerted and active effort by some people with the internet as a tool could work well.
   I was recently pleased with myself for helping a friend of mine back home fix up a bike through the internet. I didn't even do that much step-by-step help with fixing things. I really just gave him some resources on researching/parts/advice on places to get service  and some knowledge. Now he has this bike that he mostly fixed up himself that he is super stoked on. He's always on the internet writing about his bike rides and asking people if they want to ride too. Hopefully, it could develop into a chain reaction, (no pun intended)

Chima's Project Update & thoughts on advocacy

I have put at least 17 hours into my internship. I would like to say that I have not really encountered any challenges in my project. The few challenges I have faced is that I was unable to meet Mr. Kennedy on February 24, because he fell ill. I was also unable to check out the book Just Transportation from the library because it is in the binary. Because of this, I have been reading Highway Robbery instead. I have not seen or experienced any successful approaches to advocacy since I was not able to meet Mr. Kennedy. Nevertheless, I still see myself as an advocate for transportation and social justice after reading about the first 50 pages of Highway Robbery. The way we as a society can be more strategic about promoting sustainable transportation is to raise awareness, and inform our local politicians of the problems that people of color, and of lower socioeconomic levels have to contend with when it comes to public transportation. In Highway Robbery the problem of funding is discussed. Most of the funding goes to mostly white affluent suburbs and less funding goes to mostly poor communities of color in the inner cities. I remember how suburban areas have clean energy compressed natural gas (CNG) busses, whereas on the other hand, inner city inhabitants have to rely on older diesel buses. In order to better promote sustainable transportation is to make sure that all neighborhoods, communities, and cities would have access to busses that run on clean fuel, not dirty diesel. We can be more strategic about promoting sustainable transportation by focusing on the fact that roads and infrastructure in our inner cities are crumbling. Urban decay obviously has an impact on sustainable transportation. The problem of urban decay must be confronted. Little money is being spent on these neighborhoods. We must brainstorm the many ways we can solve this problem. How would it look to have brand new buses running on clean fuel driving on dilapidated roads, with cracks and potholes? It would take a lot of effort to solve this problem. It would require collaboration between city planners, politicians, social justice groups, public transportation groups, etc.      

Project Challenges/Advocacy

My project thus far has been smooth going! I’ve been getting some great footage from Tawn and have started putting it together—it’s coming together nicely. Going on the ride that Tawn put together in Aptos produced some great footage as well. We took high school kids up into Nisene Marks and rode some really fun trails. It was most of the kids’ first time mountain biking which was a blast to see and I got some really fun footage all over the trails.

Putting together the video for Green Ways to School hasn’t evoked any problems and has been a lot of fun so far. The only thing I have some concern over is how far the video will reach via the internet. We’ve talked a lot in class about the audience that our advocacy actually reaches which is often those already involved in the bike community.  The video that I’m making for Green Ways to School will go up on their website, which means that the only people who will see it are those actively searching for Green Ways (meaning that they have a prior interest in the organization and thus, in bicycling). I want the video to reach kids and parents who are interested in contributing to an eco-friendly community or who want to engage in sustainable forms of transportation but might not have the resources or might not be comfortable sending their kid off to school on a bike or on foot. I would really love to find the resources to reach this audience. I’ve reached out to the public access station here in Santa Cruz but haven’t heard back (perhaps because they’re under renovation right now?). I know that Tawn has worked with them before so that’s a great connection to have, and I’ll contact them again soon or talk to Tawn about ways of getting the video on air. Of course, posting the video to blogs and internet communities (like this one!) always helps, but again, probably won’t reach the local demographic that I’m interested in reaching. I’d be interested to hear suggestions as to how to reach this audience! Included is a sneak peek photo of the Nisene Marks ride last President’s Day weekend.

Bicycle pizza cutter lets you bring your love of bikes to the table (Grist)

Original post on Grist by Jess Zimmerman here.

"Maybe you’re fed up with the lack of bike infrastructure in your city — take out your frustrations by offroading this pizza cutter right through your food. Those city bureaucrats can’t keep you from riding on any pizza you want! Alternately, maybe you’re celebrating a bike marriage proposal, or you’re carbo-loading for your next road race, or maybe you just can’t stand to not be touching a bike at all times. Whatever the reason, the Fixie has you covered."

Walk to Class Challenge & Dr. Paul Lee (February 7, 2014)

A few weeks ago on February 7, our class focused on walking. We had two guest speakers, Jessica Pearson (Provost's Sustainability Intern for Transportation and Parking Services) and Dr. Paul Lee (founder of the UCSC Chadwick Garden and Santa Cruz Homeless Garden Project and former philosophy professor in the History of Consciousness department at UCSC in the 1960s).

After going over this presentation and talking about the readings, Jessica shared about her Walk to Class Challenge that's happening on April 22. There will be stations around campus and encouragement to walk to class that day instead of taking the bus. We look forward to the challenge, and we wish Jessica the best of luck in promoting it!

We were also fortunate enough that day to have a guest presentation by Dr. Paul Lee. We invited Dr. Lee because he supported the creation of a project called the Circle Trail Project and also helped preserve the land that is now Pogonip park.

Dr. Lee talked about the history of the Chadwick Garden and what it was like to work with Alan Chadwick. He shared that Alan Chadwick was "crazy" and the "hardest person to work with" but that he was integral to the organic movement. Dr. Lee called the Chadwick Garden "the spiritual center of the University" and said that "Chadwick taught students how to work" in a way that they hadn't been expected to do before.

He also shared about the Green Belt Initiative in 1977 to save Pogonip, explaining that he wanted it to become a botanic garden and horticulture belt along with the Chadwick Garden and Farm so close by. His original idea was to have the Homeless Garden Project (HGP) within Pogonip, though the HPG is now located near Long Marine Lab. The HPG came about because there were a number of homeless people in Santa Cruz in the 1980s and the first public homeless shelter was created. Dr. Lee said that there were 100s of homeless people then, but they only had room for 50. The question became what to have people do during the day, and the answer came in the form of the HPG, which provides a small stipend for working in the garden and is a safe haven for rehabilitation. Today, there are around 4000 homeless people in the area, according to Lee, and the HPG is thriving. Learn more about it here.

Side note & fun fact: Growing up in Los Gatos, my dad always saw signs that read "Save Pogonip" when he'd drive over the hill to Santa Cruz. He never knew what it meant until he grew up and realized it was the name of a land preserve. To him, it was just a funny name with no understanding behind it. I was able to tell him the other day that I met a man who helped support the "Save Pogonip" initiative. It's so fun going to college near where my dad grew up and be able to have common understandings of places that he explored when he was young.

Finally, Dr. Lee shared about the Circle Trail Project, which was the idea of a woman who approached Lee in the 1990s. The website for the Project states that "Sylvia Knapton conceived of a trail through the Santa Cruz Greenbelt that would showcase the area’s natural beauty and ecological diversity." Dr. Lee shared his experience trying to inaugurate the project, which essentially creates a walking trail between various destination points of interest in Santa Cruz, including the HGP, Long Marine Lab, the UCSC Arboretum, and Chadwick Garden, among others.

The pamphlet from Circle Trail Day in 1997.

The inauguration celebration was not as successful as he had hoped due to extremely hot weather. Despite this, Dr. Lee has been working on the Project again with a graduate student from the UCSC Digital Arts and New Media Department. They hope to design a phone application that people can install for a virtual tour of the Circle Trail so that when they visit these locations in Santa Cruz, they can learn the natural and human history of the sites. They are currently seeking people interested in working on this project You can learn more about the Circle Trail Project here and contact them through the website.

After presenting about these histories, one of the students in our class, Maryam, asked how we can pursue projects and plan things in the face of all of the red tape and obstacles to overcome in creating meaningful projects. Dr. Lee's answer was simple: "Ignore all that and just do it. Don't think about all the obstacles because if you do, you'll ask yourself 'are you out of your mind?' Don't plan, don't ask anybody first, just do it."

His point is well taken that we must take action on projects before we lose the courage to face the obstacles. My recommendation would be to take that mentality and pursue projects, finding those with the skills and ability to plan if you lack in those areas. It's about balance. In Dr. Lee's case, Alan Chadwick had the organic gardening knowledge to help design the garden. It was Dr. Lee's enthusiasm and ready-set-go attitude that got the project going. We could probably all do well with a measured dose of Dr. Lee's advice to "just do it."

Thanks, Jessica and Dr. Lee for visiting our class! We appreciated learning from both of you about projects that help support walking in Santa Cruz, and we wish you both the best of luck in your endeavors.

My Multimodal Adventure to the Silicon Valley Transportation Choices and Healthy Communities Summit (Green Gal)

This was originally posted on Green Gal's blog here on Saturday, February 22.

By 6:15 AM today, I was biking down the hill from campus, enjoying the moments of stillness right before the sun rose. Lights twinkled in the city below, a familiar view that has been part of my experience at UC Santa Cruz for the last four years. Most of the time when I see the city's twinkling lights, though, it's at night.

Seeing it this early in the morning dispelled any lingering desire to be in my warm bed, and it prepared me for a day of engagement with transportation issues. I was on my way to the Silicon Valley Transportation Choices and Healthy Communities Summit in Palo Alto, and this 15-minute bike ride was leg one of a multi-modal journey!

After biking fast down the hill with my bright yellow jacket on, I arrived at the Santa Cruz Metro Station downtown with about 5 minutes to spare. I put my bike on the bus rack, paid my $5 for the trip over the hill, and sat down to breathe. I promptly closed my eyes and half-slept while sitting and not letting my pannier bag fall over for the next hour on my way to San Jose.

As the bus pulled into the San Jose Diridon Station, I saw Green Guy's adorable red BMW 2002 (Rojito) parked in the circle waiting. (You may remember Rojito from this story!) Vehicle number three for my multi-modal journey! We took the wheels off my bike to store it in the car and then drove to the store for breakfast ingredients and coffee. We spent some of the morning with his family, and he made everyone yummy egg cheese ham muffins modeled after the Egg McMuffin but much tastier. Then we were off to Palo Alto!

Upon arriving near University Avenue, I asked Green Guy to take some photos of me with my bike for my new column "It's Wheely Easy Being Green" on Pedal Love. I modeled in front of some flowers for a few minutes, striking different poses with my beloved bike. Helmet on, or off? These are serious fashion considerations, so we took a ton of different pictures.

I still haven't decided which one I'm using for Pedal Love, but perhaps this one?

Once I felt we must have at least one good photo, we said good bye and he drove off to his job at Tesla Motors. Evidently, we're both advocates for the coolest methods of transportation, bikes and electric sports cars--but let's be honest, bikes are way cooler. I headed into the conference, which took place at the Avenidas Senior Center in downtown Palo Alto, and found a seat.

For the sake of space, I won't go into too much detail here about the conference. I will say, though, that it was awesome to be around that many transportation advocates, and it was a perfect opportunity to meet people who are working on bike advocacy and other transportation topics in the Silicon Valley. I learned about local organizations, met some new friends, and discovered potential opportunities to pursue after I graduate in June.

To learn more about the conference, please view my photo essay here.

After the conference, I biked to the Caltrain station in Palo Alto. It was only the fourth or so time I've used Caltrain, and my first time bringing a bike onboard. I had read the information online about it, but I still gravitated toward some other folks with bikes waiting at the platform. They showed me what to do, and it was so easy!

As I sat in the bike car, I glanced around at the other bikes and noticed a really cute red one (above). I snapped a photo of the bikes, and a few stops later, a fashionably dressed woman in dark purple tights, black heels, and a red coat approached the bike. I instantly recognized her as the blogger for One Woman. Many bicycles. Of course, I couldn't remember her name or the name of her blog at the time, so I didn't approach her to say hi. I receive her blog posts in my email, and I knew she lived in the area and used Caltrain between bike rides. It was cool to see her in person, especially because now we both write for Pedal Love, and she's one of only three or so Northern California writers for the site.

When I arrived in San Jose, I waited in line for my second to last leg of my journey: the Highway 17 Express back to Santa Cruz. I fell asleep on this one again, too.

Upon arriving back in Santa Cruz, I considered biking back to campus... but given my sleepiness and the paper that I have due Monday (0/5 pages complete), I opted to save my energy and waited for the bus. Fortunately, I got a spot in the bus bike rack, and then I was headed home to my dorm.

Wow, what a day filled with transportation, connections (between people and modes of transit), and a sense of community that spans the Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley communities. I feel myself being pulled somewhat toward my future in the Silicon Valley area where I'll likely move after graduating, but I also feel rooted in Santa Cruz. This morning's sunrise and a walk around my college before the sun set tugged at my heart and sense of home. It is beautiful here, the air is fresh and full of natural sounds, and I know this place. I have lived and learned and loved life in this forest for four years.

Yet, I know that I need some adventure in other places and communities, and I want to bring what I have learned and experienced on this campus and in this community to other communities. Today's conversations taught me that there are so many people in other places that are working for sustainable and just solutions; Santa Cruz is not the only place. There are dialogues and people and struggles happening in the Silicon Valley that I want to learn about and be part of, so I look forward to the future, yet I am doing my best to remain present in this coastal, redwood filled world.

Carbon Emissions in Camille's Project

My project in creating a promotional video for Green Ways to School doesn't interact directly with the idea of reducing carbon emissions. However, the goal of the video is to encourage kids to find sustainable ways to get to and from school. The more kids who do decide to ride their bikes, walk, skateboard, scooter to school, etc., the less carbon emissions they will contribute to the atmosphere. It may seem like a miniscule improvement but getting the word out through video means that there is the potential for reaching a wide audience--not just locally but nation, even worldwide.
Of course, expecting kids in Japan to see my video and be inspired to ride their bikes to school is a stretch. To get enough people on bikes to noticeably reduce carbon emissions would mean a systemic change nation-wide and worldwide. That said, the foundation People for Bikes says on their website that "half of U.S. schoolchildren are dropped off at school in the family car. If 20% of those living within two miles of school were to bike or walk instead, it would save 4.3 million miles of driving per day. Over a year, that saved driving would prevent 356,000 tons of CO2 and 21,500 tons of other pollutants from being emitted."
But starting with kids means future generations of bike commuters or walkers who've learned from their parents. And in schools, fads travel fast. The more kids get on their bikes or walk to school, the more potential there is for the fad to spread.
Seeing kids advocating for stuff seems like one of the most persuasive ways of arguing for something that you want to happen. Getting that future generation to ask for a better, cleaner world provides a solid argument that really can't be disputed. In my project, the kids that are excited about riding their bikes become advocates of the sustainable transportation movement. Though there aren't any concrete stats for understanding the extent that this project will reduce carbon emissions, the potential reach it has in affecting the community could be exponential. Included is a graphic of the

Supporting Sustainable Transportation

Since transportation contributes to the majority of carbon emissions in California (approximately 50 percent), it is essential to evaluate the environmental impact of such a major part of everyone's lifestyles: getting from one place to another.

Nearly half of all car trips made in the United States are 3 miles or less! 

When traveling locally in the US, why is it commonly considered more convenient to drive rather than to walk or bike? 

One of our readings from this week, "Unraveling Ties to Petroleum: How policy Drives California's Demand for Oil," suggests that policies developing and maintaining the automobile infrastructure often inhibit the quality of transportation alternatives.

In one of the first few weeks of this year, our Sustainable Transportation class discussed the benefits of cycling. Some of the environmental impacts our class brought up involved reducing congestion and air pollution as well as less dependency on oil.

One of the promotional aspects of my project is identifying the scenic and safe bike routes around Santa Cruz County using the SCCRTC Bike Map. I downloaded a digital version of this map and plan to highlight routes to recommend to cyclists via the People Power Facebook page. This promotional plan is free and paperless since it will utilize digital media to share the route with a large audience across several online platforms. I hope to encourage more physical activity and promote sustainable transportation choices by suggesting enjoyable routes to local spots.

As I am doing research for my internship, I cannot really say how much my project relates to sustainability and carbon emissions. I am working on bicycling and social justice, and also empowering and educating the youths about the significance of bicycling. I do not know to what extent that I would have to rely on data and calculations, because my project does not really deal with those types of information. Either way, I understand that riding a bicycle or walking does not release any amount of greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. This makes those two forms of transportation have a carbon footprint of zero. Whether or not I am going to have to rely on data and calculations for my project, it is obviously important for us to know the amount of carbon emissions of our modes of transportation, due to the fact that the carbon footprint contributes to the demise of our planet via global climate change and global warming. Therefore, knowing the carbon emissions of our transportation choices obviously matters, because it makes people make second choices when they travel. That knowledge empowers us to make more sustainable choices by making us realizing how we are impacted our environment via transportation. When one person makes changes in their transportation choices, they influence other people, and make other people consider making changes also. According to the latest readings, most trips are very near and do not take a long time. Still many people choose to drive because it is less time consuming, and is the most convenient way to travel. Those people usually do not think that just an innocent routine drive to the neighborhood grocery store would make much of a difference, but little do they realize that when millions of people worldwide, not just nationwide, do the same thing and it all adds up at the end. When people realize the significance, they would then be empowered to make more sustainable choices.   

"George Koenig is a bicycle roll model" (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

I just read this article about George Koenig, a local 78-year-old bike rider who was on the USA Olympic road racing team for the Summer Games in Rome in 1960, and I thought you'd all enjoy it. It's by Karen Kefauver, who writes a column about bikes called "Spin City" in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Photo credit: Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel

"I've always liked bikes and I am glad that I discovered how wonderful they are. Now bicycles are cult items that you can buy for $15,000. Where I came from, the kids don't want yachts or airplanes as their toys, they want bicycles. They are young and want to go out and go hard. But I was the first guy out there beating myself up and I am glad I got to ride with many very accomplished riders in the area."

People Power of Santa Cruz County Offering Free Bike Commuting Workshops to Local Businesses and the Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 17, 2014

PRESS CONTACT - Amelia Conlen, (831) 425-0665, director@peoplepowersc.org

People Power of Santa Cruz County Offering Free Bike Commuting Workshops to Local Businesses and the Community

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, February 17, 2014 – People Power of Santa Cruz County is partnering with two interns from the UC Santa Cruz Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) program to create and host bicycle commuting workshops throughout Santa Cruz County. They seek ten local businesses that would like to provide lunchtime workshops to their employees, available between March and July of 2014. There will also be free community workshops offered monthly, starting March 17th from 6-7PM at the People Power office, 703 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz.

Making your daily commute by bicycle can be a daunting prospect – what do you wear? How do you transport kids, laptop or a change of clothes? What about when it rains? The workshops are designed to answer all those questions and more, including rules of the road, basic skills and maintenance and how to choose the best route. By offering workshops at local businesses, employees can ask questions and get feedback specific to their daily commute, such as the best nearby routes and where to safely park and lock their bike.

People Power is seeking businesses that are willing to host a workshop, with a goal of having at least 10 employees at each one. Smaller businesses are encouraged to participate and reach out to businesses nearby to invite others to fill the workshop. In the coming weeks, the team will be reaching out to local businesses, but interested employers are encouraged to contact People Power directly.

If you are an employer looking to host a bike commuting workshop at your business, please contact Amelia Conlen, Director of People Power, at (831) 425-0665 or send her an email at director [at] peoplepowersc.org 

Community workshops will take place monthly from 6-7PM on the 3rd Monday of the month, starting March 17th. Workshops will be held at the People Power office, 703 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz. To register for a workshop, visit http://www.peoplepowersc.org/ 

Funding for the workshops is provided by the UC Santa Cruz Carbon Fund, which awards grants to local projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, research methods for doing so, or educate the community through behavior change programs. For more information about the Carbon Fund, visit http://sustainability.ucsc.edu/get-involved/funding/carbon-fund/index.html

About People Power
Since its inception in 1991, People Power has been improving the quality of life in Santa Cruz County by promoting bicycling and other forms of sustainable transportation. More information about the organization’s work can be found online at http://www.peoplepowersc.org/ 

About UC Santa Cruz IDEASS Program
UC Santa Cruz Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) is a service-learning program designed to empower students as change agents to face the challenges of the 21st century. In this yearlong upper-division course, students work together in teams with professional mentors to design and implement a project related to sustainability. For more information, visit the website at http://sustainability.ucsc.edu/get-involved/jobsinternships/ideass/index.html

A Woman's Perspective on Walking and Taking Public Transportation in the USA and Iran

I am an Iranian-American woman born and raised in Northern California. After more than a decade, I finally had the chance to travel to Iran again last Summer. I have used various modes of transportation to travel throughout the United States as well as Iran. This post focuses on some of my experiences and observations walking and using public transportation in California and Tehran.

Tehran is the urban capital of Iran, home to over 12 million people, and can get very congested so public transportation is allocated differently. In an extremely conservative society where it is unacceptable for a random man to stand so close to a woman, Iran has dealt with crowded cars on the metro by segregating them. Some buses have different entrances for men and women, where men use the front door and women use the back door. This often separates men and women who are traveling together. When the buses get crowded during rush hour here in Santa Cruz, California, it is somewhat acceptable when other people get in your personal space because of the circumstances. You don't particularly like it but you deal with it.

A sign on a segregated metro in Tehran, Iran

In Iran women must wear loose fitting clothes covering all their body as well as a scarf to cover their hair. A recent YouTube video of a young woman walking around the streets of Tehran with jeans and a t-shit without her hair or arms covered went viral. This is considered controversial because there could be serious consequences. She could be arrested, taken to jail, fined, interrogated... you never know. When extreme regimes get challenged they may fight back more viciously to make examples of challengers. 

My typical outfit traveling around Iran: simple and conservative

In Tehran, it is more convenient to walk to local shops. When I would get dressed to go out in Iran, I planned to wear long flow-y clothes that hid my curves because I didn't want to attract attention when I walked down the street. In the US women can wear whatever they want when they walk through the streets. All around the world, some women feel more comfortable dressing conservatively and some women prefer to show more skin but a major part of how comfortable a woman feels walking in public is how much freedom they have to wear certain clothes. 

Cycling from different perspectives

   I think the economy is one of the links between social justice, feminism and transportation. For many people, the car is their only way to get around. This is due to the infrastructure in America. Bicycles are seen as a way to get around for people who don't have enough money to buy their own car, like homeless people or struggling students, etc. There are bicycles for recreation, but they are only used in certain places for specific purposes. These are the views of many Americans who do not use bicycles everyday.
   Some people who ride for transportation would not if they had the means for their own car. Most of the few that choose to ride are members of the recent movement for bicycle use. Bicycles can give people independence, but traditionally in America, at least for the last few decades, this role has been overwhelmingly filled by the car.
   I know that in my experiences, people my age got cars to fulfill social obligations. As their lives in high school got to be about going places and doing things with their friends more, they were expected to be able to get there and this meant driving a car. But these people very rarely own the cars they drive. Their parents are paying for all or most of the expenses.
   I bought a bike so that I could try and do things under my own power. I wanted to use a bike for all the usual benefits, but I also wanted to be independent as everyone does at that age, and I couldn't see how one could be independent with a car without that defining your existence. I didn't like the idea of working so much just to pay for it. It seemed like the right option for my place in the economy. I have watched several people get cars and regret doing so with hindsight, and it was difficult for me a lot of the time to do some things without being able to drive places, but my bike has helped me learn a lot and taught me to appreciate some things.

   I guess this is my point. People have to decide how they are going to get where they need to go and some of us don't have very many options. Women are no exception. They seem to choose the car typically, as Elly Blue states. The place of women in the economy affects them like everyone else and this means that their place in cycling is another symptom of their place in society.
   This is a problem for people in low-income neighborhoods too, because they might live in a "food desert" and they might not be able to drive all the way across town to go shopping somewhere with healthy food. It is all interconnected with the economy and people's choices and options.
   A lot of trips in America that are currently and unnecessarily done by car could be done with bikes or public transit. People  need to be given these options to be able to make different decisions than the car and this could mean a change in their place in the economy and our society.

Social Justice, Feminism and Sustainable Transportation

This week a friend told me about a guest speaker that came to her community studies class and spoke to the class about a group that she'd started in LA called Ovarian Psycos. It's a cycling group for women of color that provides a safe space for these women to form a community and to be open about their race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. The only requirement to being a part of the group is being a woman of color. Apparently the group organizes group rides that allow these women to harness their love for their bodies, their power as strong women, their power as cyclists, etc.  My friend and I spoke about the exclusions that a group like this has on women of color who might not be able to afford a bicycle, might not have time to go on a "Luna Ride" in their busy day-to-day lives, and might not have the resources to "rise" to power within their larger community through a simple bike ride with other women of color.
As a white, somewhat tomboyish young woman, I find myself in a very good position to find a niche in Santa Cruz's cycling community. I wear practical clothing, don't feel silly wearing a helmet, actually feel cool wearing biking gloves, and generally see myself as a natural figure on a bicycle. However, I am also privileged in that I was given a bicycle by my grandfather, could afford to buy a helmet, and can perform basic bike maintenance and afford the tools necessary to do so. In this way, I am a privileged member of Santa Cruz's bicycle community. I would imagine that many lower-income women do not have the time to bike to work, might not want to drop another expense on the purchasing of a helmet, don't have the space to accommodate groceries on their bicycles while running errands, and certainly cannot pick their children up from school while riding a bicycle. The public reception of bicycle riders, as Elly Blue points out in her blog post, can be negative and even hostile, with harassment toward bikers of all backgrounds: male or female, low income or high income, etc. Women of color, as Blue says, are in something like a triple bind, where harassment can become staggering. I also found notable that areas that Blue points out to adopt bicycle friendly infrastructures are the privileged, often gentrified areas that don't link with cyclists of low income communities.

Critically Examining Epicenter Cycling "Ladies Night 2014" Poster

In class on Friday, Maryam mentioned being upset by the image that Epicenter Cycling used for its posters about its Ladies Night 2014. I think she was referring to this image, which I came across through the Facebook event page.

Maryam mentioned that all the women in this image are thin, bouncing around with purses and dresses. This is not what I think of when I think of bicycling women. I think of women of all shapes and sizes with panniers or practical bags and helmets. Heels and skirts are great, but not all women who bike wear them. Certainly this image of women who bike does reflect some women who bike... but by making all of the women in the image fit this reflection, are others excluded?

I think it's awesome that Epicenter Cycling's having this free ladies night event, but perhaps this caters to a particular type of woman bicyclist that is not reflective of the entire women's bike culture/community in Santa Cruz. How does that inhibit women from participating in bicycling as a means of transportation? Does this poster reflect a particular socioeconomic status that might exclude people in our community? Is it realistic that women who bike all be expected to have Barbie-sized waists? If a woman does not fit this description/image, would she feel less likely to attend the event?

Post your thoughts in the comments!

It's not enough to ride your bike

I just read this incredible article by Derrick Jensen called "Forget Shorter Showers," and I feel that it's particularly relevant to our class and our emphasis on active solutions that engage the community, not just our own individual selves. Certainly we've discussed multiple times the political power that you wield when you ride a bike or choose the bus or walk when others might drive because of what you're representing and demonstrating to others... but that alone is not enough to solve the enormous environmental problems we face. There has to be more.

Read this article, and please let me know what you think. If there's enough interest, we can talk about this on Friday. It's hard to accept what he's saying, but he's right. It's not enough to just ride your bike or encourage others to be more sustainable and ride their bikes. Further action to challenge the system head on is required. Let that fuel your project's momentum forward and seek ways to charge your project with this spirit of engaging and battling the system, not just advocating for carbon emissions reductions per mile.

"More than 1,000 London Cyclists Stage Die-In to Call for Greater Road Safety" (Inhabitat)

Santa Cruz entrepreneurs plot disruption with DNA and bicycles (Santa Cruz Tech Beat)

Check out this article in Santa Cruz Tech Beat about the Santa Cruz New Tech Meetup--and e-bikes! Next month, my IDEASS bike transit internship project may be presenting along with a number of other projects from the internship class. You should all come check it out!

"'I look for transitions in markets', said Neal Saiki, the founder of NTS Works as he explained why he’s designing and building high tech, electric bicycles. The market for traditional human powered bicycles is stagnant, but e-bike sales are rocketing. He plans to match his patented e-bike technology with existing bicycle industry distribution channels to ride that transition to success. His new products include a solar cargo bicycle that he says can run at 10 miles per hour on level ground powered just by sunlight. Any faster or steeper, and you have to pedal. 

"Saiki was speaking at the Santa Cruz New Tech Meetup last night, one of several entrepreneurs who pitched new companies and technologies to an audience of more than 250 people. The gathering, at CruzioWorks, marked the sixth anniversary of the New Tech Meetup and celebrated the people and organisations who have transformed Santa Cruz into a high tech hotspot."

Read the full article here.

Planning Department Takes a Serious Look at Highway 280 Teardown (SF Streets Blog)

Remember when we spoke about the economic and societal benefits of removing freeways? Here's a present-day example of a freeway that should probably be removed. Take a look, and be sure to peruse the comments to hear what others are saying!

"The idea of tearing down a section of highway 280, north of 16th Street, is taking a firm step forward with the launch of a new study by the Planning Department. Although the department has already released a study of the option in December 2012, the new initiative would take a deeper, more comprehensive look at the ”spiderweb” of interconnected transportation infrastructure plans in the area, said the Planning Department’s Susan Gygi." 

Photo: Michael Patrick/Flickr

Read the full story by Aaron Bialick here on SF.StreetsBlog.org.

Hasti's Project Update

I am developing both digital and physical methods of portraying information about bicycle safety and etiquette. I've been working on designs in Adobe Illustrator with practical bicycling tips.

The resources will include information about:

• ABC bike checklist
• Turning signals
• How to put a bike on a bus
• Accident statistics (some examples: in 2008, 2 killed, 18 severe injuries, 112 sustained visible injuries, 57 complained of pain; 79% of the crashes involved a car; of these: 43% cyclist was found at fault 37% driver was found at fault)
• Safety gear
• Bike Routes 
• Night riding 

In addition to the promotional campaign, I am also working on community outreach for People Power. We are planning to reach out to local groups to build a bicycle network. This will involve contacting community members and attending events.

I am meeting with Amelia Conlen, The Director of People Power, this Friday afternoon to discuss several upcoming local bike-related events that would be prime communities to reach out to about the workshops and events People Power offers.

Chima's Project Update

I have started my project by proposing that I would do research on the issue of bicycling and social justice, by analyzing and reading about issues of urban biking. This week was a rough week for me. I just took my Conservation Biology midterm a few hours ago, and it did not go well for me. I am going through a very rough time right now, which is due to a variety of factors.What I want to do is focus on cities in the Bay Area and the Central Coast and learn and analyze how bicycling relates to everybody based on socioeconomic and racial/ethnic factors. Before I started my research, I thought that one of the main reasons that inner cities are not suitable for bicycling is due to unsafe environments, urban decay, and lack of funding to fix broken infrastructure, roads, and sidewalks. This is obviously prior to any formal research, so I hope that in the next couple of days I would be able to dig deeper in in this subject to be able to understand more. I also think about the young individuals that live in inner-cities that are deprived from the opportunity of being able to enjoy bike rides in their respective neighborhoods due to the fact that they live in unsafe neighborhoods plagued with violence, crime, drugs, prostitution, etc, which there suburban and/or rural counterparts do not have to experience. I also plan on meeting with Tawn Kennedy in order to be able to meet him and learn more about the importance of youth empowerment and what it means. The first thing I must accomplish is to complete my independent research first, prior to meeting with Tawn Kennedy to discuss bicycles, social justice, and youth empowerment. I hope to get a lot done this quarter because I have to complete 20 hours of internship work. Next week, I plan on probably uploading a Youtube video which shows what I am doing regarding bicycling and social justice.

Project Update

   My project has yet to take its complete form, but I hope to really get it into full swing in the coming week. I plan on doing some volunteering with Tawn at some events that he talked about when he came to class. But I also plan on compiling a sort of record of information that I gather from people I talk to at the Bike Coop. I have some questions prepared, but I'm not trying to make it a formal survey. I have had a few opportunities to begin doing this, but will proceed more with it this week and will include some pictures as a part of the process.

   

Maryam's Project/Update

So far, my project is undeveloped to say the least. After a busy week I am off to a late start, but I know I would like to concentrate my efforts in outreach. I have done a bit of brainstorming about ways to connect with students without flyers or paper waste. Some rough ideas:

- Announcements! On buses, in dining halls, in class, in passing, downtown, etc. This is something I have already experimented with. I have made several announcements in the Porter dining hall and in my classes encouraging people to attend the city council meeting which addressed the bicycle youth distribution program. This arena of advertising is so open! There are countless ways to present material to people in a way that will stand out and get people excited, be it what you say, how you say it, what you wear, what have you. It has been fun carefully selecting the words for announcements - not to mention an easy thrill! I would like to work with Amelia to develop an effective way to make announcements that represents People Power appropriately.

- Sidewalk Chalk! At bus stops and all over campus. Like announcements, this option has a lot of creative leeway. I think of it as a wonderful way to reach students via lyrical and artistic expression. I'll be hitting all of spots that student wait around and look for something to read without using flyers.

- Parades and Megaphones! I think this outreach method would make a significant impact with a minimal amount of effort and coordination. A combination of costumes, friends, and a megaphone parading around campus for fifteen minutes during the busy hours would really catch people's attention. We have also discussed starting a "Slug Bike Party" on campus to get students to connect over their bicycles and spread word about the bike parties downtown.

I am scheduled to meet with Amelia Conlen from People Power tomorrow with Hasti. Hopefully we can get some concrete project set in motion. Ideally, I could incorporate some outreach for the Bike Church as well.

2 Bike Opportunities: Share Ridership Data & Tell Your Bike Love Story

I just want to briefly share two bike-related opportunities that you all can partake in. I'll mention these in class tomorrow, too:

Share Cycling Data with CycleTracks App to Improve Routes

Excerpted from the original post on the Sustainability Office blog:
The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments is working to develop a planning tool that will help make the Monterey Bay Area, including Santa Cruz, an even better place to bike. This tool will assist local governments in identifying the best places to plan for new bicycle routes throughout the tri-county region.

The Association will be collecting data from the region’s bicyclists using the CycleTracks mapping applications. To help contribute, you can either log your bike trips on the CycleTracks Monterey website or download the smartphone application and map your routes while you ride. You can also help by getting your friends, family, and colleagues to log their trips. The information collected will be sent to our secure server to be used in helping us better understand what factors influence the routes that area cyclists bike along. No personal information will be released.

For more information visit cycletracksmonterey.org or find them on Facebook.


Share your "Bike Love" story on PedalLove.org
I recently wrote a blog post for Pedal Love, an initiative of the California Bicycle Coalition, and you are all invited to write and submit one, too! Read more about how I got involved here, or you can just read the post I wrote here. To submit your own story, contact Editor and Director Melissa Balmer at melissa [at] pedallove.org