Bike Smart: Education for young, powerful pedalers (IDEASS BTPT 2013-14)

"Education is a continual process, it's like a bicycle... If you don't pedal you don't go forward." - George Weah 

PEDAL POWER! This phrase stuck with me all day last Wednesday after Melissa and I volunteered with Ecology Action in doing Bike Smart rodeos at SC Westlake Elementary School with their 5th grade class. Elise Ehrheart, Bike Smart program coordinator of Ecology Action, was the voice behind the catchy phrase and the facilitator of these rodeos. These rodeos aimed to get students familiar with the structure of riding their bikes on city streets as well as mastering basic traffic laws. Melissa and I decided to volunteer at one of these rodeos to 1) get an idea on how many kids are interested in biking 2) to have a fun morning with kids! 

To start the morning off, Elise started outlining a bike course that mirrored the intersection of High St and Moore St since that's where the school is located. This course included multiple colored cones and chalk to highlight the different actions the students should be doing when they made their way to the middle of the intersection. I was amazed at the fantastic representation of the general situations the students might experience; such as, a fake rail road track, a bike lane merging with the street, how to merge to the left lane from the bike lane, and learning how to communicate their actions with the other cyclists and cars on the road. All these skills were formatted to educate these students in their participation in their school's Bike to School day that next week. 

The day really began when we all heard loud footsteps and saw a bunch of kids running out to our bike course. Many kids had bikes of their own, but for those who didn't we gave them bikes and helmets that Elise provided. We split the kids up in different groups and started them at the four different sides of the intersection. Each side had a different focus as listed above, and when they all reached the middle they had to communicate with each other to know who went first through the intersection and who did not. 

It was such a delight to be able to see so many kids be interested in biking and learning basic laws and skills. Some kids came up to us after the rodeo expressing that they had never really rode a bike before, but after completing this rodeo they felt a lot more secure and confident being on a bike. That's something you just can't wait to hear! This is particularly true since Melissa and I are about to co-facilitate bike commuting workshops to local businesses with Amelia Conlen, director of People Power. Although, these rodeos were designed for children, there are still a lot of essential knowledge that we will also be presenting to people at these workshops especially if they too feel insecure about biking. Overall, what a joy to be an educator for a day instead of being taught! Pedal Power! 

Camille: The Importance of Community

My neighborhood and community were extremely important in fostering a positive environment for my development during the entire time that I lived in Eureka, CA. Although I lived in the middle of Eureka, I lived down a winding road in a hidden street away from traffic. From a young age, my parents felt comfortable enough with our relationships with the neighbors that I was free to explore the neighborhood as I pleased, allowing me to form relationships with the people that lived around me, as well as the environment that I traversed every day. I felt comfortable going almost anywhere in a quarter-mile radius by the time I was about 7 years old. Because of this, I was able to form strong bond with my community that stepped beyond the relationships that I had in school or sports; many of these relationships lasted and my neighbors became people I could count on to help me through life, some cleaning me up after a skateboard crashes in front of their houses, some giving advice about life, and so on. Living on the east side of Santa Cruz near the San Lorenzo River, I've experienced an interesting relationship with my community that is directly affected by the way the road is designed. Last year I lived on Pearl street, a little one-way street with little traffic other than the ins-and-outs of the street's residents. Some of our neighbors have had movie screenings on the street, and during the summer our neighbors successfully closed off a section of the street with orange cones (guerrilla style) and we had a block party. Pearl street fostered a tight community of neighbors who really seem to understand and care about one another. This year I live two blocs over, on Bixby street. Being a two-way street, the community is much more disjointed and I can't say I have any relationship with any of the neighbors (besides the next-door neighbors, whose son is insufferably friendly). Two nights ago there was a car-chase down Bixby; there's been several alleged stabbings on the street; all in all it gets a bad rap. It's so clear, looking at this example of streets that are two blocks away from each other how much bearing the design of a road has on the tightness of a community. I can't imagine having grown up on Bixby and having the comfort that I have now in traversing the streets or in forming ties with my community that began in my tight neighborhood in Eureka.

Pearl Street

Bixby Street

Different Communities in Southern California-Corin

   I lived in two pretty different communities in Southern California while growing up that are near each other. To me, a community is a group of people that have something in common that brings them together to interact with one another and communicate. These two communities had their similarities and differences that affected me while I was growing up there. One was more suburban, but definitely not big city-like while the other was almost in a rural setting.

   The first place I lived in was the more suburban one. There were not many families living around us with kids our age and nobody rode their bikes or scooters anywhere to get around except maybe the park down the street. The riding of the skateboard or the bike or whatever was the an activity or an event in it by itself. The only place one got to interact with kids your own age was at school or church in an organized setting. Hanging out besides that took organization because parents had to drive friends across town. The streets were wide and without bike lanes and filled with cars moving at pretty high speeds usually. 

   The second place I lived was much different from a child's perspective on getting around. Smaller roads and indeed a much smaller town meant walking and sometimes some other forms of transport were much more feasible. Both communities however, had a lot of community events where people would get together because of something in common. Where I lived at first had more gatherings based on specific activities like sports or music or whatever. The second, smaller community had more things based on living in the same geographical location. Neighbors actually knew each other and people didn't just interact based on specific things. People knew each other from multiple places across a more connected web of community members. Communities like these and ones in between them have  existed in California for a long time.

   On one hand, the first community I lived in has changed significantly in the last few years. It now offers more bike lanes and has finally recognized that it needs to repave it's roads. The second community remains pretty much the same, but has expanded to a degree. It is not as bike able as there are many hills and not any more room for bike lanes (people could try, but the lanes would not get used enough to be worth it). One needs a car to get there and so people just use them to get around too. These communities are structured very differently, physically. My project really only applies to the first, more suburban place where it is more relevant because people ride for (a little) different reasons. There are so many more people and they have other options to get around besides just the car. A project about rail or other options is really the only thing you could apply to try and minimize the use of the cars by the second community as the first is on it's (albeit slow) way to cutting back on it's car-dependency.

   I guess the types of bike riding that one could do in these communities reflects these traits. Living in the suburban area, cycling could be more involve commuting, and sport cyclists would ride away from where they live and go somewhere more rural. The rural areas are where more people would go to ride for sport and very few would ever really ride to commute.

A road bike shoe specifically designed to be used with a special pedal for efficiency next to a sneaker as just kind of an example of the difference between sport and transport cycling in different communities.

Upon transferring to UC Santa Cruz in Fall 2012, I witnessed a very vibrant community. Everybody in this city or on this campus I have come into contact with is very friendly. My interactions with neighbors is mostly positive. The streets here are mostly safe.

I can tie all of these thoughts into my project by examining every neighborhood that I have lived in and relate that to social justice and transportation. I can do this by gathering data regarding the statistics about who lives in those respective communities and how they go from point A to point B.  

What does the word “community” mean to me? Community means unity. You cannot literally or figuratively spell the word “community” without spelling unity. Communities are very important. They represent one of the basic social structures A community means to me a group of people that live in close proximity with each other. Communities represent  They have to live in the same vicinity, share many similarities, and may be of similar racial, ethnic, social, or socioeconomic backgrounds. The word “community” is sometimes used interchangeably with the word “neighborhood.” How did my neighborhood growing up foster or not foster community? That question is very hard for me to answer, because as I am working on this assignment, I am one month shy of my 23rd birthday. I was born on April 14, 1991.

Throughout my lifetime, I have lived in different neighborhoods. I have lived in Oakland, Ca; Antioch, Ca; Tracy, Ca; and Santa Cruz, Ca. As I start out with Oakland, Ca, I would say that my neighborhood did not really foster community. I understand that it was a poor inner-city neighborhood. Across the street from where I lived there were drug dealers who were frequently arrested for their illegal activities. As a young boy, I was told by my parents not to interact with them. I could only interact with the other neighbors who did not partake in illegal activities. The streets of East Oakland where I lived were obviously not safe, just like any inner-city in the United States.

When I moved to Antioch, Ca, an East Bay suburb on Sunday, March 9, 2003, I experienced a safer, more affluent, neighborhood. My neighborhood had already fostered community, but our family had just moved in, so we did not really feel like we belonged, which is normal. I had normal interactions with my neighbors. After a few years, from the mid to late 2000’s, I experienced a change. The neighborhood experienced a socioeconomic change. The socioeconomics of the neighborhood had decreased. I would not have said it was a bad neighborhood like Oakland, it was just changing. The streets were still mostly safe.

I then moved with my family to Tracy, Ca, a city in the San Joaquin County, on June 26, 2009, it was very similar to Antioch, it was in a suburban area, with a few areas that looked more urban and rural. The neighborhoods are very safe. My relationship with my neighbors are normal, I do not really interact with them. My family and I have a special relationship to our neighbors to the right because we both have many similarities. They are from the same ethnic group and region in Nigeria as us. We are both Igbo, descended from Southeastern Nigeria,  and we are both Nigerian Americans. Additionally, their children attend UC Riverside, while I attend UC Santa Cruz.          

Cultural Values in My Community

My parents raised me to be proud of my roots and I feel a strong connection to the Persian community. I'm a second generation immigrant, born and raised in Northern California. My parents both grew up in Iran and met in the US. Although most of my family is back in Iran, I'm fortunate to still have many family members here in the Bay Area. I'm very close with my family and we enjoy spending time together. Believe it or not, a major part of the Persian culture is partying! Persians love hosting gatherings and catering to the people they love with delicious food, chai, sweets, and music. 

Persians celebrate their New Year on the Equinox of Spring, because it marks the beginning of Spring, which is the rejuvenation of nature. Norouz is two weeks of celebration and is a very special holiday for Persians because symbolism of our cultural values are interweaved into the celebrations. The first of the events is Chahar Shanbe Soori, which is the last Wednesday of the year where it's tradition to jump over bonfires, symbolizing burning of any negativity from the previous year and starting the new year fresh. 

Norouz is all about starting fresh: it's the time to mend any broken relationships, buy new clothes, and do deep Spring cleaning around the house. Norouz is more important to me than any other holiday because it hasn't been commercialized to be about buying things and has been traditionally celebrated since ancient times. It unites the entire Persian community to celebrate something that carries significant meaning to all of us. The last day is known as Sizdah Be-dar, where you are supposed to be outside all day. My family usually attends a huge gathering at a park where we picnic and dance and enjoy the fresh Spring air.

I feel so fortunate to be a part of culture with such a meaningful tradition of celebrating the new year through symbolic festivities that connect the entire Persian community.

Jeff Speck on happiness and social justice, in addition to walkability

Jeff Speck has published an article called Ballet of the Sidewalk on MetropolisMag.com looking at what he didn't include in The Walkable City, happiness and social justice. It's a great, quick read that you will all enjoy. Here are two bits that I wanted to highlight:

"All the pleasures that were once provided publicly by the community are now provided privately by the middle-class house. The theater has been replaced by the giant-screen TV, the pool hall has made its way into the rec room, and the playground has become the backyard jungle gym.  

This is wrong. The privatization of the public realm means the end of community life, and we don’t need a new, better pope to tell us what that does to our spirit. [...] 

"Until now, quality of life was my ultimate measure. Now things don’t seem so simple. Somewhere, at the intersection of the quality-of-life city, the sustainable city, the equitable city, and the happy city, lies the good city. I don’t doubt that it is also the walkable city, but walkability alone does not get us there."

Social Justice & Feminism on Valentine's Day (Week 6)

On February 14, our class focused on issues of social justice and feminism. Our readings focused mostly on issues of women's access and inclination toward biking and walking since we have talked a lot about social justice and accessibility for minorities throughout the quarter. The conversations and activities we did in class were inspiring and informative, and everyone brought something unique to the conversation. In my opinion, this was one of the best days of our class so far. Thank you everyone for participating!

Alex brought bagels, as usual, as well as some delicious pomegranate jelly, the perfect color spread for Valentine's Day! We also serve coffee in class every Friday morning.

We began class, as usual, with a gratitude circle and a check-in. This week's question was "How will you show love and compassion to people in your life today in celebration of Valentine’s Day?" So many people shared that they were seeing family that weekend for the three-day weekend and that they would do something for them to show their love and appreciation. The purpose of asking this question was to remind people that Valentine's Day is about love in all forms, not just between significant others. Often people criticize Valentine's Day for being consumeristic and directed toward couples, but why not expand the definition of it to include showing love to everyone in our lives? It was nice to begin class with this acknowledgement of loving relationships each of us have in our lives--from family, to dogs, to siblings, to partners.

Then we had announcements. One of our optional readings for class that day was a chapter from Rebecca Solnit's Wanderlust about the historic treatment of women while walking in public spaces, and this topic coincided nicely with the date--Valentine's Day--because it is also the day that One Billion Rising raises awareness about sexual assault against women. If you don't know about the cause, the most important thing point is that 1 in 3 women will be beaten, sexually assaulted, or rape in their lifetime. That's one billion women worldwide, and the movement seeks to raise awareness about this and end violence against women. Our presentation slides from class feature this event and also delve into the issues brought up in our readings for the day. Click here to view it, and feel free to ask questions in the comments section for more information.

In addition to the presentation, we spoke in small groups about feminism and social justice as it relates to the other themes in our class. Some students brought up the possible set-backs that exist when women get together for "ladies night" bike events that are only designed for women (such as this one). Does this segregation serve to empower women by creating a safe and welcoming space, and/or does it also reinforce stereotypes or separations of women? Students shared various perspectives, including the suggestion that creating separate spaces for women or other groups to participate with bicycling justifies not working to make all bicycling spaces safe for these parts of the population.

For example,  Maryam and Camille gave the example of Women/Trans-friendly hours at the Bike Church Tool Cooperative downtown. By designing particular hours when women and trans-identifying people are invited to come, is there an inherent suggestion that they are not welcome at other times?

Others, including myself, suggested instead that these particular safe-space hours are designed for those who are intimidated by the idea of going to regular hours hosted by the Bike Church. Certainly, I would hope / I'm fairly certain that the Bike Church works to be inclusive and welcoming to all people who visit all the time. However, even if they are the friendliest place in the world, some--actually many--people's perceptions of bike shops or bike culture in general is that it's dominated by men or dominated by knowledgeable, know-it-all bike mechanics. By creating guaranteed, advertised safe spaces where everyone is a woman or a trans person, more people may be willing to step inside the Bike Church's doors to learn how to fix their bikes. From there, they may realize that all hours of the Bike Church are safe, but it's that initial entrance to the world of the Bike Church that may require some additional, specific marketing.

But what do you all think? I can see both sides and believe there isn't a final answer--it's about making sure all spaces are inclusive and identifying strategies to do so in genuine ways that brings everyone into the bike world so that eventually, the whole world and community is the bike world.

Some other topics students brought up included that the history of women feeling/being targeted on public streets as similar to the experiences of black men and other people of color. Chima brought up Trayvon Martin and the way that our society and law unjustly addresses hate crimes and other attacks on people based on appearance and race. He said he could identify with the sentiment that I and other women in the class expressed about feeling vulnerable walking in public places at night.

Maryam brought up the issue of gay people being targeted in public places, as well, and the conversation then moved toward how we never hear about hate crimes or murders of trans people, something I learned about as a residential adviser in Stevenson College. Since it's a topic many people don't know about, here is the website for International Transgender Day of Remembrance, which lists those trans people who were murdered worldwide simply for being transgender. It's horrible and overwhelming, and unfortunately, it's not in the public mind. Please share that link with friends to raise awareness, and then inform yourself on what it means to be transgender and how we can end discrimination against people simply because of who they are. If you're looking for more resources on this, feel free to email me or visit the UCSC Cantu Queer Center website.

Certainly the topic of this day's class was not light, and it was incredibly powerful to hear everyone's thoughts. It was clear from what students shared that they were seeing these topics in a new light and having realizations about the way others experience public spaces differently or similarly to how they do.

After this discussion, we returned to the topic of encouraging women to bike more by taking a class photo with the CycloFemme pledge, which reads "I, _____, swear to invest my energy, strength, and passion to inspire one more woman to ride a bike. I believe in the power of the pedal for positive social change, for building a healthier, happier, smarter world. I pledge to be an ambassador of the bicycle, to honor the past, celebrate the present, empower the future of women in cycling. I promise to start the revolution, to live the change I want to see, to rally another to ride with me." One of our assigned readings for the day was about this organization, whose website reads,

"CycloFemme is a socially-driven grass-roots celebration of women on bikes.... Our annual Mother’s Day ride unites riders, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or bicycle preference to share in the joy of cycling. Year round, our global community inspires and empowers other women, by making their passion public and the joy in cycling contagious. In our first year, 163 rides were registered in 14 countries with many others joining in to celebrate in their own special way. In our second, we grew to 229 rides in 31 countries. Ride with us as we Honor the Past, Celebrate the Present, Empower the Future of Women in Cycling."

Pedrum had to leave class right before we took the photo, so Alex snapped a photo of him with his pledge before he left.

Following our pledges, we did a transportation-themed adaptation of the "Privilege Line" activity (click here to read the full activity). We had everyone stand along the line of an extension cord in the middle of the room. I read a number of statements regarding transportation privilege and students stepped forward or backward depending upon if it applied to them or not. For example, "Step forward if you have had access to a car your entire life, even if you chose not to use it." Another example was "Step backward if you feel vulnerable walking down the street at night alone."

The activity was extremely interesting and allowed for some really great dialogue at the end. Alex, who was at the farthest forward place alongside Corin, asked how it was for others in the group. "I was facing forward the whole time and I couldn't really see what was happening behind me," he said, which reflects exactly what happens when people have privilege but are not paying attention to others around them who do not have those same privileges. In this way, the activity is very experiential and allows for connections to be made based on how it feels to participate and compare where you end up versus others.

When we finished the privilege line activity, here was everyone's positions. What do you notice?

I want to say thank you again to everyone who participated in class on Valentine's Day and for being engaged and thinking about these issues in personal, real ways. I am curious what your thoughts are reading this post, for those who were or were not in class. How do these issues affect your life? What experiences have you had that provide insight into these challenges many people face regarding transportation every day?

Most importantly, what are the strategies for overcoming these barriers for women, people of color, the LGBTQQIAA community, and others who cannot freely travel or access all modes of transportation equally?

"Transportation in the Post-Carbon World"

One of our guest speakers from yesterday's class, George Dondero, Director of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, shared this reading titled Transportation in the Post-Carbon World to pass along to you all. It's optional, but it directly ties into the work of this class. You can access it online here by downloading the PDF or reading it online.

The excerpt on the site reads

"Successful post-carbon transitions will benefit from understanding the dynamics of transport revolutions. We define a transport revolution as being substantial change in a society's transport activity--moving people or freight, or both--that occurs in less than twenty five years."

And here's a video that gives you a sense of the topic being addressed in the reading:

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.