I used to be one of those people who hugged the right curb...

The District PTSA offered a very successful bike education and encouragement event on 2 October. Sustainable Streets presented a Bike Safety Skills Workshop to a packed classroom of about 35 SMMUSD middle and high school students and their parents, with an age range of 9 to 40 years old.  The group included lots of kids who have been cycling with their parents in preparation for Bike It! Day October 13. Everyone had great questions on the rules of the road, hair raising bike crash stories, and lots of enthusiasm for cycling to school.  After adjusting helmets and checking bikes, the group headed outside to practice key safe cycling skills to scan, signal, stop and turn left at an intersection. 

Among the kids’ enthusiastic comments on the class evaluation form were “Awesome fun!” and “I loved this class!”  Parents were equally positive, saying “This is so valuable. I used to be one of those people who hugged the right curb; now I know why that’s not a good idea.”  This was the second two Bike Safety Skills Workshops, the precious one was held at Lincoln Middle Schools, taught by League Certified Instructors from Sustainable Streets. Some of the participants raised the idea of setting up a bike club at the school, which would offer more opportunities for advanced training. The complete course (10 hrs) of confident city cycling is usually taught over two weekends and includes an official certificate.

Many thanks to the PTSA, JAMS and Lincoln Middle school staff, and the students and their parents for supporting this workshop to promote safe cycling by our students!  Hope to see you all at Bike IT Walk IT Day on October 13.  We are expecting record participation by every SMMUSD elementary and middle school in Santa Monica and by SAMOHI, whose Solar Alliance Student Group started the Bike IT movement four years ago.

Bike Skills Workshop

On Wednesday 6 October 2010 Santa Monica will wake up to the first city-wide Bike It Day. In previous years each school had its own bike and walk to school day, - but because of the success and popular demand, the event is now conducted city wide, and other local institutions, employers, schools and colleges are encouraged to join in and leave the car at home.

In preparation for the event the district PTSA is sponsoring two bicycle workshops on Saturday 26 September and 2 November. These workshops are conducted by Sustainable Streets and aimed mainly for an adult audience.  Parents are encouraged to bring their children (age 10 -15) and teachers and school staff are especially welcome.

You want to bike more and become a more confident cyclists. You want to help your children to cycle more safely. Join us for a free Bike Skills Workshop for parents, teachers and students in Santa Monica SMMUSD. Free workshops will be held on Saturday, Sep 25 at 1 pm at Lincoln Middle School and again on Saturday, Oct 2 at1 pm at John Adams Middle School in Santa Monica. Please bring bike and helmet. Snacks and bike pins will be provided. To register for the workshop please email michael.cahn@sustainablestreetsla.org

The invitation is here and here (smaller format)

Bikes on Display

John Adams Middle School rides, and some of the bikes bikes are being hung up on the fence on display for the day. Well done everybody! You doubled the number of cyclists for the day. We also sold a few bike helmets, and gave away those ever popular bike pins ("Can I have a green one", "Can I have a pink one"), those bright green "Bike It" stickers, and of course the ever popular Clif bars (Peanut).
Now we are planning an experimental session to compare the effectiveness of hair gel and normal bike helmets. Just to

Free Middle School Cycling Class at JAMS June 7

Don't miss this free cycling class at John Adams Middle School, , just in time for Bike to School Day at JAMS on June 10. Meet outside Room 83 at 3:15, with bike and helmet. Helmets will be available for sale for $10--remember, they are required by CA law for cyclists under age 18. Be ready for Bike to School Day on Thursday. Learn great tips for urban cycling, and hear about bike accidents and how to avoid them. Taught by Michael Cahn and Ron Durgin of Sustainable Streets, both Licensed Cycling Instructors with the League of American Bicyclists and experienced youth cycling instructors. For more info, email velocipedus@gmail.com.

The Bicycle Revolution at Ocean Park

This document has come to our attention in June 2010. It dates back to 2008 (?) and is certainly worth some attention. It should be noted that back then the proposal did not receive an answer. But the times they are a'changin.

Katherine Iglis

Attn: Julie Eizenberg, Architect
Re: Sustainability Proposal for John Adams

GOALS: To implement a sustainability program at John Adams in accordance with the BB requirement, to alleviate the school's traffic and parking problems, to improve the school’s effectiveness, to invigorate and unify the school community.

PROPOSAL: Transform John Adams into a Cycling-Centric School by altering the campus as necessary and developing a PRO-CYCLING curriculum. Provide the necessary infrastructure, incentives and equipment (loaner bikes and safety equipment if necessary) to get students, staff and parents to embrace cycling as an integral part of daily life.

A NATURAL FIT: John Adams’ central location, benign climate and flat terrain make it an ideal cycling destination. Likewise, the age of its students provides an ideal opportunity. Pre-teens and teens are able to ride responsibly and crave the freedom and independence that cycling provides. Forming cycling habits now can benefit them for years to come – steering them (and their parents!) away from dependence on the automobile.

HOW TO: Make use of and expand upon the recently installed bike lanes along Ocean Park Blvd. Develop our own “Safe Paths to School” program where certain routes are designated with appropriate signs and traffic controls making them safe for cyclists. Establish a secure and accessible “Bike Zone” on campus. Possibly even convert 16th St. between Ocean Park Blvd. and Pearl St. to a Bikes-Only Zone feeding John Adams as well as Will Rogers Elementary and Santa Monica College. Basically, establish JAMS as a neighborhood cycling hub.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS: Increased cycling would reduce traffic, emissions, fuel consumption, parking problems and pedestrian danger. Rather than battling the City for more street parking or consuming more of the campus with asphalt, existing parking lots could be converted back into usable green space. The City, local businesses, and local environmental groups could help support the program by providing sponsorship, grants and other incentives.

FITNESS BENEFITS: Cycling improves cardiovascular health, strength and endurance while boosting endomorphins, staving off depression and controlling weight gain. Students would arrive at school more alert and ready to learn after a brisk ride. Adults who cycle would also benefit while providing the students with positive role models. Electric, motor-assisted bikes or scooters could be provided for handicapped or elderly members of the school community. Lastly, since John Adams already has a system of two sets of books, heavy backpacks would not impede the student riders.

ACADEMIC BENEFITS: Cycling could be incorporated into the curriculum with lessons on aerodynamics, hydraulics, bike engineering, bike mechanics and design. This could be further reinforced with cycling day trips, field trips and retreats. A cycling coach could be employed and a cycling team started. Bike “shop” could be offered as an elective giving students hands-on experience fixing, maintaining and assembling bikes.

EMOTIONAL BENEFITS: Cycling develops independence and self-esteem among young teens when they need it most. Rather than depending on their parents or the public bus for transportation, middle school students would feel empowered and exhilarated navigating their way around town on a bike.

SOCIAL BENEFITS: Cycling is fun and promotes camaraderie. Sponsor school cycling clubs such as a Mountain Biking Club, a Road Biking Club, a Beach Cruiser Club, a Trick-bike Club, a Bike Maintenance Club and host a bike design competition. Participation in these clubs could be rewarded with Academic, PE, or community service credit.

NEIGHBORHOOD BENEFITS: Bike routes used by students could also be used by others in the neighborhood. The school bike repair “Shop” could also be open to the local community. Students could operate the shop, gain work experience and/or community service hours all while benefiting the community and possibly raising money for the program.

INSPIRATIONAL WEBSITES:
Celebrating Cycling
Fun Fast Fit
Community Cycling Center

Lincoln Confident Cycling Class Wed June 2nd

Get set for Lincoln's Bike to School Day on June 8 at a free and fun after school class where you'll practice quick stops and turns, learn how to ride safely on city streets, and get tips on bike and helmet fit and picking safe routes to school.

Confident Cycling meets June 2nd at 3:15 at the Lincoln bike racks near the basketball courts off California Ave. To enroll, contact Michael Cahn, LCI at velocipedus@gmail.com. Bring your bike and helmet!

Bike To School Days in Santa Monica

It is June, and Santa Monica is cycling again. The diary for the current bike to school events features:

Monday 7 June: Bike It Day at SAMOHI, organized by Samohi Solar Alliance, Confident Cycling Education scheduled for 1 and 3 June after school

Tuesday 8 June: Lincoln Middle School, Confident Cycling Education scheduled for Wednesday 2 June after school, meet at bike racks, snacks will be provided

Thursday 10 June: John Adams Middle School, Confident Cycling Education scheduled for Monday 7 June after school, room 83, snacks will be provided

Friday 11 June 10:00 am - 12:00 noon, SMASH Middle School, Confident Cycling Education event.

Bicycle education will be offered by League Certified Bicycle instructors. If you want to assist at any of these events or have questions, please contact velocipedus@gmail.com. Parents are most welcome to attend all these events.

Johnny Depp to offer City Cycling Class

Bike It Day is on 10 March 2010. To make everybody safe on the road, Johnny Depp (really?) should be offering a free City Cycling Class at SAMOHI: Monday 8 March 2010 after school, at 3:30, room T 109, and again on Tuesday, same time and same location. Please bring your bike and a friend.

The class (1 hr) will highlight the most important ways to stay safe on your bike. City Cycling Science can help everybody to deal with traffic, and how to avoid these painful crashes or aggressive encounters, often really intimidating. Johnny Depp knows you can pedal your bike, now it's time to go on to the second level.

The room is in the Technology Building, next to the North parking lot, accessible from the alley which runs between Michigan and Olympic. If you have problems finding the room, and have any other questions, please call 310 752 3177

Safe Routes to School according to the Santa Monica Police Department

Santa Monica High School, 17 February 2010, 3:20 pm

After school students find the police in front of the Michigan Gate, right next to the bike parking. It is Wednesday, school started late, a good day to go by bike and not use the car. In the course of the police operation against cyclists three tickets are being issued to student cyclists for not wearing helmets. Is that a way to encourage kids to ride the bike?

Students riding the bike to school do the right thing. They support the environment. They reduce traffic congestion. They improve their health through active transportation. They reduce the carbon footprint. They live in a Bicycle Friendly Community (Bronze). Students under 18 who do not wear a helmet break the law.

Those who use a car to drive or be driven to school increase pollution, traffic, obesity. If they use a hand-held phone while driving they break the law.

If you want to support your young cyclists in a bicycle friendly city you reach out to them. With information. With warnings. By applying for grants to offer free helmets to the kids who cannot afford one. Or by rewarding those who wear a helmet. You go out and partner with the school, with student groups, with the PTSA and offer bike safety classes. Stay tuned. Continue the conversation that the local bicycle advocacy group has started with the police in May 2009. This is work and it takes time. Ticketing a few kids is easy. But it does not bring you respect. It brings contempt. In the process the police loses community which is the worst thing that can happen to a police force. If you speak to a child who knows about the environmental impact of fossil fuels, it may be a good idea to turn off the motor of your vehicle. Kids take note of these things. In this process kids have to learn the law, and the police has an equal responsibility to learn how to deal with kids and cyclists.

Indeed, on the basis of a sustained educational effort, especially if it is embedded in a diversion program, which removed the fine when the student attends a safe cycling class, a ticket does have its value. But probably not every officer is suited to this delicate work with children. Some forget to take off their dark reflective sunglasses when talking to a child. Some have never received special training for dealing with adolescents and children, and are more suited to work with hardened criminals. Some have never ridden a bike on city streets, and confuse the public by cycling on the extended sidewalk which is Third Street Promenade. Why not ride your bike while interacting with students? Would it not be a good idea to coordinate with the school or the school district in order to develop a comprehensive educational program for young cyclists? To support them and to make them safe? And to acknowledge that the helmet by itself does not make you safe, that only safe cycling education offers you the tools to stay safe on city streets. Without a sustained educational program, ticketing works as bicycle discouragement. If DUI checkpoints are being announced in advance, why not announce a helmet checkpoint?

Speaking about helmets is only half the story at this school. This school is located close to Lincoln Boulevard, and many students will have to use or cross Lincoln Blvd to get to school. This being Santa Monica, the police may well give you another ticket if they see you cycling on the sidewalk on Lincoln. It sounds unbelievable, but I have seen it happen more than once. More bicycle discouragement from the SMPD? Sure, in this city it  it is not legal to cycle on the sidewalk, and for many well documented reasons, the sidewalk is an unsafe place for cyclists, but Lincoln is a really horrible street, for children and adults, to share with cars. This community deserves better solutions than tickets.

So if you are a cyclist, or a parent, or a student, and you think the SMPD does not do enough to encourage cycling in this Bicycle Friendly Community (Bronze), or if you want to support the police action, please leave your comments below, and come to the next City Council Meeting on February 23, and offer you opinion during the public comment period. 


Police deputy chief Sanchez is so kind to meet concerned cyclists on Wednesday 24th Feb, 2010 at 3:30. Please let me know if you want to attend so that we can prepare the meeting. We are specially interested to strengthen our "legal department", and concerned citizens with expertise in civil liberties and equity issues are encouraged to get in touch with velocipedus at gmail dot com. We also warmly welcome highschool and middle school students to get in touch.