National Bike Month Activities - Sebastopol
Presented by LITE Initiatives and Community Bikes in conjunction with the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition (SCBC).


May is National Bike Month, so pull your bike out of the garage or wherever it has been hiding, clean and tune it up, and get out on the trail. There are a number of biking and walking activities planned during Bike-to-Work and School Week, May 14–18 including Bike-to-Work and School Day, Thursday, May 17.


May 6, Mayor’s and Council Persons Bike Ride – Sebastopol
As part of a countywide effort to encourage more people onto their bikes, the Bicycle Coalition is organizing Mayor’s Rides in all nine Sonoma County cities. LITE is organizing the Sebastopol ride, which is being held on Car-Free Day, Sunday, May 6. Mayor Sam Piece and Council Members Larry Robinson and Craig Litiwn will lead the ride. Mayor Pierce says: “This will be a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate solutions while enjoying our community at a slower, more human pace. My daughter, Miranda, and I invite you to join us for a beautiful ride.”


Riders will meet at 10am at the Sebastopol Town Plaza, near the fountain. The first 4-mile loop will head north - up West County Trail to Hurlbut and back around to the Plaza. The second loop, starting at 11:15, will head south on High Street and turn back at Fircrest Market. Participants must be able to ride at least 4 miles. Bikes and helmets required; bring water and snacks. Children must be accompanied by an adult.


LITE is also planning a May bike ride for the Russian River Area. Ride leaders needed!

For additional information and route sheets contact Portia Sinnott, 824-9931, [email protected].


May 17, Sonoma County Bike and Walk to Work Day 2007
Please ride your bike or walk to work...
On Thursday, May 17, from 6 to 8am bicyclists and walkers will be rewarded with an amazing spread of beverages and snacks at more than 20 energizer stations around Sonoma County. Sebastopol has two: Joe Rodota Trail Head at Petaluma Ave and Analy High School. LITE volunteers will be helping at both. In addition, LITE/Community Bikes volunteers will be staffing one near Community Bikes at the intersection of the Joe Rodota Trail at Sebastopol Road near Wright/Fulton Roads. Steven Schmitz, the SCBC Organizer for Sebastopol says: "Bicycling is a great way to get to work and stay fit at the same time. Not only is bicycling healthy for you, it’s healthy for the planet."


May 14-18 is Bike and Walk to Work and School Week
How about biking or walking to work all week? Need help getting motivated? It’s good for your health, fun and can be social. Saves money on gas, vehicle maintenance and parking fees. Reduces air, water and noise pollution as well as traffic congestion. Visit www.bikesonoma.org/Top10Reasons.html to read “The Top Ten Excuses For Not Commuting By Bicycle” or skip to “Getting Started” at the end of the page.


Take the Bus
Check the timetables and fares at www.sctransit.com or call 576-7433
If biking or walking the whole way is not possible, please consider riding the bus part of the way. (A bus and schedule summary is listed below.) It works really well once you get familiar with the schedule. Be sure to check the timetables and fares at www.sctransit.com or call 576-7433, between 7:30am and 5:30pm, Monday through Friday.


Bicyclists can easily put a bike on the bike rack on the front of the bus or sometimes inside in the wheelchair area. We suggest you visit www.sctransit.com/bikes beforehand so that you have a good understanding of the program. If the racks and the bus are full the driver can ask you to park the bike or wait for another bus. This has never happened to me but a couple of times I had to exert my rights to bring it on board a half full bus.


Sebastopol from Santa Rosa or Rohnert Park/Cotati - $1.70 *
Bus 24 loops around Sebastopol ten times a day Monday through Friday between 9:22 am and 4:00 pm. The route varies but stops at least eight times at: Laguna Parkway, Safeway, Senior Center, Burbank Heights, Covert Lane, Pleasant Hill, Albertson’s, Post Office, Jewell Ave., Palm Ave., Holiday Inn, Fircrest, and Palm Drive Hospital. *

Bus 22, the Express, is the quickest way to get to and from downtown Santa Rosa during the workweek – about 24 minutes. It heads east seven times between 6:53am and 5:25pm and returns six times between 8:30am–5:15pm. *

Bus 20, which runs 7 days a week, takes about 40 minutes and covers a much larger area – Occidental, Guerneville, Forestville, Graton, Sebastopol, and Santa Rosa including the Junior College and Coddingtown. During the week it heads east seven times between 6:45am and 8:49pm and returns six times between 6:25am–8:15pm. On weekends it visits four times between 10:30am and 6pm. *

Bus 26 visits Sebastopol, Cotati, Rohnert Park and Sonoma State University four times between 6:45am and 6:30pm during the week. There is no service on this route between 9am and 2:30pm. *

* Before attempting to catch a bus, please check the timetables and fares at www.sctransit.com or call 576-7433 or 800 345-7433, between 7:30am and 5:30pm, Monday through Friday.



Need Parts, Advice Or A Used Bike?
Community Bikes, LITE’s volunteer run bike shop, is open Sunday afternoons from 1-5pm and Thursday evenings from 5-9pm. We are located between Sebastopol and Santa Rosa at 4009 Sebastopol Rd, east of the intersection of the Joe Rodota Trail, Sebastopol Road and Wright Road. 707 579-5811 Sammy Nasr, LITE Bike Shop Coordinator invites you to come visit:: “Spring is the perfect time to find that perfect bike or to get your bike running again after sitting in the garage for months. Stop by our shop to get the expertise and help you need. We also accept most bike donations for those extra bikes you no longer want, and we'd love to have your help, even for a short time; no experience required.”

Links

LITE Initiatives/Community Bikes: www.car-lite.org
A sustainable practices group. LITE's mission is to motivate individuals, groups, businesses and even whole communities to live lightly and more efficiently. Founded in 2000 and incorporated as a 501c3 in 2002, our programs raise public awareness, promote commonsense and safety and offer numerous positive reinforcements, all of which are known to be effective ways to get individuals to change their behavior.

Programs include Car-Lite Car-Free Day, Community Bikes, the Green Mentor and Zero Waste Sonoma County. Our activities include a community bike shop, springtime bike rides, technical assistance, green plan development and green team management, motivational articles and transportation and zero waste activism.


Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition: www.bikesonoma.org
The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition is a non-profit membership-based organization created to encourage cycling in Sonoma County. We work with elected officials and government agencies to make sure that all new road projects or redesigns consider the needs of cyclists. We want riders of all ages to have safe and efficient ways of getting around by bike.


We also offer information and services which support cyclists. We offer classes in safety education and bicycle repair and offer services such as Valet Bicycle Parking at public events.


If you care about cycling in Sonoma County, support our efforts and become a member today. Office: 445 Orchard St. Suite 205, Santa Rosa, 707 545-0153


Sonoma County Transit: www.sctransit.com
Sonoma County Transit provides countywide service along major travel corridors in rural areas of Sonoma County. The system also links most small towns and communities and all nine incorporated cities in the County. In addition to intercity public transit service, Sonoma County Transit provides local public transit service within the Town of Windsor,
and the cities of Sebastopol, Rohnert Park, Cotati, and Sonoma, respectively. Local service is also provided to the unincorporated Russian River communities of Rio Nido, Guerneville, Monte Rio and Duncan Mills, and to the unincorporated Sonoma Valley communities of Agua Caliente, Boyes Hot Springs, El Verano and Temelec. In addition, summer weekend service is provided between Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Guerneville and the unincorporated Sonoma Coast communities of Freestone, Bodega, Bodega Bay, and Jenner.


511.org: https://bicycling.511.org
May is National Bike Month! Stay tuned for local events throughout the month!
On Thursday May 17, 2007, tens of thousands of residents from all corners of the Bay Area will put their car keys aside, grab their helmets, and hop on their bicycles to make their commute to work. They will be seen on two wheels, big wheels, tandems and hybrids! Won’t you join the masses? Did you know that almost 40% of Bay Area commuters live within five miles of their workplace? If everyone who lives within this ideal distance pedaled to work on May 17th, hundreds of thousands of cars would be off the road and air pollution that day would be reduced significantly. Experience bicycle commuting as a healthy and viable way to get to work.


The Bay Area Bicycle Coalition:
https://www.bayareabikes.org/btwd/in...ominations.php
A Call for Sonoma County Bike Commuter of the Year Award Nominations – due April 27
Do you know someone who is committed to making every day a “Bike to Work Day”? Does this person epitomize and actualize the health, environmental, social, and economic benefits of bicycling? In 200 words or less please tell us why you are nominating this person and why he or she deserves the Bike Commuter of the Year Award. One person in each of the nine Bay Area counties will receive this award. Get your nomination in today!


League of American Bicyclists
https://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/
May is National Bike Month
This is the official site for National Bike Month. Check the events section often to see what bike month and bike to work week events are going on in your community. If you would like to submit your event information to be posted on this site, email it to [email protected]. Please make sure you write, "Bike Month Event" in the subject line of the email.