If you like biking, you have to check out this campaign to improve biking around Fresno.
I'm not a super-biker like many people out there who ride to work every day or go on mega-long rides. But for the past year, I have taken about a 20-mile ride each weekend with my husband. We sometimes head out of town, such as a recent trip to Monterey where we rode the city's trail along the ocean and hit part of 17-Mile Drive. But mostly we hit the bike lanes around Clovis and north Fresno, the Clovis trail and sometimes the Eaton Trail.
Seeing the city on bike offers a whole new perspective. It makes me appreciate smooth roads, beautiful landscaping, our farmland, mountain vistas, the area's year-round nice weather and the bike paths we do have. The bikers here are always friendly to other bikers. It also has exposed me to head-scratching planning designs, mean drivers and unfriendly folks who like to yell rude comments. By far these rides have convinced me that we need far more safe places for biking without having to stop every half-mile.
So, I was glad to see ibikefresno on Facebook this week, and that they are reaching out to tell people about "the creation of a Bike Master Plan that will see the improvement and addition of bike lanes and paths throughout the city."
Bravo, people.
I don't have a bike, but I support this.
Also, 20 miles each weekend? Very impressive.
Most weekends. I did skip a few over the holidays -- no time to get out.
Kathy...
Ibikefresno.org is so excited to hear that you are riding 20 miles on the weekends. It truly is a great way to experience Fresno.
Wake up in the morning...ride you bike to your favorite place for breakfast or to get a cup of coffee or tea...read the newspaper...and ride back home!
Biking is truly the Affordable Family Fun Activity to Enjoy Fresno! As kids we all anticipated our first bike...lets continue that love and passion as adults. Being a Kid at Heart!
Heather...garage sales, Fresno Bee Classifieds, Craigslists are all great places to pick up some one else's unloved bike. Sometimes all they need is new tires and a little oil you can get from any of your local bike shops in Fresno!
I really like the idea of riding a bike, just not so much the execution. Last time I rode a bike, it hurt my girl parts.
Also, I live on the second floor of an apartment building and there's no way my spaghetti arms can haul a bike up those stairs.
Want to hear more excuses? I've got a couple more ready to go. ;)
Heather -
Were you injured while attempting Sweet Jumps?
http://j.mp/5bpbqF
Yeah. I got, like, three feet of air.
Heather,
At ibikefresno.org we are not about excuses! We have heard them all. But when you get out on your Bike and experience the fun of riding it...the excuses will go by the way side. If you like the idea and the execution is the difficult part...Challenge a friend to ride bikes. Competition and accountability are always great! An easy way to spend quality time together!
They have invented these really cool bike shorts that have a pad to make the seat on a bike more comfortable. And many bike shops have various types of seats that they will let you try to see what is most comfortable. Banana seats, cruiser bike seats...they aren't all as uncomfortble as racing seats.
Bikes aren't that heavy...and they have wheels so you can roll them up stairs if you can't pick them up!
And don't forget the comfort of recumbents! I love riding my "barco lounger" around town.
Biking is great. I think you should hop on two wheels and ride. It doesn't matter what kind of bike you have! All that matters is that you get out and enjoy our cities!!!
So true!
Fresno has always had great people who love to cycle, just check out the Fresno Cycle Club and all the great work they have done, Heather thanks for the information regarding ibikefresno, and glad to see another person on the bike. I have been cycling for 36 years.
All thanks for the post should be directed at biking enthusiast extraordinaire Kathy Mahan.
Mario,
You are so correct. There are a lot of clubs and organizations out in Fresno that have been promoting biking for years. ibikefresno.org wants to support all these organizations and connect them with each other and everyone else that might be on the fence to try riding their bike!
Some that I can think of off the top of my head...
Fresno County Bicycle Coalition (FCBC)
Fresno Cycling Club (FCC)
Women on Wheels (WOW)
Central Valley Cycling (CVC)
Central Valley Cycling Charittable Association (CVCCA)
Team in Training
Climb to Kaiser
Tour de Fresno
Many cycling competitive teams
BMX teams
Amgen Tour de California
If you can think of more to share that would be great...there are all forms of biking from endurance riding, sprinting, cyclocross, BMX downhill and flat course, people that ride their bike to work, people that wear spandex, kids that ride their bike to school, people that ride their bikes in parades...people that ride their bike across the USA.
You can pretty much go anywhere on a bike and do just about anything!
Bryan, do you have web addresses for those? Or should I just google 'em??
Ibikefresno.org webpage will have all of them up there soon...and the facebook account will start featuring them so you can learn more about different organizations, clubs, and groups that you can get plugged into for biking in Fresno! Thanks for the great suggestion!
For those that are following along, the website went live today! Ok, there's a few pages with content still to come, but it's a great start!
www.ibikefresno.org
I want to join WOW! How do i go about doing this?
Here is a link to local bike clubs.