ECOS – Ecological Council of Sacramento – held their annual awards night. Anne Gehraty and I attended representing SABA. Fox & Goose downtown.
One of my neighbors, Edith Thacher, was awarded Environmentalist of the Year for her work with ECOS.
Rising Star Award to Mackenzie Hollender – a junior at Natomas Charter School.
I was tasked by SABA to organize the next couple of social rides. For November, I decided on a tour of Sacramento’s kinda-famous alleys with names chosen to reflect the city and its history: Blues .. Victorian – in alphabetical order. Today BarbaraL and I did pre-ride based on a route I created using Ride w GPS. We started at Old Soul Co in Liestal Alley. Liestal Switzerland is one of Sacramento’s sister cities.
Rice Alley has been recently renovated.
Old Sacramento is getting ready for the Christmas season.
Next came Firehouse Alley (one section closed, another filled with construction or delivery vehicles – this is why you do a pre-ride). On to Improv Alley, Fat Alley, Eggplant Alley, Democracy Alley, Chinatown Alley (several blocks are not paved). The end of the ride will be at Cantina Alley which is the name of a business in Jazz Alley.
After lunch at Sellands, we drove to Rancho Cordova: Mather Veterans Village where we’ll be leading a social ride next week.
This pre-ride was short, quick and easy. There are some very nice infrastructure improvements in Rancho Cordova.
Kathy and I taught a Learn 2 Ride class on Saturday morning at Miller Park. Theresa last rode a bike in 2011 but lost confidence after a crash. This is always a good sign for success: she knew how to ride before, we only needed to rekindle her muscle memory. Yup, within an hour, she was pedaling. Good job, Kathy and Theresa. At the end of class, she told her husband, “We’re going to buy a bicycle this weekend.”
Aries came to a previous class and almost became an independent bike rider. Today, he was quickly pedaling but needed practice. Soon, he was ready to ride the very safe roads in Miller Park, then short rides on the Sacramento River Bike Trail and finally around the block on streets. Excellent progress.
Kicking off the holiday season, Jibe organized a gathering at
Volunteers, Bike Doc mechanics, League Cycling Instructors were invited.
Lots of long-time bicycling friends and a few new ones. Such good little visits. I’ve been a League Cycling Instructor for 12 years – a very fun side job.
AARP invited local advocacy organizations to an all-day workshop in Hagginwood to learn more how to do a walk audit.
This location – Marysville Blvd between Arcade and Grand Ave – was chosen because the City of Sacramento is moving toward road improvement projects to address this high-injury corridor. We broke into three groups and were given a section of the project to make observations.
The four-lane road plus center turn lane will get a “road diet” – down to two lanes with center turn lane and buffered bike lanes.
Although the project provides many benefits, it does not address the sidewalks which are in terrible condition. Poles and posts need to be relocated and the width of the sidewalk needs to be consistent.
The mobility scooter used the crosswalk then the traffic lane to better access a grocery store.
A few bicycle friends and I met Jim from SABA at Bella Bru on Sunday morning. Jim has a project to share brief video clips of people who ride e-bikes. Thank you, Paul ..
Jim ..
Elaine ..
and Kimberly.
SABA’s annual fundraising party. This year at Pintworks. Deb Banks presenting awards:
Jim and Pamela:
BarbaraL, Kathy, me, Elaine:
Michael Rock:
Kathy and I weren’t sure who would show up today. Sharmaine and De’Veona came back .. with a new bike. After practicing for a while, I rode with De’Veona up and down Miller Park, about 2.5 miles altogether. Great progress.
Kathy working with Aries.
Saturday morning at Miller Park. This time we completely closed off this section of the parking area to keep cars OUT of our space (and thankfully, no one contacted parking enforcement). We also brought a broom – chalking our lines was much easier.
In the last 15 minutes, this student’s second foot found the pedal and off she went. Although wobbly, she did not fall.
Kathy worked with our Level 2 student who already knew how to ride. She already does marathons, but wants to start doing triathlons which means better bicycling skills. Another necessary skill: be able to change your own flat tire quickly – today she got her first lesson. Kathy was the perfect person to coach her.
A very proud mom:
Today was the last day of the 50% off promotion if you ride your bike to Taqueria Rincón Alteño. On my way to meet the SABA group who met in Old Sac and rode out to N Natomas, I got a flat tire and had just enough time to walk home, get in my car and drive over to meet everyone (no discount for me).
Thank you Pierson for leading and Jeremiah for sweeping. About 20 people came on this ride.
arletelouise 