Give that gas station a rest and hop on your two-wheeler in honor of May is Bike Month. With one week behind us, there is still plenty of time to grease those chains and pump up those tires in celebration of the bike-related activities in our community. For those of you who like to mix your adventurous and artistic sides, this month’s Art Mix at the Crocker Art Museum is called Chain Reaction, and will feature bike-inspired events on Thursday, May 9th, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. General admission is $10. Students and seniors can attend for $8, kids 7-17 for $5, and children under 6 get in for free. Ride your bike to the event and your admission is half price. Some of the evening’s even

I'm just a simple, hard working Sacramentan. I've worked for small businesses since I was 15 years old, so I'm mystified by all this talk of arenas and billionaires and commissions and hearings and plans and such. I'm too busy running a humble little bike shop with my dad to fully grasp the truth of the matter, and what it has to do with the price of bread. I grew up in Phoenix watching Kevin Johnson play for the Suns, and I've met him a few times and I've always liked the guy. He seems smart and reasonable enough, so if he says this Kings nonsense is good for the city, then fine – I'll go along with it. He is the mayor after all! But yesterday I learned that the city council has author

Estonian architects have developed a new form of energy-efficient infrastructure that may someday make all existing forms of urban transportation obsolete: a sidewalk trampoline on which inter-city commuters can bounce their way to and from work. Instead of taking the freeway or pedaling a bicycle, imagine leaping the Darth Vader building in a single bound on the way into the office. It’s almost that much of a jump forward. Dubbed Fast Track, it consists of mile-long, eight-feet wide strips of thick black rubber stretched over a shallow trench by heavy springs on either side, just like the unused trampoline in your backyard. Theoretically, it could replace Sacramento’s existing bicycle l

It's been said that raw statistics do not lie. But what happens when only one out of 10 bike thefts get reported? You would think crime statistics would be important for our sometimes fair city to get a handle on, but when a greater majority of its citizens would rather forget what just happened to them, it's time to change the communication lines of the most telling of all statistics: crime.  After several conversations with law enforcement about bike crime and about a recent bike theft from a few of our local bike shops, I’ve reached the conclusion that our police force is weary and stretched out. Bike theft is very painful as most of this readership will tell you. But most all bike t

The wheels kept rolling for Sacramento’s burgeoning bicycle community when the Sacramento City Council voted 6-1 to approve the Freeport Boulevard Bike Lane Project on Thursday, Nov. 8. The council’s decision was greeted by ebullient cheers from the scores of bicycle activists and enthusiasts that packed the chamber on a chilly fall evening. There was virtually no opposition to the measure. “The plan provides safe space for all road users consistent with the city’s complete streets policy,” said Jim Brown, interim executive director of Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. “Improving safety is especially important for students who use their bikes to get to and from McClatchy High School and

One version of what a Sacramento bicycle-sharing program might look like was on display Thursday at Ninth and I streets. Representatives from B-cycle, a Wisconsin-based company that supplied equipment to 14 bicycle-sharing programs across the United States, including Denver and Honolulu, were on hand to answer questions about their systems. According to B-cycle representative Jason McDowell, the infrastructure has come a long way since bicycle-sharing programs began cropping up in the past decade. “We’ve had a chance to learn from the mistakes of others instead of making those mistakes ourselves,” he said, referring to the early struggles of the bicycle-sharing program in Paris, where t

A regional bicycle share program is one step closer to reality after local officials agreed to spend $30,000 on a feasibility study that will conclude in June or July. Public bicycle share programs are popular in cities such as Montreal, Paris, Denver and Washington, D.C., where riders pay a minimal fee to borrow a bicycle parked at one of numerous kiosks. A similar program was floated in Sacramento last year by the Midtown Business Association, which determined that it could not support the program. "It's evident it's time for us to be thinking about this seriously in Sacramento," said Larry Greene, executive director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, whic

On Saturday, October 6, 2012, Friends of El Dorado Trail and the El Dorado Western Railroad are partnering to support the International Mountain Bicycling Association’s (IMBA) eighth- annual Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day! Each year, IMBA encourages communities around the world to share their passion for pedaling with kids on the first Saturday of October. This year, El Dorado County is getting on board and invites you to join in the festivities along the El Dorado Trail and at the El Dorado Train Park from 9am to 4pm. Friends of El Dorado Trail suggests several rides: • An easy out and back ride beginning and ending at the El Dorado Train Park at the end of Oriental St. (across from th

To improve bicycle transportation downtown, the Department of Public Works is adding bike lanes to eight well connected streets. For the first time, bicyclists will have the opportunity to have designated roadway space to travel on the streets in designated lanes just as do motor vehicles. Streets targeted for bike lanes are: G Street between 8th and 16th streets H Street between 6th and 16th streets I Street between 5th and 13th streets J Street between 4th and 13th streets Capitol Mall between 5th and 9th streets 5th Street between I Street and Broadway 9th Street between I Street and Broadway 10th Street between H Street and Broadway Work is expected to take place on weekend

This Friday evening starting at 8:30pm join Jim Brown from CBC for a moonlight ride with a pot luck desert finish at William Pond Park Although Mr Moonlight will be shinning bright lights for your bike ar in order.  The ride starts from Temple Coffee on 28th and S. https://www.facebook.com/events/475090439177047/   This will be a casual ride so leave your skinny tired bike behind so you can enjoy the wonderful natural surroundings of the American River Bike trail.

"The Imposter" Directed by Bart Layton One of the strangest films I’ve seen recently is “The Imposter,” which opens today at the Crest Theatre. It’s strange in that creepy “truth is stranger than fiction” kind of way that often accompanies accounts of real life crime and dysfunctional families – and it becomes compelling viewing as the documentary (with minor dramatic recreations of events) unfolds. In June 1994, Nicholas Barclay disappeared from San Antonio, Texas. He was a somewhat unruly kid, often in trouble. And he had briefly run away previously, if only for a night or two. In October 1997, in Spain, a young boy/man is found with no identification and no ability or willingness to

California State Parks is considering a plan to close off bicycle access to Old Sacramento at one of only two access points along the Sacramento River Bike Trail, and local bike shop owner Tim Castleman says that is unacceptable – so he started a petition to stop the closure from happening. Castleman, owner of Practical Cycle in Old Sacramento, started the petition in early August after he discovered that the Old Sacramento State Historic Park General Plan calls for the closure. He said he felt the issue had not been fully addressed during project planning or public outreach. “Nobody was really pushing back against it,” Castleman said Wednesday. “I wanted to make sure that it was clear t

The busy streets of downtown Sacramento were promised new bicycle lanes by mid-summer – a promise that has yet to be fulfilled. Bicycle lanes planned for several downtown streets have not yet been painted, but officials said that cyclists can expect to see them by the end of September or early October. The $629,000 bike lane project expenditure was approved by the City Council in April 2011. The project is said to create bicycle lanes on the most frequently traveled streets in downtown to create a safer cycling environment. As city officials previously told The Sacramento Press, J, I, Fifth, Ninth and 10th Streets along with Capitol Mall are included in the project. The project was sch

Cars make people fat, lazy and sick according to auto mechanic Brian Laplander, so when he launched a bike-centered business making detachable bicycle bags and accessories, the name “Carsick Designs” came easily to mind. Laplander, 42, said he enjoys making items that reflect his own taste and style. After purchasing a commuter bike and spending two years on development, he decided to share his bags with the world. “I started off just solving the challenges of buying my own bags,” Laplander said. “After that, I saw it as an opportunity to make bags for people that might want the same kind of thing, but couldn’t do it on their own.” He sews all of Carsick Design’s merchandise himself, wh

Fresh off the heels of May is Bike Month, the non-profit Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen will host its fourth annual "Hunt the Grid" bicycle scavenger hunt through midtown and downtown Sacramento this year on Second Saturday, June 9, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, hosted at the Bicycle Kitchen's shop at 1915 I Street, next to the railroad tracks. "Hunt the Grid IV" is a repeat of the wildly popular scavenger hunt that sends teams of two to four riders racing across the central city in a friendly competition of pedals and wits to seek out trinkets, images, and Sacramento landmarks both popular and obscure, from a movie ticket stub to the statue of Don Miguel Hidalgo and Dorothea Puente's house to tha

Downtown Sacramento’s busiest streets should have bike lanes by August or September, according to city officials. The work will begin in June or July and should take a month to complete, according to Ed Williams, Associate Engineer with the city’s Department of Transportation. The intent of the project is to create bicycle lanes on the most-traveled downtown streets, including J, I, Fifth, Ninth and 10th streets and Capitol Mall, city officials previously told The Sacramento Press. On some streets, the plan is to take out one lane of vehicular traffic as is common in Midtown. Cyclists interviewed Tuesday applauded the city’s upcoming road work, which they said will add safety to street

Thursday is Bike Fest at the Capitol, with everything from bicycle shop exhibits to bicycle safety checks and freebies for those who log their miles as part of May is Bike Month. “This year, it’s really taking off,” said Marilyn Bryant, executive director of the nonprofit Sacramento Transportation Management Association and one of the organizers of this month’s events. “We will have a lot of tables with of exhibitors, bike clubs, bike shops and transit agencies,” she said. “It’s a big social event and everyone has a good time.” Riders who have logged bicycling miles at the May is Bike Month website can print out their logs and bring them to the event for ice cream, freezes and May is Bi

For many, the bicycle is viewed as a toy or a piece of exercise equipment, but John Boyer, owner of the Edible Pedal bicycle shop and food delivery service, said that people should view it as a mode of transportation, and since May is Bike Month, now is the time to act. “We have a disconnect of being around people,” Boyer said Wednesday. “We’ve had such a car-centric society for so many decades that people don’t recognize and talk to each other. In the bike world, it’s different: we make eye contact, wave hello and ask, ‘How are you?’ “ Boyer added that he thinks bicycles will only become more widespread, and the benefits are many – from exercise and connecting on a more personal level t

In case you didn't already know: it's a great weekend to be in Sacramento. In addition to the arrival of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) at the Convention Center, it's also the finale weekend of Sacramento Beer Week. Both were epitomized at Thursday's Art Bike Kick Off Party at Hot Italian. Hot Italian was serving their Beer Week special--a Moretti in a glass you get to keep--and Sierra Nevada was on site giving out samples of their beers. Three Art Bikes were on display (have you seen the other nine around town?): a Trike (that you were encouraged to climb on for a photo opp), a Shark Bike, and a St. Patty's Day Bike. The crowd was asked to submit their vote for their fa

The popular Mad Cat Bicycles moved from Town & Country Village to a bigger location in East Sacramento Feb. 1, and owner Mike Upchurch said the extra space will allow for more inventory and a space for cyclists to gather and talk bikes. “This space popped up, and we hadn’t really thought about the area – there’s quite a few bike shops in Midtown and downtown – but looking at the corridor through here, I thought that it would be a good spot,” the 40-year-old Upchurch said. The 4,800-square-foot-shop, located at 3257 Folsom Blvd., is geared toward the racing community, but Upchurch said it is a full family bicycle shop, with a selection of bicycles that aren’t primarily for racing in addit