Sacramento is an excellent area for cycling to continue to grow in importance, with our ideal combination of weather and terrain.
When you look at the combined efforts (as yet uncoordinated) of all the groups in the region working on bike trails, it becomes clear that if all these efforts are completed, and with very little additional connecting work, the entire region can be biked with the American River Parkway at the heart.
Cycle City?
Sacramento streets gearing up for cruisers and commuters
By Tim Holt - Special to The Bee
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, August 12, 2007
Is it possible that sprawling, car-oriented Sacramento is becoming a bicycling town? A larger version of Davis?
Health writer and dedicated Sacramento cyclist Peter Jacobsen thinks so. To make his case, he points to a key "indicator species," the female cyclist. Their numbers on the road, he argues, are a direct measure of the perceived safety of cycling and its likelihood to catch on with the general population.
Using this test, one can make the case that Sacramento is on the verge of becoming a cycling town, with midtown as its incubator. Cycling by both sexes is much in evidence in midtown, and it has a decidedly retro, back-to-the-future look. Twenty-somethings there are embracing colorful "cruiser" bikes -- those fat-tired bikes that hark back to the days when newspapers were delivered on two wheels.
But the new cruisers are much more colorful and stylish-looking than the old bikes. They make everyday cycling into something cool and trendy and fun.
And midtown is a logical incubator for cycling. It's where trips tend to be shorter and more easily manageable on two wheels. Midtown is packed with destinations for younger folks, with lots of restaurants, bars and nightclubs. In my own informal survey of these young cruisers, cycling was cited as a great way to avoid DUIs when you're enjoying midtown's nightlife.
They also mention greater ease of parking. And of course midtown's numerous bike lanes -- with more on the way -- contribute a sense of safety. But I think the key element is the compactness of midtown. It's hard to imagine a cycling lifestyle catching on in Sacramento's sprawling suburbs -- not until the price of gas shoots to $6 a gallon anyway.
