May 9-13 was Bike to Work Week in the Bay Area. A variety of events were planned, culminating with Bike to Work Day on Thursday, June 12. Benicia had two “energizer stations” where commuters were given snacks and various items of swag. The city sponsored one at City Park, while the staffed the station at the Park Road entrance to the bike path at the Benicia-Martinez Bridge.
I stopped by the bridge to say “HI” to the volunteers, Nancy Lund, Bob Klosterman, and Sherri Bortolazzo. even though it was a few blocks out of my way. While en route I espied a familiar figure biking in Benicia: Mayor Elizabeth Patterson. We continued up Jefferson Street to Park Boulevard and hung out with the volunteers for half an hour or so.
Every few minutes another bike-to-worker would come by, enabled to ride to work by the bike lane on the bridge. One worker was going from home in Martinez to Bio-Rad in the industrial park. Another was a Concord resident who teaches at the middle school. Another was headed from Concord to Kaiser in Vallejo. Over 20 commuters had signed up on the list when I left, with 30 minutes to go. I know some people had to leave earlier than the 6:30 starting time of the aid station, the regular bike commuters who have to leave in time to get to work. That’s dedication.
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I have the sense that as the installation of the bike path on the Benicia Bridge has provided an opportunity to commute by bike, people are taking advantage of it. As we see many more recreational riders doing the bridge-to-bridge loop on weekends, we see much more bike traffic during commute hours as well.
The premier bicycle race in the U.S., the Amgen Tour of California, begins Sunday, May 15. There are eight stages beginning in Lake Tahoe and finishing in Thousand Oaks. This year’s race will have a Bay Area stage, number 4 on Wednesday May 18 from Livermore to San Jose. The stage includes some steep hills that could have an effect on the outcome of the overall event.
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The Versus network provides extensive daily coverage that features the premier English language bike race commentators, Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. With the helicopter and motorcycle mounted cameras you get a much better experience of the race than being there, in my opinion.
The Taleo Racing Criterium takes place in downtown Benicia on Sunday, June 12. This is the same figure-8, 8-turn course that was used in 2009. Races go throughout the day with the main event in mid-to-late afternoon. This race isn’t on television so come on out. It’s more fun to watch in person than a stage race or road race, and I advise staking out a position near the start/finish line so you can hear the race announcer tell you what’s happening. Come out for the race, you'll enjoy it!
