Practical Pedaluma Cycle-Therapy

#45, June 28, 2000

It's time to tell you about a fab-u-lous local health club, one of Petaluma's best kept secrets. It features:

· Flexible workout plans: emphasizing cardiovascular fitness with no-impact aerobic techniques.

· Hundreds of locations: all within a few steps of home and work.

· Modern amenities: including showers, lockers, and kitchen facilities at many locations.

· Low initial cost: sliding scale initial fee, beginning at zero dollars.

· Negative monthly fees: You actually save money with every use!

· Unique lifestyle integration method: you exercise during the time normally wasted driving to work or tied to some pathetic stationary exercise machine.

· Socially conscious workouts: every calorie you burn helps reduce traffic congestion, road construction taxes, air pollution and global warming.

So, you've already figured out I'm talking about riding a bicycle to work? And I've convinced you to try it, soon and often? Yes? Good! So here is my short guide for practical bicycling in Petaluma.

If you already have the right equipment, you can skip these next two paragraphs. Petaluma has several great bike shops, where you can get (I recommend) a modest mountain-style bike for the cost of a new set of car tires. You won't need shock absorbers for your on-road riding, but get one of those nice squishy gel saddles. Buy road tires (smoother and faster than knobbys) with thorn-resistant tubes. And a sturdy pump to keep the tires at fast-rolling pressure.

You don't need an skin-tight outfit colored like a pack of movie-theater candy. But a solid electric lemon green windbreaker with reflector tape accents is great by day and night. Visibility equals safety-- save your subtle earthtones for the office. And I'm told those tight black shorts are very comfortable, though I still use my convertible nylon pants (long for the morning chill, short for the afternoon thrill.)

Once equipped, which way go? Well, Petaluma now has an official Bike Plan (you can see a copy at City Hall and the Library), which includes a map showing all the existing and proposed routes. The problem is there are more of the latter than the former. But that shouldn't stop you. There are safe ways to get to the major destinations in town, provided you adjust your riding to the conditions. For example, you can travel 6 miles from one end of McDowell to the other in either a marked "Class 2" bike lane (along the edge of car traffic), a "Class I" bike path (separate off street lane), or, in a few short areas, on an uncrowded sidewalk.

For cross town, it's best to stay off Washington. I use East D street, then cut through the parking lot by the library and swim center to catch the bike lane on Washington over the freeway. This fall, a new bike/ped path along Lynch Creek will let you get from the Library to Luchessi Park, bypassing the Washington overpass and McDowell intersection.

How do you get around the D Street Bridge closure? I ride 2^nd Street to the C Street parking lot, take the old trestle to the Balshaw Bridge, then past Dempseys (mmmmust haaaave beeeeer!) and across the Golden Eagle lot to Washington. I could go back to East D, but prefer to ride the Washington sidewalk (during early morning commute hours) all the way to the overpass.

Cycling is great personal and planetary therapy, but if you'd like to do more to promote peddling in Pedaluma than just ride, I invite you to attend one of the Petaluma Bicycle Advisory Committee meetings. PBAC meets at City Hall from 6-8 PM on the 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of every month. Now that we've finished writing the Bike Plan, we've the challenging job of implementing it. We could use some ideas and energy from cyclists and walkers as we try to shape public and private projects for higher levels of bicycle and pedestrian friendliness (and we could also use more spokespeople!)

If you have any questions about routes, planned projects, or the PBAC, feel free to contact me at Bruce.Hagen@iname.com. Meanwhile, put your mettle to the pedal, and have a wheel good time.