Petaluma

Sebastopol at Eye Level

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Due to May being National Bike Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to combine my usual “The City at Eye Level” post with advocating for breaking down the silos between National Bike Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month. While I am spotlighting these awareness months that occur in May, I honestly have difficulty supporting the effort to create awareness months because biking and mental health issues should not be focused on only in May. I also question the need for awareness months because is there a National Car Month?

The closest awareness months I could find to a National Car Month are the Car Care Council’s National Car Care Month in April and Fall Car Care Month in October. Since these car care months focus on car care and preventative maintenance, they do not focus on encouraging more people to shift from another mode of transportation to driving. Could National Bike Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month no longer be needed someday because American culture views them as normal aspects of our culture, like driving a car? I will keep dreaming and advocating for an American culture to exist like this someday!

Source: Car Car Council

Breaking down the silos between National Bike Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month

Even before American culture reaches the point where biking and helping people with mental health are normal aspects of our culture, I feel an easier and faster milestone will be breaking down the silos between National Bike Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month. As the below tweet by the League of American Bicyclists shows, National Mental Health Awareness Month is not even mentioned in their tweet. While celebrating bike joy could be interpreted as celebrating how biking improves mental health through bringing people joy, mental health is still not explicitly stated in the tweet. The promotional materials for National Bike Month on the League of American Bicyclists’ website also do not mention National Mental Health Awareness Month.

In addition to understanding the need to break down these silos, I hope by the end of this post you will understand the important connection between slowing down and improved mental health. Before I share my personal experience with this connection, I want to share results from this 2017 research study (the article is from 2019 but the research study is from 2017) that support what I have been writing. As the below infographic shows, a 2017 research study on commutes and happiness in Portland, OR found that happiness goes down with the length of a person’s commute, except for cyclists. Those who bike to work were happy no matter the length of their biking commute. 828 individuals in Portland, OR were surveyed. From these surveys, researchers measured commute well-being using a composite score.

Source: Clearvue Health https://www.clearvuehealth.com/b/biking-driving-commute/

While this 2014 British research study does not have an infographic, I like how it provides longitudinal evidence from eighteen waves of the British Household Panel Survey. Since walking was excluded from the Portland research study, I wanted to share the below quote from the British research study.

Our main observation of a positive association between active commuting and wellbeing was supported by four distinct groups of analyses…Furthermore, the commuting time analyses showed a positive relationship between time spent walking and wellbeing which, together with the observed increased effect sizes as participants with shorter commutes were progressively excluded from the first group of analyses, indicate a dose–response relationship.

Martin et al https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4262577/

I realize the research study results that I shared are focused on commuting. Since the below infographic shows how stress varies depending on the type of bike, which is important for my experience biking to and from Sebastopol, I choose to ride an upright bike to reduce stress and load on my neck and lower back. Many recreational cyclists ride racing bikes, so I would be curious to see how the severe stress and load on their necks and lower back impact how they would respond to a research study on the stress of biking. Do you think recreational cyclists are as happy, relaxed, and comfortable as bike commuters?

Source: https://phippssofttissue.com/blog/3-quick-tips-for-a-pain-free-bike-season/

Barriers to slowing down when accessing and enjoying Sebastopol

Well, I finally made it to discussing my April 29th Sebastopol daycation. The below map shows where Sebastopol is in relation to the rest of California. A variety of barriers prevented me from slowing down enough to enjoy my daycation.

The biggest barrier was the very limited train schedule. Since my e-bike does not fit on the bus, I had to wait until the first northbound SMART train departed Petaluma at 10:12am. I rushed on my e-bike instead of enjoying the beautiful ride on a trail from Santa Rosa to Sebastopol. I missed most of the Apple Blossom Parade because it started at 10am. While I probably should have paid for a hotel room for the night so I could enjoy dinner and the rest of the evening in Sebastopol, I decided to rush back to Santa Rosa to catch the last southbound SMART train that departed at 6:05pm. The later Saturday service started in May, so the 8:12pm trip was not available in April. Instead of feeling relaxed and enjoying a slow bike ride, I felt the need to rush to and from Sebastopol.

Northbound schedule on Saturday
Southbound schedule on Saturday

Thankfully, Patrick Amiot’s spectacular and very detailed upcycle art on Florence Avenue helped me end my daycation on a high note.

Future Blog Post

I have to use about 40 hours of PTO before it expires at the end of June. Since the rural areas in the Central Coast do not have connected and reliable transit services, I decided to plan a car-free vacation to Eureka with day trips to Redwood National Park. Due to Redwood National Park not having extensive public transit service, I am researching other ways to access the trailheads. Assuming the battery can last long enough, I may ride an e-bike rental from Eureka to the park, charge the battery, and then ride it back to Eureka. Hopefully, the battery does not take several hours to charge like my personal e-bike battery. I wish e-bike batteries would charge as fast as fueling a gas-powered car. While I have not refueled a car at a gas station recently, I believe cars can be refueled within a few minutes. I look forward to blogging more about this vacation.

While I debated whether to devote an entire post to how this 2012 issue at UNC Charlotte relates to my current accountability and transparency issue at Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma, I decided that sharing a brief update here is enough. This is an ongoing issue at my church, so I am not going to publicly share specifics. I feel the below quote from Stephan Hoche is powerful enough that it needs to be spotlighted in my blog. I am thankful that Stephan and I are still close friends despite no longer living in the same state. He has been supporting me through my current issue.

“It’s interesting why they have overlooked them for so long.  Basically it seems like UNC Charlotte has been enabling corrupt politicians,” said Stephan Hoche, a geography major. “What they are doing is undermining the fabric of society.  They have sworn to uphold the rule of law.  If you don’t uphold it you should be held accountable and at the very least the SGA Executive Cabinet should give a public apology for their error.  They should be made an example of.”

Stephan Hoche’s response to my UNC Charlotte issue
Source: Niner Times https://www.ninertimes.com/news/sga-disagrees-over-open-meeting-law-policy/article_97683b2b-e36a-5221-a472-28c223265350.html

History Is Important When Thinking About The Future

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I want to write a quick follow-up post about this Windsor post because I remembered some fascinating historic maps that are in the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum. I visited this museum with a friend today. As the below 1912 map shows, West Windsor used to be served by an agricultural railroad. I need to research whether people were allowed to ride the agricultural train or if the train was only for commercial shipping. Either way, the train no longer exists. I assume car dependency and the shift from railroad shipping to truck shipping caused the trains to no longer exist. I need to research this further to avoid making bad assumptions. I know for certain that Petaluma’s history as being the “Egg Basket of the World” resulted in the need for shipping the eggs. Since this industry is no longer as large in Petaluma, there is no longer much need for shipping eggs.

Regarding how this history relates to the future, the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is working to bring back train service to serve people in Windsor. I am often surprised by how many locals do not know their own local area or state’s history. Since I enjoy studying history, I frequently end up educating them about their own local and state history even though I am not from California. How many locals in Windsor do you think know that West Windsor used to be served by an agricultural railroad?

Photo: Ray Atkinson

While the below 1923 map is not related to Windsor unless you want to count that the train service went to Windsor, it surprised my Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma friend who has lived in California most of his life that Petaluma used to be served by so much train service! Look at all the train routes that used to serve Petaluma! The only remaining train route, which was operated by a different company in 1923, is the route served by SMART. I actually need to research whether the train tracks that SMART currently uses through Petaluma were continuously operated since 1923. I have a feeling that SMART may have restarted service in 2017 on a disused rail line.

Photo: Ray Atkinson

Future Blog Post

Since no one has replied to the questions in my last post, I copied the questions below. While I would enjoy having people comment on my posts, I am mostly writing this blog for my autobiography and for my future wife and kids to read. Assuming I ever get married and have kids, which feels less likely to happen as I am getting older and my future wife is unable to have kids when she reaches menopause, I am looking forward to telling them stories as I reflect on my car-free life. I hope I am not sharing too much. I have been thinking about how I prefer to develop romantic relationships slowly. This likely means that being at the point in my future relationship with my future wife to have kids will take years.

Do you understand the connection between The City at Eye Level and my recent posts about the power of slowing down and its impact on creating robust outdoor in-person social networks? If not, I will keep thinking about how to more clearly write about and show this connection in future blog posts. If so, what other topics do you want me to write about?

The Answer to Ray’s Question About The Power of Slowing Down

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I am currently on the bus to a doctor’s appointment in Santa Rosa, which is located north of Petaluma. Due to this, my post is short. While the post is short, I hope having less to read will mean more readers will engage with my question this time. Since I believe the answer to my question in my last post is simple but unlikely to be achieved in automobile-dependent Petaluma unless the public is willing to change their travel behavior, I wanted to share this fascinating BikePortland article from this week. Specifically, I want your attention to focus on the thoughts below from Portland’s long-serving and leading bike planner. I have also heard “if you build it, they will come” from Petaluma bike planners. Do you think Petaluma will have the same bike commute decline after it builds more bike infrastructure as Portland is currently experiencing despite building more bike infrastructure? How do you think this question relates to my question about the power of slowing down?

Geller, who’s worked in PBOT as a bike planner since the 1990s, shared a presentation with BAC members titled, Why has bicycle commuting/bicycling been in decline in Portland (2014-2019)? (PDF)

“I’m really kind of stumped,” Geller said at the outset of his presentation, “I’ve been in this position for a long time and the general thinking has always been, ‘build it and they will come.’” Geller explained how PBOT built new bike infrastructure each year and the rise in bicycle use followed up until a peak of 7.2% of commute trips in 2014. “But then things changed and the numbers began to drop,” he said.

“The network has grown, the quality of the network has grown,” he continued. “And so this is why it’s kind of confounding because our strategy of ‘build it and they will come’ is just not working anymore.”

BikePortland
Do you see any cyclists riding in this Portland bike lane surrounded by parked and moving cars? Could Portland’s car dependency be preventing people from biking?
Source: BikePortland

Future Blog Post

I have other ideas on how to continue writing about the power of slowing down and its impact on creating robust in-person social networks. Do you enjoy reading about my perspective on this topic?

The Power of Slowing Down

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I am going to initially keep this post short because I am tired from a long day and have work in the morning. I plan to expand on this post when I have more time and energy.

Ray’s First Cacao Ceremony

I participated in my first Cacao Ceremony today (this link likely will stop working when the Instagram story expires) at Grand Central Petaluma. While this may not appear to be related to what my blog is about, the intersectionality between the focus on how powerful slowing down to truly experience the Cacao Ceremony made me think about how important slowing down other aspects of my life is. Since I want to make my blog more interactive, how do you think the power of slowing down could help to encourage the creation of robust in-person social networks?

Grand Central Petaluma hosted a Cacao Ceremony. Photo: Ray Atkinson

The video below shares more about Jamie’s cacao ceremony preparation process from Ecuador. You can learn more through his free e-book.

Future Blog Post

I was impressed by the Petaluma Transit Advisory Committee’s goal-setting discussion during the March 9th meeting. While I have to remain neutral on the TAC members’ thoughts because I work for the City of Petaluma, I want to write a future post about the goal-setting discussion. The below video shows the recording for the March 9th meeting.

How Petaluma’s Food Desert And Transportation Access Issues Impacted Ray’s Housing Search

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Since I am feeling triggered by seeing my last post, I feel the need to add a more pleasant post sooner than I normally would. I am writing this post on my phone, so this will be a short post. I may expand on the post when I am back on my laptop. I was reviewing my 50 draft posts when I found this post about food deserts. Before I share a Petaluma-specific example, do you agree with this article that advocates for people to stop using “food desert”?

Due to how important food deserts and transportation access to grocery stores were to my housing search, I was planning to show maps of what I believe are Petaluma’s food deserts. I decided not to add the maps because I do not want my former roommate to stalk me again. I ended up avoiding a slightly cheaper studio apartment near Casa Grande High School because there are no healthy grocery stores within walking or biking distance of the studio apartment. The slightly more expensive studio apartment that I moved to in February is within walking and biking distance of healthy grocery stores.

Finding Ways To Relax During Mental Health Recovery

I wanted to share a few ways that I am relaxing during my mental health recovery. I went to my first kirtan concert on Saturday night. The video below shows what a kirtan concert is. While I usually prefer to bike because biking is faster than walking, I have been walking more recently to relax. Due to how loud automobiles are, I wish Petaluma was quieter to take walks in. I may have to bike to a nearby rural park to access a quiet enough place to walk. Do you also struggle with finding a quiet place to walk and relax? If so, how have you tried to find a quiet place?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Co5n__eyM0Z/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Future Blog Post

In addition to what I am planning to do from my last post, I also want to write about my next car-free vacation plan. While this plan is not set yet, I need a vacation after my recent stressful experience. Since I do not want to wait until my next vacation to explore more of California, I have been planning and enjoying daycations and weekend getaways with friends in California.

Does Petaluma Have Any Neighborhoods That Provide A Robust In-Person Social Network?

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As I kept thinking about the distance needed to create a healthy work-life balance, I realized that being further from work may not matter if the neighborhood where I live provides a robust social network when I am not at work. Since social network in 2023 usually means an online network, I need to clarify that I am referring to an in-person social network. I have also learned through chatting with friends that my thought evaluation process for determining a robust in-person social network may not be obvious to lay people. While I plan to share research studies to try to support my evaluation process, I am trying a new approach to share my thought process. I welcome your feedback.

Donald Appleyard’s 1969 Livable Streets Research

I think the below Streetfilms video, which is in Matt Turner’s blog post, about Donald Appleyard’s 1969 Livable Streets research in San Francisco should help readers understand my evaluation process for determining a robust in-person social network. Readers can learn even more by reading Donald Appleyard’s 1981 book titled Livable Streets. His son, Bruce, published Livable Streets 2.0 in 2020. I find it depressing that livable street issues still exist in 2023. Do motorists even realize (they may need to start by even thinking about the problem) how they are impacting in-person social networks when they are driving on neighborhood streets?

A few friends have asked me what I find “depressing” in the previous paragraph. Due to how American society usually does not openly discuss mental health issues like physical health issues and people with mental health issues do not always feel comfortable discussing their issues, I am thankful to have family and friends who are comfortable enough with me to ask about my mental health issues. Regarding what I find depressing about livable street issues still existing in 2023, I am depressed that not much has been done to resolve the known issues. While these issues are known to many planners, the issues may not be known to the general public. Since the general public likely is not aware of the issues, I believe planners like myself have the tough responsibility to educate them about the issues. I believe the needle will not be moved quickly to resolve the issues until the general public is aware that these issues exist.

I am hopeful that finding a neighborhood with a robust in-person social network will also help improve my mental health issues, which includes creating a healthier work-life balance. While some people may believe that a healthy work-life balance is created by just being in a living space when not at work, I believe being home is more than just a living space. As I will discuss further during the topic on “home territory”, access to people near my living space also contributes to creating a healthy work-life balance. Since I find it challenging to stop thinking about planning issues when not at work, I am hopeful that living in a neighborhood that has a vibrant in-person social network will help me to stop thinking about planning issues when not at work. I realize my vision of the perfect neighborhood does not exist. I can at least try to find a better neighborhood to live in.

Source: Streetfilms https://vimeo.com/16399180

In case readers do not watch the video, I want readers to focus on the below figure from Donald Appleyard’s 1969 research in San Francisco because it shows how light, moderate, and heavy traffic impact in-person social networks along one block on each street. The below quotes show the quotes that meant the most to me. What quotes mean the most to you? Do you relate to any of the quotes?

I feel it’s home. There are warm people on this street. I don’t feel alone.

Resident on street with light traffic

It’s not a friendly street — no one offers to help.

Resident on street with heavy traffic
Source: Donald Appleyard’s 1969 diagram of intra-street social connections. Lines represent specific social connections and dots identify where people were reported to gather.

While I am not sure why the below figure is not black and white like the other figures, the figure was still created by Donald Appleyard. I found the figure in Jason Kottke’s blog post. According to Donald Appleyard in his 1981 book, the home territory is defined as the “area over which you feel you have a sense of personal responsibility or stewardship”. Do you see how none of the home territories drawn by residents on the heavy traffic street actually crosses the street? Now let’s compare this with the home territories drawn by residents on the light traffic street. It’s awesome to see how many home territories on the light traffic street actually cross the street!

Source: Donald Appleyard

2011 Livable Streets Research

Research conducted in 2011 on three Bristol streets found similar results. As someone who is depressed when my neighbors just go from their cars to their homes without talking with me, I can relate to the below quote. Surprisingly, I do not live on a street with heavy traffic. Due to Bristol being more walkable than Petaluma, walkability may matter more in this context than how much traffic exists on the street.

people just go from their cars to their houses

Resident on street with heavy traffic
Source: Hart, J. and Parkhurst, G. (2011) Community interaction on three Bristol streets.

The Bristol study also researched each resident’s perspective on their “home territory”. The below figure shows very similar results to what Donald Appleyard found in his San Francisco study. Do you notice how residents living on the street with light traffic drew larger home territories than the residents living on the street with heavy traffic? Do you also notice that many of the home territories drawn by residents living on the street with light traffic actually cross the street? On the other hand, do you see how only one of the home territories drawn by residents living on the street with heavy traffic actually crosses the street?

“During the interviews, residents were asked to draw their ‘home territories’. Home territory was defined as the “area over which you feel you have a sense of personal responsibility or stewardship” (Appleyard, 1981). The results confirmed Appleyard’s findings about the relationship between traffic level and the range of home territories.”

I am adding Hayden Clarkin’s tweet about this 2021 German study because it relates to the above “home territory” drawing results or mind mapping. I believe the home territories were drawn by adults, so I am more heartbroken by seeing children that are negatively impacted by cars. I know many of my readers have children. What do you think your children would draw about their trip to school? Do you drive your children to school, or do they have the freedom to walk or bike to school? If you drive them to school, did you consider providing them with the freedom to walk or bike to school?

Applying The Research To Petaluma

Before I discuss applying the research, I am aware that Petaluma is not San Francisco or Bristol. The land use context is important when applying real-world research. Due to Petaluma’s suburban land use, results from San Francisco’s urban land use may be too different to apply the research when reviewing suburban neighborhoods. One way that the land use difference could be resolved is by comparing the vehicles per day or per peak hour on each street. I plan to write more about this topic, so I could do this comparison in a future blog post.

With the above land use caveat and the understanding that my blog is not going through an academic peer-review process, I have not experienced any Petaluma neighborhoods that have a robust in-person social network. While I may not have enough time to research this further before my roommate finds someone to replace me on the lease, I am hopeful that I will find a Petaluma neighborhood with a robust in-person social network before deciding where to buy my first home within the next year or so. I try to look for silver linings, so I wanted to share the photo below that I took today in Downtown Petaluma. Despite the rain (yes, California has a wet season like Oregon), I enjoyed talking with this artist as she painted a downtown scene. This experience gave me hope that Petaluma has some in-person social networks.

Source: Ray Atkinson

In case livable street researchers read my blog, I want to challenge you to do further research using Donald Appleyard’s research by studying how in-person social networks change before and after a street has automobile traffic completely removed. This tweet helped me think of this challenge. Are you willing to accept the challenge?

I could not figure out a way to fit this 2019 Cairo research study into the above discussions of other research studies because the Cairo research did not compare automobile congestion on different streets. However, I wanted to share the Cairo results because robust in-person social networks along street blocks were studied. Even with many cars parked along the streets, I am impressed by the level of in-person social interactions. The map key shows how these interactions vary on Friday from 3-5pm and 8-10pm. What do you notice from the research results?

Behavior mapping of staying activities on the sidewalk segments of Ibrahim Street in Cairo

Future Blog Post

Since I desperately want to live in a home again that feels comfortable, I hope my next post will be about my new living situation. I wish I did not have to wait for my roommate to find someone she wants to live with before I can be removed from the lease. As I have done with previous moves, I plan to write about my commute. I may decide to stay in the same apartment complex, so I may not have a new commute. Either way, I plan to discuss further about whether my neighborhood and any other neighborhood in Petaluma has a robust in-person social network. While I am struggling to learn Spanish using Duolingo, I realize that I may need to improve my Spanish skills in order to join certain in-person social networks in Petaluma and elsewhere in California.

Ray’s E-Bike Does Not Fit On Normal Bus Bike Rack

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I attended the 2022 CALACT Autumn Conference & Bus Show in Santa Rosa, CA this week (last week by the time you read this). Since the conference had several sessions on electric buses and the bus show displayed electric buses, I was hoping to talk with a vendor about what bus bike racks fit e-bikes. As the below list shows, bus bike rack companies like Sportworks were not a vendor. I asked the bus vendors whether their bike racks could fit an e-bike. While they agreed that e-bikes are growing in popularity and we need to plan for e-bikes, they were unable to answer my questions. At least many of the bus vendors had bike racks on their buses.

CALACT vendor list. Source: https://calact.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/BUS-EXPO-Show-Map3-10.20.22.pdf

Does Ray’s E-Bike Fit On Any Bus Bike Rack?

Petaluma Transit

I am not sure if any buses that I ride in the Bay Area have bike racks that fit my e-bike. While my Heybike Cityscape e-bike may appear to fit on the below bike rack, which is attached to a parked Petaluma Transit bus, the front wheel is not fully in the wheel tray. In case you are wondering where the battery is, I removed it to reduce the weight of my e-bike when loading it on the rack. Since I am nervous about my e-bike not fitting in the front tray correctly and I do not want to risk my e-bike falling out of the rack and getting run over by the bus, I have not put my e-bike on a moving bus yet.

Photo of Ray’s e-bike on a parked Petaluma Transit bus bike rack. Source: Ray Atkinson

Sportworks has this webpage titled Transporting E-bikes On Transit Vehicles. It appears the above Petaluma Transit bus has Sportworks’ DL2 transit bike rack, which has a 44″ wheelbase. Thankfully, I do not need to wait for a longer bike rack to be created. Sportworks’ Apex transit bike rack has a 48″ wheelbase, which should fit my e-bike. While I have not checked the wheelbase on all of Petaluma Transit’s bike racks, many of the racks appear to be the short DL2 transit bike rack. Since my team is preparing to purchase electric buses to replace the existing bus fleet, I hope there will be enough funding to purchase Apex transit bike racks that have a 48″ wheelbase.

Longer wheelbases are another characteristic of E-bikes that require consideration. Apex racks support wheelbases up to 48″ with DL2 and Trilogy models accommodating wheelbases up to 44″.

Sportworks

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART)

I am actually more concerned about buses that leave Petaluma than buses that stay in Petaluma. Petaluma is a small city with few hills, so I have been able to easily bike almost everywhere in Petaluma. Due to no frequent service lines, which is something that I hope will receive funding in the future, I have biked more than ridden Petaluma Transit so far. As a City of Petaluma employee, I can ride Petaluma Transit for free but more frequent service is needed for me to switch more of my trips to transit.

Back to why I am more concerned about buses that leave Petaluma than buses that stay in Petaluma. I would have to bike all the way back to Petaluma if the longer-distance buses do not have bike racks with a 48″ wheelbase. Since the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train has on-board bike parking, which is shown in the below 2017 video, I can bring my e-bike on the SMART train without being concerned about whether the bike length will fit. I still have to be careful about how wide my bike load is because SMART has a policy that “Bicycles wider than 16 inches, excluding handlebars, will only be allowed as space permits.” While I am thankful that I can bring my e-bike on the SMART train, the train does not run late at night or frequently.

Golden Gate Transit

I learned during the Sonoma County Transportation Authority’s Transit-Technical Advisory Committee meeting on January 11, 2023, that many transit agencies in the Bay Area are trying to accommodate e-bikes on their systems. Since this meeting was open to the public and recorded, I can share what was discussed. Golden Gate Transit staff shared their “Bike Racks on Buses” webpage, which has the below statement about e-bikes being allowed only on buses with front-mounted bike racks. Unfortunately, figuring out which buses have front-mounted bike racks is not easy. Staff said there is an app that tracks specific bus numbers for each route. While staff shared which bus numbers allow e-bikes, this information is not easily accessible to the public. Staff also said that these buses rotate with buses that do not allow e-bikes.

Even if I get lucky with the bus that allows e-bikes, the e-bike battery must remain on the bike and cannot be brought on board the bus. This is important because Golden Gate Transit does not allow e-bikes that weigh more than 55 pounds. My e-bike weighs 58.4 pounds with the battery. Since my battery weighs 7.67 pounds, my e-bike would weigh less than 55 pounds without the battery. Golden Gate Transit staff said the battery cannot be brought on board the bus because e-bike batteries have a history of exploding.

Electric bikes (e-bikes) are only allowed on buses with front-mounted bike racks. E-bike batteries must remain on the bike and cannot be brought on board the bus. E-bikes cannot weigh more than 55 lbs.

Golden Gate Transit
Source: https://www.goldengate.org/bus/riding-the-bus/bringing-your-bike/bike-racks-on-buses/

Amtrak

Yes, Petaluma has an Amtrak “stop”. I put “stop” in quotes because it is more of a bus stop than an Amtrak station. As the below video shows, Amtrak provides bus service between Petaluma and Napa. While I am thankful that Amtrak provides service at all from Petaluma to Napa because there is no other direct transit service, it feels weird that Amtrak provides a bus instead of a train. I have been researching how to reach Napa because it is a famous place to visit. I also want to explore more places to the east of Petaluma. I have focused mostly on places to the north and south of Petaluma so far.

Unfortunately, my e-bike is too heavy to be brought on Amtrak because it is over 50 pounds. Since my bike keeps being too heavy for every transit agency’s e-bike policy, I may need to buy a lighter e-bike. Hopefully, the lighter e-bike will have all the features that I am used to having. Do you think such an e-bike exists?

Electric bicycles under 50 lbs. are allowed in checked baggage and on trains with walk-on bicycle service. Gas-powered motorized bicycles are prohibited.

Amtrak

Swytch

Another option is to use Swytch’s electric bike conversion kit to convert my pedal-only bike into an e-bike. Due to some transit agencies not allowing e-bike batteries on board, I would need to confirm that Swytch’s battery can be brought on board. I am not sure whether Swytch’s battery is tough enough to be kept on the bike while on the bus’ bike rack.

Future Blog Post

I originally wrote that the above post is short. I added more to the post after learning more about e-bike policies in the Bay Area. I still want to blog more about my car-free adventures throughout the Bay Area. Since I have days off during the upcoming holiday season, I should have more time to explore the region. I have been texting with Solomon Haile, who lives in the East Bay and is a UC Berkeley student, about going on a bike ride together. Surprisingly, I have not met Solomon in person yet. We met online through our mutual passion to achieve Vision Zero or Sustainable Safety, which is another topic that I could write more about.

Ray’s Halloween Costume

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Happy early Halloween! I would publish this post on Halloween but I will be working on Halloween. While I do not have Halloween evening plans yet, I cannot do anything late in the evening because I have to wake up early for the 2022 CALACT Autumn Conference & Bus Show, which is November 1-4 in Santa Rosa, CA. Due to how close I am to Santa Rosa, I am embarrassed to admit that I have not been to Santa Rosa yet. I almost visited Santa Rosa this weekend for the Fall Fun Fest.

Fixing Flat Tire

Since the rear tire on my new e-bike had a flat from the below small thorn, I skipped the Fall Fun Fest to spend Friday and Saturday learning how to remove the rear tire from my e-bike. Removing the rear tire is much more complex on an e-bike than on a pedal-only bike. I should have also spent time learning how to reinstall the rear tire because the bike mechanic took pity on me when they saw how much I was struggling to reinstall the rear tire. As a silver lining, the wheels do not have quick-release levers. This is important because thieves can easily remove wheels that have quick-release levers.

Ray’s Halloween Costume

Hopefully, the bike issues are over so I can enjoy Halloween and the conference. My employer, Petaluma Transit, is organizing a Halloween party on Monday. While I may improve my costume before Monday, the below photo shows my first attempt at creating my costume. In case the photo does not make sense to you, the meaning is explained in this 2022 post. Even though California is usually one of the most progressive states, Governor Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 122, which would have legalized the Idaho Stop. Since I do not enjoy having to figure out which states have legalized the Idaho Stop when I am biking on vacation, I hope the federal government legalizes the Idaho Stop in every state. This article gives me hope that the federal government may legalize the Idaho Stop before California legalizes it.

I am adding this paragraph because readers asked me whether any studies have found that the Idaho Stop is safer. Plus, I learned through discussing my costume with people that many people are against the Idaho Stop. These people felt the Idaho Stop is dangerous for cyclists and motorists. Yes, I find it concerning that these people assumed the Idaho Stop is dangerous without researching whether it is actually dangerous. While I wish there were more studies about the Idaho Stop and that lay people actually read the studies, I found this 2022 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fact sheet titled “Bicyclist “Stop-As-Yield” Laws and Safety Fact Sheet”. I also found this 2022 article titled “Study shows Idaho stop improves cyclist safety”.

Bicyclist stop-as-yield laws allow cyclists to mitigate risk to their advantage, increase their visibility to drivers and reduce exposure. Bicyclists have greater incentive to yield, as they are at high risk for injury at intersections. One study cites research showing that pedestrians and bicyclists exert more care and attention before crossing red signals than green (Leth et al., 2014).

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Future Blog Post

I realize the above post is short. I covered everything quicker than normal. While I will likely be exhausted from attending the conference this week, I may blog about the conference.

Ray’s Petaluma Apartment Complex Has Strict Bike Parking Policy

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My roommate and I received a patio notice from our Petaluma, CA apartment complex yesterday (Friday) that requires me to park my two bikes in a bike cage or inside my bedroom. The patio notice also requires us to bring our small trash and recycle cans inside. While I was tempted to share the notice publicly, it has our address on it. Since our lease states that only furniture can be on our patio, I should have read our lease closer. Thankfully, we did not get fined and the property manager is helping us to be compliant. We learned that many residents have bikes on their patios, so we were not the only residents who receive the notice. While I may find similar restrictions in a homeowner association (HOA) if my first home ends up being in an HOA, I have enough savings to buy my first home after my one-year work probation period is over next July. Due to how many Californians cannot afford to buy a home, I am fortunate to be able to afford an expensive home in California.

Where Can Ray Park His Two Bikes?

I wish the answer was as simple as inside a bike cage. While the below photo is hard to see inside the bike cage, there is only space for one more bike. The property manager said more bike cages are planned. Unfortunately, they do not have a timeline for when the bike cages will be built. At least they recognize the need for more bike cages.

Source: Ray Atkinson

Due to the potential for bike theft, I would prefer my bikes to be parked in a secure bike cage. Since I do not want to hang my bikes on the wall in my bedroom because they are heavy, I am hoping the property manager will allow me to lock my bikes to the non-secure bike racks outside the bike cages. I wrote “allow” because my apartment complex has a bike registration system. This is separate from the City of Petaluma. The property manager will remove my bikes if they are not registered and parked in the correct location. I have never lived in an apartment complex that has a bike registration system!

Ray Purchased His First E-Bike

I try to include something positive in my posts. While I was not planning to buy an e-bike when I moved to Petaluma and I still prefer pedaling, my new boss felt comfortable enough with me to share that I had bad hygiene issues. He actually told me this on my birthday, which is likely the most helpful birthday gift I have ever received. Yes, it was an awkward meeting but I am thankful that my boss felt comfortable enough with me to share such an important issue. The below photo shows my Class 2 e-bike and pedal-only bike. As a full-time City of Petaluma employee, I receive a $500 (before taxes) annual wellness benefit. I used this benefit to help me pay for the e-bike. I have never had this benefit before. I love how it is an annual benefit!

I am keeping my pedal-only bike as a backup bike. I also have it posted on Spinlister, which is like Airbnb but for bikes. Since I purchased this bike when I still lived in Arlington, VA in 2017 and I rode it daily through rough western Oregon rainy seasons, I doubt it will be rideable much longer.

Source: Ray Atkinson

Due to my e-bike having a longer wheelbase than my pedal-only bike, I have been concerned about whether my e-bike will fit on the bike rack when riding the bus. As the below photo of a parked Petaluma Transit bus shows, the back wheel of my bike is in the wheel well. Since the front wheel is only partly in the wheel well, I am nervous about whether the wheel is far enough into the wheel well to keep my bike from moving. I plan to ask a bike shop for advice before doing a real-world test on a moving bus. While I am not asking for professional advice from my readers, do you think my bike is far enough into the wheel well to keep it from moving on a moving bus?

Source: Ray Atkinson

I wanted to end this blog post with an enjoyable Instagram post. You can read the description to understand what is happening in my Instagram post. Yes, I rode my e-bike through Petaluma River Park. While the severe drought has caused the park to be brown, I hope to see it lush and green someday soon. Since I did not enjoy the long rainy season in western Oregon, the lush and green park better happen without a long rainy season!

Next Blog Post

I may write a follow-up post about the above post. Another option is to continue writing about what I started in my last post. Do you have a preference?