Ray Atkinson started this blog in 2014 when he moved from his childhood home in Kannapolis, North Carolina, USA (Walk Score of 0) to get his Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from Portland State University (Walk Score of 100). He has a sustainable transportation lifestyle in Key West, Florida, USA. His email is gismap1@gmail.com. The postings on this site are of my own and don't reflect or represent the opinions of the City of Key West, for which I work. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayplans
I am not sure how many Americans celebrate May 30th as National E-Bike Day, especially since the day was only created by Lectric eBikes in 2023. At least National Bike Month, which is in May and was started in 1956, has a longer history. As the below timeline shows, the first e-bike was patented in the US in 1895. The first two-wheeled transportation contraption was built in 1817, so the day’s history is much older than 2023. Did you know that National E-Bike Day exists? If so, how are you celebrating today? Are you riding your e-bike?
Since today is National E-Bike Day, I want to share my e-bike presentation again. The City of Key West also posted my presentation. As a heads up, you cannot comment on the City’s videos. Feel free to comment on my blog post. I plan to share more about my e-bike planning efforts during these in-person workshops, which will be held at the Bahama Village Community Center in Key West on June 6th and 7th. Refreshments will be provided! I am not sure how many of my readers actually live in Key West. Do you plan to participate in one of the workshops?
Future Blog Post
My girlfriend and I have been discussing whether to buy e-bikes. I used to have e-bikes in other cities, but I have not felt comfortable buying any e-bikes in Key West. My January 14th post explains more about the issue. While my girlfriend keeps telling me that my health is worth spending money on, I want to make sure that I feel comfortable with the expensive e-bike that I decide to purchase. My girlfriend and I are concerned about me losing weight by riding pedal-only bikes. Riding an e-bike requires less physical effort than a pedal-only bike. We currently ride pedal-only bikes because we have not found a bike shop in Key West that will repair the e-bikes that we want to buy. Unfortunately, the e-bikes that the bike shops sell do not fit on the bus bike racks. I am working to order bus bike racks that will fit e-bikes, but this order may take a long time.
Even if Key West Transit’s vehicles can fit all e-bikes, my girlfriend and I want to bike beyond Key West. Many transit systems throughout Florida do not have bus bike racks that fit e-bikes. Due to how many transportation operators ban e-bikes, we do not want to risk being stuck somewhere that we cannot bring our e-bikes with us. I realize that many e-bike users in Key West do not take their e-bike beyond Key West. As a planner, I want to plan for when people decide to start taking their e-bike beyond Key West. I am realizing that my “future blog post” section is getting long. I look forward to sharing more about this importation topic in future blog posts. Are there certain aspects of e-bike planning that you want me to focus on?
I decided not to ship my e-bike from Kannapolis to Key West because I have not found a bike shop that will work on repairing potential issues with the electronics for my Wing bike, which has a 42.9″ wheelbase. Due to insurance and liability concerns, all of the bike shops told me that they only work on the electronics for e-bikes that they sell. Unfortunately, none of the e-bikes that they sell have a 44″ wheelbase. Why is the 44″ wheelbase important?
Source: Wing Bikes
Bus Bike Rack Has Max 44″ Wheelbase
I enjoy the option of putting my bike on the bus bike rack, especially when I go on long bike rides. The bus bike rack can only carry bikes that have up to a 44″ wheelbase. I do not want to embarrass the bike shops, so I will just share that they are experts on recreational biking. Due to how many tourists visit Key West and how the bike shops have a local discount to encourage more residents to bike, I understand how the bike shops make more money from tourists that do recreational biking. It honestly felt weird to be a local in the bike shops when most of the other costumers were asking about renting bikes for their vacation.
Since the bike shop staff have plenty to learn about transportation biking, I am thankful that they at least tried to understand why the 44″ wheelbase is important. I am definitely a unique customer because they said I was the first person to ask for a bike that has a 44″ wheelbase. While I thought this was a common measurement, all of the staff asked me how to measure the wheelbase. They had never measured this before, so they got a tape measure and measured their e-bikes. Due to how none of their e-bikes were close to having a 44″ wheelbase, they were shocked that Wing sells an e-bike with this short of a wheelbase.
I may have to convert a pedal-only bike to an e-bike using one of the below approaches. Have you tried any of these ideas?
I start work next Tuesday. I may not have the type of bike that I want. As I have learned throughout my career, I notice things that others are not aware of. While I wish that I could have a more neurotypical mind and feel normal, I believe that I got my new job and am lucky enough to be working in a dream vacation destination because I have a autism and am a highly sensitive person. Since my job involves sustainable transportation planning, I look forward to sharing experiences as I feel more normal as more people shift to a sustainable transportation lifestyle.
I have lived in Key West since Christmas Eve. My car-dependent parents stayed with me through New Year’s Eve to help me move and prepare for work. Since my parents always think about driving when they need to travel, I was curious about how they would approach visiting Key West. Even though we have enough money to splurge on a rental car and parking fees, my parents and I only splurge when we feel the purchase is reasonable. Renting a car isn’t reasonable in Key West when there are so many cheaper and less stressful transportation options available. In addition to the expensive car rental, available car parking in Old Town is stressful to find. As much as my parents disagree with my decision to live a sustainable transportation lifestyle, they asked me to help them travel without driving a car in Key West.
I did not expect to start showing my parents how to travel without driving a car while still in the airport. I have never seen advertising in an airport promoting bike rentals and tours. I think this shows how bike friendly Key West is. While there are bike repair stations in other parts of Key West, I wish there was a bike repair station at the airport for people transporting their bike in a box from baggage claim. I saw a bike repair station at the airport in Portland, OR.
Bike rentals and tours promoted at Key West Airport
Ray’s Parents Biked For The 1st Time In Years
Since my mom used a wheelchair in the Asheville and Key West airports due to not being able to walk far distances without fainting, I was impressed that she agreed to try biking in Key West. While balance issues prevented her from biking with both pedals, she at least tried to bike!
Ray’s mom trying to bike in Key West
My mom didn’t look comfortable in the photo below, so I probably should not have tried so hard to help her get on a bike. I pushed the bike while she held onto me. We only did this for a block, so I learned that I was pushing her beyond her limit. Since I saw elderly people biking in Denmark and the Netherlands, I wish most of the US was also designed to encourage elderly people to exercise. My mom was able to walk without my help after a few days of walking in Key West. I think she just needs to move to a healthier city where she would feel comfortable walking more often. Unfortunately, she will likely stop walking for transportation when she returns to North Carolina.
Ray tried too hard to help his mom get comfortable with biking
My dad also biked in Key West. He had no balance issues, so he was able to use both pedals. We biked together several times when shopping and getting meals. He got so used to biking that he asked me for my bike when doing errands. Since my dad criticized me for biking in Memphis and Kannapolis, I never thought he would ask to use my bike for transportation!
Ray’s dad biking in Key West
My parents also rode transit. I taught them how to download apps to pay for and track the bus. My dad still used cash when riding the on-demand service because figuring out how to pay with the app was too stressful for him. I paid for the Lyft trips because I doubt a Lyft driver will wait long enough for me to teach my parents how to use the Lyft app. Since the Lyft drivers arrived within minutes, I was curious whether transit could compete with Lyft. Thankfully, the wait to get on the free Duval Loop was pretty fast. The bus was cold enough that our glasses were foggy when exposed to the warm weather outside. I prefer being warm, so I wish the bus was warmer.
Ray’s parents riding the Duval Loop in Key West
New Year’s Eve In Key West
My parents are Republicans, so I am glad that they flew back to North Carolina before the New Year’s Eve celebration. The red shoe drop had a drag queen in it. Several drag queens performed during the celebration. My dad wants to ban drag shows for the typical reasons that you can read about on Republican websites. I am glad that I got to enjoy the drag show without having to argue politics with my dad. I was surrounded by thousands of people at the celebration, so it felt good to be with people who support drag shows. Happy New Year!
New Year’s Eve celebration on Duval Street in Key West
The crowd’s body heat combined with temperatures in the 70s caused me to sweat. Yes, it was about 70 degrees at midnight. I don’t want to experience freezing weather again anytime soon. My condo has a year-round heated outdoor pool, and several beaches that have clear water for snorkeling are within easy walking or biking distance, so I can easily cool off while enjoying nature. My mom enjoyed swimming with me at a beach. I am probably making my northern friends and relatives jealous. Feel free to visit! My lease allows one guest, so you can avoid paying the expensive resort prices.
Ray swimming with his mom in Key West
While this post was focused on my unique experience with my parents, I also enjoyed catching up with my former Memphis coworker and group bike rider during her Key West vacation. Since I care about helping other people even when my body is suffering, leaving Memphis was one of my toughest decisions. I am thankful that my Memphis coworkers and friends helped me understand that I needed to prioritize self-care before helping other people.
I could share more in this post, but I want to explore more of Key West and get ready to start working. I also want to explore the other Florida Keys and the rest of South Florida, especially Miami and Everglades National Park. I only went on a Caribbean Sea cruise from Miami about 15 years ago, so I have plenty to explore in Miami. Since I have many topics that I want to write about, is there a topic that you want to read?
Greetings from Memphis! I wanted to publish a post when I moved to Memphis during Labor Day weekend. I felt the need to postpone blogging because I have been busy with moving, unpacking, organizing, meeting neighbors, and preparing for my new job, which starts on Monday, September 11th.
Podcasts About Ray’s New Job
In case you are curious to learn more about my job, I recommend listening to the below podcasts where my predecessors and other people were interviewed about their active transportation work and the future work that I will be managing. Due to the history that is shared in each podcast, I recommend listening to Episode 3 first before proceeding to the next podcast. I copied the episode descriptions, so the descriptions were not created by me. As you will hear in the podcasts, my predecessors and other passionate champions did impressive work to help Memphis become known as a national active transportation leader!
Making bikes affordable to more people by founding Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop led Anthony Siracusa to bike advocacy work on the local, state, and national levels. In time, he saw the bike as only one lever to affect change among many. Anthony’s doctoral studies at Vanderbilt deepened that knowledge by showing him the many Champions and their causes within the Civil Rights Movement. That led him to his current work at Colorado College, where he helps students better champion their own causes.
Kyle Wagenschutz was a critical figure in growing and sustaining Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop in Memphis, alongside founder Anthony Siracusa. Together, the two shared a love for bikes and punk rock, and they found that each subculture played a role in helping them build a community around bikes. Kyle advocated for bike lanes in Memphis, first from his perch at Revolutions, but then as the City of Memphis’ first bicycle/pedestrian coordinator. Anthony and Kyle’s effective “inside-outside” game showed what can happen when government and grassroots work together. The two friends’ partnership helped move Memphis from a “worst city for biking” to “most improved” and on to being a national leader in just six years. Now the Director of Local Innovation at PeopleForBikes in Boulder, CO, what Kyle learned through trial and error in Memphis is benefiting people in other cities.
Episode 30: Nick Oyler is not on the Champions of the Lost Causes’ website, so you will need to access it through this Google Podcasts link. The episode 30 description is below:
Nick Oyler is the Bikeway & Pedestrian Program Manager for the City of Memphis. When the push for bike lanes in Memphis resulted in early victories for the bike/ped movement and then gave way to the city’s initial buildout, Nick was away at college, grad school, and then working in Germany. Following all that news from afar, Nick thought that he might have missed his moment to get involved. But as many multifaceted causes require, there was plenty of work left to be done when he got back to his hometown. Nick’s experience of riding a bike when he was young helped pave the way for his interest in city planning and to his current role, and helped him see the many benefits to cities and people of having a well-designed system of bike lanes and walkways. Memphis has come a long way, but it still has a lot of work ahead of it.
Champions of the Lost Causes
John Paul Shaffer from PeopleForBikes and Nick Oyler from the City of Memphis join us to talk about how Memphis has gone from 2 to 300 miles of off- and on-road bicycle facilities over a decade; which projects have been truly transformative, such as Shelby Farms Greenway and the Harahan Bridge Crossing; and how an intentional focus on equity and neighborhood-based programming has helped more Memphians get on bikes for recreation and transportation.
Later in the program, regular commentator Charlie Santo reflects on moving from transportation mecca Portland, OR to Memphis and trying to navigate the local system. Charlie and Emily also talk about how bike infrastructure and related improvements like traffic calming can potentially help increase access to public spaces such as Tom Lee Park and Riverside Park.
Nick Oyler, bikeway and pedestrian program manager for the City of Memphis, makes a return visit to Memphis Metropolis to talk about pedestrian safety. This past week, Smart Growth America issued its Dangerous by Design 2021 study, which found that pedestrian deaths due to traffic accidents continue to increase nationally. Moreover, the study found that Memphis was the third most dangerous city for pedestrians, with pedestrian deaths up around 75 percent since 2019. In the show, Nick explains the connection between street design and pedestrian safety, why COVID and driver distraction have contributed to the rise in fatalities, and how dedicated funding for pedestrian infrastructure could help change the trajectory. And, why his team created a special map to help memorialize the lives of Memphis pedestrians that have been lost.
Pedestrian deaths in Memphis are at an all-time high and the city is one of the most dangerous in the U.S. for people who get around on foot. But while driver behavior and poor street design are the primary contributors to the problem, pedestrians themselves – the victims – are often blamed. Nick Oyler, Bikeway and Pedestrian Program Manager in the city’s engineering department, pays a return visit to Memphis Metropolis to discuss what the law actually says about where pedestrians can and cannot cross the street, why pedestrian behavior that seems illogical often is quite rational, and how “windshield bias” – seeing the problem exclusively from the driver perspective – is inhibiting the development of solutions.
Nick Oyler has spent the last several years working in and with the community to improve the city’s active transportation systems, first with the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and most recently as bike and pedestrian program manager for the City of Memphis. Nick is leaving Memphis to pursue new professional opportunities in Denver, and we asked him to return to Memphis Metropolis one last time to reflect on the successes, frustrations, and opportunities he has experienced during his tenure here.
A city’s ParkScore is a measure of how it compares to other places, using criteria such as access, acreage, equity, and investments. The ParkScore Index is prepared annually by the Trust for Public Land, a people-focused parks and public land advocacy organization. In this show, Noel Durant of the TPL’s Tennessee office visits Memphis Metropolis to talk about why ParkScores are so important and how Memphis ranked in their recent study. Memphis park advocates JoAnn Street also joins the conversation to provide a local perspective. JoAnn is the founder of HUG Park Friends, a support organization for three North Memphis parks, Hollywood, University, and Gooch.
Jackson McNeil, a longtime friend of Memphis Metropolis, recently joined Innovate Memphis as Director of Transportation and Mobility, overseeing the Commute Options program. In this show, we discuss the hard work of (and many obstacles to) getting Memphians out of their cars and onto alternate modes of transportation. Jackson and Emily also discuss the recently published Safe Speed Index, which ranks cities on the average vehicle speeds on streets used by pedestrians.
Ray’s New E-Bike Made His Car-Free Life Easier
Since my blog is focused on my car-free lifestyle, I wanted to share the most significant improvement to making my car-free lifestyle easier. As I shared in this 2022 post, my first e-bike did not fit on the bus bike rack because it was too heavy (58.4 pounds) and long (47″) to fit on the standard bike rack. Thank you to Brandie Macdonald for making me aware of the Wing Freedom ST.2 e-bike, which is light (39 pounds) and short (42.9″) enough to fit on the standard bike rack. I frequently had to leave my old e-bike at home in California because I knew it would not fit on the bus bike rack. I was excited to put my new e-bike on the bus bike rack when I went shopping in East Memphis last week!
I had to rush to get on and off the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) bus, so I did not have time to take a photo of my e-bike on the bus bike rack. Taking selfies with my bike was possible on the Big River Crossing, which is an impressive and wide active transportation bridge between Tennessee and Arkansas. The views are fantastic! My new Memphis friends, who were also born and raised in the Charlotte region (all three of us went to high school in Cabarrus County!) and graduated from UNC Charlotte around the same time as me, invited me to join them on a walk across the Big River Crossing. I am not an early bird, especially when I prefer to sleep in during the weekend, so I felt accomplished with waking up in time for the 8am walk today!
Biking on the Big River Crossing. Photo: Ray Atkinson
View of downtown Memphis from the Big River Crossing. Photo: Ray Atkinson
My new church, The Church of the River (First Unitarian Church of Memphis), is near the trailhead to the Big River Crossing. I honestly had difficulty focusing on the sermon because the church has such an impressive natural view! I felt like I was forest bathing during church!
View from The Church of the River (First Unitarian Church of Memphis). Photo: Ray Atkinson
Future Blog Post
I am trying to keep this post short, so I will share more about Memphis in a future post. Since I have never seen a bike ride combined with cooking and feeding low-income people living on the street, I am excited to experience the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry’s weekly bike rides on Wednesday night and Saturday morning!
I was hoping that planning my June 24 – July 2 car-free Redwood National Park vacation would be as easy as renting an e-bike in Eureka and then biking to Redwood National Park. I normally have Fridays off work, so I wanted to clarify that my vacation starts on Saturday and not Friday because I will be attending the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in the US Conference in San Francisco on June 22-23. I enjoy catching up with colleagues and meeting new people at conferences. Will you be attending this conference, or do you live in San Francisco?
Since I do not feel safe or comfortable enough to bike on Highway 101, which only has “bike share the road” signs, I am not willing to bike on Highway 101. I briefly wrote about bike signage in this 2015 post. I was excited when I found Hammond Truck Road, which is shown in the below Google Maps screenshot, because I thought I found a route to avoid biking on Highway 101. Redwood National Park is the dark green area in the top right corner. Eureka is located south of Crannell. Due to Google Maps showing “This route has restricted usage or private roads,” I contacted Humboldt County staff to clarify whether I could bike on Hammond Tuck Road. As Bob’s reply shows, I would be trespassing if I biked on this road.
The route that you are considering is through private property. These roads have locked gates and are posted with signs indicating no trespassing.
Bob Bronkall, Humboldt County Surveyor
I do not want to embarrass Humboldt County too much. They are at least trying to plan for people who do not drive by providing the Hammond Trail, which I plan to bike on during my vacation. I just wish this trail went all the way to Redwood National Park. Hopefully, this trail will be extended further north someday!
Ray’s Backup Plan
It appears I will be biking less than I wanted during my June vacation. Thankfully, transit services exist between Eureka and Redwood National Park. Redwood Coast Transit operates Route 20 along the below route. While Route 20 does not provide frequent service and only operates on Monday-Saturday, I do not have any safe alternatives to consider. Due to Route 20 ending in Arcata, I may stay in Arcata to avoid having to transfer to another bus to reach Eureka. I wish there was one regional transit provider in this rural area so I could avoid having to transfer!
As this 2022 post shows, I am also concerned about whether the e-bike that I plan to rent will fit on Redwood Coast Transit’s buses. I have not found a transit system in the US that has an entire fleet that can fit e-bikes. While I am waiting for Redwood Coast Transit to confirm that my e-bike rental will not fit on their buses, I assume that I will have no e-bike when I reach Redwood National Park. Despite being used to riding an e-bike, I may rent a non-electric bike so I can take a bike on the bus to Redwood National Park.
My next barrier after reaching Redwood National Park is finding a group tour. Redwood National Park has limited or no cell and internet services, which is great for disconnecting from social media and emails. I will be traveling alone, so I would prefer to find a group tour to prevent anything bad from happening when traveling alone in an isolated place. While I was excited to find Redwood Adventures, they only offer private tours to groups of at least two people. I emailed them to ask if I can join a larger group or schedule my tour on a less busy weekday. I realize they make more money by preventing single people from scheduling a private tour. I wish I had a girlfriend to go on the tour with me!
I may not blog much during my June vacation because I want to enjoy exploring Eureka, Arcata, and Redwood National Park. I also may not have reliable internet access, which I think will be great to help me disconnect from social media and emails. I hope to have time in July to publish posts on how my vacation went. What do you want to read about?
I am riding transit on my way back to Petaluma from my first trip to San Jose, which is actually the largest city in the Bay Area. I carpooled with James Rojas to Oakland to reduce the trip time for my return trip. I rode transit for the full four-hour distance yesterday. I still cannot believe that San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area. I honestly think of San Francisco and Oakland before I think of San Jose. Since I surprised myself by seeing and hearing more of “The City at Eye Level” while walking and riding transit than biking, I wanted to focus on this aspect as I continue to share my perspective on the power of slowing down.
As Stephan remembers from our bike adventure in Minneapolis, using a bikeshare system is not always easy. Since I wanted to avoid the stress of constantly looking for the next bikeshare station to dock my bike, I decided to walk and ride transit in San Jose. My frugal approach to spending also pushed me to walk because the Bay Wheels system gets expensive very quickly. Unlike the Capital Bikeshare’s Day Pass that I worked on in the DC region, Bay Wheels does not offer a Day Pass option. I was unwilling to pay for each bikeshare trip separately!
Thankfully, I saw and heard more of “The City at Eye Level” by walking and riding transit. Since I am usually focused on not getting hit by cars when biking, I was able to focus on the below colorful art in San Jose while walking.
The main reason why I traveled to San Jose was to participate in Viva CalleSJ, which was an open-streets event. I appreciate James Rojas making me aware of this event. While I wish every day looked like the photo below, I enjoyed the rare open-streets event by watching how people interacted with streets that were almost absent of cars. I wrote “almost” because the intersections allowed cars to cross the route. As many American cities that have organized an open-streets event know, the car dependency of most Americans prevents Americans from experiencing a truly open-streets event. Do you think Americans will ever have the opportunity to experience a truly car-free open-streets event?
Photo: Ray Atkinson
Future Blog Post
I have to use about 40 hours of PTO before it expires at the end of June. While I do not like how some of my PTO hours do not roll over to the next fiscal year, the silver lining is that it forces me to take a vacation. Yes, I can be a workaholic. Since I have so much to explore in California, I am planning a car-free vacation through the Bay Area, Central Coast, Los Angeles, and possibly the Central Valley. While I depend on the Central Valley for food, I am more attracted to the scenery of the Central Coast. Hopefully, the rural areas in the Central Coast will have connected transit services to the Bay Area and Los Angeles. You will find out in a future blog post!
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?
I was surprised to see that I have not published a “The City at Eye Level” post recently. The link to The City at Eye Level keeps changing, so you can longer download the free book in my previous posts. I will need to update the links. For laypeople reading my blog, I am hoping this post helps you to 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 in-person social networks. Does this connection make sense after reading this post?
Light Rain Cancels Bike Rental
I was planning to rent bikes from a Windsor bike shop to ride with a new friend who was raised in Windsor, which is an unincorporated town on the northern edge of the North Bay Area. This was my first time visiting Windsor. I have so many new places to explore just in Sonoma County let alone the rest of the Bay Area and California!
While my friend and I were prepared to bike in the light rain, the other renters canceled their rentals and bike tours due to the light rain. The bike shop ended up canceling all the rentals and closing for the day. I have never experienced a bike shop cancel rentals due to light rain. I guess this is a weird welcome to California!
Walk Through Windsor
My friend and I did not want the canceled bike rental to ruin our day. We decided to walk several miles through Windsor instead. Walking instead of driving allowed us to more easily see Windsor at eye level. As the below “MORE BIKES, LESS CARS” banner shows, Windsor is trying to reduce car usage and promote biking. I would include walking in with “MORE BIKES” because there is only so much space on the banner. Unfortunately, my friend and I had to walk single-file through downtown and many other parts of Windsor because the sidewalks are too narrow. Even when the sidewalk is wider, street trees and awning posts prevented us from walking side by side. I saw many people walk directly from their parked cars to their destinations. This does not encourage robust in-person outdoor social networking!
Source: Ray Atkinson
I should clarify that I do not want the street trees to be removed. As this Trees in the Curb Zone Pilot Project from the City of Portland shows, it is possible to replace on-street car parking spaces with trees. BikePortland also published this post about the City of Portland’s project. As my 2015 post from Rijswijk, Netherlands shows, I have been thinking about how to replace on-street car parking spaces with trees for several years. Since my Windsor friend said she does not want to lose car parking for her car and actually feels downtown needs more car parking, do you think rural towns like Windsor will ever have the public and political support to create a project like what Portland created?
Rembrandtkade in Rijswijk, Netherlands in August 2014. Source: Google
I wanted to share the below Spanish version of the above banner because I have never seen a banner with different languages on each side of the banner. I am still using Duolingo to improve my Spanish skills. I even bought a used Spanish textbook from the Windsor Public Library.
Source: Ray Atkinson
Another element that could improve Windsor’s eye-level walking experience and encourage the creation of robust outdoor in-person social networks is the planned SMART regional trail, which will someday connect all the way to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal that provides ferries to San Francisco. I would love to bike from Windsor to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal someday. The first signs of the planned trail and the associated Windsor SMART Station are in the below photo. The SMART Train does not currently serve Windsor, so I rode a Sonoma County bus from Santa Rosa to Windsor. I am excited to see the future of transit-oriented development (TOD) and trail-oriented development! Since trail-oriented development could also be shortened to TOD, I am curious to see what the acronym for trail-oriented development will be.
Source: Ray Atkinson
Future Blog Post
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?
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.
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.
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.
Video update!
The most crucial point of our #TotalTransit2022 journey so far. Our @Amtrak bus from Petaluma to Napa is six minutes late and if it doesn’t show up it’s Game Over. No other transit options from Petaluma to Napa. 😬🙏🏼@hknightsf and I with the details ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/u5eJaM7FxN
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.
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!
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?
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