Click to Embiggen

This meeting, as well as many other things such as the Delta Highway Ped and Bike Bridge Dedication, Adaptive Recreation Services bike riding, construction updates, a pirate-themed Kidical Mass,  and a great list of upcoming events are all featured in this month’s InMotion Newsletter.  Lovingly put out by the City of Eugene, this wonderful newsletter should not be missed, and I urge you to the jump to where I have it reposted in full and give it a read.

Sept 2010 InMotion Newsletter

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Thank You Ruth Bascom

Wednesday’s Ruth Bascom Memorial Ride was a huge success, drawing around 200 riders according to a Register-Guard estimate.  The crowd was  speckled with flowers and “Thank You Ruth Bascom” signs, and was attended by some of the original “movers and shakers” who helped cycling get started in Eugene.

Before the ride, participants heard testimony from people who had experiences with Ruth or with Ruth’s legacy, including GEARs President and 1998 Alice Award winner Sue Wolling; Mayor Kitty Piercy; Paul Nicholson of Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life, who served with Ruth on City Council and while she was mayor; late 70’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator and 2001 Alice Award Winner Diane Bishop; and member of the 1970’s Eugene Bicycle Committee and co-creator of the 1981 Bicycles in Cities monogram, Peter Eberhardt.  The ride was also attended by Ruth’s husband Dr. John Bascom and her son Paul Bascom.

The crowd gathers before the ride

It was a special treat for me to meet and ride with Bishop and Eberhardt, and I heard a few interesting stories about early Eugene cycling history, including that Portland’s Bike/Ped coordinator was sent down to Eugene in the early days to learn from us!

It’s clear to me from reading the old monographs, hearing the speeches, and from the turnout of Ruth’s memorial that we owe even more to her and her early companions than I could ever impress here.  We ride on the shoulders of giants.

Take the jump for pictures of the ride and click here to read the Register-Guard’s coverage.

Seager’s Slide Show (mostly pre-ride)

Katura’s Slide Show (mostly during the ride)

Possibly Related Posts:

1. “Bicycling Mayor” Ruth Bascom to be Honored Wednesday
2. Eugenians at the Alice Awards
3. Eugene Bicycle History Online at City of Eugene Website

I’ve been poking around looking at Eugene and Springfield cycling history recently, my interested piqued by a reader sending in this old story from 1978 about a woman being arrested in Springfield for riding her bike in the street.

Quite accidentally, I discovered that the City of Eugene bicycling website has an online archive of old “Bicycles in Cities – A Eugene Perspective” monographs. From what I can tell, the 12 volume set was originally published in 1981 in individual newsletter form.  They cover a wide range of topics – from the existence of a late 70’s bicycle committee, the previous bicycle master plan, why we have left side and contra-flow bike lanes, the building of the Willamette bridges, the Fern Ridge and River Paths, and many other things.  In fact, is appears that the majority of the infrastructure that we have today came about in the 1970’s.

The monographs are full of great pictures and amazing stories, and at only 4 pages each are a must-read for anyone interested in local history, advocacy, or biking in general.  We can learn from our past – or at the very least enjoy the 70’s era cartoons and vintage bicycles.  Give it a read, and then lets try to make 2010-2020 another 1970-1980.

Continue for an episode guide:

Update: Links fixed

Volume 1: “Portrait of a Bicycle Committee” – Chronicles the creation of the 1970’s Eugene Bicycle Committee, which led to many of the great cycling infrastructure that we enjoy today.

Volume 2: “Eugene Bikeways Masterplan” - Explains the creation of our 1974 Bikeways Master Plan.  Just now being updated.

Volume 3:  “Bridges for Bicycles” – The planning and building of the Autzen, Greenway, and Knickerbocker bike bridges over the Willamette River.

Volume 4: “River Bank Trail System” – The history and development of the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail.

Volume 5: “Innovate Bikeway Designs” – Railroad underpasses, “bike only” intersections, concrete gutters, and “bicycle safe” drain grates are just a few of the designs that came about during this exciting time.

Volume 6: “On-Street Bicycle Lanes” – An interesting look at how all our favorite (and sometimes confusing) bike lanes came to be, including the contra-flow Alder lanes and the left-side lanes on High and Pearl St.  It all happened back in the 70’s.

Volume 7: “Intersections and Bike Lanes” – Early attempts at handling bike lanes and turning traffic – some solutions stuck around, some didn’t.

Volume 8: “Bicycle Parking” – A great volume for anyone concerned with bike parking.  Includes a great checklist for bike parking considerations.  It’s notable that only a few “staple” racks are shown, and most of the racks are rather lousy “wheel benders.”  This is an area where we’ve seen a lot of development, but the checklist still stands the test of time.

Volume 9: “Off-Street Bicycle Paths” – An interesting read which shows how the paths used to be built (materials-wise), and also how we gained some of the features which we enjoy today, including the Fern Ridge and River Bank underpasses. Yup, even those have been around since the 70’s.

Volume 10: “Signing and Lighting” – The introduction of bicycle wayfinding signs and lighting, including my favorite “One Way Except Bicycles” and “No Left Turn Except Bicycles” signs.

Volume 11: “Promotion, Education, and Enforcement” – Did you know that mandatory bicycle licensing in Eugene was passed in 1972 and then repealed in 1977 when it failed to discourage theft or generate revenue?  This also covers the creation of Eugene’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator position, currently held by Lee Shoemaker.

Volume 12: “Funding, Usage, and Accidents” – Funding sources and bike counts.  It’s interesting to compare these numbers to today.

Possibly Related Posts:

1. Adventures with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Count
2. Weekend News Wrapup 02/06/10
3. Eugene Area Advocacy Primer Part II: Safe Routes to School

Ruth Bascom 1926-2010

I didn’t live in Eugene when Ruth Bascom was the first female mayor of Eugene (1993-1997), nor did I live here when she was a city councilor for eight years before she became mayor.  I wasn’t around when she inspired and was the driving force behind the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path System (named in 2003).   I wasn’t around when she helped pioneer cycling in Eugene in the 70’s and planned much of our current infrastructure.  But I do live here now, and there is rarely a day that I don’t benefit from the great work she did while she was here.  I never met her, never saw her, but I know her name because she improved my life.

Bascom passed away last Thursday from injuries sustained in an August 11th car crash near Bend.  She was 84.  The Greater Eugene Area Riders (GEARs) is planning a memorial ride on Wednesday, Sept. 1st at EWEB Plaza.

From GEARs:

Wednesday’s ride is free and open to all.  The ride will start at the EWEB Plaza, 500 East 4th Avenue, and follow the riverbank path for about 10 miles.  It will be a flat, easy, slow-paced ride suitable for riders of all ages and abilities.  Bicycle helmets are required by law for all riders under 16 years of age, and are highly recommended for everyone.

The ride is sponsored by GEARs (Greater Eugene Area Riders).  For more information, contact Sue at 541-345-2110 or sue@eugenegears.org

Take the jump to learn more about Ruth Bascom.

I’m not very qualified to write about Ruth Bascom myself, so instead I have provided several links and quotes to help others learn about her.  If you are like me and moved to Eugene post-Bascom, you have undoubtedly benefited from her pro-bicyclist work, but probably know little about her.  This may help a little:

Roseburg’s KPIC provides information and a 1997 video honoring Bascom.

The Register-Guard has published a long article on Bascom, exerts below (emphasis mine):

[...]

Ruth Bascom served eight years as a Eugene city councilor before she was elected the city’s first female mayor in 1992.

She was known as the “bicycling mayor,” and the city’s 12-mile Riverbank Trail System is named for her.

She served as chairwoman of both the Eugene Bicycle Committee and the Oregon Bicycle Advisory Committee during the 1970s.

Former City Manager Charles Henry recalled Friday that he learned of Bascom’s passion for making Eugene into a more bicycle-­friendly community shortly after he arrived in town in 1975.

“She immediately contacted me and pushed (her ideas) until she converted me into a bicycle fan,” Henry said.

[...]

She took her interest in bicycling to City Hall in 1971, as a member of the newly formed Eugene Bicycle Committee.

There, she became an integral part of a community group that developed the Eugene Bikeway Master Plan, which envisioned a paved trail looping around both banks of the Willamette River, connected by bicycle and pedestrian bridges.

She was elected to the City Council in 1984, and later served one term as mayor.

After that, she continued to push for completion of the trail system, and was honored by the city in 2003 when the final leg of the east bank path north of Valley River Center opened.

“Ruth had a big influence on Eugene and the way it is now,” said Paul Nicholson, a former city councilor who owns Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life shops in Eugene.

In addition to her work on bicycle issues, Bascom is remembered as a supporter of local arts and the library.

She also made one of the largest donations ever to the city in 1997 in honor of her mother, Doris Hays Fenton. The $100,000 donation created the Hays Memorial Tree Garden in Alton Baker Park.

[...]In 2000, Bascom was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She rode her bicycle to most of her doctor’s appointments before beating the disease, she said during a 2007 interview.

[...]Meanwhile, Eugene city officials are considering their own tribute to the former mayor, Mayor Kitty Piercy said Friday.

Piercy said she and other city officials were deeply saddened to learn of Bascom’s death.

“Ruth left her mark on our community in so many places,” Piercy said. “She loved this community and served it well, and I think it loved her back.”

The City of Eugene published this memorial:

The City of Eugene was notified today of the passing of Eugene’s first woman mayor, Ruth Bascom.  Mayor Kitty Piercy offered some comments to express her thoughts and feelings.

“Ruth Bascom was a truly remarkable human being and a major influence in creation of some of our city’s defining characteristics.  We will miss her deeply.  Our hearts go out in sympathy to her husband, her family and her many dear friends. Ruth’s pioneering spirit was an inspiration to me personally and I am grateful to her for her leadership on so many of Eugene’s important issues – the development of our nationally recognized bikeways and parks, the rejuvenation of downtown, and the initial effort to replace the Eugene Public Library building.  She was also an early advocate for improving Eugene’s rail services, an issue that is so important again right now. Ruth truly loved Eugene and showed that love in so many ways. Eugene owes much to Ruth Bascom. We are saddened at her loss and grateful that she made Eugene her home.”

Ruth Bascom was Eugene mayor from 1993 to 1997, but her leadership in the community began well before that. She and her husband, retired surgeon Dr. John Bascom, moved to Eugene in 1960, after growing up in Kansas, and living for stretches in Chicago, New York and Minnesota. She said she fell in love with Eugene, in part because it was a place where, “I knew I could bike around all year long.” She was appointed to the new Eugene Bicycle Committee in 1971 and helped develop the Eugene Bikeway Master Plan.  Most of the 12-mile Willamette path was completed by 1980, although the last link near Valley River Bridge was built more than 20 years later.

During two terms as a city councilor and then as Eugene’s mayor, Ruth patiently yet relentlessly pursued the dream of a paved trail along both banks of the river. Finally, the bicycle loop along the Willamette was completed in 2003 and dedicated as “The Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail System.”

As a member of the Alton Baker Park Committee in the early 1970s, Ruth helped develop a master plan for the park that included a tree garden. Some thirty years later, she initiated the Hayes Memorial Tree Garden, named for her mother, Doris Hayes Fenton, which features trees with brilliant spring blossoms and fall foliage, providing places for contemplation, and enjoyment of its natural beauty.

Mayor Bascom was also proud to have ceremoniously taken a bulldozer to the concrete fountain at Broadway and Willamette, ultimately leading to the removal of the downtown mall and the reopening of both streets.

Ruth Bascom said that the root of her convictions was her desire to create a nurturing community for children and families. The community enjoys many tangible and lasting manifestations of her vision, desire, and energy.

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What:
Learn new skills or improve old ones. Open to all riders wanting to improve their cyclocross skills, specifically High School cyclocross racers. All riders need is a cyclocross or mountain bike and a helmet.

Team Redline Cyclocross racer Andrew Bennett, Thule/Van Dessel pro racer Adam McGrath, and cross guru Alan Ott will provide one on one
instruction on barriers, cornering, and all cross skills.
Leave with swag from Redline Bicycles.

Where:
Alton Baker Park (632 Day Island Road, Eugene) by the big covered picnic shelters.

When:
6:30 PM Mondays August 30, September 6 and 13

Possibly Related Posts:

1. WeBikeEugene.org Official Launch
2. Repost Party: June InMotion, BikeLane Coalition update #20, and ODOT construction newsletter
3. Big B.A.D.

The affected downtown area

On August 11th, the Eugene City Council voted to make car parking downtown free, affective October 1st. The area runs from Willamette St to the east, Lincoln St to the west, Seventh Ave to the north and 11th Ave to the south.  Whether or not this was a good idea is a debate for somewhere else.  Will the possible revitalization of downtown offset the loss of $220,000 a year in parking revenue?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that when things like this went down in other cities (Chicago, Oakland, Sacremento, New York,  Toronto, etc) it sometimes led to a huge decrease in available bike parking.

Why? The removal of parking meters.  According to Jeff Petry, Eugene Parking Services Manager, the City Council has directed that left it up to city staff to decide whether the heads be removed off 288 parking meters downtown. This would make the meters inadequate for bike parking since bike locks could simply be lifted off the pole.  It would be a grave mistake to remove 288* 165 bike parking spots from an already inadequate downtown bike parking scene.

* Update: It was just brought to my attention by Petry that many of the meters are double heads on a single pole, so the actual loss in bike parking would be less than the 288. It’s actually 165 meter poles with 288 meter heads attached to them.

Eugene wouldn’t be the first city to make this mistake.  Take the jump to read about some cities that have made this mistake in the past, and how other cities have avoided it.  This issue is real and it is now, and we have only a few weeks to change the momentum of this project.

The January/February Momentum Magazine ran an article on Chicago’s struggle with the removal of parking meters. In this case the culprit wasn’t free parking but rather “pay-and-display” parking, but the result was the same.  Chicago cyclists stood to lose 36,000 meters/bike parking spots. Quoted from the article (view the full article in PDF form at the bottom of this post):

Talks between [Active Transport Alliance] and the city led to a policy of leaving one out of seven meters in place on retail blocks with no bike racks, says CDOT spokesman Brian Steele. The city is also using much of its annual supply of federally-funded “inverted U” bike racks to replace parking on blocks where meters were removed. In the future, CDOT may retrofit the remaining meters, removing the heads, capping the poles and bolting on rings to create “post-and-ring” bike racks, said Steele.

New York also ran into a similar problem.

New York recently removed all the meters along many Manhattan retail streets before the city began addressing the bike parking issue, said Transportation Alternatives’ Wiley Norvell. Roughly half the meters on Madison Avenue will get rings and the DOT vows to install 5,000 bike racks over the next three years, but about 15,000 meters are already gone. “The lesson for other cities is not to play catch-up,” said Norvell

Toronto, however, didn’t screw up. We should follow their example:

Toronto is a shining example of this strategy. Before conversions began in 2001, a bicyclist who sat on the board of the parking authority advocated for preserving all bike parking. “He said, ‘The city’s promoting bicycle use and yet we’re going to put all these cyclists at an inconvenience,” recalled Dave Tomlinson from the Toronto bike program. The parking authority agreed to bolt rings onto all the meter poles or, in cases where meters were too close to the curb, install new post-and-rings. These retrofits and racks account for half of Toronto’s 16,000 racks – the most of any North American city.

“If the parking infrastructure’s program is creating extra work for the cycling infrastructure’s program, that’s a waste of resources,” Tomlinson advised. “You need to make the case that you can’t have one department working against the other.”

This seems like a no-brainer.  Removing meters:

1. is expensive.
2. will cost the city more money since bike parking will need to be replaced.
3. will hurt pedestrians, since bikes will be forced to lock to things like handrails.
4. will hurt car traffic, since many cyclists will be forced to drive (imagine 200+ more cars downtown!).
5. will hurt downtown businesses since cyclists will be unable to park nearby.

So why isn’t this a no-brainer? We’re not even fighting for more bike parking, we are fighting for the status quo!

Firstly, I think it’s a matter of awareness.  I don’t think the Eugene City Council, much like Chicago and New York, realized that removing meters would affect bicyclists so much.  It doesn’t matter if we have a million bike lanes, paths, and cycletracks – if cyclists have nowhere to park their bikes, they won’t be able to ride.

Secondly, there is a cost involved.  Petry is aware of the situation:

We have already looked at the cost of adding bike [rings] to the meter posts. Each [ring] is over $100 to purchase. We are thinking about how to fund the purchase of the bike [rings]. The parking $ can purchase a small number of [rings], but is there a partnership in the bicycle community so we can purchase more?

Toronto meters retrofitted with rings

$100+ a ring is crazy, and charging cyclists to fund bike parking issues that only exist because car parking has become free is also crazy.  Bike parking doesn’t affect only cyclists – it affects pedestrians, drivers, and businesses as well (see above list). Cyclists already fund parking through taxes, just like everyone else.  According to a 2008 Bicycle Transport Alliance (BTA) survey, 89% of cyclists own and drive a car.  We’re already paying our way, yet doing much less damage to the roads and taking up much less room when parking.

However, Petry does make good point, and it doesn’t hurt to ask if we have extra money laying around to help out.  The city probably can’t afford $28,800 $16,500 to put rings on all the meters, especially when we’re already losing $220,000 a year due to free downtown car parking.  Petry, like most City of Eugene employees that I’ve had the pleasure to use as a source, wants to help the cyclist community solve this problem.  However, cyclists aren’t the only stakeholder in this issue.  Rings are expensive, and the other obvious solution – just leaving the heads on the meters – may be ugly or confusing to some.

Stickers on a decommissioned Chicago meter (click to embiggen)

But why not?  Why not just leave the heads on the meters, and affix a sticker that says something like “meter left as a courtesy to cyclists?”  It worked in Chicago! Sure these “racks” wouldn’t work as well for cable locks as a ring would, but cable locks are dangerously insecure anyway, and at least this leaves the bike parking situation the same instead of making it worse.  Sure, rings would be great, but we can put those on later when we have the money (although we should make our rings stronger than the ones in Toronto).

Update: Petry responded to me shortly after this article was published with a list of reasons why city staff is planning on removing the heads.  It’s worth reading to understand both sides of the debate:

Meter head removal is recommended because it:

1. Sends a clear message to vehicle drivers that they have entered a meter free zone.
2. Eliminates confusion between paying at a meter and adhering to a time limited sign in the free parking zone, and thus the ability to enforce the time-limited zones and have the presiding municipal court judge adjudicate parking tickets.
3. Meters are expensive assets, at $400-$700 each (single/duplex). Assume an average of $500/meter, then we would have $144,000 worth of assets sitting un-operational for the next two years. Adding the suggested stickers to an expensive asset is not appealing.
4. 200 new meters are being added to the Campus Parking District around the new basketball arena and within a few blocks of campus. Moving the downtown meters to the campus areas will save $100,000 in parking resources. This will add 200 new bike parking locations around the University of Oregon.

The City does plan on installing three downtown bike corrals soon, but this won’t make up for 288 165 lost bike parking spots (576 330 if you go two to a pole).  These corrals are meant to help improve the current situation.

It is worth mentioning that Jeff Petry seems to be a driving force behind the corral project.  The following letter from Petry and Bike and Pedestrian Coordinator Lee Shoemaker appeared in the Register-Guard on Saturday:

Bike corrals are coming

We would like to thank recent letter writers for highlighting the need for more downtown bicycle parking. The need for more secure bicycle parking also has been identified in the city of Eugene’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Strategic Plan. Epark, the city’s parking program, is happy to report that we are working to provide more bike parking in downtown Eugene with the installation of bike corrals at several locations.

A bike corral converts an on-street automobile parking space to bicycle parking. The space provides secure parking for 10 to 20 bikes versus one or two cars. Bike corrals are marked clearly for bicycle parking with paint, flexible bollards, buffer zones or a combination of these options.

Epark is planning to install three downtown bike corrals at Morning Glory Cafe (450 Willamette St.), Cornucopia (207 E. Fifth Ave.) and the Kiva grocery store (125 W. 11th Ave.).

Bike corrals give bikes a designated place, acknowledge their importance in our community and help keep the sidewalks clear for pedestrians. They provide a great place for cyclists to park and increase local business activity.

While supporting a healthy lifestyle, they also work towards making Eugene greener and reducing our use of fossil fuels. We look forward to welcoming more bikes to our downtown!

Jeff Petry

Parking services manager

Lee Shoemaker

Bicycle-pedestrian coordinator

Clearly Petry and other city officials are working to help cyclists be successful downtown.  Now it seems that they may need our help.  The cyclists community needs to let our wishes be known that, at the very least, the meter heads should not be removed so we do not lose our bike parking.  We must not let the city make this mistake.  The more public support we have for the meters staying, the easier it will be for folks like Jeff Petry to make that happen for us.

The information for how to contact the Eugene City Council is at this page on the left.  If you decide to contact them please be respectful and non-combative.  The City of Eugene has a great history of working with cyclists; we just need to make sure our wishes are known. You may want to thank them for the Alder St. Cycletrack while you’re at it.  Maybe try for a compliment sandwich and include a thanks for the Bike Corrals.  Just make sure you don’t do this.

For more information check out this New York design contest for re-purposing old meters.  The standard ring isn’t our only option!

Below is the full Momentum Magazine article complete with pretty pictures:

Momentum #43 article on how removing parking meters affects bike parking

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1. May InMotion + InTheNews: Coconut Bliss Foodcart and “Drive Less, Save More”
2. Meeting Summary: Alder St. Workshop and BPAC: Councilwoman Jennifer Solomon conflicted on bike priorities
3. Weekend News Wrapup 03/13/10 – 2009 Leaf Program Review, ACT, Future Infrastructure Projects, Online Hazard Reporting, and FLUX Magazine features WeBikeEugene Founder

I wanted to give a quick shoutout to the other area bike blogs that helped pickup WBE’s slack over the summer, and which continue to be a joy to read.  These blogs are different from the GEARs, SRTS, and EugeneWeekly blogs (viewable in RSS form on the right of this page) in that they focus more on culture and less on news.

I’ve mentioned EugeneBicyclist.com before (I think) but I feel like mentioning it again.  The man behind it is a mystery (oooh, spooky!), but I’m pretty sure he isn’t a zombie. If he is a zombie, and he eats you, I’m sorry.  Not that it would be my fault if he DID eat you, but more because I’m sure being eaten is not an enjoyable thing and I would most likely feel empathy for you.

Another newish Eugene cycle blog is Eugene Cycle Chic, a blog featuring pictures of Eugenians in their utter hotness riding their bikes, or something like that.  It’s like a Eugene version of Copenhagen Cycle Chic – the main difference being that Eugene riders sometimes wear helmets and probably don’t speak dutch danish.  I’ve yet to find a picture of me on Eugene Cycle Chic, but I think it’s because I’m too pretty and they don’t want to make other people feel embarrassed.

The City of Eugene’s InMotion continues to make our job easier by condensing tons of information into a wonderful little newsletter.  There is a lot of information in this one (posted in full after the jump), but the following bit of information has me very excited.  It’s something I’ve been asking for for awhile, they promised us in March,  and now they’ve finally delivered!

Online Bike Lane Service Request!

Online hazard reporting directly to the city – available when the city hotline (541-682-4800) is closed!  This can be used to report glass, debris, etc 24/7!  Quoted:

New Online App Offers Easy Way to Report Bike Lane Problems
A new web-based application makes it easy for cyclists to report problems and request maintenance services in Eugene’s bike lanes. The bike lane service application is located at www.eugene‐or.gov/pwm (look for the bike lane service icon). It is one of six online services (the others are report nuisance vegetation, report a pothole, get notified when street is scheduled to be swept, report graffiti, and request leaf delivery) now offered by the Eugene Public Works Department

All of the service request applications use a map-based system. Customers enter a street address to generate a marker “pin” that can be dragged to an exact location. Customers fill in an easy online form that includes a notes field. The final step is to click the “submit” button, which automatically sends the request to the correct work group. For more information about the bike lane service request application, contact the Public Works Maintenance Division at pwmaintenance@ci.eugene.or.us or call 541-682-4800.

Take the jump to view the entire InMotion newsletter.

August 2010 InMotion Newsletter

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That is what grabbed me about the email. The Center for Appropriate Transport’s “Trips for Kids” program already sounded like a good idea, since it gave youth who might not otherwise get the opportunity to get out in nature and learn mountain biking skills. The specific call for volunteers that I saw back in June was for the all-girls ride, which also got a thumbs-up from my feminist brain. But when the call for adult volunteers clearly stated “no experience required,” I went from passively approving of the project to actively writing back. “Do you still need volunteers? I have no experience…”

See, for all my current bravado as a daily bicycle commuter, I came into cycling slowly and awkwardly. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-20s that I really started using a bike, gently coaxed along by my sweetie. This same sweetie, once I got somewhat steady on my wheels, tried taking me on his favorite mountain-biking trail. And, of course, I instantly wiped out on the trail and ended up sliding down a hill on my face. Scab city!

My enthusiasm about the Trips for Kids program is therefore multi-layered. Letting youth have awesome experiences not just helps with self-esteem, but it is a big part of helping them shape their very identity, as they learn what they like to do. The more we can get kids identifying themselves as cyclists, as athletes, as nature-lovers, as explorers, the better off we are. (And that goes double for girls!) But on another level, I knew that a big part of me is still an awkward adolescent that doesn’t know how to ride a bike down a gravelly hill without landing on her face. By volunteering myself to come along, I’d be able to role-model the fine art of being inexperienced–even slightly chicken–but sticking with it anyway.

An exciting lesson in flat-fixing, thanks to a pesky thorn.

The morning of the trip arrives. The girls drift in, dropped off by their responsible adult types. Their personalities run the full gamut of the coping strategies I remember from middle and high school: the instantly popular girl who is secretly insecure about this new activity; the shy girl who allies herself with the adult hosts because they are less intimidating than her peers; the daredevil girl who pushes herself to ride like a rockstar; the super-intelligent girl who’s not sure how much of her genius she can reveal without social backlash. Most don’t know each other yet. But they are quickly united in their dislike of our ice-breaker games.

The trip leaders are awesome. Athletic, lovely women who are confident with their bikes and savvy with their group psychology. We carpool to Oakridge, deploy the bikes from their storage location, and set about teaching how to adjust seat heights and test brakes. I know darned well how confusing an unfamiliar set of shifters can be, so we go through a little training on how to downshift and upshift. We loop and loop around the little dead-end street, pass around the sunblock, teach everyone how to check tire pressure, and finally ride down the road to the trailhead.

The Salmon Creek Trail is simply lush and gorgeous.

The Salmon Creek Trail is a gem. First off, it’s beautiful: trees and creek and wildlife and so much beauty all around. It’s also a good trail to learn on, mostly straightforward but with just enough tricky bits to keep you thinking. I assigned myself to be the caboose in our chain of bikes, partly ’cause I’m a slowpoke, but also because I was on a mission to make the cautious kids feel at home. “Sorry, sorry, sorry I’m so slow,” the girl at the rear of the pack would apologize. “Are you kidding? I’m way slower than you are!” I’d reply warmly (and truthfully). “Yikes, that hill looks kinda freaky,” one would say. “Yeah, I think I’ll probably walk this one,” I’d reply; “My gut is telling me to play it safe this time, but that’s just me.”

The great thing was that, as we went through more hilly stretches, the speed at which the kids’ confidence built was astounding. In fact, after we had a creek-side picnic and turned around to backtrack, we covered the same trail in so much less time–they knew these hills already, it was no longer a big deal to rattle over the tree roots and whoosh down the roller-coaster bits. In fact, some were purposefully aiming for the puddles by this point, just for the joy of water splashing up around them as they rode.

Rollin' with the fishies.

We took a scenic detour to the fish hatchery on the way back and spent some time feeding gigantic underwater beasties and examining the ecology mini-golf course there. A chance to space out, to wander around. The girls were clicking with each other. “What grade are you in? What teacher?” You know, networking, kid-style. By the time we got back to the van, everyone was hot, sweaty, and eager to finish the snacks. Those who didn’t nap all the way back were busy challenging each other to think of the absolutely most delicious and refreshing food we could be eating right then. It was a very satisfying day.

Trips for Kids-CAT is going strong with great programs. Family mountain bike rides are coming up on Friday, August 27 and  Sunday, September 12. Kids and adults alike can hop on a mountain bike and hit the Salmon Creek Trail together! There’s another all-girls mountain bike trip on Saturday, October 9. Learn more about how you & your favorite adventurous young folks can get involved at the Trips for Kids-CAT website.

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