Off to San Francisco

A mere 6 hours after my glorious (wink) finish at the Brown County DINO race, I was jetting off to San Francisco for a cycling advocacy workshop as part of my work for IndyCog. The workshop was hosted by The Alliance for Biking and Walking, San Francisco BicyclingCoalition, and People for Bikes. Thanks to the city of Indianapolis for inviting me to attend.  Two negatives to jumping on a plane so soon after a mountain bike race: I missed the podium presentation and the associated prizes and my legs were completely cramped and stiff upon arriving for my layover in Houston. Probably should have gone for a slightly later flight to allow some breathing room.

Anyway, the time in San Francisco was a fantastic learning experience. Representatives from organizations all over the country were there, which allowed me to compare and contrast not only my organization with theirs, but also the status of cycling within in each city. The first two days were spent in very in-depth education sessions discussing many aspects of running an advocacy group including goals, working with local government, running campaigns and programs, membership issues, and fundraising. While all sections were very good, I found the discussions regarding handling and retaining volunteers, and membership (both presented by staff from the SFBC) were excellent and provided some great information.

Interspersed within the workshop sessions were rides around the city to see various aspects of their cycling infrastructure. I had packed my single speed mountain bike (managed to avoid paying the extra costs for shipping a bike) since I had planned on seeking some recreational riding time at some point. It also helped with riding to and from my hotel each day. (Note: Next time bring a U-Lock. I brought a heavy duty cable lock, and it was the only cable lock I saw over the three days I was there.) The other attendees rented bikes, and one person had used a bike rental program and borrowed a local citizen’s cross bike for the week.

San Francisco is very much a bike friendly city. The number of riders commuting to work (and elsewhere) is just staggering. Each morning we would watch commuters using the protected bike lanes along Market Street in front of our workshop venue and the numbers never ceased to amaze me.

Merely one example of riders heading to work. Plus a protected
bike lane in the foreground.

We rode throughout the city, and purposefully experienced San Francisco’s morning rush hour, during which we came upon a bike accident where a rider had been right hooked by a car which cut into his bike lane. Kind of a sobering reminder that despite the infrastructure and education, accidents can still happen, even in a city with as much cycling awareness as San Francisco. The accident itself was along a stretch of normal, unprotected, bike lane and the rider was conscious and talking as he was taken from the scene. (Our ride leader Tyler from SFBC made a point of going to the scene and talking to the authorities and witnesses to ensure a report would be filed)

 

 

 

The final day included a special session for those cities who had been chosen as a Green Lane Project City (Indianapolis included), a program of People for Bikes which works with cities to develop a network of protected bike lanes. The discussion was focused on how local advocacy groups would be able to provide assistance with the project and partner with their cities to help educate the public about the new lanes. We’re in the process of revamping our education program (Riders in the Know) which I think could be directed towards this type of outreach as the project progresses.

Overall, it was a great week for networking and learning, and I’m glad I got to see the city by bike. Plenty of new ideas for IndyCog to tackle, as well as useful written materials for our board members to review. Too bad there are so few hours in the day.

Additionally the size and organization of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is impressive. They have 16 full time staff, and over 10,000 members, their organization is really a force of nature. IndyCog needs to have its membership rolls grow, and while SFBC’s numbers may not be viable here, the discussions on membership were encouraging and informative. Just have to put those lessons into practice and get people through the door.

I did manage to sneak away Wednesday morning before the final day of the workshop started for a recreational ride. I went north from my hotel and along the bay, ultimately crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

My cue sheet for getting out of the city.

 

Fog shrouded Golden Gate Bridge just before I made my crossing.

At the top of a road climb in the Marin Headlands.
The fog rolling up the hillside and over the road made for
a great riding atmosphere.

Once on the other side, my plan was to ride into the Marin Headlands and hit some mountain bike trails. Unfortunately, my time was short, and I wasn’t able to go as far as I initially wanted. If I had brought my geared bike it would have been no problem. However, the climbing friendly single speed was not so great on the many flat sections I encountered on the route.

I’m back to racing for this weekend. The DINO race at France Park in Logansport is up on Sunday. Despite a late threat from a trial which was supposed to go on Monday, all is clear now since the case unexpectedly settled. While the trial would have been fun, I’m kind of glad I can get outside and compete as opposed to spending the day in the office prepping.