Ride with us and our neighbors at the Tour de Trails!
Come join with our friends from Rich-City Rides and Bike East Bay on a 16-mile ride showcasing little-known local trails on Dec. 6!
The ride, which takes off from Richmond BART station at 10 a.m., is fun, easy-paced and mostly off-street and paved, according to Rich City Rides, the local nonprofit co-hosting the event with Bike East Bay.
Riders will learn how to navigate some of the more complicated sections of trail and discuss what needs to be done to make Richmond’s, El Cerrito’s and Albany’s trails easier to use.
The ride heads south from the Richmond BART station to the Richmond Greenway trail, then continues east on the trail to the start of the Ohlone Greenway trail in El Cerrito. The trip then goes south on the Ohlone to Albany, where it connects with the Marin/Buchanan Bikeway. Cyclists will then head north on the Bay Trail, looping back to the start of our route at Richmond BART.
Children under 16 must be accompanied with an adult and should be able to ride with their parents safely in the street. Anyone under age 18 must where a helmet.
Any parents who want to learn more about biking with children can attend one of the free family workshops offered online at www.BikeEastBay.org/FCW, or check out our website at www.BikeEastBay.org/FamilyCycling for more information.
Preview the route online at: www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/538365706. Those who can’t join the full route can get on BART at El Cerrito Del Norte at mile 3.3, El Cerrito Plaza at mile 5.2, or just head north on the Greenway until you meet up with the ride.
Please rsvp to the Facebook Event: Tour De Trails
Fallen Cyclist Joe Hurlimann was taken from us last week near North Berkeley BART just after sunrise. “He was a Berkeley native who still lived in his childhood home, an avid gardener and stamp collector who had a PhD from Cal in plant pathology. He worked at UCB for 31 years, and at Truitt & White in West Berkeley for 61 years,” Emilie Raguso. Full Berkeleyside article here.
SPOKES would like to put a Ghost Bike at the scene and invites community to bring flowers and honor his life while we make public our concerns about the safety of cyclists and pedestrians in Berkeley, the East Bay, Bay Area California, and in the US. If anyone has time to give an hour or two to help organize we’d like to set the Ghost bike and then gather Hearst Street Park @ Sacramento with a brief respite. If you have access to Bagels, Cheeseboard / Arizmendi/ Peet’s coffee, Trader Joes / Berkeley Bowl (juices) , Spokes will Bring bike racks and tables. Public officials Berkeley Police , California Bike Coalition, Bike East Bay are invited to speak and Bike East Bay . Media Welcome!
Go to the Facebook page for any updates.
If anyone wants to propose a ride from Albany, please write in “comments” to this event – thanks.
Want a fun bike park like Dirt World in Richmond? Support this project at an Albany Parks & Rec meeting and/or write a letter!
On September 13th, a course/park designer will pitch several plans for a proposed mountain bike/BMX bike park in Albany. Commissioners will benefit from input and feedback from the public, especially supporters like you, to help decide which plan, if any, to advance to the City Council. Proposed location is adjacent to Pierce St Park – just below it, to the west on Cleveland St. Early discussions described a MTB component around the perimeter space and a BMX component at the interior. The designer said he likes to design with different riding abilities in mind on the same course (very easy, medium, challenging) and to provide different price points for features, their materials, etc. He has designed and built Richmond’s new Dirt World and many other bike parks.
Here is the Design and Estimate Proposal.
Any input – in person or even in writing – you can provide (even just “looks great!” or “our family would use this!” will be helpful).
Separately, input is sought for what may be the final design review for the new and improved trails at Albany Hill Park. Here are the 90% Plans.
*New ADA trail at the top parallel to the ridge line
*Improvements to existing trails at the north
*Improved, re-landscaped access points to the park where Jackson and Madison dead-end
*Stairs plus a bulbout in the SE corner where Taft hits Hillside
The city has received the monarch roosting report it commissioned and is taking its results and recent community input to limit impacts to trees near monarch habitat. Some commissioners including myself (Bryan Marten) want to also use that information to move forward with choosing a select few trees to remove to improve views of the bay, bird habitat at the mud flats, etc. This involves the city approaching the large land owner at the SW corner of the hill which the city has said it will do.
This is the full agenda for the meeting.
BMX/MTB parks are great fun and recreation for kids, teens and adults!
PLEASE WRITE LETTERS OF SUPPORT to Albany Staff Liaison Chelle Putzer at cputzer@albanyca.org and request that she send your letter to all members of Albany’s Parks & Rec Commission. Thanks!
