Events

Join Golden Gate Audubon leaders to visit Berkeley Aquatic Park, then take the multiuser bridge to the Bay Trail toward Emeryville then Richmond. Meet at 9:15 a.m. on Bolivar Drive near the foot of Bancroft Way in Berkeley.
We’ll bird around Aquatic Park, then take the multiuser bridge to the Bay Trail riding first toward Emeryville, then Richmond. Bring binoculars and snacks; wear layers (it can be warm, or cool and windy along the shore). Call Pat if you want to borrow binoculars. This birding ride is co-listed with Golden Gate Audubon.
Jeffrey Black, (510) 526-7068, buffalo1003@aol.com and Pat Greene, (415) 321-9013 (cell),greene@cgl.ucsf.edu

Does anyone want to ride together from anywhere in Albany? Make a proposal for a meeting time and place in “comments” here!

Get GEARED UP! Helmets, Bikes, Bells!
The Geared4Kids ride will meet at the playground in Ohlone Park in Berkeley near Hearst and McGee.
It is the same time as the next Sunday Streets Berkeley, so we’ll have fun riding on Shattuck WITHOUT ANY CARS!
Helmets required for kids.
Be sure to pack snacks, water, and clothing appropriate to weather conditions!
North Berkeley is the nearest BART station.

Want to ride from Albany? Leave a note in the “comments” here!

Contribute to the greening and bike friendliness of our neighbor to the north, El Cerrito!
Come explore a greener, more compact, bikeable and walkable El Cerrito at the upcoming Community Open House!
The City will be presenting the new regulatory framework proposed in the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan and Complete Streets Plan to encourage higher-density, mixed-use development with bicycle and pedestrian improvements and new public open space. Information on the City’s Urban Greening Plan key opportunity sites and Active Transportation Plan priority projects will be available.
The Open House will take place on Saturday, October 19th at the Community Center, from 9am to 1pm with repeated presentations at 9am and 11am. Come hear about the City’s planning efforts and provide your feedback on the proposed regulations, priority projects and opportunity sites.

For more info go here.

Cyclists of all ages wait in front of Wheels of Justice for a Bike About Town Ride to begin

Grab your costume, decorate your bike, and don’t forget those bike lights – it’s time for the annual Halloween edition of Bike About Town!
Join Albany Strollers & Rollers and the City of Albany’s Department of Recreation with sponsor Wheels of Justice as we explore Albany by bike on Spring, Summer and Autumn evenings. Each of the events will trace different routes that pass through parts of Albany you may not have biked before. All levels of cyclists are encouraged to join us.
For anyone who doesn’t have rear lights and wants one, we’ll have some for sale at our cost and can help you install

The Albany Peloton rolls down Peralta Avenue in another fun Bike About Town

them.

We begin at 6:30 at the little park across the street from Wheels of Justice Cyclery, at Solano and Peralta in Albany (despite what Google Maps may insist.)

Come a few minutes early to pump up your tires. Ride maps are distributed, and we take off in a big group. There are experienced cyclists to lead and bring up the rear. After wheeling about for a half hour or forty-five minutes we return to Peralta Park, just across the street from our start, for light refreshments, a raffle, and general carousing.

Dates this year are Fridays May 24,  June 28, July 26, August 23, September 27 and October 25 (our annual Halloween ride!!)

http://www.albanyca.org/Index.aspx?page=1016

Want to ride more but feel unsure about your skills and knowledge of how to ride our roads? Then take one of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s free skills classes – Urban Cycling 101!
The next Classroom Workshop in nearby Berkeley is Monday December 2.
This fun and entertaining workshop is taught by one of our bicycle safety instructors certified by the League of American Bicyclists. Learn basic rules of the road, how to equip your bicycle, fit your helmet, take a bike on transit, and avoid crashes by riding predictably, visibly, and communicating with other road users by your actions and signals. No bike required.
(Please note: All of our UC Berkeley classes are open to the public, but are also part of the BEST (Bicycle Education & Safety Training) program allowing ticketed cyclists to have their fines reduced.)
What a great opportunity to get the skills needed to ride more confidently on the road!

These classes offer great information for both beginner and experienced cyclists alike. Here’s what a few of the class’ attendees had to say:
“You know the type, aging, maybe a grey goatee, riding an expensive carbon bike, riding up to 10,000 miles a year, who the #$%^ are you to tell me anything about bike safety?  Well, that was me, and mostly still is, except that I honestly got a lot out of an EBBC, Urban Bicycling Skills 101 class, and look forward to far safer riding in the future! ”
Brian Aldrich – President, Grizzly Peak Cyclists

“I wanted to thank you for leading the Urban Cycling 101 class at Berkeley… I just bought my first bike since childhood and I was initially so overwhelmed by riding in traffic. The class was really great and I feel a lot more comfortable trying to ride my bike around. The videos were great and I loved that it was so comprehensive. I signed up for the road class, and I just joinedEBBC as a member.”
Alexis Wong, Urban Cycling 101 student and new EBBC member

Register here

Want to ride to Cal with others? Write a note here in “comments,” or put on AS&R’s Discussion List or Facebook page!

I’m sure you walk and ride around neighboring El Cerrito so here’s a chance to make that experience a little better.
El Cerrito will be completing a San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan in the coming months.  The Plan, which builds on the efforts of the draft Plan released in 2009, will provide new development regulations that encourage higher density residential and commercial development throughout the planning area.  The goal of the Plan is to create a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly community through providing clear, market-friendly guidance in the form of a Hybrid Form-Based Code for private residential, mixed-use and commercial development, a Complete Streets Plan and a Multimodal Capital Improvement Plan. The complete revised draft Plan and its programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be released for public review in early 2014.
Two upcoming public meetings are scheduled to present key components of the Plan:

San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan and Complete Streets City Council Study Session
City Council Chambers, El Cerrito City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.
Tuesday, November 5^th, 7pm
The City Council agenda and draft PowerPoint are available at www.el-cerrito.org/CouncilMeetings

San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan – Form Based Code Planning Commission Study Session
City Council Chambers, El Cerrito City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.
Wednesday, November 20^th, 7:30pm

An agenda for this meeting will be posted by Friday, November 15^th. Please check back here: www.el-cerrito.org/PlanningCommission for more information.

To learn more about the San Pablo Avenue Specific & Complete Streets Plan, please visit www.el-cerrito.org/SPASP or attend one of the upcoming meetings.  To submit questions and comments, please feel free to contact Emily Alter at EAlter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us or 510.215.4385.

I’m sure you walk and ride around neighboring El Cerrito so here’s a chance to make that experience a little better.
El Cerrito will be completing a San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan in the coming months.  The Plan, which builds on the efforts of the draft Plan released in 2009, will provide new development regulations that encourage higher density residential and commercial development throughout the planning area.  The goal of the Plan is to create a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly community through providing clear, market-friendly guidance in the form of a Hybrid Form-Based Code for private residential, mixed-use and commercial development, a Complete Streets Plan and a Multimodal Capital Improvement Plan. The complete revised draft Plan and its programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be released for public review in early 2014.
This is the second of two recent public meetings to present key components of the Plan:

San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan – Form Based Code Planning Commission Study Session
An agenda for this meeting will be posted by Friday, November 15^th. Please check back here: www.el-cerrito.org/PlanningCommission for more information.

To learn more about the San Pablo Avenue Specific & Complete Streets Plan, please visit www.el-cerrito.org/SPASP or attend one of the upcoming meetings.  To submit questions and comments, please feel free to contact Emily Alter at EAlter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us or 510.215.4385.

Want to ride more but feel unsure about your skills and knowledge of how to ride our roads? Then take one of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s free skills classes – Urban Cycling 101!
The next Classroom Workshop in nearby Berkeley is Monday December 2.
This fun and entertaining workshop is taught by one of our bicycle safety instructors certified by the League of American Bicyclists. Learn basic rules of the road, how to equip your bicycle, fit your helmet, take a bike on transit, and avoid crashes by riding predictably, visibly, and communicating with other road users by your actions and signals. No bike required.
(Please note: All of our UC Berkeley classes are open to the public, but are also part of the BEST (Bicycle Education & Safety Training) program allowing ticketed cyclists to have their fines reduced.)
What a great opportunity to get the skills needed to ride more confidently on the road!

These classes offer great information for both beginner and experienced cyclists alike. Here’s what a few of the class’ attendees had to say:
“You know the type, aging, maybe a grey goatee, riding an expensive carbon bike, riding up to 10,000 miles a year, who the #$%^ are you to tell me anything about bike safety?  Well, that was me, and mostly still is, except that I honestly got a lot out of an EBBC, Urban Bicycling Skills 101 class, and look forward to far safer riding in the future! ”
Brian Aldrich – President, Grizzly Peak Cyclists

“I wanted to thank you for leading the Urban Cycling 101 class at Berkeley… I just bought my first bike since childhood and I was initially so overwhelmed by riding in traffic. The class was really great and I feel a lot more comfortable trying to ride my bike around. The videos were great and I loved that it was so comprehensive. I signed up for the road class, and I just joinedEBBC as a member.”
Alexis Wong, Urban Cycling 101 student and new EBBC member

Register here

Want to ride to Cal with others? Write a note here in “comments,” or put on AS&R’s Discussion List or Facebook page!

Get GEARED UP! Helmets, Bikes, Bells!