Do you ride in or through El Cerrito? Yup, me too!
Want a San Pablo Avenue that is safer for your and your family to ride? I thought so!
El Cerrito is moving forward into the ‘feasibility’ phase of designing bikeways on San Pablo Avenue and is proposing protected bikeways in the Midtown area of El Cerrito between its two BART stations. Bike East Bay helped secure a Safe Routes to Transit grant for El Cerrito for this design work. As good as it promises to be, this project needs to be complete.
The City of El Cerrito recently released a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that covers plans specific to San Pablo Avenue. The document is open for public review until July 21, 2014. The proposal is a comprehensive document that outlines infrastructure modifications to the main commercial thoroughfare through the city; chapter 3 covers the Complete Streets plan. Comments on the Draft Specific Plan should be emailed to Melanie Mintz, the Interim Community Development Director, detailed information concerning the plan and how to submit comments can be found on the city website. We urge you to voice support of a formal bicycle lane, as opposed to sharrows, in the uptown section of San Pablo Avenue. Bicycle lanes provide street safety for all users, forming a link between public transit, businesses, and residences.
Wednesday, July 9 is the first in a series of Public Meetings and your first opportunity to weigh in supporting the plan.
By the way, EC City Hall has secure BikeLink lockers for you to use!
Do you ride in or through El Cerrito? Yup, me too!
Want a San Pablo Avenue that is safer for your and your family to ride? I thought so!

Want protected bike lanes on San Pablo Avenue? Go to one of the El Cerrito meetings and speak up or write a letter! You have until the end of the day July 21 to do so.
El Cerrito is moving forward into the ‘feasibility’ phase of designing bikeways on San Pablo Avenue and is proposing protected bikeways in the Midtown area of El Cerrito between its two BART stations. Bike East Bay helped secure a Safe Routes to Transit grant for El Cerrito for this design work. As good as it promises to be, this project needs to be complete.
The City of El Cerrito recently released a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that covers plans specific to San Pablo Avenue.
THE DOCUMENT IS OPEN FOR PUBLIC REVIEW & COMMENT UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY JULY 21, 2014 SO IF YOU WANT TO PROVIDE INPUT, NOW’S THE TIME .
The proposal is a comprehensive document that outlines infrastructure modifications to the main commercial thoroughfare through the city; chapter 3 covers the Complete Streets plan. Comments on the Draft Specific Plan should be emailed to Melanie Mintz, the Interim Community Development Director, detailed information concerning the plan and how to submit comments can be found on the city website. We urge you to voice support of a formal bicycle lane, as opposed to sharrows, in the uptown section of San Pablo Avenue. Bicycle lanes provide street safety for all users, forming a link between public transit, businesses, and residences.
Wednesday, July 16 is the 2nd in a series of Public Meetings and a good opportunity to weigh in supporting the plan. This one is a Planning Commission meeting, so will likely include discussion of the sidewalk interface with private development, plan & site layout requirements and parking requirements, including bicycle parking.
By the way, EC City Hall has secure BikeLink lockers for you to use!
**Again, the plan is open for public review and comment and is available on the City’s website at www.El-Cerrito.org/SPASP. Public comment will close next Monday, July 21st at the end of the day. There are also hard copies available at the Richmond City Hall, Richmond Library, El Cerrito City Hall and El Cerrito Library. So give your input!
Grab your bikes and invite your friends & family – it’s time for the annual Bike About Town rides!
Join the City of Albany’s Department of Recreation and a bunch of your fellow rollers 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.

The Albany Peloton rolls down Peralta Avenue for another fun Bike About Town
Photo courtesy Amy Smolens
The ride begins at 6:30 at Bikes on Solano (formerly Wheels of Justice,) at Solano and Peralta in Albany.
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 16, June 20, July 18, August 15, September 19 and October 17th (dress up in your Halloween finest for this one!)
Have you noticed that Albany is small and you often end up in El Cerrito and Berkeley? Here’s a good chance to give some input to our neighbor to the north!
Come help design five urban greening projects to improve the environmental sustainability, economic vitality and community cohesion of the City of El Cerrito! The Community Charrette is an interactive design workshop that allows you to meet with neighbors and other community members to envision the future of five pilot projects: 1) Fairmount Park, 2) Hillside Natural Area, 3) Former Portola Middle School Site, 4) Lower Fairmount Ave from Carlson Blvd to San Pablo Ave, and 5) Bay Trail (Blue Belt) to Wildcat Canyon (Green Belt) Connections. These sites have been selected from a larger list of Urban Greening opportunities for their strategic location, multiple community and environmental benefits, and pilot potential. With feedback gathered at the Charrette, the City’s Urban Greening consultants will prepare conceptual designs to be included in the Urban Greening Plan.
Like some of the things AS&R has been able to accomplish in Albany? Suggest them to the City of El Cerrito. Like what you see in EC? Suggest them here in Albany!
9:30 am Welcome and Plan Overview
10:30 am Breakout Design Sessions
12:00 pm Lunch
12:30 pm Report Back
1:25 pm Next Steps
1:30 pm Close
For more information, please visit the website at www.ElCerritoUrbanGreening.org
Get GEARED UP! Helmets, Bikes, Bells!
In August, Geared4Kids will join up with Rich City Rides and have another family bike ride in Richmond. We had a great ride a year ago and especially enjoyed seeing the sights along the Richmond Greenway. We’re going back again this summer for more. If you joined us last year, join us again this year and see how much the Edible Forest has grown in the last year. If you didn’t join us last year, do it this year. You’ll be glad you did.
They will be meeting at Richmond City Hall on Nevin between 25th and 27th. Richmond BART is the nearest BART station.
We will gather starting at 10:30am and will ride out at 11:00am.
Helmets required for kids.
Be sure to pack snacks, water, and clothing appropriate to weather conditions!
Grab your bikes and invite your friends & family – it’s time for the annual Bike About Town rides!
Join the City of Albany’s Department of Recreation and a bunch of your fellow rollers 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.

The Albany Peloton rolls down Peralta Avenue for another fun Bike About Town
Photo courtesy Amy Smolens
The ride begins at 6:30 at Bikes on Solano (formerly Wheels of Justice,) at Solano and Peralta in Albany.
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 16, June 20, July 18, August 15, September 19 and October 17th (dress up in your Halloween finest for this one!)
The third Friday of the month is called PARK(ing) Day, a day when select car parking places are repurposed as public spaces. This is the same as a parklet, only for one day, and unofficial.
We will do this with one of the spaces in front of Blue Heron Bikes and Coffee Conscious on Gilman St. in Berkeley. They will have comfortable furniture and a bike blender to make smoothies, in what is just car parking every other day.
It will be fun so come join them!
Then head on up to Bike About Town!
Grab your bikes and invite your friends & family – it’s time for the annual Bike About Town rides!
Join the City of Albany’s Department of Recreation and a bunch of your fellow rollers 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.

The Albany Peloton rolls down Peralta Avenue for another fun Bike About Town
Photo courtesy Amy Smolens
The ride begins at 6:30 at Bikes on Solano (formerly Wheels of Justice,) at Solano and Peralta in Albany.
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 16, June 20, July 18, August 15, September 19 and October 17th (dress up in your Halloween finest for this one!)
The Albany Recreation & Community Services Department is having our city’s annual Albany Local Week, September 20th -26th, where you get points for doing your business in town!
This year you’ll get points for parking your bike on the 25 “Bike Bike Racks” that Albany Strollers & Rollers helped fund around town.
Locations include the Albany/Berkeley border on Solano Avenue, Albany Children’s Center, Albany Fresh Produce, Albany Taproom, Be Fit Personal Training, BevMo!, Bikes on Solano, Bridgewater Condominiums Visitor Parking, Bua Luang Thai Cuisine, Gathering Tribes, Grazzy Burgers, Hamro Aangan – Indo-Nepalese Cuisine, Innate Chiropractic, Jewel’s Terrace Park, K2Tog: Knitting the
World Together, Metta Traditional Thai Massage, Prins Chiropractic, Daniel Winkler & Associates, Inc., Royal Cafe,T324, Tay Tah Cafe, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church and Zarri’s Delicatessen.
Get your Albany Local Week Scorecard here and write in your Bike Bike Racks to rack up the points!!

Any doubt whose rack this beauty is? Yes, Charlie Prins Chiropractic co-funded this rack, along with AS&R and the City of Albany, but neighboring businesses are welcome to use it!
Join 4-time US National Champion and Berkeley resident Fred Rodriguez for the 2nd Annual “Fast Freddie Gran Fondo,” a recreational ride benefiting his Fast Freddie Foundation
The 73 mile Lungo route rolls out at 8am and includes 7,000 feet of climbing while the 35 mile Medio route rolls out at 10am and includes 3,600 feet of climbing. Both rides are in the beautiful Berkeley, Oakland and surrounding hills.

Join 4-time US National Champion Fast Freddie Rodriguez for his Gran Fondo and help a worthy cause in the process!
The mission of the Fast Freddie Foundation (FFF) is to inspire and provide young people with the tools to achieve personal successes by utilizing life skills learned through cycling. They encourage a commitment to education and a healthy life style through physical activity. FFF believes these are essential elements to achieving success, both in sport and life. FFF is strongly committed to enhancing the physical, ethical, and life development of kids through the creation of youth cycling programs and the support of cycling organizations that aim to give kids the skills and tools for realizing their dreams and a foundation for the future.
Albany Strollers & Rollers is supporting the event and the Foundation by lending them our valet parking racks, so the participants will have somewhere to park while enjoying their delicious post-ride meal! I’m happy to support Fred Rodriguez and his Fast Freddie Foundation! If you want a beautiful ride for a worthy cause, check his out www.ffgranfondo.net
To register go to http://www.eventbrite.com/e/fast-freddies-fondo-tickets-12522337649