The Davis Enterprise: Nov. 10, 2008 Davis Bicycles! Introductory Column #001 Photo captions: Leo Rainer, Russell Reagan, Anthony Palmere, and Joe Krovoza riding through the railroad undercrossing behind Davis Commons, part of the path from South Davis completed in 2003 (right); Leo Rainer and Nancy Davis on a group ride along the Davis Bike Loop in July of this year (below).

Title: Enjoy the Ride

It's time to start thinking more about bikes in Davis. We are THE bike city of the U.S. (er, unless someone from Portland is listening). A penny-farthing (aka highwheeler) is on the crest of our great city. We are courting the nation's bicycle hall of fame to move to town. Bob Sommer is now writing about nice bike excursions for the Enterprise, but where is the column about all-things-bike-related in The Enterprise?

There is lots of good stuff out there waiting to be published. Davisites make observations about biking all the time. "I moved to Davis 25 years ago because this was a quiet place where everyone rode a bike." "A grown man can ride a bike in Davis and people don't assume he has a DUI." "Biking at night is like flying." A newbie to town observes: "I thought my neighbor was Mormon; he rides his bike everywhere." There are stories behind these comments. So let's tease them out of the community and share them in The Enterprise.

Davis is where it all started for bike-friendly cities in the U.S. In the early 1960s, Chancellor Emil Mrak -- who loved to bike in his youth in the Santa Clara Valley, including over the hill to Santa Cruz -- promoted campus biking and bike planning. Meanwhile on the city side, Eve and Frank Child returned in 1963 from Frank's sabbatical to Holland. They were determined to preserve the city as a haven for bikes in the face of growth and many more cars on the streets. They succeeded. Working with Donna and Dale Lott and other bicycle advocates, Maynard Skinner and Norm Woodbury made bike lanes a campaign promise in 1966 and were elected to the city council. At their first meeting, bike lanes were approved, and the first ones appeared on Eighth and on Sycamore. UC Davis faculty members Bob Sommer, Dale Lott and Mel Ramey did the first research on bike riding and lane and infrastructure design. Let's learn from the past so it may guide our future.

The last decade in Davis has brought us some great new bike amenities. The Dave Pelz Overcrossing and I-80 undercrossing connect North and South. We now have a nice network of paths in Mace Ranch, connected to Wildhorse via the new Covell undercrossing. Only recently has Portland joined Davis as a U.S. Platinum-rated bicycle city.

But are we doing all we can? Should the Davis schools have a district-wide plan to teach bike safety, or help families identify the safest routes to schools? There used to be Mr. Smart Spokes for bike education in the schools. Did he get a flat? Or whose budget did he disappear from? Are bikes central or incidental to city sustainability efforts? Might biking more be the most accessible environmental action for almost all Davisites? Let's have the Davis Bicycles! column explore where we should steer our bike future.

So there's a lot to share. The mind reels. Bike humor? How to bike with kids? Pets? In-laws? How to bike with weather? Whether to bike? Bikes as fashion! Where have all the derailleurs gone? How can one customize their bike so it's enjoyable and functional for more trips? What's the best way to put storage on a bike for school, soccer and shopping? These are all perfect topics for an Enterprise bike column. Together, let's find the fun and enjoyment in not having to drive ourselves or the kids as much â“ or at all!

Last month, Davis Bicycles! (the community group) hosted its first annual film festival. Over 200 Davisites turned out on a rainy Friday night to enjoy films that celebrated biking. They found lots of humor in biking, and pondered how to make biking in Davis still better. The Davis Bicycles! column will seek more of the same in print. We promise variety, ideas, laughs, an opinion or three, and all of this with an eye to the next wave of biking enthusiasm for Davis. Join us. Read it, think about it, respond with an OpEd, or pitch an idea to column@davisbicycles.org. We invite submissions from everyone. Watch this space every other Monday for the column.

We hope you enjoy the ride.

-- Leo Rainer, Ted Buehler, Russell Reagan and Joe Krovoza for Davis Bicycles!

The new Davis Bicycles! column will run every other Monday in this space. To submit a column or suggest an idea, write to column@davisbicycles.org. You'll reach Joe Krovoza.