all conservatives are not Luddites wishing to destroy the environment in favor of big bad corporations. As one who has been accused of that for opposing "green projects" that were not green nor made economic sense I've been accused of it.
In my case the stereotype doesn't fit. For 8 years I lived in Orange County, CA and did not own a car. For 4 years of that stretch I didn't even have a drivers license as I never drove anywhere. Everywhere I went, I went by bike and mass transit. In that time, some 20 years ago myself and one other fellow cyclist (as liberal as I am conservative) founded an organization to lobby for bicyclists. Yep folks I confess that I have worked to obtain federal money for bike facilities.
I am pleased that my "child" lives on, and am pleased that the new owners will make it bigger and better.
Chasing Legends gives you cycling heroes as you’ve never seen them before, through an intense and personal glimpse inside the most winning professional cycling team as told by legendary riders, current and past.
92 uninterrupted minutes of lung searing action.
Using a multitude of high tech, high def cameras mounted on bikes, motorcycles, helicopters and team cars, Gripped Films will also include historical race footage, artistic travelogue of the European countryside and villages with narration from the voice of cycling for the USA, Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.
Regency South Coast Village
Thursday evening, July 1, at 8PM
Commentary from Eddy Merckx, Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, Jens Voigt, Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie, Mark Cavendish and many others. Chasing Legends highlights today’s greatest professional cyclists with a dramatic show of teamwork and panache from Team HTC-Columbia through the 2009 Tour de France– an
absolutely epic ride into the race action.
No climbing. Direct connection, Laguna Hills to the beach.
This route follows the railroad and Oso Creek along the historic alignment of US 101. The original highway was ripped out when the I-5 freeway, and later, a sewage treatment plant were built. But by using the stairs at the Aliso Viejo Metrolink Station and the service road over Oso Creek, bicyclists can still enjoy the lowest at-grade route
between inland Orange County and Doheny Beach.
Cabot Rd. below Rapid Falls
Camino Capistrano south of the Metrolink station.
Google Earth image of Oso Creek service road.
At La Paz Rd. ride:
South Cabot Rd.
At Rapid Falls (signal):
Left onto service road
Cross Oso Creek on service road
Exit through gate, and
South onto Forbes Rd.
Cross Crown Valley Pkwy.
Left into Metrolink dropoff
Walk downstairs, under tracks
Right south, Camino Capistrano
Continue into San Juan Capistrano
– to Doheny S.P. and the beach –
Continue on Camino Capistrano, or Jog Right Oso Rd.
Left de la Vista, to end
Left San Juan Creek trail to the beach
Riders of Silence stretch for half a mile on Alton Parkway Wednesday night.
MAY 19 – IRVINE Wednesday night’s Ride of Silence in Irvine attracted hundreds of road and mountain bikers who toured a 9 mile route which included Alton Pkwy., one of the city’s busiest arterials. With Irvine police protecting the intersections the silent peleton rolled mostly two abreast, riders’ black armbands reminding
motorists of the event’s intent: a tribute to bicyclists killed or
injured by drivers who fail to safely share the road.
It was a sad reason to hold what was otherwise a beautiful twilight
ride. After winding along Alton Pkwy., riders turned onto the regional
bike trail to return along San Diego Creek through Windrow and Civic
Center Parks to City Hall.
Irvine is one of 310 cities worldwide which held a Ride of Silence this
year.
If you missed the summit or want to relive the excitement, here’s some footage courtesy of Streetsblog SF; it’s a bit jumpy, but that seems entirely consistent with the scene.
Somewhere in the frenzy, I managed to thank summit-goers for being such effective advocates for livable, sustainable, bike-friendly communities.
Well, that was fun, but the dust has settled and I have news. The crowd’s enthusiasm was so contagious, the idea of introducing a major policy revision in that setting quickly evaporated.
Today, I want to announce a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.
We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.
To set this approach in motion, we have formulated key recommendations for state DOTs and communities:
Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.
Ensure convenient access for people of all ages and abilities.
Go beyond minimum design standards.
Collect data on walking and biking trips.
Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling.
Protect sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are protected (for example, snow removal)
Improve nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects.
Now, this is a start, but it’s an important start. These initial steps forward will help us move forward even further.
And the Obama Administration hasn’t been sitting idle on the bike front this past year either.
Just last month through our TIGER program, we funded major bicycle projects in Indianapolis and in the Philadelphia-Camden-Trenton region.
And our ongoing inter-agency DOT-EPA-HUD partnership on sustainable communities actively encourages planning for walkability and bikability. We think livability means giving folks the flexibility to choose their own mobility.
Look, bike projects are relatively fast and inexpensive to build and are environmentally sustainable; they reduce travel costs, dramatically improve safety and public health, and reconnect citizens with their communities.
So, thank you to the League of American Bicyclists and all those who gave me such a raucous welcome the other night.
Last year’s summit was something; this year was something else. I can’t even imagine what next year’s gathering will produce, but I know I want to be part of it.
This Web site is dedicated to you, the Orange County bicyclist. It’s here because, while cycling is growing faster now than it has in 20 years, riding in OC is not all green lights and blue skies.
Like cyclists throughout America, we face challenges:
From motorists who just don’t get it– that we have full and legal right to the streets and roads of Orange County
From law enforcement whose grasp of California Vehicle Code is often weak or confused.
From city and county planners and engineers who often think of bicyclists last, if at all, in their efforts to “improve” the infrastructure
From ourselves– cyclists who ride like children, risking not only their own lives but those of other lawful road users, and whose rude and illegal behavior feeds the prejudice of drivers and police.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN O.C.B.C.
The efforts of the Orange County Bicycle Coalition and other advocates are committed to making our county a better place for all cyclists: school kids, moms, commuters, casual and avid recreational riders of all ages.
Why you ride doesn’t matter. What you ride doesn’t matter.
All that matters is that you be free to choose a bike when it fits the trip before you– and that the streets be a safe and pleasant place to ride.
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