Ray Hosler's Blog, page 60

Commute Bill Creates Bureaucracy We Can't Afford

California state legislature chambers.

As a daily bike commuter it pains me to oppose California SB 582, a commute benefits bill proposed by Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco.)

If you read the bill it comes across as bureaucratic entanglement that companies and our state can't afford.

I wonder who will administer the program? Who will monitor employees to be sure they're not taking advantage of the bill's benefits, and who will monitor businesses to be sure they're honest? A company with only 20 employee may find the bill's requirements a burden.

While I would like to receive a tax credit for riding my bike to work, isn't our state government bankrupt? Do we want to add to our financial insolvency? Aren't we all opposed to big government?

However, there are some situations where such an arrangement could be a win-win for companies and employees. For example, if a company could save on parking costs (all subsidized, unseen costs) because employees mostly commute by public transit, ride a bike, walk, etc., that's great. Maybe it could be applied to new buildings as they're built.

Companies can offer incentives without government involvement. The Bay Area is built around the car, so incentives may not be enough.

For now, I say let the free market decide how we commute. As the price of oil rises, people will find cheaper ways to get to work without the car. It may mean changing jobs.

I ride my bike because I enjoy it. Inevitably, that's how any activity becomes a lifelong pursuit.

Photo of the Week: Henry Coe State Park

Henry Coe State Park, 42 miles from Santa Clara, is still open. Plans are afoot to find private investments and keep the park open once state funding runs out, sometime next summer. Click on photo for more information.

World's Most Uncomfortable Bike Saddle?

This is not a comfortable saddle for long mountain bike rides.

Could this saddle shown here be the world's most uncomfortable for a mountain bike? It may have been standard issue by Trek in 2000, but I can't say for sure. It's not important. What's important is finding a comfortable saddle for mountain bike riding.

This saddle, as you can see, is narrow and doesn't have a groove down the middle, which I'm beginning to realize is a sore point with me. The ride position on the mountain bike is different from a racing road bike with drop bars. That's because you're more upright on a mountain bike and there's more pressure on the saddle.

I switched saddles and tried the Avocet Gel, but it wasn't any better. I have another saddle with an indent down the middle that came with the Bianchi commute bike. I'll try that. My thought on mountain bike saddles is: wide, well padded, slot or indent down the middle to protect the prostate area.

Of course, young mountain bike racers will stick with the super-lightweight narrow saddles.

My mountain bike rides combine road and dirt and can be as many as 70 miles.

Photo of the Week: Forest of Nisene Marks

Forest of Nisene Marks State Park has some good dirt roads for long rides.

I haven't ridden on Aptos Creek Fire Road, located in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park near Aptos since 2003, so I decided to check it out.

I rode from home and stopped to see the Highland Way slide repair on my way. It doesn't look like it will last through the next winter.

Highland Way slide repair in 2011. It's almost an annual occurrence here.

As I entered Buzzard Lagoon Road at the crest of Highland Way where it becomes Eureka Canyon Road I reflected on past Jobst Rides. We affectionately called this the "Forest of Obscene Remarks" ride. And rightly so. Originally the name could be attached to the challenge of riding bikes through Aptos Creek. Later it became infamous for crashes. I was hit head-on in 1995 and Brian Cox was mangled in a crash in the early 2000s.

At my advanced age I wisely took the mountain bike. The section at the start of Aptos Creek Fire Road before the park gate is extremely rocky. Over the past 30 years riding here I've seen erosion take its toll on the road. It's still doable on a road bike in this section for the young and strong, with difficulty.

The rest of the descent to the unsigned Hinkley Basin Fire Road at the Sand Point Overlook (park benches and a clearing) went well and looks to be in good shape. I headed down Hinkley Fire Road. It takes forever but eventually you'll ford Olive Springs, Hinkley Creek, and finally the mighty Soquel Creek.

I had forgotten this part of the ride, last done in 1995 after my head-on. I managed to ride across Olive Springs, but had to do the rock walk routine to cross the other creeks. Soquel is deep and it's a good thing there was a rock walkway here.

Back on Olive Springs Road, I headed downhill for a mile to San Jose Soquel Road and then back home up the long grind.

Access Denied at De Anza College

Why isn't this access point to De Anza College open?

With a minor adjustment, there's every reason to open this access road to De Anza College for two-wheeled vehicles. It bridges between De Anza College Parkway and McClellan Road, near the Hwy 85 overpass. There's good visibility both directions. All you have to do is install some removable posts to allow access for bikes and motorcycles.

Cyclists could use this route as a continuation from the Mary Avenue bike path through Cupertino. People riding to school on McClellan could use this road for easier access.

Photo of the Week

Saturday on Spring Hill Road the fog burned off around 11 a.m. It's a nice descent from Skyline down Windy Hill to Portola Road.

91.4 Centimeter Law Moving to Passage

California Bicycle Coalition created a "Give Me 3" campaign to promote the proposed three-foot law.

For those of you who don't know the metric system, 91.4 centimeters is three feet, and that's the distance motorized vehicles will have to give cyclists when passing if the bill in the California legislature becomes law.

Senate Bill 910 was introduced by Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal, 54th District, which makes up parts of Long Beach, Palos Verdes (nice area), and Catalina Island (not much traffic here). Bonnie chairs the state's transportation committee.

Will the U.S. ever adopt the metric system instead of giving it lip service? In 1999 we lost the Mars Climate Orbiter because someone used English rather than a Metric number in a calculation. Doh! But I digress.

I support the bill if only because it removes the lamest of excuses used by motorists: "I can't pass because I'd cross the double yellow line." The law makes it legal to cross. It takes two seconds to pass, unless it's lots of riders, and that happens. There are a handful of super-narrow roads in the Santa Cruz Mountains that can be a problem, especially for someone driving an SUV, which is a good reason not to drive an SUV on Summit Road.

There's a modest fine associated with breaking this law, but seeing it enforced? Dream on. I'd really like to see it applied to motorcyclists who buzz me on Hwy 9 all the time. That's bad form coming from a two-wheeled compatriot.

However, where this bill really shines is when it comes to cyclists who get injured. Read on: "The bill would make it a misdemeanor or felony if a person operates a motor vehicle in violation of the above requirement and that conduct proximately causes significant or substantial physical injury or death to the bicycle operator."

Believe it or not, it is not a crime to maim a cyclist, just a driving infraction. That will change with this law. I'm all for it.