Put the pedal to the metal, but read this first.
Anyone who has ever biked in Santa Fe has a story. Recently, Jamie Lenfestey, who runs FanMan Productions, was hit by a car that rolled through the intersection of Delgado and West Alameda Streets. The bike went out from under Lenfestey and he hit the hood and the windshield and landed flat on his back in the middle of the street. As Lenfestey stood up and began to check himself for injury, the driver of a silver Range Rover, also at the intersection, who had witnessed the accident, rolled down his window and asked if Lenfestey was OK. The witness was Martin Lawrence, in town to film
Wild Hogs
.
Lenfestey's story had a happy Hollywood ending. The driver who hit him stopped, drove him home
and was contrite (and Lenfestey was wearing his helmet because he
had promised his wife he would). But many bikers aren't as lucky. Despite the groundswell of biking activism in Santa Fe, safety and education challenges remain.
This week, in acknowledgement of Bike to Work Week, SFR writer Gwyneth Doland takes a look at the specific work that remains to make the city more bike-friendly. Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico member Elizabeth Mesh shares her harrowing story of recovery from a biking accident and Zane Fischer pens on how to bike in style. In addition, we have included several of the activities that will be part of this week's bicycle-specific outreach.
If the winds stay calm, it's a great week to leave the car in the driveway. Just remember: wear your helmet!
The Long, Hard Route of Santa Fe's Bikeways
By
Santa Fe is an ideal bicycling environment due to its compact size, moderate terrain and pleasant weather. Likewise, the bicycle is an ideal vehicle for Santa Fe. It offers an alternative travel choice for those concerned about the environment and is relatively undemanding in terms of infrastructure. In addition, bicycles can have travel times comparable with automobiles for short distances and are less expensive to own and operate than automobiles. For these reasons, the city of Santa Fe seeks to make bicycling a safer and more convenient form of everyday transportation for its citizens.
That convincing argument comes from the city's 1992 Bikeways Master Plan, a document that also promised to "provide necessary amenities such as secure bike racks and traffic signals that can be triggered by bicyclists" and "to establish bike lanes or bike routes, and appropriate signage, for all major on-road bike lanes or bike routes consistent with this plan."
Unfortunately, although we have seen
some new signage, a few new trails and some lane striping, this 14-year-old
plan is barely in need of updating. Santa Fe is still woefully short of bike routes that travel across town, traffic signals still don't respond to bicycles and bike racks are few and far between. So few of the plan's goals have been achieved (since Clinton was first elected!) that it still seems fresh, hopeful and forward-thinking.
For more than a decade, implementation of this grand vision has been crippled by a lack of funding directed at its goals. The city has tended to rely on private development to put bike trails through newly built neighborhoods, resulting in a woefully incomplete network. Kids in a particular area might be able to ride safely around the 'hood, but their parents still have no way to commute to work by bicycle. Change is coming, though, prodded by a recent influx of city bond funds and appropriations from the Legislature.
In 2004, $1.5 million in bond funds were allocated to bike and pedestrian trails and the City Council's Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee (BTAC), chaired by Patti Bushee, assigned the money to 13 specific uses. (But to put that in perspective, consider that building bike trails costs about $100,000 per mile. Interstates cost $10 million and arterial roads run $1 million per mile).
This year, $500,000 in bond funds have been set aside for bikeways, although the BTAC has not yet assigned those funds to specific uses. In addition, $750,000 is assigned specifically to the Santa Fe River Trail and a $3.5 million appropriation from the Legislature will most likely be used to construct a crossing of St. Francis along the Acequia Trail. (One of the 13 projects the BTAC funded in
2004 was the design of that crossing; according to Chris Ortega of the Public Works Department, requests for proposals for the design will open in early June.)
"We need to have a multi-modal transportation system and bikes are a very important piece of that," says Mayor David Coss, "but it has to be safe and efficient." He supports improving bikeways for environmental reasons, but also because of the improvement in quality of life he says safe bike routes bring, especially for kids. "Our trails give young people access to their city again," he says. "When I was a little kid in Casa Solana, I could ride my bike downtown and it was a fairly safe thing to do, but kids aren't comfortable riding their bikes on Cerrillos now. If they could ride on a trail and get across St. Francis safely, then the city would be opened up to them again."
Bike trails are absolutely vital to the city, says Gail Ryba, president of the Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico. "Trails cost a lot more than on-street facilities [for cyclists], but they do help augment the road system. Plus they are great recreational facilities for everyone: dog-walkers, in-line skaters, joggers, bicyclists, etc." Ryba rides her bicycles frequently and she uses trails often. "However," she says, "I really think people need to realize that a trail won't lead from their door to every place they need to go. At some point, folks who want to leave their cars behind will need to use roadways. And as more people bicycle on the roads, they will become safer and safer."
Tim Rogers, who is the coordinator of the state's bicycle, pedestrian and equestrian programs and an avid cyclist himself, commends the work that the city has done so far to improve the
experience of riding on city streets. In particular, he's happy about the shared use arrows, called "sharrows" that the BTAC recommended for parts of Alameda, Artist Road, Camino Cabra, Baca and Pacheco. Sharrows are symbols painted on the asphalt that remind drivers to look for cyclists on the road. "They say that the cyclist has the right to take the lane and not have to ride in the gutter. Most of these are roads that have a low speed limit; It's more dangerous for a bike to ride on the side and it's not necessary when the speed limit is so low," says Rogers. In addition to the city's sharrows, Rogers is happy about Share the Road signs and shoulder striping that creates space for bikes and helps slow traffic. "I live off Agua Fria," he says, "and I've benefited enormously from the stripes they've put down."
Rogers' work for the state has resulted in cyclist-friendly shoulders on NM 14 and Old Las Vegas Highway. He is also working on a system of state bike routes, including one that will connect downtown with the opera and Pojoaque, using a combination of city streets, trails and low-traffic frontage roads.
But making connections like that is a tough task and progress is slow. "Albuquerque has a lot of bike lanes on a grid system that's very connected," Ryba says. "But in Santa Fe still there are just these segments of trails or segments of safe streets. You have to patch it together."
That's what BTAC is trying to do now. "The Council made a concerted effort to spend a large part of this money on trying to make connections on trails throughout the city," she says. Trails and road crossings in particular are expensive, so, Bushee says, "We're trying to make sure we get the most bang for our buck. We're going to sit down with the map and with a list of the funds and figure out how to spend the rest."
Tales from Asphalt
One rider's harrowing tale.
By
In human anatomy books, I had seen the detailed pictures of the inner muscles, veins and
bones but not in the third dimension and not wet.
And there they all were, exposed from the wound in my left arm with a pool of blood draining from it. Santa Fe ambulance #8 was on its way.
On July 17, 2003, I took a two-hour bicycle ride on the loop in Las Campanas. I was training for a 150-mile ride coming up in a couple of months. I had a lot on my mind and I needed to exercise it out. Halfway through the ride, I was feeling strong and confident and positive. It was 7:30 in the morning and I headed home on West Alameda Street toward the Plaza.
I had just checked to see if I could inch any further to the edge of the road; the painted white line was under my wheels and there was no room; it was the end of the asphalt. Out of nowhere, I was flying through the air yelling, "WHAT THE F---!!!!" I heard these words as if I was 50 feet under water. It felt like I was suspended in mid-air for hours as I watched the nearby field go from a grand view to the earth beneath me. My helmet-encased head hit the ground hard as my body reverberated the fall like a rag doll. I lay there thinking I'd like to lay there more and go to sleep. I was totally disorientated but the thought came, "You might be further road kill. GET UP."
When my body shot up, I saw I was in the dirt on the side of the road.
My legs looked OK, as they remained clamped to the pedals of my intact bike. Then I saw my right arm and that was OK. The blood puddle under my left arm told me things were not good over there. I could not feel a thing as I turned my arm to see what happened. The skin was flapped over in a v-shape, veins were strewn and
plastered against the skin and the tendons and muscles were sliced to the bone. Yikes!
The guy that hit me ran over and offered hydrogen peroxide, (imagine!).
I found out later that I was lucky; often when cyclists get hit, drivers keep driving. When I looked at this guy's vehicle, I could not believe what had happened. I had been hit from behind by a 7,500-lb. dually truck, (one of those fat trucks with the four wheels in the back) probably going 40 mph. My left forearm was nearly ripped off by the railing of the truck. And I was soon to find out that my whole left side was bruised black with a protruding lump the size of a grapefruit in the middle of it all.
All the time I was healing from this, I would watch this feeling of deep loneliness from the corner of my eye. When death is so near your door, you wonder if you should be alive to tell about it. It was the empty feeling of a loved one dying, only amplified 100 times.
It was always there if I wanted to see it. And, you bet, I was not going to let a truck take away my life even if it was all ripped apart. These thoughts of strength were all I had at the moment to get me through. And I dwelled on them as best I could.
Recovery did not go easily. I was
unable to tie my shoes, clasp my bra, floss my teeth, wash my dishes and my
body, or stay up for longer than 4 hours. I lost one of my jobs as a result of not being able to drive.
Physical therapy took many months. And my ability to believe that I was safe on the road, in a car or on a bike took longer.
But then there were the friends, family and even strangers, who made me dinner, gave me money, drove me to doctor's appointments, carried my groceries and cleaned my apartment. And
the people who listened to me talk about death, the meaning of life, and the vast span of loneliness we all feel about dying. Each person who helped me gave me more breath to keep going.
Eight months after the accident, I slogged through 100 miles on a bike in one day at the Santa Fe Century. At about mile 70, the tears in my eyes were not from the wind. I could not believe I was able to ride a bike all this way after all I had been through. And I never wanted anyone in the world to experience what happened to me on a bicycle. The joy and freedom of cycling was just too precious to me. I decided to help make the roads safer.
A year later, with the Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico, I helped to create and distribute a pamphlet for auto drivers to
read about what to do with a cyclist on the road. Two years later, I continued
this work with BCNM to create the yellow lawn signs that said, "Give Bikes Five Feet. Thanks!" It's really important to let drivers know what to do on the road when they see a cyclist.
And believe me, every time a driver gave a bike
five feet, I would wave a heartfelt "Thanks!"
Two and half years later, I still have a rockin' scar on my arm and that lump on my rear continues to linger. The memory of that time is faded in detail but not forgotten in action. Who has time to waste?
Last year, a few months after we got the lawn signs out, a drunk driver killed Judy Scassera-Cinciripini on her bicycle.
Using any vehicle, with feet
or
fuel, is fun as well as a good way to get to work. We all have a right to get to our destinations safely. Let's make it happen together.
Elizabeth Mesh is the owner of Artists for Hire. She can be reached at
. The Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico can be reached at
or 820-1365.
The UnBike
Finding the ride that's right for you.
By
Fear of courting death among Santa Fe's narrow streets and big cars is not what prevents most people from bicycling to work. No doubt the broken pavement, discarded bottles, stray animals and the conspicuously numerous and poorly driven SUVs prowling the city are an intimidating element but, let's be honest, it comes down to style. Nobody wants to look like any of the standard cyclist types. Not the lady in the ass-oozing lycra shorts, under-helmet pig tails and sweat-sagged socks and not the guy with the little clip-on mirror extending off his eye glasses, the rolled up pant cuff and the tire pressure gauge sharing company with the three-tone highlighter pen in his pocket protector. Certainly
not the complete tool in the logo-infested spandex racing jersey with plastic shoes that snap on to his pedals. Bicycle-specific clothing, with the comfort and protection to complement the act of riding a bike or, more specifically, falling off of a bike, is coming in more and swankier variations all the time, but before dropping the bucks on a skater helmet or a rubberized, flowerprint penny farthing smock, consider the most basic style ingredient in the equation, the bike itself. Choose a ride that suits your personality and you'll end up using it instead of letting it rust in the back yard. Avoid mountain bikes with suspension-these are only embraced by professionals, incredible dorks or people who've had their driver's licenses revoked. Likewise avoid road racing bicycles as they, too, are only used by professionals, incredible dorks and bicycle thieves. The extreme design of such bicycles makes them impractical for pleasure or commuting anyhow. Listed below are a five unexpected options for powering up with pedals while preserving your personal flair. Some of them look complicated, but most can be built
with the common materials from one or two existing
bicycles, a few easy-find-parts and a trip to local welder or bike shop.
STYLE:
Chopper/Lowrider. Just like the
raked out, stripped down motorcycles of yesteryear, chopper bicycles offer a budget bad-boy or tough grrrl image with a special post-modern
dash of retro irony.
PLUS:
You will feel as cool as you look tooling down the lane.
MINUS:
They look better than they go. Sitting behind your pedals instead of over them will have you scouting for a place to pull over and look cool after a block or two.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PULL IT OFF:
Balls. It's hard enough for someone suspended six feet up in the air-conditioned bubble of their Escalade to see a regular bike, but a lowrider?
STYLE:
Fixed Gear. Single speed bicycles with no freewheel and no brakes. Used by racers to practice their cadence and adopted first by urban bicycle messengers and now by the more common urban bicycle posenger.
PLUS:
A better workout in a minimal, no
nonsense, street-cred package.
MINUS:
You never get to take a break from pedaling or change gears. Stopping means literally pedaling backward.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PULL IT OFF:
Shortened
cranks, strong knees and a healthy disregard for traffic and rules. A messenger bag and a shot of whiskey can't hurt.
STYLE:
Trike. The workhorse of the third-world is as effective for pedicabbing tourists as it is hauling appliances or making a weekly Farmer's Market run.
PLUS:
Stability and cargo space. Who needs fossil fuels when your pedals have more cargo space than a
station wagon?
MINUS:
Big and heavy, you won't be taking any shortcuts or bumming a ride home in the rain.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PULL IT OFF:
A rare combination of the practicality needed to want to carry more on your bike and the impracticality to think that you actually will.
STYLE:
Tall Bike. The double decker of the bicycle world-one frame welded to the top of another gets you
noticed, and then some.
PLUS:
Shocking height; you'll be able to see into your neighbors' yards and do drive-by dumpster diving.
MINUS:
Shocking height;
mounting and dismounting can be terrifying and balancing a
trackstand at a red light is a serious
commitment.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PULL IT OFF:
Balls. A goofy clown-like personality that doesn't mind people
laughing and pointing and a willingness to go the extra mile on chain maintenance.
STYLE:
Unicycle. If two wheels are better than four, one wheel must be king.
PLUS:
Nothing says cool, fun and talented like a stunt-riding unicyclist. Easy storage in tiny, fluorescent-lit cubicles.
MINUS:
You'll probably never break 10
mph and kids will be tempted to push you over as you go by. Nowhere to put your briefcase.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PULL IT OFF:
Balance and practice. But if two guys can ride their unicycle across remote and isolated Bhutan (and they did) you should be able to make it to the office.
If all else fails, buy an old-school original 10-Speed at a garage sale and ride it 'til it breaks. Repeat.
Like Bikes? Read On.
By
SANTA FE'S BIKE WEEK!
Monday, May 15 - Sunday, May 21
Wear a helmet and ride into a variety of local shops to receive free goods (helmet and bike required)! Participating shops will have big yellow banners that read "Bike Week Supporter." You can be caffeinated for free at Zele, the Santa Fe Baking Company, and many more popular spots, or ride by Santa Fe Mountain Sports to get $10 off a tune-up. Check out
for details.
Thursday, May 18
5:15 pm
The City Council's Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee will meet to discuss bikeways projects at the Main Branch of the Santa Fe Public Library.
Friday, May 19
7-8 am
It's the official Bike-to-Work Day celebration. Ride to work and get some breakfast goodies on your way. The Plaza is the spot for these morning treats, and a chance to see Mayor David Coss on his own two wheels. Coss will host the event, alongside state Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, and County Commissioners Virginia Vigil and Paul Campos. Music and some bicycle repair will be offered, as well as a small raffle. Cruise on over and check out the scene.
Saturday, May 20
Bike-to-the Farmer's Market Day
7 am - noon
The first 40 cyclists will receive a free blinking taillight-'nough said!
Women's Health Services Mother-Daughter bike ride
9 am
901 W. Alameda St.
Rent a two-seater, or grab two bikes, and enjoy a chance to bond and get that much needed day of cardio.
Gonzales Elementary Bicycle Bonanza
10 am - 2 pm
851 West Alameda St.
The second annual Bike Bonanza at this elementary school features local businesses as sponsors of a variety of events to "promote physical activity and healthy eating at the Gonzales school." Some of these events will include a bike raffle, in which participants can win a BMX bike or gift certificates from Ten Thousand Waves, Whole Foods and more. There will be a bike safety course for younger kids to enjoy, as well as a BMX style course for the more mature cyclists. Don't forget the "fix a flat" station where kids can learn how to maintain their bikes, as well as the many other activities offered at the Bike Bonanza.
Sunday, May 21
The Santa Fe Century
6 am - 5:30 pm
corner of St. Michael's Drive
and Hospital Drive
The 21st annual Century offers a 100-mile tour of historic Santa Fe lands (or 25-, 50-, or 75-mile options for the less endurance-inclined). The starting point is the St. Vincent Regional Medical Center where participants can enjoy a Pancake Breakfast and, later, a Pasta Lunch. A multiple-gear bicycle is strongly suggested, as is a helmet, water bottle, sunscreen, sunglasses, and lip balm. With six food stops along the route, a challenge guaranteed, and Santa Fe Century T-Shirts for sale, be sure to pre-register (
) and beat the rush.
