Bicycle Culture and Youth

Annabelle Bull, a native of England, now lives in Monterey County and loves biking here for transportation and fun!

(Photo courtesy of Joanna Bull.)

Young leaders

The first time I saw Annabelle Bull,  she was at the Monterey Peninsula College farmers market, where she was shopping by bike.

She is more inclined to say to her parents, “May I please bike to the mall?” than “Please drive me to the mall.”   Annabelle is 12, and already she has wisely figured out that when it comes to transportation–as another young leader, Emma Sleeth, put it– It’s easy being green!

Annabelle is a great role model for her peers.  And as a Brit herself, she’s a shining example of young British women who cycle, as filmed in “Beauty and the Bike”; see more on that below.

And for more on biking as green transportation, see Bicycling and Ecotourism.

Tips for young bikers

Annabelle is savvy about safety too, accepting that at some times of day or on some long routes, inviting her dad along for cycling company is the thing to do.  Think he minds?  Why bike, when you can drive?

Why? Well, for starters, her dad has a fun time with this daughter.  He also spends less on fuel, saves wear-and-tear on the car, avoids the stress of traffic snarls,  supports his daughter in a healthy activity, and he gets in a cardio workout of his own!  To top it off, he’s taking an action that shows consideration for the next seven generations!  (See Great Law of the Iroquois here.)

Tired of being a “taxi” driver?   Based on time of day (traffic patterns) and distance, in many cases, parents may be surprised to find that biking alongside their kids means reaching the destination faster than driving there.    When that’s not the case, consider making it a bike-and-ride combo trip.

Personal safety tips and tips to keep your bike safe are provided on this site.

Okay, Mom and Dad.  I have my helmet on.  Now may I please bike to the mall?

(Photo courtesy of Simon Bull.)

Helmets

Helmet? On public streets, bikeways (as defined by law), or any other public bicycle path or trail:   California law requires a helmet for anyone 18 or under who is riding or a passenger on a bicycle.  Violators are subject to a $25 fine.

There are helmets such as Ecotourre’s “that don’t make you look like a dork.”  Nose around the Web and you’ll find more sources, such as those suggested here, and here.  There are even helmet covers sold today.  Not in your budget?  If you have even a slight artistic bent, you might want to decorate a helmet on your own or create a cool helmet cover.

And while long-distance cyclists generally swear by spandex and other cycling apparel for comfort, regular clothing is worn by the vast majority of cyclists throughout Monterey County.  Check out Annabelle and other cycle chic cyclists, or young Zachary Flint, who has his own unique way of being visible on the bikeways.

Special opportunities  in Monterey County

No need to wait for a special reason to ride your bike, just bike wherever you go!  If you’re looking for a unique cycling op though, here are a few:

Twilight Rides at Laguna Seca, September 15, October 20, November 17, and December 15, 2010.

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, Saturday, October 2, 2010:   This may be just the thing to coax a parent or friend back on a bicycle they’ve been ignoring; invite them to go with you!  Refer to the Take a Kid Mountain Biking post on this site.

HER Helmet Thursdays, year-round:   HER Helmet Thursdays is another reason to bicycle.  Discounts on Thursdays for cyclists aren’t limited to restaurants–although, happily, there are over 100 of those already!  Discounts also apply at the Cannery Row IMAX, the Monterey Youth Museum, and other educational attractions and entertainment venues.   Click here for the list of participants.  Just walk in with your bike helmet on a Thursday, mention HER Helmet Thursdays, and–bingo!–you get a discount.  For lodging discounts, click here.

Back to school

Here in Monterey County, students are encouraged to become part of the local community of cyclists.

Watch this site for upcoming photos of bike racks at elementary, middle, and high schools around Monterey County.  (Your own photo submissions are welcome; please contact me.)

And on the national level, check out  Safe Routes to School.

And now, here’s a question for us all:

Why do some kids stop biking?

In wanting to make a more bicycling friendly world, it is natural to think of children and youth, and of the many ways biking can benefit them.

Many of us grew up free to bicycle everywhere, and we did!  And many of us with children have sometimes lamented that they didn’t grow up with the same freedom.  But why?  Is this something we must accept, or something we can change?

Cover image courtesy of Darlington Media Group.

Watching the 8-minute short (see link below),  I was especially touched by one young woman’s comment, “I just love the feeling, you just feel so free and independent and you have nothing holding you back, you can go anywhere you want, it’s so liberating!” Although I biked from my earliest childhood, she reminded me of when I first really fell in love with bicycling, in my youth in Santa Cruz.  Bicycling inspired me in many ways.  One example:  just about every song I’ve ever written was composed on a bicycle!

As does the Project Bike Trip in Santa Cruz,  the Darlington Media Group’s “Beauty and the Bike” project helps the young—and others—reconsider bicycle culture.  And both projects recognize the importance of cycling as it relates to climate change and to human health.

What was one major discovery from the Beauty and the Bike project?  Infrastructure makes a big difference!

“Beauty and the Bike”

Visit the project’s site:

“Beauty and the Bike:  Why Do British Girls Stop Cycling?”

Watch an 8-minute YouTube clip:

\”Beauty and the Bike\” short from Darlington Media Group

Watch a short about:

why girls stop cycling.

(Other shorts from the project are also available at the Darling Media Group site.)

The film premiered in Britain in December 2009.  A DVD of the full-length film is for sale, along with an accompanying book.

Share “Beauty and the Bike” with your community

I hope many people will choose to make a donation of this DVD and the book Beauty and the Bike to their local public or school libraries.  Here in Monterey County, recipients might include the City of Monterey Public Library, which has a reciprocal share arrangement with Pacific Grove Library; or the  Monterey County Free Libraries and/or school libraries in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, among many other choices.

The young women of this project are themselves inspiring.  I especially welcome your comments and ideas below.

Also:  Help meet the need for bike route tips!

This post was updated in August 2010, including the section about young leader Annabelle Bull.

When this “Beauty and the Bike” info was first published last spring, it was responded to with the following helpful comments.  Thanks to Nicole and Linda (see comments below) for this post’s addendum about helping to meet the need for bike route tips.  Read on…

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