About Bicycling Monterey
Bicycling Monterey™ is playing a part in making Monterey County an even more bicycling friendly place!
Others in the local cycling community whose work has made MoCo such a great place to bike, and whose commitment to cycling here continues, are included on my “Bicycle Shops, Services, Clubs, and Resources” page.
How did Bicycling Monterey™ get started?
I’ve biked most of my life. My first time to bicycle in Monterey was in 1979, when I biked here from my home in Santa Cruz, 40 miles around the bay.
I’ve biked in Monterey County as a resident since moving here in 1981—although after moving to rural MoCo, my bike mileage diminished. There were many years when I mostly limited my routes to my own rural area, or only biked after hauling my bicycle to the multi-use trail or elsewhere.
After I returned to biking regularly for transportation, and remembered how awesome it is, I wanted to make it easier for others to bike more here, too.
Biking on West Cliff in Santa Cruz, with my friend Gerri Dayharsh
The more people who bike in a community, the safer it is to do so.
And it’s easy to see cyclists are having fun, along with enjoying many other benefits.
They inspire us! Hear KUSP’s broadcast of We’re All Heroes on This Bus, or read We’re All Heroes.
Tips for Tourists—and Others
After answering many questions for visitors on the bike/multi-use path, I recognized it wasn’t easy for others to find valuable information that I’ve learned over the years here.
Most people will bike more often, especially in a new area, if they have info and encouragement. Sure, there’s room for improvements in bike infrastructure in this and most communities—that doesn’t need to stop us! Sharing tips with one another on how to get around via existing local bikeways can help more people bike here.
So I created a comprehensive guide, Tips for Tourists Bicycling Monterey©. I first published it on this site in May 2009, as a courtesy to Monterey County visitors and others. It soon expanded into a 20-section guide that is also useful to locals, and it remains available free online for personal use.
Perhaps you’ve seen the posters for Tips for Tourists Bicycling Monterey County displayed in retailers’ windows and other places, including concierge binders. As more than one hotel staff person told me, “Biking is our #1 question, and we haven’t known what to tell our guests.” That’s understandable! Certainly, even after nearly 30 years of living here, there’s a lot I still don’t know about MoCo—things the hoteliers and others do know.
Sharing diverse knowledge and talents can help our visitors, and others, have an optimum experience of our beautiful county! That’s one reason I’m sharing local cycling info. Other reasons include environmental impact and other benefits.
HER Helmet Thursdays
What about HER Helmet Thursdays™, the ecology-economy partnership that encourages cycling? The inspiration for HER Helmet Thursdays, which benefits both locals and visitors, came to me one evening on Cannery Row. Thanks to the immediate enthusiasm of local businesses and organizations, it quickly went from idea to form. The first post about that project went up on 11/24/09, and by 12/16, there were already 41 participants.
- Read the history of the project in the Monterey County Weekly: “Wheel the Earth: HER Helmet Thursdays cuts carbon emissions and costs – (4/22/10)
- Watch a feature introducing HER Helmet Thursdays, “Project Economy: Bicycling Monterey“– A KSBW Top News Story - 2-minute video – (1/10/10)
- Or, listen to “What’s up with the bike helmet buzz,” an Intro to HER Helmet Thursdays – KUSP, 14 April 2010 broadcast– 2-minute audio – (4/14/10)
What’s here besides cycling?
Most other posts on this site focus on ecologically sound projects and practices for individuals, businesses, communities, and countries. Music will pop up often, and sometimes literature, too.
The majority of posts involve California’s Monterey Bay region, though others are unrelated to this locale. And, as a personal blog, just about anything that streams through my heart may be included here.
Thank you for visiting. Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments.
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Donations (6/28/10 postscript)
This month marked the one-year anniversary of Tips for Tourists Bicycling Monterey.© And it is my joy to continue expanding this online resource!
Today marks the start of something brand new: a donate button on this site, administered through the secure PayPal service.
This was suggested today by someone who had just read the camping post. Aware that these projects are a labor of true love, she remarked, “You really put a lot of time and energy into this. Put up a donate button so that others can help keep it going!”
Even small donations can make a big difference in being able to continue providing this local support for cyclists.
For those who’d like to make a donation and prefer to mail a payment directly, rather than through PayPal, please refer to contact info. Questions? Feel free to phone me anytime: 831/375-6278.
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3 URL options
1. The primary domain name is BicyclingMonterey.com, registered on 11/23/09.
http://www.BicyclingMonterey.com
2. To avoid confusion, the following alternate URL isn’t promoted; however, people whose fingers get tangled at the keyboard may prefer to use this URL:
(Hey! Typing b-i-k-i-n-g is easier than typing b-i-c-y-c-l-i-n-g for just about everyone!)
3. This site may still be accessed via the original URL, MariLynch.com/blog. (If you’ve been reading since then—5/26/09—you know that the site name was initially “Uncovering the Heart of Ideas,” simply the tag line for my professional work.)
