The Abridged version:
- May is National Bike Month.
- Bike Month kicked off locally with the Bike-ramento event at Belle Cooledge Library in South Land Park.
- Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen and Bike Party Sacramento are three organizations supporting cycling in the Sacramento region.
This story was reported by a member of the Abridged by PBS KVIE Community Reporters program. The Community Reporters program empowers local residents to report stories with guidance and support from the Abridged editorial staff.
A Bike Month kickoff event at Belle Cooledge Library in South Land Park brought together Sacramento’s three leading cycling groups, highlighting a growing alliance aimed at expanding bike access and safety across the region.
Last Saturday’s Bike-ramento was a showcase for the three big players in Sacramento bicycle culture: Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen (SBK), Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA) and Bike Party Sacramento. Though the three groups have different members and focuses, they’re connected by a common appreciation.
“We like to showcase cool things about Sacramento and work them into our library program,” said librarian Brian Boies, who invited the bike groups to the event.
“Bike organizations here make it such a vibrant place to live. It automatically gives folks something in common,” he said, adding that it brings diverse people together and gives them a chance to get away from car culture.
Three players in one place
All three organizations work together like well-oiled bike gears, said SABA executive director Debra Banks. The cycling community in Sacramento is close-knit, so even among different groups, there’s a sense of community.
“There are tribes,” Banks said. “Serious cyclists, e-bikers, bike partiers … We represent everybody.”
As children and parents made their way through activities like bike-powered spin paintings, beadmaking and bike repairs, it was clear that teaming up three organizations helped create some buzz for biking.
“Bike Kitchen goes deep,” Banks said. “They handle the physical equipment.” Meanwhile, “SABA covers advocacy and services, and Bike Party handles just having fun,” she said as she handed out swag to Bike-ramento attendees.
SABA advocates for safer streets, improved infrastructure and policies that promote bicycling as everyday transportation. Banks described how SABA keeps the other groups up to date on policy issues so they can act together to get the word out to the public. SABA partners with communities, neighborhood associations, schools and businesses to provide services like bike valets and government advocacy.
SABA is Bike Month’s central anchor and coordinates the event for San Joaquin, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba, El Dorado and Placer counties, Banks added.
Sue Teranishi, a founding SABA board member, has watched Sacramento grow since she helped establish the organization 35 years ago. She said the need for bicycle safety, education and advocacy has never been greater because of factors like e-bikes, pollution and more cars.
“(More than) half of all trips in the U.S. are under six miles long,” Teranishi said, pointed to a U.S. Department of Energy statistic. “We’d like to eliminate some of those trips. Having this Bike-ramento campaign is helping people get that old bike out of their garage and get outside.”
Teranishi, originally from Colorado, said that Sacramento bike culture is among the strongest she’s ever seen. “It’s a great place to ride. It’s fairly flat and the infrastructure is great,” she said. Her work with SABA looks to improve that infrastructure, including a newly proposed 0.5% sales tax to support various improvement measures. SABA’s latest legislative win was the funding for specialized sweepers to clean the city’s network of bike lanes.
“Year-to-date, SABA has valeted 20,000 bikes at public events, repaired nearly 2,000 bikes and donated 1,000 bikes to needy kids and commuters,” Banks noted. SABA also offers a voucher program for up to $1,750 toward certain classes of e-bike.
The organization is embracing newer e-bike technology while seeking ways to make higher-speed vehicles safer. SABA has lobbied for California Senate Bill 1167, introduced this year to clearly define electric bicycles and protect consumers.
Popup ‘fixeries’ and spin-painting are serious to Bike Kitchen
SBK is a volunteer-run, nonprofit community shop that empowers cyclists by providing tools, workspace and expert guidance for DIY bike repairs, said board member Adrian Gutierrez, who also manages the Kitchen’s shop at 1915 I St. in Midtown.
The Bike Kitchen got the “kitchen” part of its name from similar bike cooperatives in San Francisco and Italy, Gutierrez said. This year marks its 20th anniversary.
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At Bike-ramento, a Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen volunteer hoisted grade-schooler Ethan Wong’s shiny red bike onto a lift to check out the brakes. Wong’s mother stood by and watched another parent climb on a bike-powered paint spinner that spun a rotor, turning globs of paint into bright, multicolor pieces of art.
Wong was taking advantage of SBK’s popup “fixery.”
“It’s a portable shop we take to events like this, and we fix people’s bicycles at no cost,” Gutierrez said. Typically, the shop charges a $10 fee that gives access to a bike stand and the tools, lubricant and low-cost parts people need. Low-income clients often rely on their bikes as their sole form of transportation.
“We work entirely on donations. So donated parts, donated bicycles. We’ll fix up bikes and sell them at our shop,” said Gutierrez, a pumping system salesman in his main career.
Growing up with ADHD, Gutierrez realized how important bikes can be to neurodivergent people as a balm for the soul. He helped SBK earn grant money to give our free bikes to children, a program that has distributed about 350 bikes so far. Bike Kitchen also has programs for LGBTQ+ and nonbinary people to work on bikes in an accepting, inviting space.
“I really think we need to get bikes to as many kids as possible,” he added.
Bike Kitchen also hosts a Second Saturday Summer Concert series in Midtown. Concerts are free to all ages; doors open at 6 p.m., music at 7 p.m.
It’s time for a bike party
Maybe you’ve seen Bike Party riders lined up with their colored lights and sound on the first Friday of any month, occasionally stopping traffic.
The location and theme of each Bike Party are sent out only shortly before the ride.
Modeled after Burning Man, Bike Party is a colorful, loud popup event that happens every first Friday of the month. Bike Party point person Chris Hecker was at Bike-ramento to educate, but also call for volunteers.
“The ride has gotten so big that our main concern is safety,” Hecker said, admitting that it’s almost outgrown itself. The event is in its 13th year after founder Conrad Lawrence wanted an alternative to other, more serious bike communities.
While a group ride typically requires a safety volunteer for every 20 riders, Bike Party has seen up to 350 riders in a single night, all decked with lights and sound. That would require 20 volunteers, so they regularly seek volunteers to help ensure safety, as well as to assist with tasks like loading trailers, leading rides and managing music.
How to get involved
To volunteer for SABA, contact them at saba@sacbike.org.
To volunteer for Bike Party Sacramento, email info@bikepartysacramento.com.
To volunteer for Bike Kitchen, visit sacbikekitchen.org (Volunteers must be at least 18, and while no experience is necessary, a desire to learn bike mechanics is required).
James Smith is a member of the Abridged Community Reporters program. A retired nurse investigator for the state of California, James studies French and bikes along the American River Parkway in his free time. He lives in Midtown with his husband of 26 years.