By BLEYS W. ROSE
THE PRESS

DEMOCRAT

Reluctantly, Santa Rosa councilwoman Janet Condron admitted that before Tuesday, she had never ridden a bike on the Prince Memorial Greenway or the Joe Rodota Trail that together run eight miles west to Sebastopol.

"All this time of voting to add paths along Santa Rosa Creek and I'd never ridden it," Condron said.

That, after all, was the purpose of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition's kick-off event on the Fourth of July, an early-morning ride for area council members and bike enthusiasts.

The gathering of bicyclists and politicians inaugurated a day of celebrations, from the Kenwood World Pillow Fighting Championship in the afternoon to a medley of fireworks displays, including the "Red, White and Boom!" show in Santa Rosa, the Independence Day on the Green with the Santa Rosa Symphony at Sonoma State University and additional fireworks in Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Petaluma and Sonoma.

Santa Rosa's bike event attracted about 70 riders, including enough city council members to constitute a quorum. Condron, Jane Bender, Steve Rabinowitsh and Mike Martini represented Santa Rosa. Sebastopol's team of riders included Sarah Gurney, Sam Pierce and Larry Robinson. Rohnert Park sent Tim Smith and Jake Mackenzie. And Healdsburg's Kent Mitchell and Cotati's Janet Orchard came along for the ride.

"We wanted to show them the support that this community has for cycling," said Chris Culver, the Bike Coalition's director. "It gets them out there so they can see what is happening on our roadways."

The coalition's two-hour creekside tour was capped with a family-oriented festival in Juilliard Park that attracted several hundred people. The coalition is an advocacy group for bike riders and says it has about 750 dues-paying members.

This was the third year that the Bike Coalition has sponsored such a festival and the second time it has been held on the Fourth of July.

"It just makes sense to pair up a family event with bikes and the Fourth of July," Culver said.

Face painting, bike decorating and water balloon tossing contests were popular with children.
For 9-year-old Tennessy Elledge of Santa Rosa, the kids' bike parade through the festival was a chance to show off her new bike, decorated in red, white and blue.

"I like to ride my bike in my neighborhood and to ride to the market downtown," she said.

Adults were more interested in other features like valet parking for bikes, music provided by a live band and tables of information on creek restoration, trail preservation and plans for a commuter rail line.

Culver said cycling advocates will be prominent in the fall election campaign for a quarter-cent sales tax for the Sonoma Marin Area Rapid Transit proposal because it calls for a bike path alongside the rail line from Cloverdale to Larkspur. The proposal also includes bike stations at the downtown Santa Rosa and Petaluma depots where bikes can be stored or rented, she said.

Condron said the ride convinced her that cities here can do more to encourage people to rely less on their automobiles.

"You look at what Davis has for bike lanes and it only makes sense to make our city more bike friendly," Condron said.

Gurney, who serves as Sebastopol's mayor and who sometimes rides her bike to work at her Santa Rosa law office, said cities should promote cycling for "both recreation and transportation."

"We just have to take the lane, which is bicycle talk for getting out on the road," she said. "Of course, we have to be courteous, ride on the right single file and stop at stop signs. Your town looks different when you ride your bike."

Santa Rosa Mayor Jane Bender, left, and Bonnie Raines push their bikes over the Highway 101 pedestrian overpass.
The two joined about 70 other riders. CHARLIE GESELL / The Press Democrat