NEWS

Bike Santa Cruz County Presents 2024 Wheelie Awards

November 18, 2024

Bike Santa Cruz County presented the 2024 Wheelie Awards to a programs and individuals making a positive impact on cycling in Santa Cruz County.  The awards acknowledge excellent work toward expanding and improving safety and awareness of cycling. The awards were presented at BSCC’s Wheels in Motion event on November 17 at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing in Santa Cruz. 

“In order to acknowledge the growing interest in cycling as a healthy and environmentally-friendly way to move through communities, we expanded the award categories we are recognizing this year,” says Amelia Conlen, Board Chair of BSCC. 

The following projects and individuals received awards: 

• Advocacy: Matt Miller

• Community Building:  Watsonville Community Bike Ride

• Education: Bay View Elementary School Bike Bus Program 

• Infrastructure: Ocean Street/Plymouth Street Repaving Project

• Business: Moved by Bikes

Advocacy Award winner Matt Miller is a Senior Program Specialist with Ecology Action’s Modo team, where he works on  transportation behavior change. He collaborates with local government, businesses, and NGOs, to create physical and social infrastructure to transition away from car centric planning and behavior.  From large scale community programs to helping launch a municipal e-bike rebate program, Matt has designed innovative approaches to get more people on bikes more often.  He built participation in the annual Biketober program from a few early adopters in 2017 to hundreds of employers and thousands of riders in 2024.

Watsonville Community Bike Ride was held August 24, 2024.  Hosted by Fourth District County Supervisor Felipe Hernandez and Watsonville Mayor Vanessa Quiroz-Carter, the ride helped demonstrate the ease of using bicycles to move around town.  The ride included a bike check and a helmet giveaway.  It was cosponsored by the City of Watsonville, Santa Cruz County Public Health, and the County of Santa Cruz. Over fifty community members participated.

Bay View Elementary School Bike Bus Program was developed with the assistance of Ecology Action’s Modo program.  A local version of a global movement that transports 30,000 children worldwide, introducing them to bicycles as a viable means of transportation for short trips.  Bay View initiated its Bike Bus program in 2023, and has held regular parent-led rides since then, attracting between 30 to 50 students per ride.

Ocean Street/Plymouth Street Repaving Project is a City of Santa Cruz project that includes a retrofit of striping and sidewalk design to better accommodate cyclists and pedestrians at a critical linchpin location at the terminus of the Highway 17 freeway where it becomes Ocean Street.  The retriping includes clearly-marked bike boxes, green Class 1 striping for bike lanes, and ADA ramp repaving for the sidewalks leading to the crosswalks at Ocean Street.  These facilities, while modest, are important pieces of street design that make cycling safer and consequently more attractive to users.  

Moved by Bikes was founded by Greg McPheeters in 2012 in Santa Cruz with the mission of creating simple, effective products that make it easier to “do more” with your bicycle.  MBB is passionate about outdoor recreation, sustainability, and developing high quality products that merge the two.  Their products include surfboard racks, trailers, valet racks, and dog runners.  Moved by Bikes has expanded the functionality of cycling to include recreational trips, and have become a world-wide success in the surfing world.

Community Bike Ride Celebrates Safe Cycling in Watsonville

Fri 30 AUG 2024

A vibrant group of community members, including youth and adults, came together for a bike ride in Watsonville, featuring the scenic Pajaro River Levee Path. District 4 Supervisor Felipe Hernandez and Watsonville Mayor Vanessa Quiroz-Carter led the ride, which began with a bike check-up, a giveaway of helmets and safety gear, and a discussion on safe riding practices.

The event featured insightful talks on:

• Lessons from the Netherlands on creating safe cycling cities and how Santa Cruz County can apply these ideas

• Cycling for recreation and transportation

• The benefits of cycling for physical and mental health

• The role of cycling in combating climate change

• Building community through cycling

• The importance of community members advocating for expanded bike infrastructure and safety projects

The ride concluded with cheerful conversations and free burritos, adding a festive touch to the day.

This successful event was made possible through the collaboration of Bike Santa Cruz County, Growing Greatness, Ecology Action, the City of Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, and the Public Health Department.

Santa Cruz County Cycling Club Announces 2024 Grant

Fri 23 Aug 2024

Santa Cruz County Cycling Club’s (SCCCC) mission is to bring cycling education to all levels of riders and encourage healthy lifestyles through education, friendship, teamwork and fun.

Money is budgeted annually to fund cycling related efforts within the Santa Cruz County community. Grants are limited to $1,000 per Grant Request and an organization may apply for up to $1,000 each year. Applicants are asked to attend the monthly board meeting when their grant is submitted to introduce themselves and answer any questions the board may have about their application.

Please submit questions and a Grant Request to info@santacruzcycling.org. Please include a budget with all Grant requests.

Past grant recipients include:

• Community Bike Collective

• The Bike Church

• UCSC Bike COOP

• Open Streets Santa Cruz

• SC Composite Mt Bike Team