Despite a still-developing network of bike routes and an unfortunate abundance of potholes, Oakland boasts the 7th highest number of bike commuters in the country with slightly more than two percent of the population riding a bike to work. The city ranks a notch below Washington D.C. and just above Tucson. Portland, it will be no surprise to learn, is at the top of the list with nearly six percent of that city’s residents pedaling through the rain to work.

San Francisco’s students are being encouraged to hop onto a bicycle and ride to school as a way to get healthy, have fun and promote alternative modes of transportation. On April 15, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition will host the second annual Bike to School Day. Last year, around 500 students attending 25 San Francisco schools participated in the event, the coalition said. “This year we hope that 1000 students will join us along with parents on ‘Bike Trains’ to and from their schools this year,” organizers said.

Watching a child zoom around on a bicycle brings back many happy memories for most adults. But turning a child loose on city streets is something many parents are not comfortable doing. You want to know that your children have basic bike-handling skills before setting out with them to ride to the park or to school, or send them out on their own. They should have an understanding of basic road rules, like how to behave at intersections and how to signal turns. Reading traffic and making safe decisions are important for a cyclist of any age.

Bike-Go-Round is setting out to spread the self-propelled mantra, not in Rockridge or Claremont, but in East and West Oakland, favorite targets of the fast food industry, where obesity and cars meet at large intersections lacking bike lanes and bike-friendly establishments. Funded in part by a $150,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Bike-Go-Round, a Cycles of Change project, will give away 400 bikes and training to low-income Oaklanders through December. 



Years from now I will reminisce about my sons learning to ride their bikes during San Francisco's Sunday Streets. Jonah, aged 7, was nervous and had to be bribed with Star Wars legos, but soon was riding beautifully. Orion at 3 years old was desperate to do what his big brother was doing and barreled ahead. He will probably be riding his two-wheeler by the end of this Sunday Streets season. And we can all hardly wait for this week's (April 11th) Sunday Streets.