Richard Masoner

After community input, Caltrans agrees to safety improvements for Highway 17 drivers, so let’s grab this opportunity to improve the shoulder along California State Route 17 from Bear Creek Road to Alma Bridge Road along Lexington Reservoir. I don’t know if it’s possible to game this system, but Caltrans District 4 (which covers the San Francisco Bay Area, including Santa Clara County aka the “South Bay”), responded very quickly after an effort organized on Facebook resulted in an inundation of problem reports regarding hazardous conditions on the infamous “Highway 17. The highway is a winding, mountain road that rises from near sea level, up to 1800 feet, and back down to 100 feet above sea level where State Route 17 becomes I-880 at I-280. Challenging geography and budget constraints meant engineers compromised on design features when they constructed this road in the 1940s. The motoring group also contacted the California Office of Traffic Safety, Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman, the California Transportation Commission, the office of Senator Jim Beall, and various other decision makers.

The Concord Wheels Of Steel plans a group ride from Pittsburg, California to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show 2019 in Sacramento this Saturday. They’ll start from Pittsburg / Bay Point BART at 9 AM on Saturday and bike the 68 miles to the Sacramento Convention Center, with estimated 4 PM arrival. I’m not sure if this is strictly a “no drop” ride, but if the group is large enough I expect it might split off into a fast group and a casual group. The Tahoe region has epic snow this season, so I expect I-80 and every back road between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento will test the patience of many drivers.

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show 2019 begins noon Friday at the Sacramento Convention Center, where several vendors from Santa Cruz will appear to showcase their craft. Don Walker of NAHBS says ticket pre-sales have hit record numbers. The last time NAHBS was in Sacramento, the show was inundated with cycling enthusiasts flocking from all over Northern California and Nevada. If you show up on Saturday or Sunday, expect lines for ticket sales to wrap around the block, so buy your tickets now.

If you live 30 miles from the office to find a place an affordable place to live, that’s at least a two hour bike commute across conditions that likely aren’t that great. It’s easy for me mock someone riding a $20 flea market special without a $120 helmet while wearing $500 worth of kit because I can afford these things for my entire family. I used to be enthusiastic about helmet use, but I’ve since come around to the idea that promoting helmet use for an activity that isn’t that much more dangerous than driving a similar distance. If you’re riding fast, sure, wear a helmet.