Is Sonoma County a 'must ride' destination for cyclists?

When 136 of the planet’s greatest cyclists come rolling into Santa Rosa today for stage 1 of the Amgen Tour of California, Sonoma County will be the center of the cycling universe.

But without the race organizers’ cars, team buses and hordes of reporters, is Sonoma County the cycling mecca that many think it is?

The answer is yes and no.

“For the cycling enthusiast, when they are going to book a dream cycling vacation, it’s France, Italy and Sonoma/Napa counties,” said Loren Mooney, editor of Bicycling magazine. “It really is California wine country.”

But riders looking for an easy roll across town say it’s not uncommon for a cyclist to encounter hostile drivers, inadequate bike lanes and no racks at their destination.

Traffic in Santa Rosa jumps about 30 percent during the school year because so few students get to campus any way other than by car.

Still, Sonoma County is riding a wave of cycling momentum that is undeniable.

Three professional cycling teams, including Lance Armstrong’s Astana squad, chose Sonoma County for their early season training camps.

Voters in November approved a commuter train project that includes a 70-mile parallel bike path linking Sonoma and Marin counties.

Participation in Bike To Work Day grew by 23 percent last year.

The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition has grown to a politically powerful organization with more than 1,000 members.

Gary Wysocky, an avowed cycling advocate, was the top vote-getter in the Santa Rosa City Council race in November.

So how do Santa Rosa and Sonoma County stack up against cycling paragons such as Davis, Portland, Ore., and Boulder, Colo., that consistently top the national lists of bike-friendly cities?

“We are starting to get there,” Wysocky said. “At least the awareness is out there in terms of ‘We can do this.’ (But) we aren’t doing it yet on the standard of Davis or Boulder.”

Santa Rosa has 110 miles of bikeways, an increase of 40miles since 2001. Since 1998, nearly 23 miles of new bike pathways and lanes have been added in unincorporated Sonoma County, according to county transit officials.

Any sunny weekend will find the Joe Rodota Trail between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol packed with people on all manner of bikes sharing the route with pedestrians and skaters.

Major thoroughfares in Santa Rosa — Mendocino, Hoen and Montgomery avenues — recently have been reconfigured to give bicyclists their own lane. Sonoma Avenue, which connects popular Annadel State Park with the Prince Memorial Greenway, will will get bike lanes in spring 2010, said Jason Nutt, Santa Rosa traffic engineer.

The Sonoma City Council recently voted to eliminate some parking on West Spain Street to accommodate bike lanes. “The (Sonoma) City Council said ‘This is the right thing to do,’” said Chris Culver, executive director of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition. “We have to stop talking about it and start doing it.”

The League of American Bicyclists ranks California seventh among the 50 states for providing and promoting safe cycling. Davis is a perennial platinum-listed city, joined only by Portland and Boulder.

“If you look at the list of communities, they not only rank at the top of this list, but also in the best places to live, best places to retire, best places to raise a family,” said Jeff Peel, program specialist for the league’s Bicycle Friendly Communities program. “If you see people out cycling, you have a healthy, vibrant community.”

Culver said Sonoma County and its nine cities can join the likes of Davis and Boulder.

“If it can’t happen here, it’s not going to happen anywhere,” she said. “The weather is amazing. Even when it’s nasty out, it’s still rideable.”

Advocates contend that even if residents don’t ride, the community benefits when more people get out on two wheels.

“It’s one less person in their way in their car, one less person taking their parking space,” Culver said. “It benefits everybody.”

A community’s embrace of cycling can be measured in its kids, said Paul Dorn, a bike-commute advocate and author based in Sacramento.

“The real test is, are parents comfortable letting their kids ride their bikes on the streets?” he said.

In October, about 4,000 students across Sonoma County participated in the annual Walk and Roll to School Day.

But drive by any school campus at 8 o’clock in the morning and it’s clear — most students get to school by car.

“I love riding my bike; I don’t think there are any negatives to it at all," said Nik Kronick, a junior at Santa Rosa High School.

Kronick typically rides about once a month from his home in Larkfield to the Mendocino Avenue campus. “You are not hurting anything, anyone,” he said. “It’s a lot ... slower so you get to enjoy your surroundings.”

And cycling is enjoying a renaissance of sorts among teens who are gravitating toward old-school 10-speeds and fixed-speed bikes, Kronick said.

“Definitely. It’s becoming a new style,” he said.

Race promoter Carlos Perez said anecdotes are one thing, but hard evidence points to Santa Rosa and Sonoma County’s increasing embrace of cycling.

Last year Perez launched BikeMonkey, a magazine dedicated to all things bike in Sonoma County, and he points to the opening of four new bike shops in downtown Santa Rosa in the past five months as a harbinger of increased interest in cycling at all levels.

“People aren’t going to just build a bike shop if they don’t think there is a market for it,” he said. “We are definitely evolving and we are evolving very rapidly.”

And the county’s nearly countless miles of rural roads, epic climbs with sweeping views and decent year-round weather have been well-known among the cycling elite for years, Perez said.

“For Sonoma County to be chosen by three professional cycling teams as the official training grounds for the start of the season, that says a lot,” he said. “It speaks a lot to the world.”

For Mooney, the Bicycling magazine editor, Sonoma County has long been the top spot in the United States for gorgeous rides.

Having the flurry and commotion of the nation’s biggest bike race roll through the county for the fourth year in a row will elevate not just racing, but all bike riding here, she said.

“Hopefully, having such a cycling presence there will help the collective consciousness of the city say ‘Hey, we are a cycling city.’ ”

Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com.