Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition honors advocates at Golden Spoke Awards Gala

Locals who work to make bicycling safe and accessible were honored by Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Sept. 30 at the Golden Spoke Awards Gala in Santa Rosa.

About 120 people attended the inaugural event, including many who cycled to the Finley Center venue, according to coalition Executive Director Eris Weaver.

“The people I talked to afterwards felt like, not only did they have a good time, but they met lots of people they didn't already know and had good conversations about making the community safer for bicyclists,” Weaver said.

Honorees included Bike Champion of the Year, Santa Rosa’s Bill Petty, a dedicated bike commuter who inspires coworkers to participate in Bike to Work Day and shares his love of riding as a member of groups like North Bay Kruzers and the Santa Rosa Taco Tuesday Ride.

Alexa Forrester and Chris Guenther, whose volunteer community network Bikeable Santa Rosa campaigns locally for safer cycling and organizes community rides, were awarded Bike Advocates of the Year; Sonoma Clean Power, which gave employees e-bikes, and Shady Oak Barrel House, which offers bike parking, were awarded Bike Friendly Businesses of the Year; and Healdsburg Mayor Ariel Kelley accepted the award for Bike Infrastructure Project of the Year for Healdsburg’s Foss Creek Trail.

At the gala, guests enjoyed Shady Oak’s Golden Spoke ale, brewed for the event, as well as wines donated by Santa Rosa’s Inspiration Vineyards and food from Santa Rosa’s Epicurean Escape Catering and Board & Hungry and Sebastopol’s Patisserie Angelica.

The event raised $32,000 for the coalition’s general fund through silent auctions, including bikes donated by Mike’s Bikes of Petaluma, Santa Rosa’s BikePartners and Healdsburg’s Spoke Folk Cyclery, and a vacation package at Santa Rosa’s Astro Motel, with dinner at nearby Spinster Sisters. Santa Rosa Councilmember Chris Rogers also led a live fund-a-need call for donations.

For more information, go to bikesonoma.org.