Why Arcata Mayor to Bike Hundreds of Miles for NBG - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

06-04-2004, 12:20 PM

Here we see what takes place in the mind of a man who is so widely loved
in his town, that they keep electing him Mayor. Maybe the reason Bob
Ornelas is so popular in Arcata is because, as a cyclist, he regularly
mixes in with people from all walks of life in his community as he
travels about. Here is the bio he has on line with us here at the NBG
([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
as.php) and here is why, starting today, he is pedaling from Arcata NBG
Day to Napa and the SF Bay Area Mayors' Ride cities at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] :

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Why am I riding a NBG leg - from Arcata to SF?

The short and sassy answer is ' Why not?'... and the long answer is:
Bike riding in America is more than just a sport and it has gotten the
short end of the stick from most planning and funding agencies, both
locally, and on the statewide level. From my own perspective on HCAOG,
Humboldt County's regional transportation planning and funding board, I
have watched tens of millions of dollars go to planning and erecting
car-related projects, while most pedestrian and bike plans get very
little implementation money. In addition, we are required to update
plans long before much gets done; thus too much money goes to planning
projects. Long-needed efforts to make cycling and walking safe and
practical get put on the back burner as they aren't glamorous, big and
exciting.

The major reason I am riding my bike to the SF Bay Area, meeting other
mayors along the way, is that I want to call attention to the problem of
lack of support for safe bike and pedestrian travel. I plan to get a
commitment from at least a few mayors of Northern California cities to
support bike and pedestrian related projects - whether they are intra-
or inter-city. As California mayors, we are representatives on
county-wide transportation boards and have access to millions of dollars
of state and federal money that usually passes through the financial
hands of Caltrans. Caltrans' mandate is to provide for a 'balanced'
transportation system throughout the state. We mayors have a mandate to
provide for public safety: if you want to ride a bike to work or walk
somewhere, it shouldn't be death-defying and it shouldn't require a
several mile walk to get to the other side of a freeway to work or shop.

Many of these issues are relevant regardless of socioeconomic status.
The benefits of low-cost, low maintenance, non-polluting transportation
development is an idea that has for too long been ignored or put-off.
As mayors, council members and transit representatives, we have more
power than ever when it comes to transportation and financing decisions.
We can demand that plans be funded and implemented, and begin to
immediately see the numerous benefits of non-motorized transportation.

Another, and certainly not the final reason I am riding from Arcata to
Napa, and beyond to the Bay Area, is that it has been years since I went
on a multi-day ride and got to slow down and really enjoy the natural
beauties of the Highway 101 corridor and some of the smaller roads
leading southward. For all those years I have watched hundreds of bike
riders pass through the Arcata area and longed to join them. Thanks to
the network of Humboldt County tourism director, Don Leonard, Martin
Krieg and the National Bicycle Greenways supporters, and some of my
friends I will be able to carry a minimum of clothes and gear and enjoy
a shower and bed at the end of each long, hot day of ridng! Heck, it'll
be like a vacation!

Bob Ornelas
Mayor
Arcata, CA
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M A R T I N K R I E G : "Awake Again" Author
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Bent Since '83, Car Free Since '89, '79 & '86 TransAms
Coma, Paralysis, Clinical Death Survivor
Can You Change it with Love?
N A T I O N A L B I C Y C L E G R E E N W A Y