Their mission is simple: To encourage more San Diegans to bicycle for transportation, and to create a culture that embraces bicycling as a viable transportation option. The San Diego Bike Union is an independent, non-profit volunteer run organization. Their focus is showing locals the rewards of bicycling and working with other advocacy groups to make San Diego a more bike friendly city. Three B Zine was excited to speak with Thom Bade, Discount Program Coordinator and one of the founding members of the San Diego Bike Union.
The San Diego Bike Union formed in the Summer of 2010 with the goal of making our city a more bike friendly city. One of their interests is building a stronger community of riders in San Diego by holding cycling events around town including group bike rides, bike lane cleanups, picnics and by creating the “We Bike San Diego” project. We Bike San Diego is a feature on their website profiling San Diego bike commuters who use bikes as daily transportation. They also continue to work with advocacy groups on making our city a more safe and fun place to ride and reaching out to new riders and showing them the rewards that come along with biking. One of these rewards is being able to take part in their SD Bike Commuter Discount Program. This is a discount you will receive for riding your bike to local businesses. There are wooden signs bearing the SD Commuter Program logo in the windows of participating businesses around town. Thanks to this program, you get out and ride more while getting rewarded for supporting small local businesses….everyone wins! Check the SD Bike Commuter Program website for an updated list of participating businesses. Business owners who would like to take part can also sign up on the site. For more information about San Diego Bike Union please visit www.sdbikeunion.org
1. Give us some history of the San Diego Bike Union. When did the organization start and what are some of the short term and long term goals the SD Bike Union are working towards?
We started in the summer of 2010 with the goal of getting more San Diegans to ride bicycles for transportation. Our goals, both short and long term, are really simple: we want to promote a culture that embraces bicycling for transportation and we want to help make the city a better place to ride a bike.
2. What are some of the programs the SD Bike Union sponsors? What are the details behind your programs and how can the people of San Diego benefit from them?
Our major program is called the SDBikeCommuter Discount Program, which is for locally-owned businesses to provide discounts to their customers who ride bicycles. We want to promote the idea that bicycling encourages people to “think local” and appreciate what our city has to offer, and we also want to help promote independent local businesses. It’s important to us that the businesses be locally-owned so that the money stays in the community. We have also started a project called We Bike San Diego!, which is an effort to document, through photos and brief interviews, the diversity of people who ride bikes in this city. We post the profiles regularly on our blog at www.sdbikeunion.org. The goal is to show that anybody can use a bike for transportation, it doesn’t just have to be about sports and recreation. We also regularly organize casual group rides, including our monthly Bike to Brunch rides, which typically visit restaurants on the Discount Program.
3. If some one wanted to make a donation to the SD Bike Union where can they expect to see their money used?
We usually ask that if people want to help out, that they donate their time and talents more than their money. We’re more interested in building community than we are in building our bank account. If people want to help out (and I’m not saying we wouldn’t take a donation!), they can contact us at ContactUs@sdbikeunion.org. Our main overhead expenses involve printing our flyers, cards, and brochures, so if you do donate money, it would go toward event promotion and outreach to try to reach more potential riders.
4. What are some of the volunteer opportunities people can participate in for SD Bike Union?
You name it, we need it! Whatever talents folks feel like they can bring to the table, we want them. We have four coordinators who manage social media, outreach, the discount program, and public relations, and they’re always looking for folks to help out in one of these areas. But, of course, anything folks can contribute, we’re excited to have them.
5. If someone was interested in biking whether it be for exercise or for commuting what are some of the things they should keep in mind? From safety to comfort ect.
The main thing is to do what you’re comfortable with. Don’t always expect to be able to travel by bike the same way you would by car. If you’re not comfortable on the busy streets, find an alternate route that’s quieter. Don’t push yourself to ride harder or faster than you safely can. Ride in comfortable clothes, whether that’s street clothes or spandex, ride in whatever feels good to you. And, of course, remember that bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as other road users — use your common sense! Following the rules of the road makes your trip much more pleasant, and much safer.
6. What makes San Diego such a bike friendly city and how can residents influence the city to become even more bike friendly?
We have great neighborhood cores in this city, which means that so many of the things we need on a daily basis, like groceries for example, are usually within biking distance. Of course, not every trip can be by bike, but there are so many easy ways to integrate short bike trips into your daily routine, wherever you live in the city. The most important thing we need to help the city become more bike-friendly is more bike infrastructure, like sharrows, bike lanes, bike boulevards, and bike paths, and we need all of these things to connect San Diegans to places they need and want to go. One of our most celebrated bike routes, the Bayshore Bikeway, is a great recreational route, but it doesn’t do any good for the majority of San Diegans who use their bikes for transportation. We need bike infrastructure that connects people across neighborhoods and can deliver them to downtown, uptown, midtown, South Bay, University City, or Mission Valley. We have some, but we need more!
7. What are the challenges SD Bike Union faces in their fight to make biking a more popular form of transportation?
It’s not a fight at all. All that’s necessary to get people riding more is to remind them how fun it is. Take them on a slow group social ride and people realize that bicycling doesn’t have to be something hard or scary. Show someone how to carry a bag of groceries on their bike, whether it’s in a messenger bag, backpack, basket, or rack, and suddenly you’ve got a dedicated transportation cyclist. When people see that they can both *enjoy* their bikes and *use* them for transportation, they’ll integrate bike trips into their lives whenever they can.
8. When did you realize you had such a passion for biking? What style bike / ride is your personal favorite?
I’ve always had bikes, so I don’t think there was ever just one moment of realization. And, you know, it’s not really about passion for bikes or bike riding, it’s about feeling like I can move around however I choose. I enjoy riding, of course, but what I’m really passionate about is making sure that people have the freedom to travel around the city any way they like. My favorite rides often involve just going to the grocery store or running errands. Of course, I also like setting out for somewhere new on a weekend morning, just exploring the city for a few hours and learning something I didn’t know about San Diego.
9. Finish this sentence… “A world without bikes…”
…is unimaginable.
A giant Thank You! to Thom Bade and The San Diego Bike Union. Please visit their website for more information and events going on around town. www.sdbikeunion.org For more information on the SD Bike Commuter Discount Program! please check the site listed here. Support local business and biking!