LUMBERYARD LOGS: Cyclists taking it to the streets

Critical Mass is coming to Laguna Beach on Saturday. What is Critical Mass? You’ll know what it is when you see a bunch of bicyclists riding all over town. And don’t be surprised if some of them are wearing clown costumes.

It’s a parade — a spontaneous movement of the two-wheeled kind — and no one knows how many will show up to be in it.

A “critical mass,” according to Michael Hoag, an alternative-transport advocate, is when energy reaches a certain point and a powerful reaction occurs. That tells you something about what organizers are hoping for.

“Critical Mass raises the consciousness of City Hall that people on bicycles are important,” Hoag said. “We want it to be safe to ride a bicycle [in Laguna Beach].”

In other cities, Critical Mass bicycle rallies have resulted in massive traffic jams and police response; some riders have been arrested, even roughed up.

But that won’t happen in Laguna Beach, if those who put out the call for a “third Saturday of the month” mass ride in Laguna have anything to say about it.

Organizers don’t want to tie up traffic, but they do want to get couch potatoes off their couches and let the city know that bicycling is good for the environment and for health. And most importantly, to begin to establish a safe “bikeway” through Laguna.

Being a cyclist myself, I was delighted when, moving here from Los Angeles, I discovered a whole world of dedicated, paved, bike paths through local parks and wilderness.

But cycling in Laguna? Not so much. And most of the cycling folks I’ve met here feel the same way.

Laguna not bike-friendly

Lagunan Roger Taylor, who has crossed the country on a bike and ridden in AIDS rides, and even takes his bike on camping trips, is one of a number of bicycling enthusiasts who are frustrated that Laguna Beach is so bike-unfriendly.

The city’s official “bikeway” is on the Coast Highway, a road so dangerous for non-motorists it is dubbed “slaughter alley” by some.

Taylor is chairman of the Bicycle Assn. of South Orange County, which came into being about five years ago to push for better bicycling in the area. The group has gotten little for its efforts in Laguna Beach. Whereas other cities — Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano, for instance — have dedicated bikeways that are separated from fast-moving highway traffic, the best Laguna can do is a bike path with painted lines that do not always stay the course.

An attempt to establish a bike route three years ago foundered in City Council, after being endorsed by the Parking/Traffic/Circulation Committee.

“Bike riders love Laguna but it is dangerous to ride here,” Taylor said. “So we tried to create an alternate bike route to the Coast Highway.”

Mick Donoff, another Laguna cyclist and the association’s president, says this is the first Critical Mass event in South Orange County that he knows of.

“We tried for five or six years to get a bike path through Laguna to get off of the Coast Highway,” Donoff said. “The route was put together by us to bypass dangerous areas. A lot of riders avoid Laguna because of the traffic, but it’s tough to get off Coast Highway because there are a lot of hills for the average cyclist.”

Alternate bike route

It’s a cause that has not gone away, so the bike enthusiasts are quite literally “taking it to the streets” with a ride that starts at 9 a.m. at Legion Street and Park Avenue, then goes south to Nyes Place on Catalina Street, then to North Laguna via Cliff Drive, Hillcrest and Ledroit, then back to downtown Laguna, where it ends at the Laguna Beach Library on Glenneyre Street.

The “alternate” route drawn up by Taylor’s group is the one that the Laguna Critical Mass riders will be asked to use. It’s a complicated route and there are a lot of hills and steep descents. Riders will be required to obey all traffic rules, and to ride single-file when vehicles are present on the roadways.

Jill Richardson, another Lagunan who is championing the Critical Mass ride, says she hopes the sight of a mass of cyclists on city streets will make city officials take notice.

“If more people rode bikes, the city would make improvements,” she said. “I’m hoping it creates an awareness for people to bike more, and to use alternate means of transportation. Hopefully it will get bigger and bigger.”

Hoag is probably the most ambitious of the cycling advocates; he sees a future in which as many as 30% to 40% of commuters use bicycles instead of cars, as they do in some European countries.

Hoag wants to see cyclists of all ages and abilities; kids, grandparents, folks riding tandem, and in funny clothes.

“We want people to go, ‘that looks like fun,’ ” he said.

But here in car-crazy Southern California, it’s tough for cyclists to get respect.

Those “Share the Road” signs that are supposed to nudge motorists to make way for bicyclists don’t really do the job, as witnessed by the “road rage” incident on a canyon road in Los Angeles a couple of months ago, where a motorist, apparently fed up with “sharing,” is accused of intentionally braking in front of two cyclists, causing serious injuries to them.

Donoff is aware of the effect that bicyclists can have on impatient motorists.

“People either like cyclists or hate them, but we hope to just get along,” he said.

To contact the Bicycle Assn. of South Orange County, e-mail [email protected]

To participate in the Critical Mass ride, just show up at 9 a.m. at Legion Street and Park Avenue, and follow the leaders. The ride is planned for the third Saturday of every month.

CINDY FRAZIER is city editor of the Coastline Pilot. She can be contacted at (949) 494-2087 or [email protected].