Caroline Griffith, NEC Executive Director
Transportation accounts for 53 percent of our emissions in Humboldt County, so there is an obvious need to shift to low- and no-emission ways to get where we need to go. Unfortunately, the lack of cycling infrastructure locally often means many aspiring bicycle commuters feel unsafe making the transition. In addition to environmental reasons, there are also economic reasons why people might want to shift from driving to biking more often. To help folks learn about the basics of commuting and how to advocate for cycling infrastructure, the NEC has teamed up with the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities (CRTP) and local bike shop Moon Cycles to host educational and enjoyable bike rides around the Humboldt Bay region. These rides are funded through a Whale Tail grant from the California Coastal Commission.
The goal of the project, which we’re calling Bike Justice Humboldt, is to get folks who might not feel welcome in mainstream cycling culture (which, let’s face it, tends to be very white and very male-dominated) out on the streets and more comfortable using bikes as transportation. We’re pairing basic bike maintenance and safety skills, route finding and infrastructure information, and local ecological knowledge to bring the joy of cycling to a new crowd.
One of the benefits of getting around by bicycle is getting to see your community from a different vantage point, meaning that you can explore areas of town that you might not normally see while going slow enough to enjoy the birds and flowers along the way. We think it’s important to get more people on bikes not only because it’s an emissions-free form of transportation, but it is also a way to foster relationships between humans and the world around them.
We hosted our first ride on Earth Day. Thanks to an unplanned flat tire, participants learned how to change a tire as well as how to do a general safety check (air, brakes, chain, wheels) before heading out for a ride. We rode through the Arcata Bottoms to the Mad River bridge hoping to see some Aleutian cackling geese but, alas, they’d already headed north. We did, however, enjoy a sighting of some non-native peacocks in the Bottoms. After lunch at the bridge, some of our crew headed north (like the geese) to the Decolonizing Economics Summit Earth Day celebration in McKinleyville.
We will be hosting more rides throughout the year, so stay tuned on our social media or sign up for our email alerts at yournec.org. Rides already in the works include bilingual birding with Daisy Ambriz-Perez and an edible plant tour by Josefina Barrantes. All rides include a short lesson in basic bicycle maintenance from our friends at Moon Cycles, route finding and bike infrastructure information from CRTP, a general outline of the environmental significance of our destination by the NEC or one of our local experts, and a hefty dose of environmental enjoyment. To learn more or get involved, drop us a line at director@yournec.org. See you on the road!