Reflections of a new SCV Bicyclist

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

I was thrilled when I read that longtime SCVTalk reader and generally great guy Jim Farley had bought two bicycles for he and his wife to tool around town on.

So I asked him what he thought of cycling in Santa Clarita so far.

Like a lot of cyclists, Jim really likes the off-street trails that connect various parts of Santa Clarita. On his ride back from Newhall Bikes (where he scored two classy Bianchi hybirds), Jim and his wife took the famous South Fork trail north back to their home in Northbridge.

“So far our only ride has been from Newhall Bicycle to home in Northbridge. This ride alone pushed Patty (the Mrs.) to the limit so we will need to proceed slowly. We went over a lot of familiar territory such as the Southfork Trail near where I used to live and used to jog on quite a bit.”

Of course this being Santa Clarita, we have a fair amount of hills in the area. But Jim isn’t letting that discourage him. “Coming up Fairview with a similar grade surprised me how much effort it took even in the lowest gear. I know I’ll get used to it with more time,” he said.

While the Class 1 bike paths around town are great, Jim echoes my experience with them and brings up a great point. “We would like to see easier connectivity between trails, paseos, etc to allow more riding off street throughout the valley.”

Indeed. If you’re riding recreationally, the trail system is great. But if you’re riding as transportation or trying to get from Point A to Point B, the trail system can be frustrating at times. For instance, the trail that parallels Creekside unceremoniously dumps you out onto the sidewalk on McBean.Other trails dead-end into streets with no on-street lane that would help you complete your trip.

Imagine if you were on a freeway that suddenly changed to a bumpy dirty road. That is what it’s like for bicyclists in the SCV when they reach the end of certain paths in town. As Jim says, we need more connectivity between the various Class 1 and 2 trails and lanes and the paseo system.

Nevertheless, if you’re just starting out, the trail system is a great way to get around. Jim and I look forward to the completion of a Class 1 path alongside the new Cross Valley Connector segment. That will enable cyclists to get from Sierra Highway all the way to Highway 126 without riding on a street with cars.

Jim says he and his wife are going to get out and explore more of the City’s cycling infrastructure and take pictures. It’s the perfect time of the year; I always say April is the best month in the SCV so if you have a bike in storage, why not get out and ride this month?

Comments (10)

JoeApril 9, 2010 at 10:19 am

Great story Jeff. Jim and Patty, welcome to the cycling community! The Class I trails are so expensive compared to the Class II bike lanes, but our city seems determined to promote recreational cycling over and at the expense of commuting by bike. As Jeff pointed out, the Class I trails don’t really help when you want to get to work or run errands (but they are beautiful for a leisurely weekend ride). Have any of you taken a bike safety course? I took a confident city cycling course a number of years ago and it made me feel much safer biking with traffic, even the amount we have here, without a dedicated bike lane. I would highly recommend it, you’ll be a safer and better biker.

Spineflower2April 9, 2010 at 12:55 pm

One of the reasons those trails are so expensive is that union contracts and the GOBN forbid anyone but City employees or contractors doing the work. I tried to “give” a water fountain to one of the bike trails about 10 years ago, to be done by Boy Scouts as an Eagle project. Materials would be donated, all labor done free by Scouts. The City said that it had to be designed by a City engineer, put out for bids, and justify why the City should not do it at its own expense (witht eh City makign the final determination– anyone wanna guess what they decided?). City cost estimates ranged from $3-5000. We gave up and did another project.

Spineflower2April 9, 2010 at 11:56 am

Anything that keeps me away from car traffic is welcome. A stripe does not stop a Buick or an Expedition.

cashApril 9, 2010 at 12:38 pm

Good luck with more expensive bike path/trails in this economy. Q: What was the most positive result of the “Cash for clunkers” > program? > A: It took 95% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road. Letterman

Joe KaylenApril 11, 2010 at 9:51 am

I would’ve supported cash for clunkers if I could have put the $4k towards a new bike instead of a car

BrianApril 9, 2010 at 1:22 pm

Why do I always detect an arrogance and snobbery among bike riders. Once again, if you don’t have the best stuff, Santa Clarita will laugh at you. This town is so full of itself! A Salvation Army bike is not allowed on the fancy paths in Awesometown are they? I can’t afford to ride here.

Jim FarleyApril 11, 2010 at 9:28 am

Arrogance and Snobbery? You’ve got to be kidding me. The last bike I owned was a recovered 1960s Schwinn Varsity that I rebuilt from the frame up about twenty years ago. When the Mrs. and me decided to get back in we wanted something nice and got it. If we encountered you on the trail Bruce the only thing you would get from us would be a hearty greeting, not a look down the nose. You need to get over your issues Bruce. This town is full of decent middle class people who for the most part are not arrogant and full of themselves. It’s kind of sad you can’t see it that way.

Joe KaylenApril 11, 2010 at 9:51 am

If I can, I agree with both of you. Jim is right, the town is full of decent middle class people and the overwhelming majority of bikers will kindly greet fellow bikers, regardless of what they are riding. That being said, biking is one of those sports where what equipment you use makes a big difference in performance and people like to tinker with their bikes, so there is a lot of pride in what one rides. Combine that with some people are just arrogant, regardless of what they do, and I can see how one would get that impression. On a somewhat related note, do you know that most bike manufacturers have a shortage of highend bikes this year? They made fewer because of the economy, but the demand didn’t drop off nearly as much as expected. People are choosing to ‘invest’ in a nice bike instead of travelling as a way of conserving money. Kinda cool.

Jim FarleyApril 9, 2010 at 6:32 pm

Thanks for the post Jeff! Of all days I also had computer connectivity problems with my company laptop so my first look at SCVTalk is now, my latest in the day ever. Hope you weren’t thinking I was being rude. I’ll keep you posted on how our new SCV biking adventure is going. It should be a great Spring. Thanks for the good words Joe. The bike safety course sounds like a good idea.

JeffApril 11, 2010 at 10:04 am

I’m proud to ride my high-end, custom made, American-built Titanium bicycle and so the only folks I look down on are the ones who spent more than me and got something out of a box shipped from an Asian factory. It’s a roadie thing. But for everyone else? As long as you’re on two wheels you’re fine by me. Yes even the fixies!

JoeApril 9, 2010 at 10:19 am
Great story Jeff. Jim and Patty, welcome to the cycling community! The Class I trails are so expensive compared to the Class II bike lanes, but our city seems determined to promote recreational cycling over and at the expense of commuting by bike. As Jeff pointed out, the Class I trails don’t really help when you want to get to work or run errands (but they are beautiful for a leisurely weekend ride). Have any of you taken a bike safety course? I took a confident city cycling course a number of years ago and it made me feel much safer biking with traffic, even the amount we have here, without a dedicated bike lane. I would highly recommend it, you’ll be a safer and better biker.
Spineflower2April 9, 2010 at 12:55 pm
One of the reasons those trails are so expensive is that union contracts and the GOBN forbid anyone but City employees or contractors doing the work. I tried to “give” a water fountain to one of the bike trails about 10 years ago, to be done by Boy Scouts as an Eagle project. Materials would be donated, all labor done free by Scouts. The City said that it had to be designed by a City engineer, put out for bids, and justify why the City should not do it at its own expense (witht eh City makign the final determination– anyone wanna guess what they decided?). City cost estimates ranged from $3-5000. We gave up and did another project.
Spineflower2April 9, 2010 at 11:56 am
Anything that keeps me away from car traffic is welcome. A stripe does not stop a Buick or an Expedition.
cashApril 9, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Good luck with more expensive bike path/trails in this economy. Q: What was the most positive result of the “Cash for clunkers” > program? > A: It took 95% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road. Letterman
Joe KaylenApril 11, 2010 at 9:51 am
I would’ve supported cash for clunkers if I could have put the $4k towards a new bike instead of a car
BrianApril 9, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Why do I always detect an arrogance and snobbery among bike riders. Once again, if you don’t have the best stuff, Santa Clarita will laugh at you. This town is so full of itself! A Salvation Army bike is not allowed on the fancy paths in Awesometown are they? I can’t afford to ride here.
Jim FarleyApril 11, 2010 at 9:28 am
Arrogance and Snobbery? You’ve got to be kidding me. The last bike I owned was a recovered 1960s Schwinn Varsity that I rebuilt from the frame up about twenty years ago. When the Mrs. and me decided to get back in we wanted something nice and got it. If we encountered you on the trail Bruce the only thing you would get from us would be a hearty greeting, not a look down the nose. You need to get over your issues Bruce. This town is full of decent middle class people who for the most part are not arrogant and full of themselves. It’s kind of sad you can’t see it that way.
Joe KaylenApril 11, 2010 at 9:51 am
If I can, I agree with both of you. Jim is right, the town is full of decent middle class people and the overwhelming majority of bikers will kindly greet fellow bikers, regardless of what they are riding. That being said, biking is one of those sports where what equipment you use makes a big difference in performance and people like to tinker with their bikes, so there is a lot of pride in what one rides. Combine that with some people are just arrogant, regardless of what they do, and I can see how one would get that impression. On a somewhat related note, do you know that most bike manufacturers have a shortage of highend bikes this year? They made fewer because of the economy, but the demand didn’t drop off nearly as much as expected. People are choosing to ‘invest’ in a nice bike instead of travelling as a way of conserving money. Kinda cool.
Jim FarleyApril 9, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Thanks for the post Jeff! Of all days I also had computer connectivity problems with my company laptop so my first look at SCVTalk is now, my latest in the day ever. Hope you weren’t thinking I was being rude. I’ll keep you posted on how our new SCV biking adventure is going. It should be a great Spring. Thanks for the good words Joe. The bike safety course sounds like a good idea.
JeffApril 11, 2010 at 10:04 am
I’m proud to ride my high-end, custom made, American-built Titanium bicycle and so the only folks I look down on are the ones who spent more than me and got something out of a box shipped from an Asian factory. It’s a roadie thing. But for everyone else? As long as you’re on two wheels you’re fine by me. Yes even the fixies!