Focus on the good

Bikes have been getting a lot of press lately, but for all of the wrong reasons. In the Sacramento Bee, we’ve read of random attacks on the bicycle trail and crackdowns on bicycling while intoxicated. The News and Review let us know about bikes being confiscated for equipment violations. Even the Sacramento Press even got in on the act, reporting the theft of a couple of bikes from a local delivery service.

Don’t let all this bad news get you down. Despite the fear-mongering, bicycling is still safer, better for you, and far more fun than plopping yourself behind the wheel of some big, smelly, polluting automobile. Especially when you can use some common sense:

• Don’t bike when you’ve tossed back a few.
• Lock your bike securely when you park it.
• Ride with lights at night.
• Ride with traffic, especially on one-way streets.
• Make sure you’ve got at least one working brake.
• Be aware of what’s ahead of you.
• Ride with someone else when you can.

We’re here to help you keep your bike in good shape because the better it works, the more you’ll ride it, and the more you ride it, the more fun you’ll have. Let’s do what we can to avoid getting hurt or arrested and instead focus on what makes bikes so freakin’ awesome: cruising around town with the sun on your face, picnics on the American River Parkway, theme rides, meeting up with friends, impossibly greasy Bike Kitchen handshakes, and that special kind of good time you can only get from two wheels and a chain.