More than 150 participants will ride from Oakland to Sacramento, protesting extremely reckless school spending.
For those not looking to make the full journey, there are 45-mile and 65-mile routes also available.
Proceeds will be directed to Oakland Technical High School, Oakland International High School, Claremont Middle School and Emerson Elementary School. Event organizers want to generate $60,000 for the ride — and depending on the success of the 2012 ride, additional cities may be added in the future.
In honor of Bike to Work Day next week, here is some information about BikeAlameda, an island-based bike advocacy group. Here is a tidbit they had posted in the Alameda Sun, titled “Promoting a Bicycle-Friendly City: BikeAlameda.”
BikeAlameda has been working on behalf of cyclists for more than 10 years. Through the offering of free bike-safety classes, hundreds of people are now riding safely and confidently on Alameda streets.
BikeAlameda promotes safe streets, convenient access, thriving accessible business districts, clean air, and active healthy residents.
BikeAlameda was directly involved with one of the most significant bike improvement projects in Alameda. The Fernside Bike Lane Project provides a physical barrier between vehicles and cyclists, most of whom are students from Lincoln Middle School.
All cyclists can now enjoy and benefit from a safe route between the main island, the Bay Farm Island Bike/Pedestrian Bridge, and the community of Harbor Bay.
BikeAlameda is funded entirely by memberships, donations, and grants. Please visit the website at www.bikealameda.org and learn more about our mission and activities. Your financial support through a membership or donation is essential to the continuing efforts of the organization.
The next time you ride along one of Alameda’s great tree lined streets in a marked bike lane or lock your bike to one of real bike racks along Park Street, in Alameda South Shore Center, or at the Alameda Theater, think about BikeAlameda and its efforts in promoting a bicycle friendly city.
If nothing else, appreciate the work that BikeAlameda and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition have done to make the streets of Alameda and the East Bay safer to ride on.
Spring time is here … wipe the dust off those bike frames!
As part of preparation for Bike to Work Day, Alameda Bicycle mechanic George, will be at Alameda South Shore Center on Saturday, starting at 12:00 p.m. He’ll be conducting free safety checks on all bikes brought by, and it’s a great community service. (Per the AB Facebook account.)
Come by between 12:00-2:00 p.m. to have your bikes briefly looked at.
If you will be participating on May 10, here is an interactive glance of all the East Bay energizer stations.
Athletes like music — but trying to experience the outdoors with your expensive MP3 player and earbuds can end in disaster. That’s why press statements regarding new electronics geared towards athletes tend to pique my interests.
The Ematic electronics company recently announced the eSport Clip MP3/video player, a $29 media player with 4GB flash memory storage. The device also includes a 5-megapixel camera, USB 2.0 port, and a 1.8″ color display.
Honestly, I haven’t tried Ematic’s products before — and never heard of the company before receiving the press release — but the Ematic eSport Clip MP3 player is a relatively low-cost investment to a possibly decent product.
Hello folks — I am still alive and well, in case you noticed I’ve been gone and Ted has done the majority of writing on Alameda Runners these days. I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things here and on AlamedaTech, but wanted to give you a brief update as to what is going on.
Remember our friends over at Greenlight Apparel in Fremont? (If not, they make the quality California International Marathon and Oakland Running Festival apparel.)
I’m working on another interview with the company, and will again focus on Greenlight Apparel’s products and humanitarian efforts geared towards illegal child labor.
Today was the big day for Alameda and See Jane Run Sports. There was a huge turnout for the participants but not many spectators along the course. I write the Alameda running blog and I barely heard about the event. Perhaps I will work with the event organizers next year to help get the word out.
I rode my bike along the course to see it well laid out with lots of port-o-potty’s. There were not enough. The toilet lines at the start line were huge. The bag check line was even longer. I also heard a lot of complaints about the timing chips not being available with bibs for early bag pick up.
The people arriving early had no problems with parking, check in and toilet lines. The volunteers were all nice to speak with and friendly with everyone who came by. The race started with a pre-race warm with a few classic 80’s aerobic workout songs and two out of sync group leaders. It did not matter, everyone was having fun. The race started on time! The start line looked big upon arrival, one hour before start time. When 2,000 people were lined up for the start of the race, it looked small. I rode my bike with a couple of ladies who started 5 minutes late and were planning on completing the race with a finishing time of 1:50. It seemed like a good plan until we turned the corner to a long 1.5 mile straight road that was full of runners. I left them to deal with the crowd. I wonder how they made out.
It was a very good event with a few problems at the start line. There was a big group of runners but course was configured for the crowds. The police at the street crossings did an excellent job keeping the runners moving. We had one lost driver complaining about the lack of detour signs to the airport for Bay Farm residents. Bay Farm is a small Island attached to Alameda proper by a bridge. It has about 5 square miles of populated areas with 4 roads leading off the Island. Three of them go to the airport, one was closed. The event organizers get a pass on this complaint.
Ted rates See Jane Run, Alameda a huge success. Maybe, I will carry my 2:15 pace sign next year. Probably not, it would just feel awkward joining a women’s event.
I remember riding my bike past a group of women running a half marathon four or five years ago wondering what was going on. It was a small race around Alameda that I obviously missed hearing about. That sure has changed in a hurry. We saw the poor ladies in the back of the pack catch a draw bridge near the end of their race. It was amusing for most of them but some of the impatient runners were quite upset about losing five minutes waiting for a draw bridge. I guess they were about 2:30 minutes into the race with 3 miles to go. I quietly watched them thinking about I never have my camera when a picture-perfect moment occurs.
The half marathon course is a really popular training route for people training for half marathon and longer races. The course starts off in Washington Park which is a park I just run past while I stick to the water front route. Most of this course is on a multi-use trail that goes along the water. There are a couple of street crossings but they won’t be a problem on race day. On a typical day, you will really get to experience micro climates while running this route. At 8:00 am, it is usually cool and overcast at Washington Park.
The course is slightly downhill for the first 3 miles. It is amazing how the little hill leading over the draw bridge can hurt legs that are accustomed running on a flat road. You will cross the bridge and turn left on to a nice little half mile stretch along the San Leandro Bay until you cross Doolittle drive. Then comes my least favorite part of the course, Harbor Bay Parkway to Ron Cowan Parkway. I love the sights but there is something about this stretch that does me in. Fortunately it is only 1.5 miles long. Then you get some dog legs through the corporate parks to add a mile to the course. The loop drives house SemiFreddi’s bakery. Hope they are not baking cinnamon bread the day you run by. You are now half way done with the hardest part behind you.
The next three miles are on the trail along the SF bay heading back to the draw bridge. Depending on your state, you may or may not hope for bridge opening. You run through a neighborhood for about a mile then back to the coastal trail. You will have nice views with the wind at your back for the last 2 miles. It is long and straight. You get some bends near the end of the course. You know the end is near when you see your car in the parking lot. Crab Cove is a very popular park where I always see people walking their dogs and geese walking around. Be careful where you sit.
This is a wonderful course that can be really fast or really windy. I am happy to see so many people coming out to Alameda to run. Good luck everyone and have fun.
Alameda Runners likes to get involved with volunteering and trying to participate in local politics (however ugly it may be in Alameda). For an article published elsewhere, I had the chance to chat with an organization that has a very unique method to helping charities.
I recently interviewed a group that uses an active coalition of companies that give at least 1% of yearly revenue to support environmental groups. I think it’s especially important to highlight these groups at a time when state and federal park funding is being slashed at an alarming rate.
I’d like to discuss a few additional thoughts about 1% and the group’s continued efforts to help the environment. The 1% giving idea is unique because it is a small, but extremely important contribution from companies. Many companies are plagued by big bureaucracy that seems to prevent useful monetary or logistical support for groups.
Whether or not it’s 1%, Alameda Runners recommends trying to become involved in whatever manner you can. It’s important to try and appreciate the great outdoors we all love to explore and enjoy, so look out for the companies and promotions that look to help out.
In a rather bizarre, creepy news post, I just wanted to make sure Bay Area readers are aware of an ongoing issue in Livermore.
Apparently there is some weirdo running around the Livermore area pulling down pants of women joggers — with six reported cases since 2007 — but details remain confusing.
“It’s odd,” said Sgt. Paul Mayer, Livermore police Sgt., in a statement to the San Jose Mercury News. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around what he is trying to do. We’re not positive it is the same person, but we are treating it like it is.”
If you’re going to run alone, make sure you’re vigilant of the surroundings around you. Many of us run while listening to an MP3 player, but that can be extremely dangerous if you’re alone in isolated areas. Running safety experts recommend people listen to only one earbud, or at least turn down the volume to a reasonable level.
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If you head over to WalMart’s website, the device is now 