Mayors' Ride Wraps Up CycleMAYnia 2023

By the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG)

Elizabeth Wright, a 95-year-old Santa Barbara resident, celebrated her birthday in a unique way – riding alongside Director Randy Rowse at the Mayors’ ride this week.

This marked the perfect ending to a successful month-long endeavor of collaborating with local cities and the county, businesses, and community organizations to bring more than 23 events and activities throughout the county in honor of national bike month in May. The Mayors’ ride, attended by over 50 people, was an exciting opportunity to experience the City of Santa Barbara’s new Las Positas Multiuse Path.

Jessica Grant, supervising transportation planner with the City of Santa Barbara remarked that the Mayors’ Ride was a wonderful representation of the multiuse path’s purpose, which is a path designed for all ages and abilities. “With the help of Cycling without Age, participants with visual impairments and adaptive riders all got to experience the joys of being out on a bike or trishaw,” said Grant.

Elizabeth Wright and Mayor Randy Rowse

The tour made five stops, learning about the history of a multiuse path development, how it gets built, benefits of community connections to open space and amenities, and the critical regional connections needed to complete a South Coast Santa Barbara County Coastal Bike Route from Santa Barbara to Goleta and UCSB. Grant shared that the City of Santa Barbara received $94 million to date toward active transportation projects and on-going planning efforts that is instrumental in being able to connect the community. Dignitaries participating included SBCAG Board Chair Jenelle Osborne and Directors Laura Capps, Joan Hartmann, Paula Perotte, Randy Rowse, and Das Williams, as well as Carson Link from Senator Limón’s office and Ethan Bertrand from Assemblymember Hart’s office.

The ride was organized by the City of Santa Barbara, County of Santa Barbara, MOVE, Cycling Without Age Santa Barbara, and BCycle with support from SBCAG.

MORE INFORMATION

Stay tuned for the announcement of the CycleMAYnia electric Radwagon cargo bike (worth $1,999) and a recap of the month will be shared in the upcoming weeks.
CycleMAYnia is a public/private collaboration using community resources and South Coast Measure A Bicycle and Pedestrian funds to organize activities for the community. CycleMAYnia 2023 partners include: Rad Power Bikes, MOVE, Jersey Mike’s, BCycle, Electric Bikes of SB, Bikemaps.org, Cycling Without Age, Chicano Culture de Santa Barbara, Transitions-Mental Health Association, Montecito Bank & Trust, Cottage Health, County of Santa Barbara, and the Cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Lompoc, Buellton, and Santa Maria.
History: Founded in 2009, CycleMAYnia began as a community brainstorming meeting aimed at jump starting a vibrant bike culture here in Santa Barbara County. Inspired by events and programs in other towns such as San Luis Obispo and Portland, Oregon, the hope was that by engaging the cycling community directly and bringing them into the fold as collaborators, a dynamic calendar of events could be created and co-managed that celebrates National Bike Month in May. Expanding the reach of cycling to a greater number of riders and connecting to a more diverse demographic brings the joy and benefits of biking to as many people as possible in the greater Santa Barbara area. Since 2010 our Bike Month on the South Coast has been filled with activities organized by local businesses, organizations, and community members with coordination and support from Traffic Solutions.