BIKE IT!

I love to ride my bike. For some crazy reason I accepted a job in San Rafael this summer (I live in Berkeley), knowing full well that bicycles are prohibited from traveling across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge unless they are cargo on some sort of motorized vehicle. For the first couple of days it was kind of nice riding the plush #40 Golden Gate Transit bus with its reclining seats and overhead bins. Never mind the $4.50 round trip fare (which makes it more expensive to take public transit to Marin than to drive). I'm lucky enough to have an employer who supports my choice to be car-free by paying for all my transit costs. Did I mention that I love to ride my bike? True, I do get to ride my bike 10 miles round-trip from my home to El Cerrito and back again each day before hoisting my bike aboard the gas-guzzling bus. But I would much rather bike the entire 18 miles each way.

It is so displeasing to be DRIVEN across the dazzling bay when I have two strong legs which are more than capable of pedaling myself across the bridge. In fact, it is completely legal for me to bicycle on both sides of the bridge on the 10-ft. wide shoulder of the freeway right up to the bridge but not actually on the bridge - where the shoulder widens to an unbelievable 12-ft. across. At this point, I must either board a bus, hitch-hike across, or risk a ticket or possible arrest.

To make matters worse, the #40 bus can hold no more than two bicycles on each trip across. If you arrive at the bus stop to find two cyclists already there, no matter how empty the bus may be, you will not be allowed on the bus with your bicycle. Many times I have seen fellow cyclists get bumped, which means they have to wait at least 1/2 hour for the next bus (1 1/2 hrs on the weekend!). I have also seen a bus driver coldly turn away a cyclist on the last run of the day (which by the way leaves at an extremely early 6:55 p.m. - don't even think about working a job with hours straying far from the standard 9-5 if you rely on the bus), leaving this young woman with no way to get herself and her bicycle home without biking the bridge.

I haven't reminded you in awhile that I love to ride my bike, which brings us to the remaining option for a cyclist needing to cross the RSR bridge - BIKE IT! One afternoon I decided to do just that to get home from work. As I set out to tackle the bridge on a gorgeous June afternoon, I felt so good to be moving myself forward rather than sitting on the bus that I hardly noticed all the pollution I was inhaling from backed-up commute traffic. I breezed across the bridge, pausing a couple of times to admire the sparkling view. As I crossed the steel dragon I enjoyed the most wondrous high, too amazing to express in words, that another can only experience by biking the bridge for themselves. I did encounter a CHP (AKA Clog the Highway Patrol) officer on the other side of the bridge, who let me off with a warning after I assured him that I was not part of the group organizing "some crazy protest for bridge access." My first ride was followed by two others, during one of which I was I ticketed. I continue to ride the bus most days, but I no longer arrive super early to ensure my spot on the bus. I would much rather see myself get bumped than another cyclist, for they may not be aware of how they can go about biking the bridge.

I hope my view has given you enough reason to show up Saturday July 31st at the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Protest! Even if you never need to cross the bridge and don't see a point in participating, please come to ensure that I, along with many other cyclists who wish to commute or just occasionally cross the bridge, are given the access that we deserve!

-Sarah Syed

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