Bicycling - Chico - LocalWiki

Bicycling in Chico

In 1997, Bicycle magazine named Chico as America's Best Bike Town. Later in 2007, Chico won the Bronze Award from The League of American Bicyclists¹. Chico is also home to The Bidwell Bump™ Mountain Bike Race event held in late summer in Upper Bidwell Park and the Chico Wildflower Century road bike race held in late Spring as well as the Chico Fallflower Century race held in October — confirming, without a doubt, that this town is prime bicycler territory.

Bikes are a very important part of Chico. CSU Chico bike rack. The City of Chico, with its Bicycle Advisory Committee (chaired by Ed McLaughlin) and Bicycle Plan, has worked diligently to make bicycling a safe alternative to driving. The city has a full array of bike lanes, including lanes for making left turns at some major intersections. Chico Velo is the city's premier bicycling enthusiast club and has been an important factor in these accomplishments. The organization has a full array of literature on bicycling in and around Chico. Not all efforts have met with success, however. In 1996, a group of Chico High School students attempted to institute a program where anybody could borrow a bike for free. This was called the Yellow Bike Program. It did not last. However, residents of Chico now widely participate in Bike Commute Month.

A number of bike taxis, or pedicabs, operate downtown, typically in the warmer months.

Bike Rides & Events

Visit the Bicycle Rides page for information regarding Mountain Bike trails and events as well as Road Bike rides in the Chico area.

Bicycle Infrastructure

This content will likely be moved to its own page soon.

The City of Chico has resource for bicyclists at the Bicycle Advisory Committee website that includes the bike plan, maps, safety tips, and a link to relevant laws.

Bike Paths

There are several classes of bike paths in Chico, as designated by Butte Regional Transit.

Bike paths (Class I) are separated facilities designed exclusively for the use of bicycles and pedestrians. May have minimal cross flow from motorists.
- The Chico State Bike Path is a convenient bike path for Chico State students and residents begins where Cherry Street meets the campus and ends around Stewart Avenue.
- The Sacramento Northern Bike Path replaced the railroad that the Esplanade took over. It runs from the intersection of the Esplanade and Lindo Channel all the way North to the Chico Municipal Airport
- The Midway Bike Path starts at East 20th and Park. It follows the Midway and ends at the intersection of Jones avenue.
Bike lanes (Class II) are restricted right-of-ways designed exclusively for the use of bicycles with vehicle parking and cross flows by pedestrians and motorists permitted.
Bike routes (Class III) are right-of-ways designed to provide shared use for bicycles, pedestrians, and motorists. Routes may be simply designated by a sign.
Connectors (Class IV) provide links between paths, routes, and lanes. Connectors are unmarked and may not provide adequate space for bicycles, pedestrians, and motorists.

Bike paths, lanes, routes, and connectors in the Chico area, along with bike trails through Upper and Lower Bidwell park are marked on the Chico Bike Map.

Bike Tunnels

A bike tunnel (Class I) is being constructed at Pine and Cypress streets to allow free flow of bicyclers to Bidwell Park without having to cross vehicular traffic. It connects Annie's Glen to Bidwell Park. It is the first of its kind in Chico (to this editor's knowledge).

Intersections

There are some intersections in Chico with bike-accessible signal buttons:

5th St. & Walnut (Highway 32)
Nord Ave. (Highway 32) & W. Sacramento Ave.
Nord Ave. (Highway 32) & 2nd Street

Not all intersections have such accommodations, but some have traffic sensors. Here are some tips to trigger traffic sensors at certain intersections:

"Looped wire" traffic sensors (which may appear as a figure eight cut into the pavement perpendicular to the flow of traffic) can be triggered by placing both metal wheels of a bicycle over the sensor loop cuts.

Bicycle Hazards

See Bicycle Hazards — if you're thinking about editing for the first time, writing a discussion on the bollards and where they are would be a great start. Always watch for potholes, drain gates, and oil/sand/gravel on the road. If a bad dog is encountered feel free to kick it, or use more force to teach the cur a lesson. Pit bulls are especially dangerous. and watch out for those vicious chihuahuas also. What's a bollard? A song played on a bowling ball?