***SMOKE & POWER OUTAGE UPDATE***
Oct. 25
EVENT POSTPONED, new date to be determined. Due to smoke and power outages, the Petaluma Community Center will be used as a charging and clean air center this weekend, so we can’t screen the film. Stay tuned for more info on rescheduling, we can’t wait to bring you the bikes, the fun, and the film.

On Sunday October 27^th from 1-4:30 pm, Bike Petaluma is hosting a free film screening of Motherload, free bike parking, panel discussion on car-free lifestyles, and free cargo bike test rides at the Petaluma Community Center. Motherload is a documentary about getting out of your car and onto a bike. Join us for a community ride to the event leaving Bob’s Beach/Brewsters at 12:30.

Guest post by Bike Petaluma member Camille Esposito, who was the power behind bringing the Motherload screening to Petaluma.

“I first saw a woman riding a longtail bike about 12 years ago. It was a such an inspiration! Imagine riding a bike with kids and groceries and backpacks and not feeling like you were going to fall over from the weight all on the back wheel!? The bike I saw had an Xtracycle Free Radical on it – basically it could turn ANY bike, into a cargo bike. What an amazing invention! It took me a few years to get one since it was about $500 to add one to my bike but the local shop, Bicycleworks in San Anselmo, was a co-op and they sold me a floor sample and hooked me up. I have been riding a cargo bike in some form for about 10 years now. Along the way a friend in Fairfax, Liz Canning started documenting this revolution of bike transportation.  Her film, Motherload, took eight years to finish. I’m so excited that it’s here and it seems like it’s coming at the perfect moment in time. To some of us, cargobiking is a way of life, to others it’s a totally new concept. But it’s something we all need to consider – how we move thru the world and how it affects our planet. Please join us this weekend to hear stories from around the world about the potential of riding your bike as a primary source of transportation, talk to families that are doing it now and test ride all sorts of options from SCBC’s lending library & Bike Partners in Santa Rosa and The New Wheel in Larkspur. I hope that you come away knowing more about what is possible and how you can be part of the revolution!”

Upcoming Events:

• October 27^th: Motherload Film Screening, Panel & Cargo Bike Test Rides, Free event, 1-4:30pm, Petaluma Community Center
• Ongoing First Friday Bike Banter (5:30-7pm, location varies), next event is November 1^st, at Pub Republic
• Ongoing Second Saturday Community Bike Rides (9:30-11:30am, starting point varies), next ride is November 9^th, leaving from Aqus Café
• November 23^rd: Mutant Bikes costume workshop and group ride, Free event, 12-4pm, Petaluma Arts Center

For more info on Bike Petaluma events visit/like/follow/join:

• Facebook page: facebook.com/ibikepetaluma
• Facebook community group: facebook.com/groups/bikepetaluma
• Our leadership committee meets monthly on the Third Thursday, contact admin@bikepetaluma.org to join us.

“SMART has spent nearly $57 million on the pathway, about 60% of which has been paid for with grant funding leveraged through sales-tax revenues from Measure Q, the 2008 tax measure. The agency estimates the cost to finish the remaining 40 miles of unfunded path at between $73 million and $78 million in today’s construction costs. SMART doesn’t know when it will have that money or who it will come from.”

https://www.petaluma360.com/news/10175564-181/smart-completes-bike-path-across

“Petaluma has the size, climate, and topography to be a world-class bicycling city”

“Bike lanes that are separated from vehicular traffic … is a key safety measure that encourages cyclists to use a busy route” –Argus Courier

https://www.petaluma360.com/news/9894472-181/county-to-appeal-19-million

https://www.petaluma360.com/news/9763196-181/boy-on-bike-hit-by

Article about the City’s discussion of plans for bike lanes vs parking on Petaluma Blvd South.