Is this the American Amsterdam of Cycling?? | Davis, CA

[@analisatangling]

Great overview of Davis bike infrastructure. Fun fact, the Davis Bike Loop connects to all the public schools in town offering safer routes for school kids to ride their bikes.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Wow! I wasn’t aware of that, how great!!

[@nikkikelso9239]

I have always heard that Davis and the campus were quite nice. I can see why, so clean and green. Great that they have the bike system for students and residents to get around. Great video! Love the music .....

[@markrhuett]

Thank you so much for sharing! Hopefully, other cities and campuses will follow their example.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

I hope so!

[@striker44]

UC Davis and Davis is awesome for bikers.

[@shel6532]

Its good seeing how Davis is set up! I didn't know it was made into the Dutch model. Hope other cities around the country will take note! Very inspiring.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Absolutely! Davis is definitely a leader in the country!

[@no_name5002]

What makes Davis so special is it's pretty suburban. It's proves that the typical American suburban town can be very bike-friendly without looking like SF/NY. The typical American suurbia can look to Davis as an exmple.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Really great point! Thank you!!

[@djpetesake]

Wow I didn't realize how monumental the city was in the history of American bike infrastructure!

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

It’s pretty spectacular!

[@little_dove1254]

My favorite video you've made, I think! You did a great job giving us a look into biking life at Davis. Truly enjoyed the general overview and facts about this gorgeous college town!

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Thank you so much! I had a great day filming this video! Davis is a gorgeous place! 🙌

[@RBradenG]

Unfortunately Davis is an bit of an island in an ocean of car culture- you can't ever really get away from the cars if you want to go to the places people want to go. Also the cost of living there is out of reach of most people- it's a bit of an enclave. I hope you also got a chance to check out some of the other nearby spots. Winters (just to the west) is a hub between Davis, Vacaville and the hilly roads near Lake Berryessa and is a hopping spot for road cyclists (stop in at Steady Eddies any weekend morning). To the east, the Causeway to W. Sac isn't a wonderful ride, but it's nice that it's there and sees a lot of use, and is a pretty simple connection to downtown Sac, where the downtown grid is an example of steadily improving cycling conditions in a car-dominated city (It's not Europe but we'll take what we can get), and the American River Parkway is a substantial reason to live in Sacramento if you enjoy cycling (Davis' perimeter trail is nice and all but is mostly for leisure, as it is rarely the quickest/best way from A to B around town, whereas the American River is a substantial east/west corridor for commuters and connects a whole bunch of stuff through the middle of town). Much like Davis' community shop on the south end of town, stop into the Sacramento Bike Kitchen.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Davis is definitely an island when you look at it on a map. Which just like I noted on the video it’s hard to find anything comparable to bikeway systems in southern cal such as the LA river or Santa Ana River. Davis is a fantastic town for short, convenient commutes. Great for people who live there! But you are also right, expensive to live there! I’ll have to check out the route from Davis to west sac next. Thanks for watching!

[@tanlilman]

I've lived in Davis for 30 years. So fun to see it through the eyes of a visiting cyclist.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

It’s such a bike-friendly town!

[@watertankhikes]

The bike museum is a must-see! (Maybe you have had a chance in the past 5 months.)

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

I went to the museum a few weeks ago for the first time! It exceeded my expectations!

[@darkstar4494]

Nice. I live in davis and ride these trails regularly. Although these days I’m on a unicycle more often than my bike. I wasn’t aware of all the historical significance you pointed out.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

I love the variety of bikes in Davis. Great that you are on the unicycle more!

[@eGazTheFirstAustralian]

Love your videos. The world awaits😃

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate the gesture! These contributions mean so much more to a small creator. :)

[@g.francis136]

I'm a Davis resident - thanks for visiting and highlighting us! While I think we do have the best bike infrastructure of the USA, I'm always surprised that there aren't even more people biking on a daily basis. In the second minute, you state that the rate of ridership has gone down from 30% to about 20%. Where did you find that stat? I'd like to read up on it and figure out why it went down. Thanks!

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Here is one article that quotes those statistics amongst other interesting facts about Davis! It is truly a remarkable city within the greater car culture of California. www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/aug/03/davis-california-the-american-city-which-fell-in-love-with-the-bicycle

[@g.francis136]

@@TrailsofCalifornia Thanks for the citation - that's a great article. I'll working on getting the bike modal share back up!

[@theresafinn4257]

When I ride here, in Grass Valley, it’s with trepidation. Yes, we have narrow streets, but we have distracted and impatient drivers who make it so dangerous.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

That’s very interesting. I haven’t been up to Grass Valley myself but looking at the street views it doesn’t seem to be all too bike friendly. Street riding can be really treacherous especially on narrow mountain roadways! Still, I wouldn’t mind coming to see for myself.

[@ShaunHall-i7e]

Nice! ❤

[@warrenchu6319]

In contrast, UCLA in West Los Angeles is totally car-centric. While there are plenty of bike riders on campus, to get to it you must drive there and parking is very limited despite many parking structures all over the campus. I had to park at an offsite parking lot and take a shuttle bus for a 13-minute ride to get to the campus.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

I’ll have to visit UCLA sometime and check out their situation.

[@Coastal_Cruzer]

Should've come by the Bike Collective! There's also a guy out in west Davis that builds crazy kinetic sculptures out of old bikes

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

What is the bike collective!?

[@Coastal_Cruzer]

@@TrailsofCaliforniait's a non-profit community bike shop on the east end of downtown Davis. Completely volunteer run, everything is donated. Gives people a place and tools to work on their own bikes.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

@@Coastal_Cruzer sounds like the bicycle kitchen in Sacramento

[@johnburwell6609]

Nice job again. It's difficult for older towns to establish downtown biking infrastructure since they weren't designed for it. I'll have to try out Davis sometime. My wife and I just returned from a trip through northern California with stops in Chico, Ferndale, Miranda and Merced. Chico had some nice biking in Bidwell park plus some good bike lanes out on some of the country roads (Keefer road was good). Also quite a few class 2 lanes through downtown but that's no big surprise since Chico state is right there. We were there mostly for the Chico Wildflower ride. It was rainy in Ferndale but one morning we did get out on the Eureka Coastal Trail, it was just OK, lots of homeless people but nobody bothered us. Rainy again in Miranda so we never got out riding on Avenue of the Giants but we were mostly there for the 1/2 marathon anyway. If you're ever up there don't miss Matolle Road, it looks like it would be a great ride, narrow with no bike lane but it's a 25mph road so the traffic isn't bad. Again Merced was just OK, they have some nice class 1 trails through parks and greenbelts and a newer class 1 path out to UC Merced but otherwise just class 2 lanes here and there.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

I appreciate the comment, John! It is absolutely the American specific problem of designing our cities for cars and now going through the bureaucratic hurdles to adapt the street system for alternate modes of transport. But there are a ton of advocacy groups out there doing great work to push that! Davis is unique in the US as it planned cycling infrastructure into the initial city planning. I’ve noted all the other towns and trails you mentioned here and I’ve got to check them all out! Especially Chico and Merced. Thank you as always!!

[@warrenchu6319]

Cycling to be like the Netherlands is much more than bike lane infrastructure. It is the attitude of car drivers toward bicyclists: sharing the road and understanding their needs. I live in Rancho Santa Margarita California where there are plenty of bike lanes but I get honked a lot for using the left lane to make a left turn or using the whole car lane because the bike lane is blocked. In this city, the car is king of the road and bikes must stay out of their way.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

The car is definitely king of the road across California. But starting with more infrastructure changes and the attitude will continue shifting in favor of cycling! I hope it improves around your city of rancho santa margarita! Ride Safe! ✌️ 🚴

[@mikeb.3918]

There I am, crossing the street at 2:26, with the Woodland Foy's riders. Davis bike infrastructure is great, but its not Amsterdam yet.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

That’s awesome! Is this your own group ride? Say hey next time!

[@biketrailman]

Hi, I can't wait till you make a video of the bridge. Thank you. I used my electric bike that day because it's kind of a steep hill getting to the top of the bridge and I ride bikes too. I brought my drone, but it was too windy that day I hope you bring your drone with you and get a video of the bridge. I haven't seen any videos of the bridge with a drone, I think you're allowed to fly there as long as you take off from this area the street next to the bridge you're not allowed to fly drones near the Queen Mary that direction but towards the bridge I think you can I need to do more research

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

This is a great idea thank you for the suggestion! I would love to make a video for that new trail development in Long Beach. I researched it, I'm going to try and get out there to do it! Check back into the channel in a few weeks from now!

[@eGazTheFirstAustralian]

Hi TOC. Great videos and I think you'd get more if KZbin would simply create a 'cycling' category. I suggested it to KZbin numerous times. I've searched for years looking for content exactly like you produce. Hope my small Super Thanks goes some way toward more quality content. If ever you want to broaden your horizons with an international cycle tour, let me know.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Hello @egazTheFirstAustralian ! I so appreciate your donation to the channel! I sure will put those $'s to good use to support my next video! None of it will go to waste. I'm not sure if any of my viewers know this but I lived in Australia for over 10 years. My family and I are dual citizens! California just happens to be the place I was born.

[@biketrailman]

Hi, I found out the name of the bridge. Thanks for your reply it's called Mark Bixby Memorial Bike Path you could see the battleship Iowa from up there. The bike path is very safe. It's away from the street. It's a little tricky getting to the bridge. The way they have the bike path set up and you could feel the bridge shaking there's chairs at the very top of the bridge, I hope you do a video about it. There's even information about the bridge when you get to the top I even want to take my drone right before you get on the bridge. There's a safe place to take off with your drone and sit down by the street. I just need to do some research if I'm not a fly my drone there I think you can keep up the good videos, Jeff from from Riverside.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

I can't remember if I said this or not but you have put this idea/trail on the map for me and I plan on recording it!

[@brettrietveld621]

I moved to Davis 2 years ago, and i couldn't agree more with what you said about downtown. I've tried having conversations about how bad downtown actually is for cycling, but also for everyone. Most of the town does have fantastic paths, but the downtown is like a choke point where you are fighting awkward traffic filled intersections

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

I appreciate your comment! It’s good to hear that you feel the same way because cars still take up too much of a priority downtown!

[@elleffeff]

Great by American standards, but bike usage seems much lower compared to any European college town.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

I agree, Davis is pretty impressive for the US, but the Netherlands is a whole other level.

[@eGazTheFirstAustralian]

Hi Andrew, if ever you want to talk, let me know. I cycle quite a bit in Canberra Australia and our KZbins are similar. I'm not really trying to make a living from them, I just enjoy showing the world my take on a sunny day. Hit me up and let's share some conversation

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Send me a message on the channels instagram account and we can connect there!

[@professorsogol5824]

Davis is very flat. Did they build all those little depressions through and bumps you rode over?

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Yes, Davis is very flat overall!

[@Mr1borrego2]

Mate I don't mean to be overly critical but your internal edits are dreadful. 2-3 second shots at a time. I lived and when to school here and I cannot tell where you are half of the time because the scenes change TOO quickly. Just show some of where you are in a recognizable fashion not all as blur.

[@TrailsofCalifornia]

Noted!