Pro Walk Kicks Off

On the Balboa Island ferry on my way back to Long Beach

“Over stimulated,” that’s what my wife thought I was suffering from after the over-the-top Alliance for Biking and Walking’s Leadership Retreat, so I came home for one night in the middle of this weeklong series of conferences.

After a good night’s sleep I was on the bike again, heading back along the coast. For me this is like a mini-tour — I’ve got the panniers packed with a few days of clothes. It’s also been a good time for experimenting. Today I left the big camera behind; it felt good to pack ultra light.

This trip to Long Beach I had to take, what I call my Erie Canal bike; it can handle a load, plus it’s got the big wheels. The earlier trip north on the Brompton, well let’s just say that it was quite a workout.

Things are quite exciting and the conference hasn’t even begun. I stopped to say hello to Dan Burden, Jeff Miller and several others.

Registration is in the Convention Center, that’s where I met Alex Vickers of Bike Nation — soon to be the bike-share provider for Long Beach. He was balancing 2 bikes as he moved across the Ballroom; I caught up with him at the elevators and offered a hand.

You can meet him and other bike-share vendors at a special session of the Newport Beach Bike Safety Committee as we meet to review 3 vendors’ proposals — 4:30pm Monday Sept 17th in the Central Library on Avocado.


Alex Vickers and Ian Johnston — everyone likes bike share