> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Damn the bikes in Santa Monica - URL: https://www.smdp.com/damn-the-bikes-in-santa-monica/ - Published: 2007-11-21T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T01:16:37.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Opinion, Downtown, #archive-import *By Michael J. Tittinger Hey, Mikey* IT WAS A POSITIVELY NEWTONIAN discovery, only the apple didn’t simply drop on my head in a sun-drenched orchard. My apple of discovery was launched by a handful of laughing teenagers doing 40 mph in a SUV on Arizona Avenue, striking me in the back of the head as I pedaled home on my bike. That’s when it hit me: Santa Monica is no bike-friendly burg, my friends. Forget that the kisses were hers and hers and his, three isn’t always company when riding around town on bicycles. Jack Tripper taking a tumble off the Santa Monica beach bike path? He might as well have stuck his head in the sand, because the projected image of this city being in tune with the cycling sect is as phony as the Regal Beagle. Never mind the dearth of bike racks around town and the end-without-warning bicycle lanes that surround downtown. The recent police crackdown of Critical Mass riders has other, less militant bikers reassessing whether or not it’s even worth it to strap on a silly helmet, roll up their pant leg nerd-style and hit the city straddling a self-propelled riding machine. The litany of laws that restrict where you can ride, what you need to ride and how you can ride have begun to take a toll on the average rider and would seem to bely the whole notion that Santa Monica officials are committed to clearing its streets of motor vehicle congestion. It’s pretty laughable when SMPD Sgt. Larry Horn, commenting on the Critical Mass crackdown, says, “This is a very bicycle friendly city with lots of miles with bike roads.” Oh, really? In 2006, just 3 percent of Santa Monica’s streets featured an exclusive path for cyclists. With more than 160 miles of arterial streets — those roadways designed for a high degree of mobility and traffic — the city had in place less than five miles’ worth of designated paths; hardly a means of encouraging more commuting via bicycle, something a city grappling with traffic congestion, parking and energy conservation would seem to embrace. Then there’s the notorious beach bike path that put Jack Tripper on the map. On any given day, the path reserved for bicyclists along the beach is stacked with roller skaters, skateboarders, beach-goers, joggers, Segways... and even some bicycles. Riding my Manhattan Flyer 6 beach cruiser to work the other day, my pleasant sojourn south on Euclid Street was shaken by the threatening honks of a car horn. This wasn’t one of those “Hey-I’m-right-behind-you-in-a-car” warning beeps, but a full-on “Hey-I-hate-motherf\*%^#@- bicycles-on-the-road” assault. It felt like she was Maverick buzzing the control tower when she swerved to the right, ever closer to the non-existent bicycle lane. Talk to me, Goose. The reasons to hate those sharing the road are many: Bicycles are often less visible and, therefore, worry drivers; bikers look like they’re having more fun, prompting envy; bikers are viewed as slackers who don’t work enough to afford a German import; and bikers can seem to be self-righteous environmental “Massholes” out to wreak havoc with attention-seeking drama. But, people, don’t kill the bike messenger. Riding a bicycle is supposed to be fun and carefree; it harkens back to childhood, when a bicycle represented freedom, when the world becomes a little bit smaller and you can go as far as your two legs will take you. It’s self-reliance; it’s fun; it’s wind in your hair and road under your wheels, without the disconnect of leather seats, iTunes and air-conditioning. It’s thinking anything is possible. And, really, isn’t that what Santa Monica is supposed to be all about? We brag that we live in this open-minded society where we embrace free expression and dig differences. How then do we explain to our neighbors in Los Angeles, our countrymen in Peoria or our ex-pats overseas that we unleash one of the state’s top police forces once a month on a circus-like gang of bicyclists who annoy a few motorists as they celebrate the freedoms inherent in riding a bicycle? Have we become so joyless? Personally, I’ve never ridden alongside Critical Mass and don’t have a hankering to, and I’m not one of those hemp-wearing, patchouli oil-smelling dudes out to save the world one bike ride at a time. I just like the exercise and the wind in my hair. Most days, my commute to work is one of the best parts of my day. How many air conditioned gypsies can make the same claim? The disappointment lies in thinking Santa Monica would somehow be more forward-thinking when it comes to promoting bicycles as a viable alternative. It seems the apple isn’t thrown very far from the tree. MICHAEL TITTINGER is editor of the Santa Monica Daily Press and a guy who digs the wind in his hair. He *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 21, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/112107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)