What kind of riding do you do?

I used to do a lot of road riding until my child was born two years ago. So now I ride mostly on the weekends, though in the summer I try to commute. On days when I have to drop off my son at Daycare, I sometimes leave my car there and ride to work and back to the Daycare. This is a 10 mile roundtrip. I would actually just like to put my son into our Burley trailer we have, but there are a few spots that I wouldn’t be so comfortable, such as the 65 crossings. I wish they would have left the access under 65 near Antelope Creek. That was a nice crossing before the condos went in. I am not even sure if the builder has the right to close off that part. It seems it should be a publicly accessible roadway. We should probably check with the city of Rocklin.

If the bike path there would be open I think the last bit that would prevent me from commuting more frequently is the railroad overpass on East Roseville Parkway before the Galleria. If there would be a bike way all the way to the Galleria area I definitely could do it.

What do you like about commuting?

I like it because it’s an easy way of giving me some exercise before and after work and I also drive less.

I also wished Sutter hospital would be connected to the bike trail. There is already a dirt trail connection that mountain bikers can use. But with the expansion and the Rehab center coming in, a connection would make a lot of sense – not only for bikers, but for the people who may want to walk in that area.

The current way of having to cross East Roseville Parkway is not so great – even pedestrians get overlooked by the traffic turning right into Sunrise, as there is a dedicated right turn lane.

I wanted to expand on the idea of a forum that Mike brought up in last week’s interview. I think it’d be cool to have something where people can post their “secret routes”. Sometimes you don’t know of a great short cut until someone tells you.  Also, as new section of bike paths are developed, it would be nice to know about them.

You are part of Roseville Roadies. Can you describe the group?

Sure. We are mostly a riding group, started out of Agilent. But now it’s very diverse in terms of where people work at. There is about 20 of us and as long as it’s light enough we ride weekday mornings – usually Tuesday and Thursday -  at 6:30 from the Rocklin Park and Ride near Sierra College (. We usually do a loop over Ridge Road and in the Loomis/Auburn area.

In  the winter with less daylight, we’ll opt for a short lunch break ride instead. And we do weekend rides as well, sometimes even around the Lake.

We aren’t organized with meetings or anything – we just have an email distribution list that announces the planned rides and an occasional invitation to a bike- or community related event. We are always looking for more people to share the fun with, so if you are interested in riding with us, email me at jade_roseville@yahoo.com.

Do you use the class I trails with your family?

Yes, we love the bike trails. It’s a big plus the city has. On the weekends we’ll take our son in the bike trailer and ride on the trails. We also chose our home so we’d have access to a variety of trails. Some are still lacking connectivity, such as the one that almost goes to Sierra College Boulevard. Or the one near Orvietto, that isn’t quite paved to connect to the road. Well, at least that one makes me feel like I am cyclo-crossing! The other problem with that one is that it gets frequently washed out in the winter.

But overall Roseville is a pretty good place to ride.

What do you like about riding in Roseville?

Besides the trails, which we use a lot, I like the fact that there are many dedicated bike lanes. There are also quiet residential areas that we feel comfortable to ride on with our son in the trailer. Overall I like it better than riding in the Bay Area

What do you dislike?

I think the connection between east and west are lacking a bit. There is a lot of development on both east and west sides, but not a good bike connection.

Also, sometimes bike lanes just stop, or they are marked in a way that it’s not helpful to bicyclists. For example, on Pleasant Grove if you stay in the bike lane east bound, you will end up on 65!

I am also sometimes afraid that cars swerve into the bike lane. Maybe they can be made a bit wider. Especially some bridge crossing should be made safer for bicyclists. But I don’t want the complete segregation as the city of Rocklin has done on Wild Cats Boulevard, near the high school.

And I don’t like signals that you can’t trigger. And the ones you can trigger switch back to yellow way too fast. Sometimes I am still in the intersection when the cross traffic has the green light again. And they may time it so they don’t have to slow down and not pay attention to who is on in the intersection still. I think even cars would benefit from a slightly longer phase, to have a bit of a buffer.

Also, I used to be able to go from the Miner’s Ravine path up to the shopping area near East Roseville Parkway and Sunrise. There is a path that goes right by the fire department. But they now put a gate in. I am not sure why they closed it off. It’d be easy for them to prohibit parking, if that is what they are worried about. You will have to take that steep dirt trail that comes out by the Chevron station. Now you ca actually go up on the other side, near the hotel. But then you come out and face traffic, so you need to get off the bike and walk it to the intersection and then across. It’s really not that convenient. I wonder if they could pave that dirt trail that goes up to the Chevron station. I definitely think businesses would be interested to attract more people from the Miner’s Ravine path.

What is your opinion on gated communities?

I am a bit frustrated sometimes. For example, Whispering Canyon, which is right off the Miner’s Ravine, used to be open, but they now have put a lock in the car access gate and they have a keypad on the pedestrian gate.

Are you familiar with SABA?

Yes, we are members! SABA is the Sacramento Area Bike Advocates and they are a good group of people, advancing the causes of bicyclists in the area. Of course they do focus mostly on Sacramento, but Roseville benefits a bit, too, from such a big group.

What else do you think could be beneficial for biking in Roseville?

I think there needs to be some city planning in order to minimize the number of times people have to use their cars. For example day care centers in the major business/shopping areas would be great. I currently have to go out of my way. I hope they put one in where the new business center is developed near Rocky Ridge and North Sunrise.Bike Access to every Starbucks in Roseville!

What is your favorite ride in the area?

I like riding in the Whitney Oaks area for a short workout. It’s close by, there are wide bike lanes and a few good, steep hills.

Are you aware of the fact that the City is updating its Bike Master Plan and is seeking citizen’s input?

Yes, I’ve been in contact with Mike Dour from the City of Roseville.

Do you ever drive somewhere to ride such as Auburn or Am River bike path?

Yes, when we to take our son on a long bike ride with the Burley, we usually drive to the American River Bike path because it is longer and safe.  We don’t like taking the Burley on any major public road.  We also use the mountain bike trails at the end of Douglas in the state park.

Anything you want to add?

I am glad there are group such as Biking Roseville working to promote cycling, safety and trail access.