Bikes, Bikes, & More Bikes

City of Davis Bike Path Map

An interesting fact about Davis, CA is that, according to everyone I have met Davis has the honor of having the most bicycles per capita in the United States. This is an interesting, and unique fact. The staff and students alike both tend to frequently bike around campus, and the community. As I sit in my office and look out my first floor windows I am staring at 6 bikes up against my building. These bikes have not been here for long, they have come and gone over the past hours as students have been traveling around to fulfill their various needs. Even I was provided with a bicycle to use during my stay in Davis. Granted I do not have a car, and the only other mode of transportation would have been by foot to traverse this large institution and surrounding community.

Coming in I was worried about having a bike to use, it has been since middle school that I have continuously used a bicycle on a regular basis. Moreover, I have ALWAYS been nervous about biking on roads with car traffic. Bicycles would tend to have to travel in the same lane as the direction they are moving, and having cars at high speeds be passing me is quite nerve-racking.

My bike, a California Cruiser w/ Pedal Breaks

Luckily, this is not the case for almost all of Davis. Cars enter campus through a couple main access points, and are then stopped by either parking lots, or gates preventing access to the internal aspects of campus. Even so, there are still roads throughout campus, but like Back to the Future, cars do not need them. Instead they are for bicycles, yes bicycle only roads throughout campus! This makes intersections interesting, anyone who has ever ridden a bike can attest to the fact that it is much easier to maintain motion, than it is to start it. So to mitigate this concern, the University has built in roundabouts for the students to use. Similar to those used in the UK, entering traffic goes counter clockwise after yielding to those already in the circle. This way traffic does not stop, it rather continues, and makes travel easier. Sometimes students take these traffic circles at high speeds, but that is a different issue.

Below are some other pictures from campus, downtown, and the bicycle map's safety information for your enjoyment:

A Campus Bicycle Circle

Bicycle signals can be found in different areas adjacent to campus, and are attached to the regular traffic signals.

The US Bicycling Hall of Fame, located in Downtown Davis