El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll blog

By Laura Lent Since 2002 I have been part of an informal group of friends who go on an annual bike tour we call the "Spring Ride."  We've bike camped our way from the Antioch BART station to Yosemite and various Sierra foothill destinations, we've gone north and south along the coast, and we've taken AMTRAK to Bakersfield and ridden north through Carrizo Plain. We've stayed at a dozen different campgrounds in the "reservoir belt" of the Sierra foothills.   Laura Lent at this year’s Spring Ride. Photo: Joel Pomerantz We generally carry our own gear in panniers, but are often joined by and sometimes partially sagged (support provided and gear carried) by friends in vehicles. A core group rides the entire time, while others join as they can.  While we delight in searching out bucolic backroads, canalside trails, and creative shortcuts, it's always necessary to ride on some busy roads as well. The Spring Ride is not about getting there quickly, but a

  In case you’ve been wondering (we have), the City of El Cerrito recently posted information on two projects currently underway for the very big, very bad intersection at Interstate 80 and Central Avenue. Whether this solves the perennial hope for bike access to the Bay Trail is open for debate. I-80/Central Avenue undercrossing bikeway: Caltrans is partnering with the cities of Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond, as well as the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee (WCCTAC) on upgrades to the I-80/Central Avenue undercrossing , a barrier to east-west bicycle and pedestrian travel between the San Francisco Bay Trail and destinations to the east. To improve connectivity, Caltrans is planning and designing new, separated bicycle lanes and pedestrian pathways alongside Central Avenue beneath the I-80 overpass. Environmental design of the project is currently underway, with engineering design expected to begin this fall, constr