SDBikecommuter.com celebrated its first anniversary on January 16, Twenty-ten. This provides a chance to re-collect our purpose and scope, and to reflect on the possibilities of the forums.

SDBikecommuter aims to construct, maintain, and sustain a viable culture of bicycle commuting. We also hope to draw connections between different bicycling “communities.”

SDBikecommuter celebrates the spirit, practice, and ambitions of utility cyclists. We relish in the joys of leisure rides, the pragmatics of commuting, and the thrill of distance, ruff-stuff, and fast riding. While we embrace all forms of riding, we focus our discussions on the simplicity and common sense of everyday utility cycling. We endeavor to welcome new members to change their lives by riding their bicycles more. We also hope to provide encouragement and solidarity for lifelong riders and recent converts alike.

At the same time, lengthy debates about cycling safety and highly technical discussions should occur in whispers or, perhaps best, on other forums that are more appropriate for such topics. While these topics do come up from time to time, and are important to commuting, our forums here should emphasize the everyday culture of utility cycling and community. We appreciate your cooperation.

What do we want to see in 2010? First, we’d like to continue the great discussions and events that these forums have cultivated thus far. Second, we would like to bring more women riders into the discussions here. Third, we would like to encourage and have more discussions of riding with kids and cargo. Fourth, continue to have fun, geek out on bikes, meet other bike people, and bring folks into the fold by meeting them in real life and charming them into riding more and driving less.

San Diego is one of the best places in the world to ride a bicycle. We have a huge number of cyclists here in town. SDBikecommuter can continue to serve as one place where people come together and feel as though we are part of something real. This depends on your participation. Please introduce yourself. Before you know it, you may have some new friends, too.



Sincerely,
The Moderators

This is one of the best cycling forums I have seen. Great rides too...

Happy Birthday to the forum. The people on this forum have renewed my faith in the cyclists of San Diego.

This forum is one of the major factors behind San Diego's (First) Year of the Bicycle (that is, 2010).

I'm really, really excited about the cooperation that is emerging between the people on this forum, the SDCBC, and BikeSD.org.

The things we want to happen are beginning to happen--let's get even more people involved!

I've been a member of bikeforums since, oh, 2000 may, or earlier. I don't know. Also some others. Some neat stuff, but they grew to big, and things got lost (cool collabrative events, meetings, stuff like that), and, well, it was all global ish and cool, but it wasn't San Diego. And snarky became the rule of law (me, very guilty many times of being super snarky).
Then came SDFixed, but, it was it's own life growing big in different directions.

Now, sdbikecommuter. Which has grown "right" and is evolving "right". No bickering, no sillyness. Just people sharing thier common interest, getting together, having fun. Simple. Fun. It's what's missing in life. I've met some really neat people, and am starting to make some good friends. And, for once, in 10 years, San Diego is starting to feel a little like home.

My encouragement for 2010: invite more to the circle. Come out to a ride. More so than that, meet up with eachother in person, have coffee, have a beer, enjoy a short ride or funny story, wave at others, be light and happy and peacefull. There's a million reasons in life to be angry, defensive, arguementative.

But there is one reason to be happy; eachother.

Let's meet, laugh, talk and ride in 2010.

I've ridden with every group from the SDBC to Sierra Club and I just like riding with THIS group the most. Can't pin exactly why, but I guess that the fact that most of us use the bike for transport makes some difference somehow.

Is there a way to add a chat function to the forum? Sometimes I see I'm online with people I'd like to say 'hi' to, but I can't.

Kathy:Is there a way to add a chat function to the forum? Sometimes I see I'm online with people I'd like to say 'hi' to, but I can't.

I don't know that there is a chat plugin for the Vanilla forum software, Kathy. I like Beany's idea about exchanging social networking (e.g, AIM and the likes, Facebook) handles, though.

There is chat... They had it on sdfixed. That was their first problem. I agree, it would work better on this forum.

Ashley:I just joined sdbikecommuter today, so happy belated birthday! I heard you guys needed some gals around here, here I am!

Hi Ashley! Welcome

I know my avatar has the face of a green man. But I am neither green nor a man.

i havnt been here in a while.