The North Natomas Transportation Management Association (NNTMA) is looking for experienced bicycle mechanics to perform diagnosis, repairs and tune ups on community members’ bicycles at scheduled community events throughout the North Natomas area.

Interested in this job? Please see attachment for more information.

As a child, Beth Mahony grew up riding her bike everywhere: school, gymnastics practice, and to friends’ houses. She said that she would never expect her parents to drive her anywhere within a five mile radius because she could get there by bike.

Beth is now married and a dedicated mom of three kids. She often finds herself in the car most of her days, shuffling kids around and getting grumpy in the meantime. She’s decided to make a change. She says, “I knew how much I loved riding as a kid and I wanted my children to experience the same. So, I started off slowly to teach my kids to be safe and we would take short trips.” She’s now instilled the importance of wearing a properly fit helmet, rules of the road, and taught them how to be a courteous, predictable cyclist.

Now, her family enjoys taking long bike rides around what she believes is a neighborhood treasure, the Natomas Regional Park. She hopes in the future, cycling will be a way of life for her children. The family enjoys the exercise and fresh air, while Beth and her husband model the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle for the children.

Beth’s family often finds peace in the simplicity of walking and biking, which helps them escape from the rat race of traffic and parking lots. Just like Beth’s family, you can experience the invigorating world of cycling, especially in North Natomas where there are great bike paths to explore. Beth’s advice is to, “Just do it!”

North Natomas resident and employee, Rosalind Heard was one of two regional winners of the top May is Bike Month prize. She won a $250 gift certificate to Natomas Bike Shop, and logged 141 miles towards Million Mile May. We asked her what she was going to do with this reward and she said she was going to buy a new road bike!

Rosalind started biking only two years ago and now enjoys riding every week. She thinks it’s a great activity for her whole family, which creates many fun memories. This past April, she participated in a 25 mile bike tour in Napa, California for blind veterans. She thought this was a fun challenging experience and with her investment in a new road bike, she hopes to ride in the 50 mile tour next year. She is also currently looking for other bike tours and fundraisers to expand her biking experiences.

She loves to walk and bike. On Saturdays, Rosalind wakes up at 5:45am in the morning, rides to a friend’s house, walks for an hour and a half, and then rides back home. This has been a great way for her to enjoy the fresh air. She also enjoys riding with her family. On Fridays, her husband and she ride their bike with their son to school. After they drop him off, Rosalind and her husband enjoy a nice breakfast at Bella Bru.

When she can, she likes to commute to work, which is currently four times a month. She believes that Sacramento is bike friendly with many different bike trails and is a great way to get around town and creates many fun memories.

We encourage others to follow in her footsteps in reducing trips and having fun on your bike!

Have you seen these before? We bet some North Natomas residents have come across them, but had no idea what they were. They are called Crank Cases, and they are for bike parking! They may look pretty small, but they are indeed effective. The specific way a bicycle gets locked into it makes them very secure, but a bit intimidating to use. In an effort to help make North Natomas more accessible by bike, we felt it was important to bring attention to these odd little boxes and help educate people on how to use them. It’s important, for car trip reduction, to be able to identify and utilize available bicycle parking throughout North Natomas. Take a minute to view the ‘how-to’ video, and next time you're out with your bike – try one out!

Israel Young is truly an amazing community member who is also a huge bicycle advocate. He currently is a Lieutenant in the Coast Guard and works very hard. In order to stay in shape, he needed a great way to exercise. What a better way than biking?

Israel’s friend and neighbor, Rob, commutes to work by bike. Israel watched Rob everyday as he got on his bike leaving his home to go to work. Rob informed Israel of the great opportunity the North Natomas TMA offers for bike rebates. Israel ended up applying for the rebate and ultimately was rewarded a rebate for a brand new bike. He describes the experience as this, “I was expecting a fairly sordid affair with lots of waiting and paperwork, like at the DMV. But alas, easy squeezing lemon pleezy...as a matter of fact, it was so easy I hardly remember the process [and] I remember every trip to the DMV...ugg.”

Israel uses his bike to commute to work about 2-3 times a week which helps him get ready for work and helps him decompress on the way home. He loves the fact that he can cover many miles on a bike and see an array of things including mountains, valleys, rivers, meadows and animals. Cycling has impacted him in many ways. His health has improved, it’s a great stress reliever, and he loves riding with his wife and friends.

Israel’s lasts thoughts, “You get over the embarrassment of wearing the funny padded spandex shorts pretty quick. The next thing you know you will be shopping for jerseys and fancy shorts more than you do your normal clothes...spandex and pads are your friends! Cycling is great, you don’t have to train; just ride and enjoy!”

Once a month starting last spring, the North Natomas TMA offered organized bike rides, to brag about our wonderful bike paths and amenities our neighborhood has to offer. Many of you enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the area by bike, and through that experience, we fielded continual requests for bike maps. In the New Year, SACOG will produce a bicycle trip planner for regional use, and now the TMA has produced a Natomas Bike Map of existing trails, to get you on your bike with confidence. It also gives great ideas for rides with your family and friends around Natomas and beyond. Bike maps will be available by January’s end and you can come by, or we’ll mail yours… email us at the link below.

Eleven trekkers joined the Natomas Flyers and rode in the 23rd Annual Emigrant Trails Bike Trek recently. We spent two nights "camping" in the beautiful Napa Valley with 260 others who rode 30-60 miles per day for Breathe California's mission of clean air, healthy lungs, and the elimination of lung disease. Thanks to our sponsor, Sacramento Gateway Shopping Center, the group was bedecked with stylin' jerseys that powered the team on to ride a collective 1300 miles over three days.

Our team helped raise over $300,000 to support and expand the local programs for Breathe California. Every year our team size increases as we meet more people during the year who participate in our "neighborhood rides", starting in May. Look here for murmurs of next year’s Trek, when the TMA will be looking for willing adventuresome types who would like to join our group. We'll start riding early in the new year. Join us!