Part 1: Campbell Avenue

This is part one of a five-part series introducing beginner riders and families to safe, calm and family-friendly routes through Campbell and into surrounding cities. We'll give you some connections and resources to help you ride more and more this summer and year-round. The author is a journalist and bicycle commuter who loves living car-free in Silicon Valley.

Check out a video introduction to the route in the attached images, and see a Google Map of the route here.

Campbell Avenue is the city's primary east-west bicycling corridor, with bike lanes nearly the entire length of it. The corridor basically runs from the western city limits to Bascom Avenue in the east, which has bike lanes and is a good bike route for intermediate riders.

Continuing on Campbell even further east past Bascom is another great option—the streets are wider in parts than you'd believe. That's how I bike to the from Willow Glen when I don't want to deal with much traffic.

Herman Wadler, chair of the Campbell Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, says Campbell is heavily used and is the right route for novice to advanced riders. It's much calmer than Hamilton Avenue, which has bike lanes but also has loads of cars all day long.

The Campbell route can take you to the cafes, restaurants and nightlife of downtown Campbell, to the movies at Westgate Shopping Center or the or onto the . You can hang out with the kids, shoot some hoops or jump on the trail at , near where the city is widening Campbell Avenue.

That widening project is going to create space for bike lanes near Campbell Park, allow drivers and cyclists to choose between going through downtown or going around and give pedestrians easier crossings and wider sidewalks.

The Campbell route also plugs you into a regional network of routes that are great for novice cyclists, and connect you to expressways that let advanced cyclists fly to work in the mornings.

Thanks for checking out Bikeable Campbell—ride safe, and have fun!

1. Always stop at stop signs and stop lights.
2. Always wear lights and a helmet when you ride.
3. Never ride on the sidewalk—it's far more dangerous than riding in the street because cars can't see you, you can hit pedestrians and driveways are major hazards.
4. Avoid the dangerous five-foot "door zone" of parked cars, or you may be knocked out by an opening car door.
5. Ride as closely as you safely can to the right side of the road, but don't be afraid to "take the lane." California law allows us to take the lane to avoid the "door zone," skirt debris on the roadway or pass other bicyclists.

• Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition—our excellent local bicycle advocacy organization.
• League of American Bicyclists—longtime organization for cycling advocacy and resources.
• Street Films—great films about bikeable, walkable and liveable streets around the world.
• Valley Transportation Authority countywide bike map—for trips beyond Campbell's borders.
• City of Campbell Bike Facilities Map—for trips within Campbell's borders.
• Almaden Cycle Touring Club Academy—offers a six-week training for beginning bicycle riders.
• Google Maps bicycling directions—just enter your start and end, click the bicycle symbol (not the car) and Google Maps will give you pretty good options for bike routes. It shows you the best nearby routes, and highlights streets with bike lanes.

Download the movie