click the image for the entire view…
Extinct volcanos, great coffee shops, strong bike culture, old ranches, vineyards, two colleges, 10 miles from the ocean… etc etc. a nice california town.
I found this photo on Wikimedia… it was taken by Gregg Erickson. see…
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:360-SLO-Calpoly.jpg
UPDATE! 10-22-10… San Luis Obispo is the happiest town in the USA according to National Geographic’s new book… Thrive… by Dan Buettner
unlicensed architect, ex-skateboarder, planning commissioner, shoe designer, all around dork
Does SLO really have a strong bike culture? I don’t really see that many commuter cyclists. mainly the fitness, wannabe racer types.
I grow weary of the cyclists who whine about drivers not sharing the road, yet they blast through stop signs and stop lights.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of cycle or other human powered commuting.
Yes… there is a strong cycle culture… I know of many families that do most of their shopping… etc and commuting… by Bicycle. In my neighborhood there are several families that use bicycles almost exclusively… two of them have reduced to one car… and share it between husband and wife. I know a lot of professors and city employees that commute by bike. There are a lot of students… both high school and college… and they are primarily the ones that blow off traffic rules. Every year there is a new crop of college students… and so it is a challenge to educate them I think.
Since you live out of town… you probably only see the road cyclists… on the highway. In order to recognize the commuters… you need to be in town on a regular basis… and see them over and over.
There is also an art bike contingent… like Bill Mulder… and Dan… and the Tall Bike Posse. There is the “bike kitchen”… a cooperative bike repair shop open to all as an adjunct to the “Bike Coalition” on the corner of Morro and Pacific… in the Parking Garage. There is Bike night… first thursday of each month… bring a bike… a helmet, lights… and meet at the mission at 9:15 pm for a few laps around town.
The last 5 years have been really good for bikes here. I ride mine everyday… to do my errands etc. I almost never drive anymore.