I launched this website in January in response to the newly published CHP lane splitting guidelines. My original idea was that stickers with the URL would “tell the story” that lane splitting is legal in California, even if people who saw the stickers never went to the site. I envisioned California roads blanketed with riders sporting stickers on their topcases/sidecases/helmets/whatever.
Free Stickers – everywhere in the SF Bay Area!
Today, I have a big announcement – the magnificent folks at CityBike magazine said they’d distribute stickers to all the shops they deliver their awesome mag to. So I did a run of several thousand stickers, which I picked up this morning and delivered to CityBike HQ this afternoon, just in time to go out with the March issue. This means that FREE stickers will be available at pretty much every motorcycle shop in the bay area (map here). I can’t give enough thanks and high fives to Gabe and Kenyon at CityBike for this. Unbelievably awesome!
How can you help the cause?
Response thus far has been great and lots of folks have asked how they can help. Here are a few things you can do:
1. Get a sticker and put it on your bike(s)
A. There are tons of free stickers at the shops on the CityBike routes. I’ve tried to get enough stickers that lots of folks can get ’em.
B. If you aren’t able to get to one of the shops, you can order stickers right here. These are the same stickers being distributed by CityBike, in stock here at LaneSplittingIsLegal HQ (my house) in Oakland. They’re $3, they ship for free, and I’ll send ’em out right away. Any money I make from this will go back into the project – supporting the hosting costs and defraying the cost of the initial sticker run.
2. Spread the word – post the link on forums, tell your fellow riders, friends, enemies, the media and anyone who’ll listen. We all run into folks who say “Why do you do that – it’s crazy!?” If you think the site contains a worthy answer to that, tell folks to check it out. The success of this site really just comes down to spreading the word, person to person.
3. Like the Facebook page – just another way of spreading the word.
4. If you’re in a club/group/whatever and think your members would be into it, I’ll happily show up at a meet and bring stickers – just let me know via the contact form here. If you’re not nearby or I can’t make it, I’ll send you some – or feel free to just order a few.
5. If you have some lane splitting information to share, contact me. I’m working hard to stay on top of new developments but I’m happy to hear tips from y’all. This goes for feedback/“the site should have this”/and so on too.
6. Most importantly – be cool on the road. I have a uneasy relationship with the idea of “being a good ambassador” because I really think my riding is my business and dammit, I’ll do what I want… but that fact is, we need to counteract the impression folks get from a few donkeys out there who are riding like asses and ruining it for the rest of us – as in everyone on the road. Take it easy, ride safe and be cool. The vast majority of the time (in 25 years of splittin’ lanes) I’ve seen a very small numbers of intentional attacks/blocking by drivers. Very few drivers are actually out to get riders – they’re mostly just not paying attention and while that sucks, kicking off their mirror won’t make things better.
What’s next for LaneSplittingIsLegal.com?
- We’re going to produce a video – maybe two versions: one for motorists and one for riders. Stay tuned for that.
- The CafePress store will continue to exist for now, but quite frankly while I like the ability to have a variety of stickers and whatnot available on demand, the shipping charges are too damn much and that keeps folks from buying – which hurts the mission of getting the word out. So I’ll be producing stickers in batches and shipping them myself. If there’s enough interest, I’ll consider doing shirts the same way.
- The mission of the site has evolved into a dual path: the home page exists as the PSA for motorists, and the rest of the site serves as a resource for riders and other folks looking for more information. Work on the site is ongoing – I’m continually gathering and posting more information and have been in contact with lots of great folks in CA and other states. I’ve also upgraded the server to handle more traffic.
I know, TL;DR… so in summary, thanks for the support from y’all so far, free stickers are at all the bike shops in the Bay Area thanks to CityBike, buy more stickers here, more good stuff to come.
Surj
PS – These are the stickers. Go get yours!
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