BCI expects cyclists to be able to ride anywhere; our routes are mostly on streets, with or without bike lanes. We route on roads with better pavement or less stressful if available, but sometimes we join motor traffic when required and we practice skills to make us as safe as possible. We occasionally use multi use paved paths, and remember to slow down and expect to share the path with other users. We occasionally will even ride freeway shoulders when required (ie between San Clemente and Oceanside), or on remote rides where the freeway is the only way to go and legal. We do avoid dirt trails on our routes and sidewalks are for pedestrians and we rarely use wide 2-way sidewalk ‘side paths’. Check out our route details to see where we are going on any given ride, and our resources to learn best practices for sharing the road with traffic. Our NewB Class ‘Library’ has lots of good information.

BCI members mostly ride road bikes, but we have members with all terrain “mountain” bikes, gravel/cross bikes, hybrid/comfort bikes, time-trial bikes, tandems, recumbents, tricycles, elliptigos and electric bicycles. All terrain and gravel bikes will work, but on pavement, those off-road tires will slow you down a bit and wear out fast. Consider having a pair of road tires to put on for club rides.

For a ‘No-Drop’ Newbie Ride, most any bike is fine as long as it is in safe working order - make sure the tires will hold air & are properly inflated, the brakes work effectively and the pedals and gears are working properly. See the ABC Quick Check. If your bike needs a tune up, visit one of our bike shop sponsors; they will make sure your bike is safe.

MAYBE; many members do ride electric bicycles - but not all eBikes are welcome or legal electric bicycles…

First: Is your sBike an Electric Bicycle?

EBikes range from electric child balance bikes with no pedals to electric bicycles to electric pocket bikes, mopeds, motor-driven cycles and motorcycles.

The following eBikes are vehicles and NOT electric bicycles and are not welcome to be ridden with BCI:

• Pocket Bikes are VEHICLES that exceed the power and speed limits of legal electric bicycles and have not been certified to meet NHTSA safety standards and thus have no official VIN assigned. Pocket bikes are defined in the CVC and are often fraudulently marketed as “e-Bicycles” or e-Bikes. Some don’t even have functional pedals. These vehicles exceed the speed and power limits of electric bicycles (750 w or more, throttle and assist over 20 mph), and are illegal to operate on any public roads or even off road recreation areas. They are not allowed in bike lanes, paths or cycle tracks or sidewalks in California. They are only allowed on provate property and race tracks. They are NOT approved by the NHTSA and have no official VIN, so they can not be registered and operated as a Moped or Motor-Driven Cycle or Motorcycle. Most people selling these won’t tell you these facts as you hand them your money.

If you ‘adjusted’ the speed limiter on your Class II low speed electric bicycle to throttle faster than 20 mph, or pedal assist faster than the 20 or 28 originally set, you violate the law and it is no longer a legal electric bicycle.

Overpowered (750w+) conversions of regular bicycles modified to exceed their 20 or 28 mph limiters &/or have pedals removed are no longer electric bicycles, and without a VIN, cannot be registered for road use as a Moped.

There is no such thing as a “Class IV” eBike under the law.

If you were sold an “eBike” that has a 750 watt or greater motor &/or goes over 20 mph with a throttle it is not an electric bicycle. If it has no VIN it can’t be registered it as a Moped or Motor-Driven Cycle. Return it & get your money back (to buy a bicycle with) !

• Motorized Bicycles are VEHICLES that meet NHTSA safety standards and have an official VIN assigned, that go up to 30 MPH (Mopeds). If you have a MOPED it requires DMV registration, a motorcycle license (M1 or M2) and motorcycle helmet to operate.
They are approved like motorcycles by the NHTSA to be street worthy and issued a VIN.
They are allowed to use bike lanes, but NOT bike paths or cycle tracks or sidewalks.

• Motor-Driven Cycles are VEHICLES that go over 30 MPH (typically have no pedals - but might) They are also approved by the NHTSA to be street worthy and require a VIN to get a license plate from the DMV.
They require a license plate, motorcycle driver’s license & motorcycle helmet to operate.
They are not allowed on bike lanes, paths or cycle tracks or sidewalks in California.

Second: What Class is your Electric Bicycle ?

Class 1 ‘low speed’ must be pedaled (pedal assist only up to 20 mph)
Helmets are recommended for BCI rides and required by law for those under 18.

Class 2 ‘low speed’ may be throttled (up to 20 mph) without pedaling at all. (some Class IIs offer both pedal assist and throttle)

Helmets are recommended for BCI rides and required by law for those under 18.

20 mph assist is more than you will need to ride with BCI, but your battery range may be an issue on longer rides.

Class 3 ‘speed’ must be pedaled (pedal assist only, up to 28 mph)

By law, you must be 16 or older and wear a bicycle helmet at any age to operate a Class 3 speed electric bicycle.

(Some devices sold as Class 3 electric bicycles offer pedal assist to 28 and a throttle; but Class 3s do not have a throttle. There is no “Class 2/3” electric bicycle in California laws. It may well be an illegal pocket bike vehicle.)

Some of our routes use some Class 1 off-street multi-use shared paths & bikeways that may prohibit Class 2 and Class 3 electric bicycles (ie: State Parks). You may need to find your own detours to stay legal when we all go onto a bike path... turning off your assist, slowing down & blending in with a group of pedal bikes avoids the reason you are prohibited (high speed) but depending on the jurisdiction’s level of enforcement, or if you have a crash, you may have a legal issue… State Beaches like Crystal Cove now prohibit Type 2 & 3 eBikes. OC Parks prohibited all eBikes at one time, even on roads with in the parks where motorcycles are allowed.

Third: Do you know how to ride in a group?

Electric bicycles are legally bicycles and are welcome to join our fun
but at bicycle speeds, not at full throttle !
Slow down with the group on climbs !

Passing: When riding with regular cyclists you will be able to easily pass when climbing hills; if you don’t slow down with the rest of the pack, you can put everyone in harm’s way. Pass on the left (signal, look over your shoulder before merging left, call out “passing” or “on your left”, merge over to the travel lane to pass with plenty of room, then merge back, well past the cyclist you overtake).

YOU are the one passing - DO NOT expect others to move right & make room for you to pass. “On Your Left” is you communicating YOUR pass, not demanding another to move over or out of your way. DO NOT pass on the right, DO NOT Pass without giving a warning, DO NOT merge without signalling early and looking back.

Maintain a constant speed: It gets tempting to go as fast as possible; slow down & keep an even pace when riding with cyclists or your “yo-yo” speed changes will make it hard and dangerous to ride with you.

Hills: Learn to slow down to ride with others on pedal bicycles in a pack, or pass and pull ahead of the group BEFORE you hit a hill. Again: If you power up a hill at 20 mph - merge into the travel lane or slow down: do not crowd people pedaling up the hill on their regular bicycles in a bike lane or on the shoulder.

Electric Bicycles are Heavier: Many electric bicycle riders do not know how to start or stop properly (Shift down when slowing before you stop, to be in a lower gear when you start again), and with the added weight of most electric bicycle, can easily tip over. Practice & learn how to properly stop and start. Keep room behind and next others to make sure you don’t start a “domino effect”. Higher speed & your heavier bike requires harder braking, so leave extra room as you may not be able to stop as fast as a pedal cyclist can. Speed plus weight creates greater increases in kinetic energy. If you hit something you WILL do more damage. Many electric bicycles are not well balanced and are harder to control than a regular road bike.
Here are some important tips on riding an eBike in a mixed group.
There are many more tips for ebikers listed on our Links page.
DO take these free online “Essentials” and “Club Essentials” courses to get up to speed.

Fourth: Do you know how to fix a flat?

Some eBikes have special tricks required to disconnect a hub motor. Some have bigger tires than most of us use. Usually BCI members can help out on the road with a spare tube or patch kit, but you should know if your eBike requires any tools like a wrench to unbolt the wheel and carry them along, as well as 2 tubes in YOUR size, patches and a pump. Not all BCI members may be able to help you, so you especially need to learn tire changing for your own bike.

Fifth: Driver’s Education / Training

Many electric bicycle riders have not gained the experience to handle their bikes at speed and in close proximity to other cyclists. Most cyclists take months or years to work up to pedaling 20+ mph alongside others. Riders of electric bicycles can get up those speeds with no cycling skill developed at all. Understand that the rules of the road & CVC for a cyclist also apply to electric bicycle riders. We recommend taking a CyclingSavvy or League of American Bicyclists course on traffic & handling skills for everyone cycling in traffic.

Electric Bicycles education is being added to Bike Smarts (League of American Bicyclists) as well as CyclingSavvy’s Ebike safety resources. Street Smarts is a great resource book and now has a chapter dedicated to electric bicycles.

Check with our bike shop sponsors, some of them have bikes to rent.

(Be sure to mention BCI !)

Yes ! We ride in open streets, not on a closed course. Even though bicycles are NOT vehicles in California - cyclists are required to follow the same laws as motorists.

We also know that we do not do well when riding “like a loose animal”; being a predictable part of traffic is much safer, especially alone but even in a group. We share the road with other users and the same violation of running a red light earns the same violation ticket. Stop, obey signals and signs, give hand signals when merging, maintain a safe speed, (Basic Speed Law) and know the CVC that pertains to cycling in traffic.

Bad habits “work most of the time - until they don’t.”

Irvine has passed a few local ordinances you should know about:

• Cyclists are limited to no more than 2 a-breast in a lane; that includes bike lanes and travel lanes. If a person is passing, the momentary 3 a-breast is fine but watch out for passing motorists who may ignore the ‘3 feet for safety’ law and not move over for us.

• Sidewalk riding must be in the same direction as traffic, unless there is no sidewalk on the other side or the sidewalk is 8 feet wide or more and serves as a ‘sidepath’. This is to check the kids sidewalk riding salmon - especially on electric bicycles and illegal eBikes who are crashing at alarming rates when riding on the wrong side of traffic.

• There is a 20 mph speed limit on all trails and paths, shared-use and bikeways in Irvine. This code was added to check the kids speeding on illegal eBikes.

• Electric bicycles are limited to 28 mph on all streets, regardless of the posted speed limit or traffic speed, or descent. This was added in 2023 and may not hold up if challenged, as local authority does not extend to California public roads; there are times when coasting down hill with traffic, at traffic speeds over 28 mph, is safer than staying in the gutter to be “close passed”. If mixed into a group of club riders on acoustic bicycles, it will be difficult to cite a few electric bicycles for speeding over 28 mph.

This code was added to check the kids speeding on illegal eBikes.

In California, turning traffic is supposed to use the right-most lane to turn right from. If that lane is a designated bike lane, that means the motorist is SUPPOSED to merge in with / behind us and turn right from the bike lane. In California, this SHARED BIKE LANE is designated with a dashed line 200 to 50 feet before an intersection. Motorists are not SUPPOSED to merge into ‘our’ lane before the dashed line. If we are not turning right, we will clear the bike lane to get out of the way of right-turning traffic (vehicles and other bicycles). It is more than a courtesy; ‘taking’ the travel lane prompts motorists to use the bike lane to turn right as they should. Staying in the bike lane often results in a motorist passing, then illegally “right-hooking” across our path from the travel lane. By taking the lane and leaving the bike lane clear to turn from, we discourage the overtaking right hook.

When there is a designated right turn only lane (RTOL), the bike lane will end before the RTOL and we merge into the through travel lane to go straight (or use the turn lane to turn right).

At some intersections, the bike lane is extended left of the RTOL and turning traffic merges across our path of travel to get to the RTOL. ONE of the front riders may cross onto the corner sidewalk and push the pedestrian signal button to get a longer green light for the group. That one person should wait on the corner, clear of the gutter and do a shoulder check before merging over & leading out on the green light.

It is only legal to go straight from a RTOL IF there is a EXCEPT BIKE sign posted OR a SHARROW marking painted in the RTOL.
(Only a few now in place in Irvine)

See more in our Links Page under “Road Position” and read more about safely dealing with Right Turn Lanes and Shared Bike Lane at intersections.

The law requires helmets on minors (<18) when riding, or as a passenger, including in a trailer. The law also requires helmets on anyone riding on a Class 3 electric bicycle. BCI recommends always wearing a helmet, and all of us do; Make sure you get a proper fit and adjust it securely on your head.

NO. Club Jerseys - (or any cycling jerseys)- are not required, just an option for members to show their colors! (Club Jerseys are only available to members)
Jerseys are great for function - they breath well, wick sweat, that zipped neck line adjusts for heat and cold, those back pockets are handy…

But DON’T WEAR BLACK or GREY! Bright colors DO help make you more visible in traffic so most of us avoid the black & grey ‘stealth’ clothes or at least wear a hi-vis vest to help be seen by others sharing our road, especially those driving motor vehicles near us. ‘Dayglow’ fluorescent red-orange is best in high daylight - think road workers at noon. The yellow-green ‘pops’ best at dawn and dusk and is thus preferred for typical cycling hours. We incorporated both in our BCI Club Jersey.

Absolutely, we love to have guests join us! We ask that you sign in online with our standard liability waiver language. If you drive to Deerfield Park, we ask that you park on either Deerwood, Foxhill or Blazing Star (on the sides adjacent to the park, not in front of the neighbors' homes). On Tuesdays please park on the Beech Tree Lane at University Park. This leaves the lots for park users while we are off having fun.

YES! Come out and learn by riding with experienced members - Introduce yourself and ask for advice - members will give you tips and coaching on having more fun and being safer in traffic.
Sign-in as a guest & download/print your self a route slip. You should be prepared for riding 12 to 25 miles, depending on the shorter option available.Please sign-in (waiver acknowledgement) and print your own copy of the route slip.
DO take these free online “Essentials” and “Club Essentials” courses to get up to speed.
Check out our Intro Page for information about our upcoming NewB Rides.

Introduce yourself as a guest and invite tips & advice; club members will then be more likely to point out what we do and why, or make comments on your bike’s fit.

NO: We do the NewB classes to help you understand riding in a group, and legally in traffic, and it is recommended if and when we schedule one. DO take these free online “Essentials” and “Club Essentials” courses to get up to speed.

Guests are welcome to join most rides with no requirements other than signing in to acknowledge and accept the club’s liability waiver & printing a route slip for your self.

YES: If under 16 we expect you to know the rules of the road and will be riding under the close supervision of a parent / guardian or responsible adult… and wearing a properly fitted and clasped helmet. If under 18 we require you to have this waiver signed by your parent / adult guardian with you on all rides.
Minors are welcome to join BCI, BUT we must have that parental/guardian signature on file. We also trust that minors will know the rules of the road and anyone under 16 will be riding under the close supervision of a parent / guardian or responsible adult… If under 18, please print & complete this application, and send along with this waiver signed by your parent / adult guardian with a check for payment to our PO Box & email us to know to go pick it up. We will manually enter the membership for you on TidyHQ.

A few hardy folks will always show up, but most won’t ride - so we never ‘cancel’ due to rain. A hot shower after hosing off the bike covered in road grit makes a wet ride survivable… just know that visibility is reduced for all road users, traction on wet roads is reduced, especually on wet road pant (don’t roll right turn at a stop across a limit line!) and your tires will spray up your back and in the face of anyone drafting too close.

In order to sign-in for a ride, or some events, you must have an account with our club’s TidyHQ system. This is how BCI manages our membership processing and also our on-line ride registration sign-in process. Once set up, you log-in with your own email address and password. Guests will be asked to register once, and then can sign-in for rides as a guest (or join BCI) online. When you attempt to Log-In the first time with an email not yet in the system, it will ask you “Would you like to Create an Account?” and will take you through the steps to establish an account. Each user must have a unique email address for their own account (couples can not share an email).

No need to cancel - the registration is for liability and insurance purposes - we would rather have you sign in and not show than ride while not signed in.

If you notice an error on a ride we want to know! Please tell the Ride Coordinator what you found wrong on which ride so we can fix it!
If you have concerns or complaints about a ride, let the Ride Coordinator know.
If there is a problem on an upcoming ride less than 3 days away please CALL or TEXT the Ride Coordinator so we can fix it on line BEFORE most riders download the route slip.
If you want to suggest a route, do so!
If you like something, say Thanks!

If there is a crash of a rider on today’s ride - what should you do?

Of course at the time you rendered assistance; block traffic as needed to keep everyone safe, assess the scene & provide aid. If serious, activate EMS (call 911) - If a head gets bumped and the person is stunned or asks the same question twice; CALL 911! Local police and fire and ambulance crews do a great job and can get on scene fast - if they know where to go. When calling 911 make sure you can describe the location and access for EMS staff if you are off street on a bike path and don’t hang up until help arrives or the dispatcher tells you to. They do this a lot and WILL take care of the bike & will often take a friend to the ER to be with the injured party. Don’t wait for a loved one to fetch you - take advantage of the ambulance ride to the nearest appropriate ER. When you first bounce, adrenaline is up and you may not start to really feel it until later - when trying to get out of a front seat of a car. If you are the one who crashed & need medical assistance we remind you to always carry a medical ID card with you on your rides… worse case we can look you up IF YOU SIGNED IN to find out who your “in caes or emergency” (ICE) contact is but always carry ID and an ICE contact.

After the initial incident is handled, and after you finish your ride, please DO email crash@BikeIrvine.org and report the basic who-what-when-where info, as well as anyone else involved and anyone who can be a witness. These emails go to several key board members and will get BCI started on submitting a claim on our member’s insurance as well as activating the support we all need as we recover from an injury.

Yes: When you renew , be sure to include your old BCI# or enter “renewing” and we can look up your old number. Contact us if you need to change your email address or reset your password. If we issue you a new BCI# in error, let us know & we can reassign your old one back for you...m description