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Davis, Calif.: City of Cyclists

By Jennifer von Geldern

Many of us are familiar with Davis, perhaps as alumni of U.C. Davis, as parents of students, or simply from passing through along Interstate-80. Known as the Bicycle Capital of America since the 1960s, Davis’s staggering connection with bikes is often passed off as a given among Northern Californians, including me. However, I was recently reawakened to this bike town’s wonders.

Bike License Artist: Spencer Parsons

Whales have ’em. Firefighters have ’em. Veterans have ’em. Now California bicyclists have their very own: an automobile license plate.

California Department of Public Health (DPH), sponsored a statewide contest, open to people of all ages, to come up with a design for this to-be-issued license plate. The design contest was open to anyone from elementary school-aged children to adults. Judges for the contest were pulled from the state’s DPH as well as from the bicycling world (in the interest of transparency, Cycle California! was involved in the judging).

Conceived by San Luis Obispo resident Spencer Parsons, the winning design features a bicycle on a patch of green grass and a five-pointed red star — an homage to the California Bear Flag.