2025 Wheelie Award Winners Announced
2025 Wheelie Award Winners (Left to Right): Keith Bontrager, Matt Machado (Santa Cruz County), Matt Starkey (City of Santa Cruz), Nathan Nguyen (City of Santa Cruz), Dave Livingston (Community Bike Collective), Steve Wiesner (Santa Cruz County), Abe Downey (Bike Party Santa Cruz), Matthew Araujo (Bike Party Santa Cruz), Matt Miller (Santa Cruz Bikeway), Lloyd Tabb (Santa Cruz Bikeway), Sarah Seward (Santa Cruz Bikeway), & Josh Sawyer (Santa Cruz Bikeway). Photo Credit, Bill Bishoff.
Bike Santa Cruz County has announced the 2025 winners of the Wheelie Awards, an annual acknowledgment of excellent work in expanding and improving functionality and awareness of cycling throughout the region. The awards were presented at a reception held at the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County in Aptos on November 12, 2025.
“In order to accommodate the expanded interest in cycling as a healthy and environmentally friendly way to move through our county, we expanded the award categories we are recognizing this year,” says Amelia Conlen, Board Chair of BSCC. The following individuals, businesses, and projects have been recognized:
● Advocacy: Keith Bontrager
● Community Building: Santa Cruz Bike Party
● Education: Community Bike Collective
● Business Partner: Watsonville Cyclery
● Infrastructure: Green Valley Road Multipurpose Trail
● Infrastructure: Green Valley Road Multipurpose Trail
● Infrastructure: Soquel Drive Buffered Bike Lanes
● Infrastructure: Rail Trail Segment 7, Phase 2
● Bike Parking: Toadal Fitness Westside
● Honorable Mention: Santa Cruz Bikeway
The award recipients have one thing in common: They have dedicated effective time and energy supporting bicycling through advocacy and education, community building, and delivery of transformative infrastructure to expanding cycling in our community.
MORE ABOUT THE WINNERS
Keith Bontrager has gone above and beyond to make bicycling education engaging, accessible, and impactful in our community. His creative use of social media—especially his YouTube channel, where he records local bike routes set to timeless classic rock soundtracks—has inspired riders of all ages to explore, learn, and appreciate the joy of cycling. These videos serve as practical educational tools, showcasing safe routes, navigation tips, and the beauty of riding in our region in a way that resonates with students and seasoned cyclists. Keith’s combination of creativity, persistence, and commitment has made him a cornerstone of bike education. He meets people where they are—online, on the road, and in the halls of public policy—making cycling more approachable, safer, and more connected to the broader community.
Santa Cruz Bike Party is a volunteer-run celebration of community, fun, and safe cycling. Every second Friday of the month, the group gathers riders at Depot Park at 7 pm to roll out together to bring joy, light, and music to the streets of Santa Cruz. The themed rides attract anywhere from 100 to over 300 riders of all ages and backgrounds, creating one of the most vibrant monthly gatherings in the city. Each month’s theme adds a playful spark, from costumes and decorated bikes to creative lights and music. The energy is contagious and the rides showcase how joyful and safe cycling can be when we come together as a community.
Community Bike Collective (CBC) is rooted in community, equity and justice. Its cycling programs are free to local youth, families and community members with a focus on under-resourced and under-served youth in Santa Cruz County. If kids don’t know how to ride, CBC teaches them. If riders need a helmet, CBC gives them one. The organization engages youth through learning in action with hands-on activities including bike skills, life skills, self-care, community-care, healthy living and local history. CBC connects youth to the joys of bike riding and fosters a love of cycling and life.
Watsonville Cyclery received more nominations than any group or individual. Owner Jules Medajano has been involved in the development of better bike infrastructure in the Watsonville community for years, and has advocated for safer bike lanes. He has been successful in getting a growing number of families in the Pajaro Valley to participate in cycling.
Green Valley Road Multipurpose Trail expands transportation options along Green Valley Road from Holohan Drive to Mesa Verde Drive in Watsonville, delivering on the County's commitment to safer, more accessible multimodal systems for residents and visitors. Key improvements include: a new paved two-way multi-use trail spanning the entire corridor; five upgraded Santa Cruz METRO bus stops complete with new shelters; enhanced road crossings for improved pedestrian safety; new landscaping throughout the project area; and five public art installations that celebrate the Pajaro Valley.
Soquel Drive Buffered Bike Lanes is a project that has enhanced safety for bicyclists and pedestrians and improved travel time reliability for bus riders and even drivers. This project provides a suite of improvements along 5.6 miles of the busiest segment of Soquel Drive from La Fonda Avenue to State Park Drive. The improvements include 2.7 miles of buffered and 2.4 miles of protected bike lanes on each side of the street.
Rail Trail Segment 7, Phase 2 of the ambitious Rail Trail project opened in May, and it is short but sweet. It runs 0.8 miles from the intersection of California Street and Bay Street on the Westside to the roundabout by the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, and functions as the final link between Natural Bridges State Beach and the wharf and its bracketing beaches: Main and Cowells. It connects with its Phase 1 counterpart, running from Natural Bridges to the intersection of California and Bay, which has been fully functional since December 2020, and has a growing user base. It is now possible to get to the wharf via a car-free path from many Westside neighborhoods.
Toadal Fitness Westside has been awarded BSCC’s first ever Bike Parking award. Urban cycling professionals understand that the end-point in a car replacement trip is more attractive when proper and convenient parking is available. In bicycle-friendly communities, zoning codes are being revised to require ample and convenient bike parking. Toadal Fitness installed over 26 individual bike parking inverted ‘U’ stands, an industry gold standard. Inverted U bike stands are effective because they provide two points of contact, are relatively inexpensive, and allow for easy locking of both a bike's frame and wheel. A short ride from the western-most point on the Rail Trail near Natural Bridges Drive enables cyclists travelling to the westside gym to ride to and from workouts and park with confidence steps from the facility’s front door.
Santa Cruz Bikeway is an 11-mile, segmented bike route designed to minimize exposure to car traffic. The Bikeway uses quieter streets, scenic car-free trails, and local shortcuts to connect neighborhoods. The pilot route ran from August 8th- October 8th, 2025 and helped riders of all experience levels feel more confident navigating Santa Cruz by bike. Surveys of users indicate 86% of respondents reported they felt “safe” using the route, 95% of respondents said they would like to see more designated low-stress routes like this in the Santa Cruz area, and 56% stated that the route encouraged them to ride more often.