Back in 2012, my partner and I embarked on an exciting journey in Seal Beach by opening one of the nation’s first e-bike stores. At the time, modern electric bicycles were a new idea, and many people were shocked by their pricing. Our battery-powered beach cruisers prompted locals to storm into our store, angrily demanding, “WHY ARE YOUR BIKES SO EXPENSIVE??!!” With a timid smile, I’d point to the rear-hub motor and reply, “See? You can have fun riding again.” Our tagline, Flattens hills and makes headwinds a breeze, eventually resonated with the community, and they fell in love with the bikes. However, spreading the word beyond our neighborhood to find new customers was a necessary challenge we had to — forgive me —peddle past.
One evening, I received an email from our phone and internet provider, Time Warner, about a competition: “Tell us in 300 words or less how our service has helped your business.” So, I crafted a response on how we built a thriving e-bike community in Orange County, reviving interest in cycling for people of all ages. My essay was one of four winners out of 200,000 entries. They created a national TV commercial and internet campaign about our store, which significantly boosted e-bike awareness and popularity across the country.
A Huge Change
Why describe all that? Because, fast forward to today, and the e-bike landscape has shifted dramatically. What was once a proud accomplishment has become a ghastly scene of reckless and aggressive riding. Teens and tweens, influenced by what appears to be compensated online influencers, and fueled by peer pressure, are landing themselves and others in ERs through dangerous misconduct. Not all teens, of course! But enough to become a problem.
So drawing from my education and career history, I launched the Bellemont Project last year. The name is a nod to Belmont Shore, where we used to guide e-bike tours weekly, but with a femme twist to honor the fact that it’s a woman-owned social enterprise.
Leading Cities to do Better
The Bellemont Project’s mission is to provide strategic solutions for the complex causes of today’s e-bike safety problems. We aim to empower communities and civic leaders through innovative approaches that focus on insightful education, effective enforcement, sophisticated use of behavioral psychology, and robust community engagement.
At the heart of our initiative is a comprehensive six-point plan for improved e-bike safety:
1. Compliance Motivation: Breaking through that “It can’t happen to me” mindset and encouraging responsible riding through awareness of realities and understanding of consequences. We’re piloting the Incline Program later this year as an effective behavior-management diversion program.
2. Consumer Awareness: Educating families about legal requirements, safe e-bike practices, and opening their eyes to the dishonest, unsavory behavior of some retailers. We published The Caring Parent’s E-Bike Survival Guide last year to help parents make wiser choices.
3. Policies and Communications Best Practices: Guiding civic leaders in effective policy implementation and communication.
4. Informed Enforcement: Equipping all law enforcement (more than the traffic people) with the knowledge to support legal e-bike sales and ensure safe riding practices. With a class-action lawsuit hitting a powered bike company in my hometown, it seems time to help cities keep watch over manufacturing and sales practices within their borders.
5. Infrastructure Improvements: Advocating for safer pathways and environments for all cyclists, especially those who ride e-bikes. Learn more about Vision Zero to discover why we can do better in protecting lives.
6. Developing E-Biking as a Sport: Promoting e-biking in controlled, safer spaces to enhance skills and enjoyment. Options include innovative uses of pump tracks like this one in Utah, filmed by filmmaker Allan Crawford. Hey, if St. George can have amazing dual tracks like that, so can Orange County. For e-bike speed freaks, it’s worth discussing fresh ideas about motocross. Everyone’s motto could be: If we build it, they will behave.
Knowing What to Do
The Orange County Grand Jury’s report titled “E-Bikes: Friend or Foe?” has already been covered in the Voice of OC. This report required every city in the county to respond, and the process revealed a significant gap in understanding — civic leaders didn’t seem to realize that motivating better conduct is just as vital to e-bike safety as educating riders on the rules of the road.
Notably, the Grand Jury found that the county lacked a coordinated, comprehensive system to manage e-bike safety as riders cross borders between cities. According to the Grand Jury’s page on responses by cities (scroll down to the e-bike list), each is working in their own silo, trying to copy what others have done, but never quite sitting in the same room and formulating plans together. The Bellemont Project has a process planned to fix that, too.
I firmly believe that e-bikes can indeed be safe, useful and even fun, provided our civic leaders learn to manage their use more wisely. With the help of the six-point plan, this is achievable.
I hope to share more details about the plan in my next articles for Voice of OC. Meanwhile, you can learn more by visiting BellemontProject.com and please encourage your civic leaders to do the same. Demand that they take proactive steps by reaching out to me to discuss effective e-bike strategies they can implement to make safer our streets, sidewalks, parking lots and paths. Together, we can ensure a brighter future for micro-mobility.
Beth Black founded the Bellemont Project with a mission to solve community e-bike safety challenges. As a UCI-trained social ecologist and credentialed teacher, she served as a writer and editor for Toastmasters International World Headquarters, where she wrote most of the Toastmasters Youth Communication Program. With six years of experience operating a successful Orange County e-bike store known for its excellent safety record, Black authored The Caring Parent’s E-Bike Survival Guide. Through the Bellemont Project, she delivers a wealth of knowledge and professional insight as a comprehensive six-point plan for improved e-bike safety.
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