Tony Pereira and the power of a bicycle

Independence like this does not materialize on its own. It is a system of safe streets, informed riders and a community that treats cycling as legitimate transportation. This is where people like Tony play an important role.

Pereira is a licensed cycling instructor who, at bike rodeos around the county, teaches kids how to ride in predictable lines, merge with traffic and other rules of the road. When adults complain that “kids ride too fast,” Tony doesn’t blame the kids — “Kids do kid things.” The real problem is that adults never taught them the rules of the road with the same seriousness we apply to swimming or driving. Once trained properly, he notes, their behavior changes.

Through El Granada based nonprofit Coastside on Bikes, Tony helps refurbish donated bikes and distributes them to those with need along the coastal county. Since 2022, the group has upcycled and rehomed more than 200 bikes. If you have a bike sitting around unused, consider donating it to be fixed up and rehomed to help people get to work.

Today’s cycling community in San Mateo County is incredibly diverse — it is no longer only recreational. In Tony’s shop, the ratio is roughly three e-bikes for every two regular bikes sold. Pereira regularly sees families dropping their second car for a cargo bike, teenagers who commute miles to school, and older riders who once struggled with hills now move easily around town again on an e-bike.

Companies are also playing an important role. Foster City headquartered Visa, for instance, offers an annual commuter benefit for employees who choose to cycle to work instead of drive. It makes a difference in awareness, in health, in traffic, in the environment and in performance at work. 

Peninsula Clean Energy’s $1,000 e-bike voucher program has been instrumental in democratizing movement in a county where mobility too often depends on income. Last month alone, Bay Cycles had 30 vouchers redeemed. For these households, an e-bike is not a toy but important access to work, school and opportunity. In a region where cars carry real financial weight and where insurance premiums have doubled for many in recent years, a bicycle can reshape a monthly budget.

But, with change too often comes friction, and we continue to live through local battles over installing cycling infrastructure. Part of this resistance is structural. Most of our streets were built in the middle of the last century and assumed cars would always be the only priority. Part of the resistance is emotional — many drivers carry trauma from accidents or near misses and cyclists can be harder to spot. Drivers are also more distracted than ever with many modern cars having large screens at their disposal. And let’s face it — change is hard. It is easy to direct all frustration toward the person on the bike, but it is harder to question a system that has not kept up with the increased diversity in how people live. Pereira understands the nuance and deeply believes that the drumbeat of education and awareness is mission critical here. 

Safety still remains a core concern for hesitant cyclists, but protected lanes are on the rise and cities are taking multimodal transit more seriously. County parks continue to expand trail networks, including new open-space areas near La Honda. The Bay Trail remains one of the safest, most accessible and peaceful routes in the region. 

What Tony sees, day after day in his shop, is simple. The future is already arriving on two (or three) wheels. More people are riding every day and, for a growing number of people, cycling is less a trend and more a practicality that gives them control over their movement in a region defined by vehicle congestion and cost. He sees a more livable, active and developmentally healthy world on the horizon, and I love it.

Through the year-end, I’m focusing my column on telling the stories of local entrepreneurs. I hope you enjoy this series, and please reach out if you have a story that should be shared.