Meet Bill Petty, Your Sonoma County Bike Champion Of The Year

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Bay Area Bike to Wherever Days organizers have named the winners of the 2023 Bike Champion of the Year awards for each of the nine Bay Area counties. Given to individuals for inspiring bicycling in their Bay Area communities, this award recognizes riders in the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties for their commitment to cycling as the primary mode of transport.

This year's Sonoma County winner is Bill Petty of Santa Rosa.

Here is what his nominators had to say about him:

Petty is a dedicated bike commuter, Climate Rider with Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition’s Green Fondo fundraising team, and weekly rider with the Santa Rosa Taco Tuesday Ride. When you meet him, you soon discover that Petty’s one of the most joyful people you will ever meet and that he will go out of his way to help anyone who wants to start cycling.

Petty’s bike commuting journey began in 2010. Prior to that, he was an occasional mountain bike rider. Then Jack Hartnett, Len Hirshi, and Ron Van de Kraats of the Santa Rosa Cycling Club convinced him he needed to give road cycling a try. As a result, for the past 11 years, Petty has made bike commuting a passion that has led to one-of-a-kind experiences, including bike voyages to 49ers football games.

And he put his passion to work. A service advisor at Hansel Subaru, Petty rallies a team of coworkers to participate in Bike to Work Day every year. In 2017, he rode to Windsor to meet up with coworkers and then picked up more along the route; a total of 17 joined him. Then in 2018, he formed the team Sonoma Strong for the Bay Area Bike Challenge, which placed first in Sonoma County for the most daily rides and miles accrued. Not to rest on those laurels, in 2019, Petty brought back team Sonoma Strong to take first place once again. Petty showed his dedication to supporting new riders for Bike Month as their team captain.

“Biking is my morning coffee!” says Petty, who does not actually drink coffee. Instead, he uses his morning bike commute to energize him for the day. Bike commuting gives him time to enjoy the early morning and evening hours. Mornings are when he reflects on his goals for the day and prioritizes what he needs to accomplish. The ride home is time to relax and reflect on how the day went; by the time Petty has pedaled home, the work day is far behind him.

Petty is part of the 49er faithful, with a tradition of biking to night games all the way from Sonoma County. On game day, he leaves between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. and then rides the entire 127.5 miles to the stadium — almost nine hours of traveling through five counties.

When Petty gets asked how it’s possible to bike all the way to Levi’s Stadium, his answer is: “If you want to do something then, set a goal and achieve it. Nothing is impossible. If you put your mind to it then you will find a way to accomplish that goal.”

Along with inspiring coworkers, training friends for their first century ride, and helping new riders embrace bike life, one of Petty’s biggest accomplishments was encouraging his wife Stephanie to start biking with him this past year. He says it has been one of the most rewarding journeys he’s ever experienced.

“A big accomplishment was the day that I finally got Stephanie bitten by the cycling bug. In years past she was always worried about slowing me down, even though I assured her that I enjoy riding fast or slow,” Petty said. “But she never seemed to enjoy riding. Then out of nowhere it clicked, she hopped on my e-bike and came back smiling. I think one of the key factors that allowed her to enjoy the ride was that I got a cart to tow the dogs. She loves taking the dogs out for rides and our dogs love it too. I know I spend a lot of time riding. I am thankful that she understands how much cycling means to me and I am so glad she joins me on rides frequently now.”

• ALSO SEE: Meet Violet And Donal, Your Napa County Bike Champions Of The Year

Prizes

Each winner receives a Public Bikes handlebar bag from Mike’s Bikes, a $50 gift card from Sports Basement, a laminated, boxed set of San Francisco Bay Trail map cards from the Association of Bay Area Governments/Bay Trail, and a picnic/stadium blanket from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Bike To Wherever Days

Bike to Wherever Days continue for the entire month of May, with Bike to Work Day set for May 18. Details can be found online at Bayareabiketowork.com.

Bay Area Bike to Wherever Days is presented by MTC (the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area), 511 (the region’s traveler information system), Amazon, and Stanford Medicine.

BTWD 2022 also receives regional support from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), as well as from many sponsors at the local level.

Prizes for the Bike Champion of the Year winners were donated by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), MTC, Sports Basement, and Mike’s Bikes.