Paul Christian Dorn

Paul Christian Dorn died July 17, 2023 of complications related to pancreatic cancer. A resident of Sacramento since 2007, Dorn was a marketing director and long-time activist for bicycling and sustainable transportation, serving as executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition, and authoring a popular bike commuting website and blog, and a book The Bike to Work Guide: Save Gas, Go Green, Get Fit (2009, Adams Media).

Dorn was born in Freeport, Illinois, to Katherine (Kay) and David Dorn on July 6, 1960, the eldest of three boys. The family resided in Stockton IL, and later relocated to Mt. Morris, IL. At the age of 13, Dorn moved to Pembroke, Massachusetts with his family. He graduated from Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston, MA in 1978.

After graduating in 1983 with a BS in accounting from Bentley College (now Bentley University), Dorn traveled to Europe for six weeks, among other things, abusing the citizens of France with his vulgar French. On his return to Massachusetts, Dorn lived on Beacon Hill in Boston, working as a mutual fund accountant at State Street Bank.

After nearly three years in accountancy, Dorn left his position and, inspired by Jack Kerouac, hitchhiked to Bloomington, Indiana where his youngest brother Martin lived. He proceeded to the Pacific Coast, spending time with family and friends in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. On his return to Boston, Dorn supported himself working as a trucking company warehouseman, bartender, waiter, Fenway Park catering staff, substitute teacher, and, infrequently as a writer. Dorn earned a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston in 1991.

After finishing school, Dorn moved to San Francisco, California in August 1991. He made his career in academic and arts communication, working at the San Francisco Art Institute, the College of Creative Arts at San Francisco State University, and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. Dorn relocated to Davis, CA in 2001 to join the marketing team at the Mondavi Center at UC Davis. He later also provided marketing leadership at UC Davis with the Department of Campus Recreation and the College of Engineering. Dorn finished his marketing career as marketing director at the Harris Center at Folsom Lake College. 

In his last and perhaps best job, Dorn was a SmartRide operator for Sacramento Regional Transit. While driving his route in Gerber/Florin, Dorn met the love of his life, a passenger named Claire Ayan. Dorn proposed to Claire in August 2021, and they were married in November 2021.

A lifelong progressive and activist, Dorn was a member of the International Socialist Organization for ten years, honing his skills as a polemicist and public speaker. Later he was active with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) as a campaign leader, newsletter editor and board member. Dorn was part of the SFBC leadership group responding to the Critical Mass crisis in 1997. Dorn traveled to Osaka, Japan to represent the SFBC at a Sister City citizen’s conference in 1997. He co-wrote a petition-qualified ballot measure to close JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park to cars (Prop F) for the November 2000 election in San Francisco, and was part of the five-member steering committee for the grassroots campaign. In 2004 he became the executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition, a 501(c)3 nonprofit advocacy organization based in Sacramento.

Dorn enjoyed travel, dining out, hiking, bicycling, snowshoeing, white-water rafting, Liverpool FC, Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins, and spending time with family and friends. He loved many areas of California, notably Point Reyes, Carmel, Hope Valley, and Lake Tahoe. He was an avid arts enthusiast, faithfully attending the Sacramento French Film Festival, subscribing to the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, attending shows at Mondavi Center, Harris Center and the Wells Fargo Pavilion, and seeing friend’s cover bands around the Sacramento region.

Dorn is survived by his wife, Claire Ayan, of Sacramento; his brother, Jeff Dorn and sister-in-law Erin Lee of Westbrook, Maine; nephews James Martin Dorn and Tyler Jeffrey Dorn; nieces Molly Kay Dorn and Sadie Dorn; and many cousins and friends. Dorn was preceded in death by his parents, Kay (Ferris) and David Dorn, his sister Anne Michelle Dorn, and his brother, Martin Dorn.