What: It's the stuff kids' dreams are made of and then some: shiny bikes, flashing lights, sirens -- and electric motors for greater speed. The UC Davis Police Department will introduce its bicycle patrol unit, and five of the unit's six members will demonstrate their new electric bicycles, acquired with a $12,000 grant from the local air quality district. When: 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 Where: On the bicycle path running north and south behind the Fire/Police Building. Who: Speaking briefly at the event will be: * Calvin Handy, chief of the UC Davis Police Department * Susie Boyd, mayor pro tem of the city of Davis and a member of the board of the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District * Sgt. Shad Canington, who is responsible for the bike patrol unit * Dave Robinson, a bike patrol officer Visuals: Five members of the bike patrol, dressed in specially designed uniforms, will demonstrate their bikes with lights flashing and sirens blaring. A radar gun will clock the bikes' speeds as the officers use pedal power only, the electric motor only, and both pedal power and the electric motor. Background: The UC Davis Police Department, which had its first bike officer in 1973, expanded its bike patrol unit this month from two officers to six and acquired six police bikes with electric motors. The bike patrol officers are assigned to day and night shifts at the main campus and at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. The purchase of the bikes was made possible through a $12,000 grant from the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District. The expanded bike patrol is expected to reduce by about 16.7 percent or 41,500 miles annually the mileage driven in the department's nine marked patrol cars. Directions and Parking: The media availability will be on the bike path running north from Hutchison Drive behind the Fire/Police Building, which is on Kleiber Hall Drive. From I-80, take Highway 113 North. Exit at Hutchison Drive, turn right onto the drive and proceed east through the stoplight at La Rue Road. Turn left onto Kleiber Hall Drive. Seven parking spots have been reserved for the media in the lot at the northwest corner of the intersection of Kleiber Hall and Hutchison Drive. The spaces will be on the west end of the lot. Members of the media may park in any parking space except handicapped zones and those reserved for specific individuals or marked for emergency uses. Those in unmarked vehicles should place a business card on the dashboard.