January Membership Drive

$5… $15…  $25… $30… $50… — Which amount fits your budget?

091228 LBC 5 15 25 30 50 h

If you haven’t already joined Long Beach Cyclists, do so today. It’s a great way to start the year 2010. For details and to get to the membership form, first click on MEMBERSHIP at the top of the page or click the 501 icon in the right column—it’s easy.

Long Beach Cyclists is seeking California 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. Our 501 membership drive has been extended, but only until January 31, 2010. Now is the perfect time to help out by becoming a 501 Founding Member. Join the fun.

WHY JOIN LONG BEACH CYCLISTS?

We need and appreciate your membership. We welcome you as a volunteer or participant in any or all of our many tasks, rides, events and services.

There are many benefits—for you, and for all of Long Beach. Long Beach Cyclists is not City government. And we have no paid staff. Your donations and memberships really matter.

ADVOCACY, EDUCATION, AND COMMUNITY

We are your neighbors. We are experienced cyclists and we are novice riders. We are community, in all our diversity. Large numbers of us participate in ongoing, fun activities. And many of us come to Long Beach Cyclists to tap into our excellent pool of resources and experience, or to offer cycling-related knowledge to others. Long Beach Cyclists is a serious advocate for road-use issues. Long Beach Cyclists leads traffic skills courses by certified LCI instructors. It has members who can see with the lens of both the cycle commuter and the traffic engineer. We can assist you with your questions. If you wish to serve, or if you wish to learn, or if you wish to play, in all cases Long Beach Cyclists welcomes your participation.

Thanks in advance for joining Long Beach Cyclists!

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MichaelB, December 30th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Past News

BikeTalk, on radio station KPFK-FM, December 29th

BikeTalk can be heard any time by scrolling through the KPFK Pacifica Radio Audio Archives of recent, previously-aired programs and clicking BikeTalk.

Tune in Tuesday evening, December 29, 11pm, for the first live broadcast of BikeTalk on KPFK, 90.7 FM. Bike culture, politics, technology, sport and friendliness. BikeTalk has been a weekly internet show for several months already, and Tuesday evening will be its first on-air broadcast.

KPFK 90.7fm logo

BikeTalk celebrates bike rides, bicycle collectives, activists, artists, commuters, enthusiasts, professional cyclists, inventors and repairers, and, of course, the bicycle itself as an alternative human-powered mode of transportation. Hosted by Nick Richert and guests, including Jim C of Orange 20 Bikes, Steve Bowers, and Jim Bledsoe and Eric Potter of Bicycle Kitchen.

The first live broadcast is Tuesday evening, December 29, 11pm. You can hear BikeTalk live every Saturday, 10am-Noon, at www.killradio.org. And you can download all nineteen previously recorded shows at www.kpfk.org. Click Programs at the top of the page, then click Audio Archives, and scroll for BikeTalk. Or click List of Programs, All Programs in the left margin to find the BikeTalk general description and contact information. Click on Program Highlights this week to see the announcement and details about the December 29th broadcast.

2 Comments

MichaelB, December 28th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Bicycle equipment/gear, Current News, Education, Featured, advocacy

Rental Bike

I bet it functions 10 times better than the hybrid Raleigh I rented in Portland.

roberts-rental

Check out the story behind this bike.  Thank Ecovelo!

http://www.ecovelo.info/2009/12/22/rental-bike/

1 Comment

bmckeever, December 23rd 2009 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Bicycle equipment/gear

Naples Island Bike Lane

Cars Allowed?

There has been a lot of buzz regarding the new bike lane treatment on the Eastbound side of 2nd street that runs through Naples Island.  This could prove to be a successful facility, but in the meantime, I think we need some bold traffic signage for our motorist friends!

These pictures were taken by LB Cyclist Justin McKeever on his way home from work today

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bmckeever, December 17th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Education

The Cyclist Reading Group Meets December 20

The Cyclist Reading Group meets monthly so that cyclists and book lovers can sit down for an hour of literary discussion in a public space.

Sunday evening, December 20, at 7:17 pm, meet with us at Portfolio Coffeehouse to talk about Pedaling Revolution by Jeff Mapes. Whether you have read the book already or not, you’ll enjoy meeting with us to talk about cycling issues.

The Cycling Reading Group comes together to engender growth of knowledge in the area of cycling research. Each month’s literary selection is discussed for one hour. Also, a book or article is identified for future reading and discussion.

1 Comment

MichaelB, December 16th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Education

Tweed yes, Spandex… not yet

Oh my golly, if you haven’t yet seen photos of the recent Tweed, Moxie and Mustache Ride hosted by C.I.C.L.E., check out the slide show at http://www.flickr.com/groups/latweed/pool/show/.

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Here we see Bernard with his pipe, front and center. A happy group of well-dressed cycle dandies met up at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles for a yesteryear moment.

They then cycled along bustling downtown streets, crossed bridges, stopped here and there… exploring and celebrating many interesting nooks and crannies of our amazing city.

 

 

 

 

0911 Tweed Bernard dances

 

And in this photo, well… we can see that Tweed-sters not only love cycling… they also love to shuffle their feet.

Bernard of Cyclone Coasters participates in monthly vintage bicycle rides here in Long Beach. Click on EVENTS at the top of the page, and scroll the calendar to see about the next vintage ride. All cyclists are welcome… including YOU. Cycle Coasters meet at Portfolio Coffeehouse on Junipero and Fourth the first Sunday of each month, and do fun, leisurely rides from there.

 

 

2 Comments

MichaelB, December 15th 2009 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in event, ride

Bike-In Movie at Bixby Park Sunday December 13

** No rain… the movie’s a go!

Join Long Beach Cyclists, Pedal Movement and CSULB Cyclists for…

091213 LBC BikeMovie

Winter fun!  Dress warmly!  See you in front of the Yard House, or look for us at the Bixby Park Band Shell.

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MichaelB, December 8th 2009 | Tags: ,
Posted in Past News, event, ride

Dec 2 meeting at JAX Bicycles was productive and fun

Long Beach Cyclists met at Jax Bicycles on Bellflower Blvd Wednesday evening, December 2nd. Thank you, Jax Bicycles. And thanks to the 30-some people who were present. Our next monthly meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan 6th.

Much that is of interest to the cycling community will take place before then, of course. There is the Compton Creek Ride, Metro Audits, the Cyclone Coaster vintage bike ride, bike polo, various holiday events, a Bike-In Movie, and more. Check out the calendar by clicking EVENTS at the top of this page.

A highlight of the December 2nd meeting was talking with Russ and Laura—friends who have been living on their bicycles since August. They call their adventure “path less pedaled”  www.pathlesspedaled.com and so far have cycled as far north as the Seattle area of Washington State. Imagine all the amazing countryside and the many interesting people they have met so far. They meet many, many people who love and live cycling. What is it like to live on your bicycle rather than in a house or in an apartment?  Where will Russ and Laura go after visiting us here in Long Beach?  Because Russ is an excellent photographer, we were treated to an exciting presentation. Russ and Laura also shared observations about cyclists and the cycling climate observed in other cities.

During the December 2nd meeting, we participated in a brief advocacy activity aimed at helping Long Beach become more bike friendly. Also, we talked about options for the shirts we will soon have for Long Beach Cyclists members. Now that Long Beach Cyclists has a tax ID number and is this close to 501(c)3 non profit legal status, we are staged to do great things in the year 2010. If you aren’t a member yet, consider joining us. There’s still time to qualify as a Founding Member.

After the meeting, a large number of us cycled home—for many of us a cross-town  trip—at an hour when city streets were calming, the air was brisk because it is early December, and the night was well lit because of an almost full moon. We created a long, mostly single-file parade of twinkling bike lights, laughter and conversation among friends. It doesn’t get much better than this!

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bmckeever, December 1st 2009 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Education, Featured, advocacy, event