The Long Beach Cyclists board met March 9th

Bernadette McKeever is our first elected president. Congratulations Bernadette!

This past year, Long Beach Cyclists became a nonprofit California Public Benefit Corporation. This evening (March 9, 2010) we held our first board meeting and election. All paid members were invited to participate. We thank those who were present at tonight’s meeting, and also thank those who were not present yet who voted via e-mail. And we thank all of you who have supported Long Beach Cyclists through donations and membership forms, or as volunteers, or as participants in our many rides, events and activities.

Our other elected board officers include Travis Bos, who will serve as vice president, and Donald E. Moore, who will serve as secretary. Michael Bos was elected our board treasurer. The new board passed numerous motions that will help shape our future work. Back in the mid 1990s, Long Beach Cyclists functioned as an informal group. Recently we were incorporated with the State of California, and now we will submit proper paperwork to the federal government as we seek tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status.

Thanks are in order for the small group of friends who started Long Beach Cyclists about fifteen years ago, and thanks are also in order for the many, many individuals who have helped Long Beach Cyclists grow since then. Congratulations to all of us—you, too!

Cycling in Long Beach—Check out the calendar!

Long Beach Cyclists First Board Meeting & Election — Tuesday, March 9th
Ladies Night at Jax — Wednesday, March 10th

Many things related to cycling are happening these days. Click EVENTS at the top of the longbeachcyclists.com page to help plan your week. Rides. Meetings. Places to go for fun. Areas where you can pitch in.

The first official Long Beach Cyclists board meeting and election will be held March 9th. We are taking steps to complete our transition to tax-exempt, nonprofit corporate status.

Ladies Night at Jax Bicycles (March 10th) includes free workshops, and perhaps some wine and cheese. Life is good!

The folks who organized the recent Metro Station Bicycle and Pedestrian Access Audit invite you to look at the audit summary, provide feedback and give additional input. Meet them at Sipology on March 17th.

Participants in the ‘Bike-Camp-Train’ ride around San Luis Obispo are making preparations this week. And Long Beach Cyclists will do a ‘Fools Ride’ under the full moon at the end of the month.

CSULB Cyclists and Pedal Movement organize rides weekly. Meeting dates are also posted on the calendar. Allan leads a monthly Port Tour ride, and Cyclone Coaster does a monthly vintage ride. Local restaurants offer monthly discounts for cyclists on first fridays. The H.U.B. (the bike-repair cooperative and community space run by Pedal Movement) is getting ready for its grand opening; now is a great time to help. Race practices for beginners and advanced cyclists take place weekly at Douglas Park and at El Dorado Park. The Los Angeles Bike Summit is scheduled for the March 20th weekend. Preparations are underway for the Long Beach Bike Fest and for Bike-to-Work Day, both scheduled for May.

And more!  Bike polo, sprints, fixies. Lightning Velo and Velo Allegro rides. What else?  Pitch in. Join us. Get YOUR event listed on the calendar. Happy cycling!

Discounts for cyclists—Fri, March 5

Support local bike-friendly businesses.

On the first Friday of every month, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm, many Long Beach cafés and restaurants offer lower prices to customers who show up on a bicycle and dine in. To participate, we are asked to show our helmet or bike lock key.

Click on the thumbnail Lunch Breaks PARTICIPANTS LIST to the right to see the list of the 27 current participants for addresses, web sites and discount particulars.

Lunch Breaks for Cyclists is part of the Car-Free Fridays initiative coordinated by the City of Long Beach (as promoted by BikeLongBeach dot org) in which all people are encouraged to bike to work, one day per month at the very least.

The current list is based on the participants list found at bikelongbeach.org.

Bicycle Co-op in Long Beach—The H.U.B.—Feb 8

Great news!  Our friends with Pedal Movement are starting up a bicycle cooperative called the H.U.B. Congratulations Graham Baden!

The first Pedal Movement meeting at the H.U.B. will be Monday, February 8 at 7:00 pm. Click EVENTS at the top of the longbeachcyclists.com page for details, for a map, and for contact information.

The H.U.B. bicycle cooperative is being created from scratch with volunteer labor—you are invited to pitch in!—in a lot and building across the street from the Pacific Coast Highway station of the Metro Blue Line.

At the February 8th meeting, Graham invites all to participate in the planning and roll-up-your-sleeves work of making it happen. The agenda includes volunteer hours, clean-up procedures, leadership, project direction, and 2010 planning.

Long Beach Cyclists meeting at Jax—Feb 3

Long Beach Cyclists meeting — Feb 3 at Jax

Long Beach Cyclists meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:17 pm. Hope to see you at our next meeting… and at any or all other events. Click EVENTS at the top of the page to view our calendar and a map of how to get to Jax (corner of Bellflower and Spring).

Note that many of us cycle together to the meeting from near the shore. We depart Orange and Second Street at 6:30 pm.

Memberships are tax deductible

Join Long Beach Cyclists.

We’re about community, education and advocacy.

Click on MEMBERSHIP at the top of the page for more information and to print out a membership form.

LBC January Ride — Historical Tour and Picnic

Join us Sunday morning, January 10th. It will be lots of fun!

1001_historicClick for details. 100110 LBC Jan Ride Bembridge LosCerritos

Click to the right for a simple map. LBC HistoricalRide&Picnic 2010 10Jan

Click here 1.10.10 for an even more detailed map.

We leave Portfolio Coffeehouse at 10:00 am (sharp!) We will meander about the city, learn things, and have fun! Just under nine miles each way.

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!

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.

Bicycle License Fee now $3.00

The Long Beach Cyclists World Headquarters received this email today:

To all Fire Station personnel:

The City Council recently approved numerous fee increases. Effective immediately the new fee for Bicycle Licenses (both original registration and renewals) is $3. Please begin charging the new rate immediately.

Please post this attachment where the public can see it and remove any old signs which refer to the previous $2 fee.

For more information, the following image was sent with the email:

license