Join the Velo Caravan — a fun, monthly ride around Long Beach that brings together friends and lots of classic bicycles.
Road bikes, mixtees, touring bikes, middleweights… and more.
If Audrey Hepburn herself shows up, I suppose we won’t be too surprised.
The ride starts at 1824 E. Broadway —The Bicycle Stand shop — about one block west of Bixby Park. Show up shortly before 10:00am last Saturdays of the month. Velo Caravan rides are organized by The Bicycle Stand, phone (562) 279-4936.
Something near and dear to me (when I’m not volunteering for LB Cyclists) is professional photography. Recently, LB Cyclists was contacted by staff from “Get the Green” to help spread the word on their LA Metro area based photo contest for kids!
Get out in nature with your kids (age 13-18) and hand them the camera! For a great location in Long Beach, I would highly recommend a family bike ride down to El Dorado Park Nature Center (find the “Friends of El Dorado Nature Center” on Facebook) Let us know if you need a route- we’ll help get you there!
Contest started January 18, 2012 and ends March 14, 2012. Please take the time to look at their informative website for rules and PRIZE information!
Thanks for supporting a creative activity aimed at environmental sustainability!
Bernadette
Cyclists Donald and Sarah Moore share snapshots of fellow cyclists taken during the recent CycLAvia. L.A.’s third CycLAvia took place on 9/10/11 (the 9th of October of 2011).
CycLAvia is about celebrating Los Angeles in a non-motorized way. A route of city streets that runs past Los Angeles City Hall is closed to motorized traffic for five hours. Many tens of thousands of cyclists and joggers and walkers enjoy the pleasant quiet of city streets that every other day are noisy and dusty from all the cars, trucks and buses. Don’t miss the next CycLAvia… scheduled for April 12th, 2012.
Thank you Donald and Sarah for sharing the following photos.
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An expanded route of Los Angeles streets will be closed to motorized traffic Sunday, October 9th, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.
The Los Angeles CicLAvia means free, family-friendly cycling, jogging, and strolling through downtown L.A. (This will be L.A.’s third one!) People from far and wide will be there, including many friends from Long Beach.
CicLAvia is not a race. It’s a fun opportunity to enjoy L.A. on your bicycle or on foot… without the noise and fumes of nearby vehicle traffic!
Click on the map to enlarge it on your screen.
The route T’s at L.A. City Hall. From there you can head west to the Bicycle Kitchen (northwest of MacArthur Park)… and/or east to Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights… and/or north to Chinatown… and/or south to the African American Firefighter Museum near the 10 freeway. You can start anywhere along the route. You can head in any direction.
You can stop anywhere you like. There are rest hubs at the four end points and also at MacArthur Park and close to City Hall. You’re sure to come across friends or discover a new, favorite café.
To get to L.A. from Long Beach, it’s easy and inexpensive to board any northbound Blue Line train. The one-way fare (including bicycle) is just $1.50.
For more information, go to www.cicLAvia.org, or contact info@cicLAvia.org.
Meet at the Bikestation in downtown Long Beach (on Broadway just east of the Promenade) for easy, local rides. Women on Bikes, organized by Cali Bike Tours, is a women’s-only offering of safety clinics and fun rides… for free!
Choose Saturday morning, June 18th (9:00am-11:00am). Or choose Saturday noon, June 18th (noon-2:00pm). Or choose Tuesday evening, June 21st (6:00pm-8:00pm). Register at calibiketours@gmail.com or phone 562 334-2453.
Long Beach resident Elizabeth Williams is the founder of Cali Bike Tours, a local company that’s all about women and cycling. That’s Elizabeth in the photos above. Women on Bikes offers opportunities for women to connect with other women on beginning-level 5-10-mile bike rides. Participants during the free clinics this week will discuss basic riding skills, safety, bicyclist rights and responsibilities, and learn basics about bike maintenance and flat-tire repair. After the orientation, you’ll go on a gentle, local bike ride.
Click EVENTS at the top of the longbeachcyclists.com page and scroll the calender to read details about this week’s Women on Bikes activities.
May 11th — If you wish to volunteer as a Course Marshal during the Tour of Long Beach (Saturday morning, May 14th), contact Stacey.Toda@longbeach.gov (or phone 562 570-5027). Orientation for Course Marshals will take place Wednesday, May 11th, at 7:00 pm at CSULB. Proceeds from the Tour of Long Beach benefit Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach.
May 11th — Free, second Wednesdays, 11:00 am-1:00 pm, you are encouraged to take advantage of free Bike Safety Checks at CSULB, courtesy of Jax Bicycles.
May 13th — Free, the Family Fun Fest will take place Friday, 5:00-9:00 pm in the lawn area of the Pike at Rainbow Harbor. This includes live music, cycling stunts, a fixed gear competition, and vendors.
May 14th — Preregistration is required for the Tour of Long Beach (that benefits Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach). Three rides: A 9:00 am, 4-mile family fun ride at Marina Green Park (540 E. Shoreline Drive)… also a 31-mile leisurely circuit around the entire city… also a 61-mile Metric Century.
May 14th — Free, the Finish Line Festival, 9:00 am-4:00 pm. in the Rainbow Harbor area. Children’s activity area, bike safety and education booths, live music, food, and vendors.
May 18th — Free, Traffic Skills 101 at CSULB, Wednesday evening class session, 6:00-8:00 pm. Followed by the free 3-hour Saturday morning on-road training session. Preregistration required. Click EDUCATION at the top of the longbeachcyclists.com page for more information, or click here.
May 19th — Free, Thursday morning Bike-to-Work-Day Pit Stops, one at CSULB, the other at Long Beach City Hall Civic Center Plaza. Refreshments, freebies and bike safety checks.
Allan is organizing another night ride through the ports—this one starting Thursday evening, May 5th, and riding into Friday morning, with enough time for you to show up for work by sunrise.
The timing for this cycling adventure is perfect because workers at both the Ports of Long Beach and L.A. will not be working that night… also, the weather this time of year is very pleasant… with lows in the mid-50s… a good layer of clothing will keep you comfy… and earlier this week the country’s Number One Terrorist was slain.
As we don’t have to fight Osama bin Laden anymore, Allan urges us to now spread the joy of riding bicycles. “The ports are ours this Thursday!!!” If you haven’t been on a night ride yet, consider cycling this one.
The ride starts at 9:00 pm Thursday evening at the Hub on Long Beach Blvd (immediately east of the PCH Metro Blue Line station). Around 3:00 am the group will cycle to an “ultra-cool” trucker café for some grub, with plenty of time to catch the first Metro train out of downtown Long Beach, which departs at 5:07 am. For more information, contact Allan at allanalessio@yahoo.com.
Come downtown for the grand opening celebration and a family bike ride on Saturday, April 23rd. The fun starts at 11:00 am. Meet at the downtown Promenade.
Long Beach will inaugurate two separated bikeways—one along Broadway, the other along 3rd Street—designed to provide a pleasant, new way for the entire family to cycle when in downtown Long Beach.
The official ceremony will be held at noon.
Click to enlarge the map. Click to enlarge the Grand Opening poster for more details.
The second Los Angeles CicLAvÃa took place on April 10th. Click on photos to enlarge them.
During five hours, a 7-mile route running through downtown Los Angeles was closed off to motorized traffic. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, more than 100-thousand cyclists, skaters and joggers enjoyed the free event. Don’t miss the next CicLAvÃa!
The route ran east or west through downtown L.A. Cyclists could go either direction and back and forth. The route led through Little Tokyo… across the 4th Street Bridge… as far east as Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights. The route also led through an amazing stretch of downtown skyscrapers and intensity… past MacArthur Park… as far west as the Bicycle Kitchen close to Melrose and the 101.
The absence of motorized traffic makes for a delightful city experience; happy chatting and laughter rather than roaring engines and fumes. We saw cyclists of all ages and skill levels. There were numerous cafés along the route, so it was easy to find a perfect place to sit outside for lunch and to soak in the delightful spectacle. Wow!
Along the route, we saw numerous friends from Long Beach, and no doubt missed many more of you who were there as well.
In photos to the right, Bernard of Cyclone Coasters in Long Beach says hello to L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
To the left, hello Scott and Jessica. Hello Stacie. Many friends and new friends.
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A route of Los Angeles streets will be closed to motorized traffic Sunday, April 10th, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The Los Angeles CicLAvia means free, family-friendly cycling, jogging, and strolling through downtown L.A. (This will be L.A.’s second one!) CicLAvia is not a race. It’s a fun opportunity to enjoy L.A. on your bicycle! The route takes you past L.A. City Hall, heading west to the Bicycle Kitchen (northwest of MacArthur Park)… or east to Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights. You can start anywhere along the route. You can head in either direction. You can stop anywhere you like. You’re sure to come across friends or discover a new, favorite café.
Many folks from the Long Beach area will head up to L.A. on the Metro Blue Line, timing themselves to arrive in L.A. by about 10:00 am. Click on the map to see route specifics.
For more information, go to www.cicLAvia.org, or contact info@cicLAvia.org.
