Pasadena is stepping up.
I was reminded of our feat in LB.
“It’s not a bicycle master plan – it’s a roadmap toward a people-prioritizing city. You should support it even if you swear you’ll never ride a bike.”
Today’s dose of Advocacy
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
LBCyclists, March 4th 2010 |
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! Â Bike polo, sprints, fixies. Lightning Velo and Velo Allegro rides. What else? Â Pitch in. Join us. Get YOUR event listed on the calendar. Happy cycling!
Investing in Biking and Walking Could Save Lives says Report
States with the lowest levels of biking and walking have higher traffic fatalities and chronic disease
Read on…
Bicycle Co-op in Long Beach—The H.U.B.—Feb 8
Great news! Â 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.
Reading Group discusses cycling issues Sunday, January 31
January 31st at 6:00 pm, join us at Portfolio Coffee House on Fourth at Junipero for an additional opportunity to discuss interesting ideas found in Jeff Mapes’ book Pedaling Revolution.
The Long Beach Cyclists Reading Group, organized by Kevin Flaherty, meets monthly to discuss books and news of interest to the local cycling community.
Click EVENTS at the top of the page, and scroll to the January 31st calendar entry to view a map pointing to Portfolio.
Bicycle Advisory Committee in Long Beach?
Click on this must-read letter. It’s from Russ Roca. Russ writes to friends and to all those who look forward to Long Beach becoming an even better city than it already is.
 Charles Gandy is the City of Long Beach Mobility Coordinator. Gandy is a nationally known cycling advocate who for the next year or two has made Long Beach home while contracted to assist the City of Long Beach in its efforts to make Long Beach a better, more livable city for all.
A League Certified Instructor (LCI) leads traffic skills courses for cyclists and other road users. Several members of Long Beach Cyclists are LCIs. Long Beach offers Traffic Skills 101 at CSULB Pyramid Annex. Click EDUCATION at the top of the longbeachcyclists.com web page for more details and to find out how to sign up for an upcoming course.
Russ Roca and Laura Crawford have been on a cross-country cycling adventure called Path Less Pedaled since August of 2009. They send us updates, this time from Arizona. For several years, Russ made a living here in Long Beach as the Eco-Friendly Bicycling Photographer. Daily, Russ was seen cycling here and there around Long Beach and beyond on his cargo bike—a long bike with an enormous rack to carry lots of specialized photo equipment. Many of Russ’ photographs have been featured in the District weekly and other publications. Both Russ and Laura were active participants in Long Beach Cyclists and cycling advocacy when they lived in Long Beach.
Russ and Laura, we send you a ‘hello’ from Long Beach, California! Â We miss you. We wish you continued safe travels and more wonderful adventures!
Cycling Through Intersections
One type of potentially dangerous situation concerns right turns. Wherever motor vehicles make right turns, the cyclist needs to position himself/herself in a safe location, and be aware of appropriate, legal behaviors that can help avoid conflicts.
MAKE YOUR DESTINATION PREDICTABLE
The notion of destination lanes can be helpful. All road users are safer if they position themselves in a lane that makes clear their destination. A cyclist who wishes to continue straight ahead through an intersection should not drive in the right turn lane. It is safer, and more useful to motorists, for the cyclist to signal his/her intent to continue straight ahead by driving in the same lane that the motorist would also be expected to use to do the same maneuver. In that way, vehicles behind the cyclist can see and reasonably predict what the cyclist intends to do.
LANE POSITIONING COMMUNICATES YOUR INTENT
Note that in the ‘Incompatible Destinations’ image, a cyclist who drives in a right turn lane or bicycle lane who intends to continue straight ahead risks being struck by a right-turning motor vehicle. Traffic engineers are getting better at understanding how to design each lane to make them safer to use. The cyclist, for his/her part, needs to drive safely and predictably. The cyclist is safer if he or she is visible, driving safely, legally and predictably, and if his or her destination is made clear. Lane positioning is an effective way to communicate one’s intent.
SIDEWALK CYCLISTS ARE LESS VISIBLE, AND IN GREATER DANGER
A beginning cyclist may mistakenly believe that driving on a sidewalk makes him or her safer. A major problem of driving on a sidewalk, besides the fact that cycling on many sidewalks is illegal, is that the sidewalk cyclist is less visible to the motorist. This is critical at intersections. A right-turning motorist may not see the cyclist. The consequences of not being seen by a motorist can be disastrous.
Right turns are common vehicle maneuvers. The educated cyclist is safer when visible, when not swerving, and when his/her destination is clear to motorists approaching from behind.
The cyclist who positions himself/herself in the motorist’s ‘blind spot’—to the right, slightly to the rear, but not visible to the motorist through the right mirror—is unable to communicate anything to the motorist at that moment. As soon as practical, the aware cyclist should attempt to position himself/herself once again in a place where he/she is visible and can communicate as necessary with other road users.Â
The City of Long Beach, which is committed to helping Long Beach become increasingly bicycle friendly, will want to encourage traffic skills education of all road users—cyclists, motorists, pedestrians. Also, City engineers will want roads, lanes and intersections to be as well designed as possible.
Cycling Through Intersections text by Michael Bos. Thanks to Dan Gutierrez for forwarding us the CABO ‘Incompatible Destination Lanes’ graphic, copyright 2004-2007, www.DualChase.com.,
January Membership Drive
$5… $15… $25… $30… $50… — Which amount fits your budget?
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.
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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.
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.
