Also, on the last Saturday of each month, the free Velo Caravan ride (slightly faster pace, calling together ‘classic’ bikes and others) departs from the Bicycle Stand bike shop (1824 E. Broadway, one block west of Bixby Park), at 10:00 am.

In addition, the month of May is packed with special events. Click to the right to see events scheduled by Bike Long Beach.

Long Beach is a wonderful city. The bicycle is a fantastic way to get around!

And keep in mind that many cafés and restaurants now offer ‘Bike Saturday’ discounts to customers who show up on bike.

There will be $5,000 in prizes given away during May. Go to BikeLongBeach dot org to register and for more information.

Russ and Laura are starting a new chapter of their lives in the Portland area. We remember them fondly and wish them well.

Check out PathLessPedaled.com to find out what Russ and Laura are up to now, and to review entries of their many cycling travels, both as adventurers in the countryside, and as urban cyclists now familiar with many cities and towns.

Enjoy the huge number of beautiful photographs at PathLessPedaled.com documenting Russ and Laura’s travels and saluting friends met along the way. Also, be sure to review Russ and Laura’s equipment recommendations (as part of YOUR getting yourself prepared for your own grand adventures).

Inspired by Bogotá, Colombia’s Ciclovía—the original, weekly street closure event—CicLAvia opens Los Angeles streets to pedestrians and bicyclists, creating a temporary web of public space on which all of us can walk, bike, socialize and celebrate. On the 15th of April 2012, ten miles of L.A. roadways will temporarily close to car traffic and open for recreational purposes. From Boyle Heights to Downtown, and past MacArthur Park to East Hollywood, also north to El Pueblo/Olvera Street, and south as well, CicLAvia encourages us to make active use of our streets… and rediscover roadways and neighborhoods that, in a car, too often go unnoticed.

From Long Beach on bicycle, an easy way to get there is to board any northbound Blue Line Metro train, deboarding at the Washington Station or at any station beyond that. For more details, check out www.ciclavia.org.

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.

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.

…

…

…

…

…

…

¡Calles abiertas a los peatones y ciclistas! ¡Gratis!

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.

The Bikestation’s new home is located along First Street between Long Beach Blvd. and Pine Avenue. It is an integral part of the downtown transit hub.

Bikestation is about day-use and long-term safe bike parking for commuters, and it is about rental bikes. Also, staff mechanics can fix your flat tire or do a bike tune up. Bikestation is run by Mobis Transportation Alternatives, Inc., a firm specialized in multimodal transportation systems. Mobis runs Bikestations in a growing number of cities, including Washington, D.C.  The very first Bikestation was here in Long Beach, California.

The following images trace Bikestation as it has moved four times over the past fifteen-some years.

Back in the mid 1990s, Bikestation Long Beach was a brand new idea. The first temporary Bikestation structure was placed on what had been an empty plot of land along First Street immediately west of the Promenade. (Since then, a multi-level condominium with first-floor commercial spaces was built on that parcel.)

East Village artist Anna Wooten created the following drawing, celebrating the Bikestation in its first Long Beach home.

In 2000′s, the Bikestation moved several hundred feet east into a second temporary structure.

In 2009, that second structure was demolished.

Between 2009 and July, 2011, Bikestation was housed on Broadway, one block to the north.

On July 27, 2011, Bikestation moves into its new, permanent, two-story facility on First Street east of the Promenade.

Go to www.mobisinc.com for more information about multimodal transportation system projects in planning and underway in many cities. Also, check out www.bikestation.com.

To learn about projects coordinated by the City of Long Beach to help make our city a great place for cycling safely on city streets, check out bikelongbeach.org.

Also, you are encouraged to participate and support the activities of the various cycling groups in the region… most of us operating on little more than shoestrings and enthusiasm.

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 — 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.

Ideally, we can find secure places for us to lock our bicycles when we go about our shopping, and at banks, cafés, restaurants, and at work. Do you lock up the frame and both wheels? Do you prefer locations ‘out front’ or somewhere ‘tucked away’? Rosscott reminds us to have along a strong lock, so that we can leave our bicycle without worrying about coming back later to find it gone.

The System is created by Rosscott—a cartoonist who is also a cyclist. Rosscott makes thought-provoking and humorous observations about urban life, conditions at the office, transportation issues, and more.

Posted at LongBeachCyclists.com with permission. To see more of Rosscott’s work, go to www.notquitewrong.com/rosscottinc/.