We first meet up at Portfolio Coffeehouse (Junipero and Fourth), and depart at 9:45 am.

Sure! We’re talking about a family day of easy cycling fun.

Sunday, June 27th, Long Beach Cyclists will cycle to FOUR neat places here in Long Beach… and will even do a picnic. We’ll combine our regular Farmers Market Ride (the F.M.R.) with a special ride to the Patchwork Festival (P.W.F.), where we’ll enjoy a picnic. It’s a silly mouthful, but P.A.L.B.I.F. means pack a lunch because it’s fun! Join us!

We will meet in the morning at Portfolio Coffeehouse (Fourth Street at Junipero).

At 9:45 am we will cycle from Portfolio to Belmont Shore, stopping briefly at Jones Bicycles. (Discounts at Jones for ride participants!)

After Jones, we’ll cycle past Naples to the Farmers Market near the Marina. Fresh fruit and veggies so that your picnic lunch can be extra fresh!

Then we’ll cycle to the Patchwork Festival (at Marine Stadium Park, Appian Way at Nieto) for exploring and chatting… and for our cyclists’ picnic.

The Patchwork Festival is free. It’s about crafts, quilts, things of all sorts made by hand. It’s about mingling, strolling, talking, and shopping locally—celebrating who we are and what we make of our lives.

And our picnic will be as yummy as the ingredients we bring along in our bike baskets. Hope to see you!

“Is it true that the veggie bike has been spotted in the Bay Area?”

                    ”Yes, Lee Tracy’s veggie bike is now known far and wide.”

“I’d certainly love to meet Lee. His drawing looks fun!

                    ”Lee’s veggie bike is NOT a drawing. This is a photograph.”

“You mean Lee’s bicycle really looks like that?”

                    ”Come see for yourself! The FMR: second and fourth Sundays.”

“Another question: Is Lee’s tomato wheel a bit low on air?”

                    ”It looks a bit soft, but we bet it’s quite yummy on a salad.”

“The FMR sounds like a lot of cycling fun.”

                    ”You bet! Click on the poster icon to the right for more details.”

There will be live entertainment, solar-powered stages, a green fashion show, educational workshops, food, eco-friendly booths, art, the community garden, an opportunity to see electric vehicles, and the Saturday morning organic farmers market on First at Linden.

Events take place in the East Village—in lots adjacent to the old Acres of Books (Long Beach Blvd. between Broadway and Third), also at East Village Arts Park (Elm near Broadway), and along First between Elm and Linden).

Long Beach Cyclists will provide free bike valet near the old Acres of Books building between 10:00 am and 5:30 pm—happily monitoring your bicycle during those hours. Or… you may chose to show up on foot, or… you may get to the Green Long Beach Festival by taking any bus heading downtown, or… by traveling on the southbound Metro Blue Line.

Car parking near the old Acres of Books lot will be available as well… although some of us who live ‘car free’ secretly might rather see the parking lot for cars nearly empty. Let’s hope that many folks arrive in car pools, and that zillions of folks enjoy the free bike valet. 

For more information, visit www.greenlb.org.

Find out Sunday, May 9th. Join us for the easy-going FMR ride, which takes place every second and fourth Sunday. Click on the postage stamp below right for details about the ride.

It is likely that the organizer of FMR will not willingly disclose whether his wheel is made of lettuce or cabbage. Further, he will probably not tell us whether or not he stores his bicycle in the refrigerator at night.

To find the answers to these and other pressing matters, we may need to poke him in the ribs with a stalk of celery. Don’t miss the fun.

                    ”Yes, once again it’s time for the FMR.”

“The FMR. The second and fourth Sundays.”

                    ”Yep! A fun ride and great fresh fruit and vegetables!”

“I already know the drill. I’m supposed to click on the stamp at the right, right?”

                    ”You betcha. Click on the postage stamp, and see you Sunday.

Sunday morning, prior to 10:00 am, we will meet just south of Joe’s Crab Shack (E. Marina Drive near Second Street). Arrive early if you wish to buy something yummy at the nearby farmers market. At 10:00, we will cycle to the El Dorado Nature Center. There, we will visit the museum and explore nature trails on foot. And then we will enjoy a picnic.

The PALBIF ride. PAL means ‘pack a lunch.’ So… what does BIF mean?

This will be a day for easy cycling—perfect for the entire family, including kids. For more information, go to www.longbeach.gov/naturecenter/.

                    ”You betcha!  I’m all about the FMR.”

“The FMR?”                    

                    ”Yes. The first FMR will be THIS Sunday, April 11th.”

“And what does FMR stand for?”

                    “Easy, just click on the little postage stamp on the right to find out.”

“THIS Sunday you say?”

                    ”Just click on the postage stamp on the right.”