May Cycling Fun in Long Beach, California

On the first Sunday of each month, the free, Cyclone Coaster ride (slow pace—a celebration of old and unusual bicycles) departs from Portfolio Coffeehouse (Fourth at Junipero) at 10:00 am.

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.

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MichaelB, April 30th 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Featured, advocacy, event, ride

Bikestation Long Beach — new location

The Bikestation of Long Beach moved to its new, permanent facility downtown on July 27th, 2011. Be sure to stop in to check out the new structure.

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.

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MichaelB, July 26th 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Bicycle equipment/gear, Featured, advocacy

Long Beach Bikeways Opening Celebration — April 23

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.

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MichaelB, April 18th 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Current News, ride

Moving Long Beach, join the conversation — April 7

Participate in an important interactive group dialogue about bicycle-friendly “Living Streets” in Long Beach.

The event is free, but you’ll need to RSVP by Wednesday evening, April 6th.

For details, click on the postage stamp to the right. To RSVP, contact Allan Crawford at allancrawford@bikeablecommunities.org.

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MichaelB, April 1st 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in advocacy, meeting

Mark Bixby—Friend of Long Beach cycling community

Mark Bixby was an important advocate for cycling in Long Beach. He was the founding director of the annual Long Beach Bicycle Festival. In recent months he was an important voice calling for allowances for cyclists in the design of a new bridge connecting downtown Long Beach to Terminal Island. Mark Bixby was a member of Long Beach Cyclists. He was a friend to our community, and he will be missed.

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MichaelB, March 16th 2011 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Current News, advocacy

Bixby Park—Saturday, March 19

See you at Bixby Park for an easy, family-oriented neighborhood bike ride on Saturday, March 19th, departing at 10:00 am.

Then, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, also at Bixby Park, join the community workshop to update the Long Beach Bicycle Master Plan. Your suggestions and observations will be noted by staff of the Department of Public Works.

Bixby Park is located between Cherry and Junipero, and between Ocean Blvd. and Broadway.

If the opportunity to participate in a fun bike ride and to provide City planners with your input about cycling infrastructure isn’t incentive enough… here’s one more goodie to sweeten the pot: There will be free Mc’Coffee.

It occurs to us that this Saturday you could enjoy a particularly Buzzy Day in a coffee-tasting way. We suggest that you buy various cups of coffee at several of our favorite local cafés (including coffee from Hot Java and from the Park Pantry—both across the street from Bixby Park—and from Portfolio Coffeehouse on Fourth at Junipero)… and then enjoy some free McCoffee as part of the community workshop. After the workshop, you could then cycle over to Sipology #2 on Broadway at Temple… and then cycle around the rest of the day to a dozen other great, locally-owned cafés. No… wait… you should NOT sip that much coffee in one day. Better to do your coffee tasting little by little. So… scratch the Buzzy Day idea. This Saturday, would you care for some McCoffee?

The final Bicycle Master Plan Update community meeting will take place at the Mark Twain Library (1401 E. Anaheim), Wednesday, March 23rd, 6:00-8:00 pm.

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MichaelB, March 16th 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in advocacy, ride

LBC members input requested

Members of Long Beach Cyclists who live in Long Beach and Signal Hill (but not other cities) are asked to participate in a vote on an important organizational matter. A meeting to discuss this issue is scheduled for Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011 at 7:17 p.m at Polly’s Coffee on Second Street in Belmont Shore. We thank all in advance for their participation.

Ballots are being mailed to each member who lives in Long Beach and Signal Hill. Members are asked to mail their vote on the resolution to the Long Beach Cyclists P.O. Box early enough that it can be retrieved to be counted at the ballot-counting meeting which is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 at 7:17 p.m.—also at Polly’s Coffee in Belmont Shore. A member may submit his or her ballot by mail, or in person at either the March 2nd meeting, or at the March 9th meeting.

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MichaelB, February 23rd 2011 | Tags: , ,
Posted in meeting

Request for input to Bicycle Master Plan update

Attend an upcoming public meeting to provide your input regarding cycling in Long Beach. The Long Beach Department of Public Works is holding meetings in many neighborhoods to solicit input about updating the Bicycle Master Plan.

The City has scheduled nine public sessions to request input during January, February and March. Also, the City will sponsor free bike rides prior to five of those public meetings.

To view details (dates, times, locations) about meetings 1-5, click on the LEFT. (Bicycle Master Plan workshops at Lowell Elementary School, First Congregational Church, Silverado Park, Coolidge Park and Los Altos Library.)

To view details (dates, times, locations) about meetings 6-9, click on the RIGHT. (Bicycle Master Plan workshops at El Dorado Park, Bixby Knolls, Bixby Park and Mark Twain Library.)

To view details about free bike rides starting at Lowell Elementary School and Silverado Park, click on the LEFT.

To view details about free bike rides starting at El Dorado Park, Bixby Knolls and Bixby Park, click on the RIGHT.

For more information, contact Courtney Aguirre at (562) 570-6667.

Courtney.Aguirre@LongBeach.Gov.

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MichaelB, January 21st 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in advocacy, meeting, ride

Traffic Skills for Cyclists, Wednesday Dec. 15

Now is a great time to sign up for the next, free, two-session Traffic Skills 101 course. Participants meet at the CSULB Pyramid Annex for one evening classroom session, then meet once again on their bicycles the following weekend for several daylight hours of practice and sharing of observations while cycling legally and safely in traffic. Instructors are LCI certified.

You need to sign up online in advance. Go to EDUCATION at the top of the longbeachcyclists.com web page for details, for schedule, and for the registration link. The next in-class session is Wednesday, December 15th at 6:00 pm.

There are many good reasons to take the Traffic Skills 101 course. It’s smart to know your road rights and responsibilities, and to always cycle safely and legally. Another great reason to take the course is that it is a prerequesite for serving as a board member of Long Beach Cyclists—you are encouraged to consider becoming one of the organization’s leaders in coming months. Our first board was elected in March of 2010; soon perhaps a new group of individuals will want to lead our organization. Step up and make it happen.

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MichaelB, December 6th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Education, advocacy

Long Beach Bikeways—Where to? What are they like?

During the past year, we see Bikeway signs posted here and there across town.

Each Long Beach Bikeway route is assigned a number. Some signs also have arrows or destination information. How might we make use of these new traffic tools?

Local cyclist Peter Dopulos—no ties to the City of Long Beach nor to Long Beach Cyclists—has been cycling newly posted bikeways. Over time, Peter has been describing what he has observed and felt while cycling the routes he has explored so far. To read his interesting descriptions, full of discovery, see www.everythinglongbeach.com/lb/long-beach-bikeways/.

Peter visited Long Beach Cyclists during a recent monthly meeting to share what he has observed and learned. It was wonderful to hear Peter’s stories and sense his enthusiasm as he explores routes on his bike, without initially knowing where a new route will lead him.

What Long Beach Cyclists knows from our ongoing interactions with City planners and engineers is that many cycling-related projects are being contemplated or sketched out, and some are already being implemented. City staff developed a detailed list of preliminary route options. However, City engineers in turn are making adjustments, based on road widths, traffic flow and other considerations. Someday not too far off it would be good to have in hand an excellent map for cyclists indicating all of the eventual numbered bikeways.

Lacking a map of bikeways already posted no doubt has made Peter Dopulos’ adventure of sniffing out the where to’s all the more fun for him.

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LBCyclists, August 21st 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Education, advocacy
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