Traffic Skills 101—Wednesday eve, July 21

Traffic Skills 101—the short-duration course that helps you develop skills to cycle Long Beach streets more safely—is taught by instructors (LCI’s) who are certified by the League of American Bicyclists. The course at CSULB Pyramid Annex is free, but advance registration is required. Click EDUCATION at the top of the longbeachcyclsts.com page for more information and to link to the CSULB web site to register.

This will be will be the last opportunity to take Traffic Skills 101 in Long Beach this summer.

By the way, the photograph was lifted from the cover of the Smart Cycling pamphlet of the League of American Bicyclists. Given that the League is based in Washington, D.C., can you identify which building we see in the background? And… can you identify who is the LCI in the photo? Hint, he is well known in the Long Beach cycling community.

Traffic Skills 101—Wednesday June 16 and 19

Traffic Skills 101—the short-duration course that helps you develop skills to cycle Long Beach streets more safely—is offered only a handful of times each year. The course at CSULB Pyramid Annex is free, but advance registration is required. Click EDUCATION at the top of the longbeachcyclsts.com page for more information and to link to the CSULB web site to register.

The last opportunity to take Traffic Skills 101 this summer will be in July.

Cyclists and Motorists Sharing the Road

“Share the Road” is one of many online videos produced by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. “Share the Road” lists several ideas that can help the motorist avoid a collision with a cyclist. The video encourages motorists to anticipate that cyclists will use hand signals to make turns, for example. Also, the video encourages motorists to opt for adequate distance between the car and the bicycle.

Of course, the urban nature of Long Beach means that cyclists and motorists often must share tight spaces. Given that road conditions in our city often make for a rather snug fit, the cyclist is safer by cycling predictably rather than erratically… using hand signals, for example… and obeying the same traffic laws as motorists, including the same notions of right of way at intersections.

In the video, we see a cyclist who ignores a stop sign, passing a car that intends to turn right. The cyclist violates the law by failing to stop. Furthermore, he cycles into a dangerous ‘blind spot’. What if the motorists doesn’t know he’s there? Who is at fault if the cyclists gets struck?

Cyclists who recklessly ignore traffic law put themselves in danger and cause some motorists to feel angry at cyclists in general.

When we use the road as motorists, we need to respect cyclists and pedestrians.

When we cycle, we are wise to cycle legally, predictably and courteously so that motorists and pedestrians are not surprised by our presence… and so that we don’t place ourselves in unnecessary danger.

Click to view the Share the Road” video.

Pedestrian and Bike Safety Workshop for professionals

Attention transportation, planning, engineering and design professionals, (and others interested in gaining an insiders view of the latest bicycle and pedestrian design tools): Register before May 3rd for the MAY 17th training workshop called Designing for Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety.

Click on the image for details.

Traffic Skills 101 for cyclists in mid-February

The next Traffic Skills 101 course taught by League-certified Cycling Instructors (LCI’s) is scheduled for February 17 and 20. You need to register in advance. The February course will meet at CSULB Pyramid Annex, (Atherton, between Bellflower and Palo Verde).

For details and to register online, click EDUCATION at the top of the longbeachcyclists.com web page.

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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.

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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.

 

www.pathlesspedaled.com

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!  We miss you. We wish you continued safe travels and more wonderful adventures!

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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.

KPFK 90.7fm logo

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.

Upcoming events

There are many events and rides planned for this month and months to come. To see our calendar, click on EVENTS at the top of this page. There, you can read more details and click open a map for each event.

Monday, November 16:  Meet cyclists from Pedal Movement at the Catalyst Space on First near Linden, 5:00-7:00 pm. Pedal Movement people recently taught bicycle maintenance to a Boy Scout troop. That same night, there’s also a developer meeting held at Wilson High School. And every Monday you can watch polo for cyclists (Monday Night Murderball) at Whaley Park, perhaps even join the team… the Long Beach Knights. Click on the EVENTS calendar for specifics.

Tuesdays:  Pedal Movement organizes GFunk Tuesdays, for a medium-to-fast ride that starts at the In-n-Out near the Traffic Circle, departing a few minutes after 8:00 pm. And there are Tune-Up Tuesdays—the seeds of what might become a bicycle maintenance cooperative?—meeting at Ferns on Fourth Street.

Wednesdays:  CSULBCyclists does a weekly ride starting at the Pyramid at 9:oo pm.

Thursday, November 19:  Jeff Mapes, author of Pedaling Revolution, will be in town, meeting with the public at three venues, as mentioned in the previous article, and as outlined in the EVENTS calendar.

First Fridays:  Support local bike-friendly businesses. Many offer special deals for cyclists on the first Friday of each month.

First Sundays:  Cyclone Coaster rides (vintage bicycles riding a leisurely pace) depart Portfolio Café the first Sunday of each month.

And there are ongoing Traffic Skills classes. And you can assist in LBC advocacy work. And Metro Access Audits will take place on December 5th and 12th—Saturdays. And more!

Again, click on the EVENTS calendar to get to maps, start and end times, and other details.

Mapes PdlngRvltn 19Nov poster