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.

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.

There are so many directions a bike advocate can take in his or her journey.  This image from Bikejuju, titled “Tehran Bike Mechanic” inspired me and led my thoughts in a new direction today; I wanted to share.

what will be, will be:  Trick Competition, Gold Sprints, Food Stuffs, musical DJs, Raffles from the event’s sponsors*, & LIVE Music from Ghosts of NIHM, Water Laso, Tiger Tank Euphoria, and Chase Long Beach!

when will this be that you’ll be able to take part in the happenings?  starting at noon and continuing through 10 in the nighttime, Saturday April 3rd.

location: 1741 Long Beach Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90813. (That’s just south of PCH, and close to the Metro Blue Line PCH station.)

* Sponsors include city grounds, vans, jax bicycles, syndicate barber shop, trader joe’s, and others

PedalMovement

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.

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.

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.

Structures near the Transit Mall that used to house the Bikestation and the former Long Beach Transit Information Center have been turned into rubble.

The new Transit Information Center is located at the corner of Pine and First.

This August 4th 2009 image shows a huge tractor at work. Below the new earth, there used to be an amphitheater. The Promenade and adjacent areas are getting a new look.

The Bikestation is now once again in temporary housing, this time on Broadway between Pine and Long Beach Blvd.

This concept art shows what is in the works for the new Bikestation when it returns to the Transit Mall in 2010

Know of some more bike lane maintenance that needs to be done?
Send us an email!

lbcyclists@gmail.com

Thank you again! (Check out the photos)

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

On the windows of Bikestation you’ll read “Secure Bike Parking”, “Repairs – Rentals – Retail”, and of course the hours. But there is a lot more going on inside the glass than just your typical beach community bike shop. The Long Beach Bikestation is a resource for bike commuters in more ways than just fixing your flat tire and handing out maps.

Bikestation Long Beach also operates as a Co-Op, allowing anyone to come in, throw their bike up on the repair stand, and use any of the tools.

Don’t know how to work on your bike? Bikestation boasts two certified mechanics, a certified wheel-builder, a League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructor, and over 50 years of collective bicycle mechanic experience.

So what does this mean for you? It means that all you’ve gotta do is ask for some help and the staff will jump right up and help you adjust your derailleur, install a new headset, build a wheel or even show you how to patch a tube – all for FREE.

The selection of parts isn’t tremendous like your typical shop, but they will be more than happy to order anything you might need.

Spend a little time in the shop and you’ll learn how to fix just about anything that could go wrong on your commute.

Now you have one less reason not to ride your bike everywhere.

Bikestation
221 E. First St.
Long Beach, CA 90802
Mon-Fri, 7am-6pm
Sat-Sun, 9am-5pm
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