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Traffic Skills 101—Wednesday eve, July 21

MichaelB — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:51:23 +0000

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

MichaelB — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:15:40 +0000

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.

Traffic Skills 101—Wednesday, May 19 & 22

MichaelB — Sat, 15 May 2010 06:45:51 +0000

Today’s dose of Advocacy

bmckeever — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:04:53 +0000

Pasadena is stepping up.

I was reminded of our feat in LB.

“It’s not a bicycle master plan – it’s a roadmap toward a people-prioritizing city. You should support it even if you swear you’ll never ride a bike.”

Traffic Skills 101 for cyclists in mid-February

LBCyclists — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:33:27 +0000

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.

Reading Group discusses cycling issues Sunday, January 31

LBCyclists — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:22:28 +0000

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.

Bicycle Advisory Committee in Long Beach?

LBCyclists — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:16:53 +0000

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!

BikeTalk, on radio station KPFK-FM, December 29th

MichaelB — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:10:00 +0000

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.

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

MichaelB — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:57:28 +0000

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.

Bike Art Dedication

bmckeever — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:52:48 +0000

And a little extra.

“Long Beach, the most bicycle friendly city in America” (It may be possible, with the correct steps taken)

Today’s dedication will commemorate Long Beach’s future goal to be the bike friendliest! We commend the spirit of Long Beach city officials in setting fourth this future achievement, and believe that it could happen, eventually. I also want to add that the art that will be unveiled is quite stunning, thank you to the artist Patrick Vogel for such a beautifully crafted piece!

Now, for the facts… Yup, I’m diving right in!

Most of you will agree on one thing, Long Beach is far away from being viewed as “The most bicycle friendly city in the country,” Many steps need to be taken still. A person wrote into us this morning and shared a story about the lack of friendliness he received from a Long Beach’s police officer while riding his bicycle in the downtown area.

[Yesterday evening, my girlfriend and I were cycling westbound on 3rd St toward Alamitos Ave. As we were nearing the light a LBPD officer pulled up behind us and got on his loudspeaker and said that we needed to move farther to the right and get out of the lane. We were in the right westbound lane, he was in the left westbound lane and there was no other traffic in the area at the time. We were riding in the middle of the lane, to be outside of the door zone of all the parked vehicles along 3rd St and were riding in the exact same location that we would be if we were on the Belmont Shore Sharrows.

After he told us to move to the right, I looked back at him and motioned to him that I wanted to talk. He pulled up along side me and rolled down his window. I told him that it was incorrect that we needed to be farther right because that would put us in the door zone. He said we could stay out of the door zone but still needed to be farther to the right. I said that I wouldn’t because it would be unsafe. The officer became noticeably mad and said, “Don’t argue with me or I’ll give you a ticket.” I said that I had documentation that stated that I was allowed to ride in the lane. He didn’t ask what that documentation was, but I was referring to a pamphlet that I have that contains sections of the California Vehicle Code that pertain to cycling. I received the pamphlet during the Long Beach Bicycle Festival from the City’s BikeLongBeach.org booth. I also have another version of the pamphlet that was issued by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and Metro. The officer then said that he didn’t want to catch us riding in the middle of the lane again. I reiterated that it was the safest place for us to ride. The light at Alamitos had turned green by this point and he said to ride safe and we all proceeded through the intersection.

Both of us have taken the Traffic Skills course that is taught by local League of American Bicyclist instructors and I’ve read over the sections of the California Vehicle Code that I mentioned above (CVC 21202) and sections of the Long Beach Municipal Code. I know we were not riding improperly and was more bothered by the officer getting angry and threatening me with a ticket when I challenged his information than I was by him telling us to move over.

Today there is an art dedication and photo shoot at Long Beach City Hall for what appears to be a self proclaimed, “Long Beach, the most bicycle friendly city in America.” I know that this wasn’t the first time a cyclist had an interaction with an officer about riding in the lane. I would imagine that there was a lot of discussion about cycling and where cyclist should ride or are allowed to ride after the implementation of the Belmont Shore Sharrows. So I’m wondering, since Long Beach is such a bicycling friendly city, what is being done to educate the officers of the LBPD and the general public about proper bicycling and following the rules of the road? I’m frustrated that I continually see cyclists riding the wrong way on one way streets, not paying attention to stop signs and riding on sidewalks while I get threatened with a ticket for riding in the lane. We ride this route frequently when going downtown and will continue to do so even though we are now at risk of getting a ticket from this officer if he sees us cycling in the lane again.

I know there are many projects in the works to help make Long Beach a more bicycling friendly city and I want to make sure that education are part of those plans.

Thank you for your time,

Scott Casey ]

This is the reality, as frightening as it may be some and not at all surprising for others. Scott and his girlfriend’s experience is just one example of many I have heard personally, in fact, a similar situation happened to me a couple months ago. Just so we are all clear, I shared this information not to b*#ch and complain and stomp my feet, but to start the dialog with our community about where we need to begin in hopes of becoming (one day) the most bicycling friendly city.

The answer: EDUCATION

Several LB Cyclists members are League Certified Cycling Instructors (LCI’s) under the League of American Bicyclists certification. They hold monthly classes in Long Beach to teach anyone who will listen the rights, rules, safety and regulations of bicycling.

If the City of Long Beach’s Bicycling authority, officials and/or Legislators would like us to run a program for the LBPD, (for starters) we would welcome that dialog!

For now, enjoy the art this afternoon, but attend with a sense of responsibility and don’t get swept away from the reality of the “most bicycle friendly city” declaration.