BikinginLA

This weekend is supposed to be perfect for riding. So grab your bike and get out for a ride; this will still be here when you get back.

Or scroll down to find some things to ride to this weekend.

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Streetsblog offers a heartrending look at the reasons that keep Florence-Firestone kids off their bikes, along with still more blocking of the Spring Street green bike lane. Flying Pigeon asks if we should be surprised that drivers ignore Downtown’s green bike lane and trucks block it; Flying Pigeon’s Josef Bray-Ali and CicLAvia’s Joe Linton promote bikes to students in Cypress Park. KNBC-4 looks at this weekend’s Tour de Taste. West L.A.’s Bikerowave will host classes in bike commuting and repair. Congratulations to Gary Kavanagh on his selection to represent Santa Monica on the Expo Line Bicycle Advisory Committee. Plans have been unveiled for Santa Monica’s Colorado Esplanade project, including bike lanes in both directions and connections to other bikeways. Glendale considers green bike lanes of their own. A look at our bike-friendly neighbor to the south. Long Beach’s biking expats say goodbye to En Zed before making their way back home. The Daily News says Measure R funds should be used to build the newly passed county bike plan.

San Diego takes a bike census to aid future planning. A car plowed through a line of Occupy demonstrators at UC Santa Cruz, and may have deliberately targeted a cyclist. A Bakersfield cyclist survives a slug in the back from a passing SUV. A Fresno rider is killed in a collision with a big rig truck; reading between the lines, it sounds like a right hook. The National Handmade Bicycle Show takes place this weekend in Sacramento. A new bike trail is planned to connect Petaluma and Sebastopol. Former LADOT Bike Blog meister Christopher Kidd looks at the future of Safe Routes to Schools. Chico police recover $125,000 worth of stolen bikes.

Amendments to the Senate Transportation bill restore dedicated funding for bike and pedestrian projects while adding more local control; still no hope for the draconian House bill. That (non)merger of the nation’s three leading cycling organizations will be a complete joining of all three while retaining key programs. The winners of the Alliance for Biking and Walking’s People Powered photo contest have been announced; submissions will be made available for download. Bicycling offers a buyer’s guide for entry-level roadies. A Craigslist bike for sale ad leads to marriage in Salt Lake City. Amazingly, Oregon cyclists are blamed for causing considerable road damage; makes you wonder what those roads are made of. The battle over e-bike deliveries in NYC. How the NYPD botched an investigation into a cyclist’s death and blamed the victim — again. A Connecticut judge revokes a teenage driver’s license for life following a serious collision that left a passenger in a coma for weeks afterwards, and yes, I said for life; if only California judges had the courage to do that here.

The next time someone complains about cyclists breaking the law, show them this from Calgary. London’s department of transportation could face a manslaughter charge for the death of a cyclist on a dangerous stretch of road; thanks to David Huntsman for the heads-up. London police seek a cyclist who attacked two pedestrians at random, leaving one in a coma. The design chief for Rolls Royce is found guilty of causing a cyclist’s death. The politics of blaming the victim. Carlton Reid looks at Ripley Road, the Mecca of all good cyclists in the late 1800s. An Aussie woman has lost her driver’s license and faces seizure of her possessions for refusing to wear a bike helmet.

Finally, if you find pedestrians in the bike lane, please don’t treat them like drivers treat us, okay? Bikeyface says we have all the answers.

And it’s not bike related, but this is one of the best front page screw-ups I’ve seen.

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Bike Talk airs every Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

Bike Long Beach hosts Bike Saturdays every weekend; ride your bike to participating local shops and business throughout the city to get special offers and discounts.

The City of Los Angeles will be hosting a series of two Mobility Think Lab Workshops to help solve the city’s mobility problems, on Saturday, March 3rd in L.A. and Pacoima.

Flying Pigeon’s monthly Brewery Ride will head to Downtown’s Little Bear on Saturday, March 3rd; riders meet at the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop, 3714 North Figueroa Street, at 3 pm with a 3:30 departure. Single speed beach cruisers are available to rent for $20. The Spoke(n) Art Ride takes place on Saturday the 10th, with the Get Sum Dim Sum ride on Sunday, March 18th.

Sunday, March 4th, the LACBC rolls out it’s first Tour de Taste, offering an easy, guided 12 mile bike ride along Ballona Creek, as well as food and drinks from some of the area’s best restaurants. The event kicks off at Media Park at the corner of Culver and Venice Blvds starting at 10 am, with rides departing every hour. Cost is $65 for LACBC members and $95 for non-members, with discounted membership and ticket available for $120 (pro tip — become an LACBC member before the 4th and save $20); all proceeds go to create a more bikable Los Angeles. A feeder ride will take place starting at 8:30 am; riders assemble at 8 am in front of the Metro Station at Wilshire and Western.

I’ll be there volunteering at the LACBC booth, so stop in and say hi; if you’re lucky, the Corgi may be with me part of the day.

Former City Council President and current mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti invites you to the official opening of the new Sunset Triangle Plaza at 11 am on Sunday, March 4th, at the intersection of Griffith Park and Sunset Boulevards in Silver Lake.

Also on the 4th, the OC to LA Dream Ride 2012 will roll from El Centro Cultural de Mexico in Santa Ana to Lincoln Heights, with a welcoming celebration at Solidarity Ink. The ride celebrates the passage of the California Dream Act while connecting the immigration rights movement with the cycling community.

Fight back against hit-and-run on Tuesday, March 6th, when cyclists led by Don Ward, aka Roadblock, take up the issue with the L.A. Police Commission at 9 am at LAPD’s new headquarters at 1st and Main Streets Downtown. Riders are asked to meet at the nearby Starbucks one block east on 1st prior to the meeting.

Also on Tuesday the 6th, the Beverly Hills City Council will take up the topic of bike routes, routes and lanes at their 1:30 pm meeting, 455 N. Rexford Drive, Room 400.

Friday, March 9th, the recently reinvigorated C.I.C.L.E. sponsors its free ArtNight Ride, including visits to the Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Side Street Projects, Pasadena Museum of History and the Armory for the Arts. Meet at Memorial Park Pasadena at the intersection of Raymond Ave and Holly Street at 6:30 pm, with the ride leaving promptly at 7 pm.

The 7th annual Tour de Murrieta takes place the weekend of Friday, March 9th through Sunday the 11th in Murrieta, CA; the team competition honors fallen pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado.

Thursday, March 15th, support cycling on the Westside with Bikes – Ballads – Beers: A Benefit for the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition from 7 pm to midnight at the Little Bar, 757 S. La Brea.

The Culver City Bicycle Coalition invites you for an easy ride with the city’s mayor on Monday, March 19th, starting at Syd Kronenthal Park, 3459 McManus Ave, at the east end of the Ballona Creek bike path.

The 28th Annual Redlands Bicycle Classic will take place on March 22nd through 25th in Redlands, offering one of the state’s most intense cycling competitions, as well as a joyful celebration of bicycling for cyclists of all ages.

Streetsblog LA hosts another fundraiser at the Library Ale House on Tuesday, March 27th, 2911 Main Street in Santa Monica. Streetsblog events are always fun and the money goes to keeping us all informed about local transportation issues; great food and beer just makes it that much better.

If you’re looking for a serious challenge, consider the CORPScamp Death Valley, five days of biking in Death Valley National Park featuring 300 miles or more of riding, including the Hell’s Gate Hundred, March 27th through 31st.

If you enjoyed the last CicLAvia, you’ll love the next one on Tax Day, April 15th from 10 am to 3 pm; the route will follow the same expanded course as last October’s.

It might be worth the long drive to Davis CA for the first ever Legends Gran Fondo sponsored by the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame on May 6th, featuring America’s first Tour de France winner Greg LeMond — the man whose name is on my bike —  as well as former World Champion Ruthie Mathes, Olympic silver medalist Nelson Vails, and other members of the Hall of Fame.

May is Bike Month. The first National Bike to School Day is scheduled for May 9th, with National Bike to Work Week taking place on May 14th through 18th, and National Bike to Work Day on Friday the 18th.

L.A.’s favorite fundraising bike ride rolls out on Sunday, June 10th with the 12th Annual L.A. River Ride; this one just keeps getting bigger and better every year. Six different rides, from an easy family ride to a fast, flat century. Funds go to support the LACBC in building a better, more bikeable L.A. County; save $10 if you register by May 15th.

Bikes are normally banned from the famed San Diego – Coronado Bay Bridge, but you can ride it on Sunday, August 26th, during the 5th Annual Bike the Bay, to benefit the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. Get an early registration discount through April 30th.