BikinginLA

It’s going to be a very busy month on the local bike front.

First up is the free Chinatown Summer Nights in Downtown’s Chinatown district from 5 pm to midnight every Saturday in August, with DJs, food trucks, and cultural and cooking demonstrations, among other activities; free bike valet courtesy of LACBC.

Sunday features the Brentwood Grand Prix on San Vicente Blvd in Brentwood, sponsored by Herbalife and Velo Club LaGrange, among others. Races take place all day, starting at 7 am, with the final race scheduled to finish shortly after 4 pm; categories range from kids to masters to Cat 1 racers. You’ll also find a bike and fitness expo, with a free bike valet provided by the very busy LACBC.

Learn to fix your bike from 4 to 8 pm on Tuesday the 10th at Coco’s Variety Store, 2427 Riverside Drive.

On Wednesday the 11th, the third Metro Bike Roundtable takes place at Metro Headquarters, One Gateway Plaza Downtown. Friday was the last day to RSVP, but you may still be able to beg your way in.

The following day, Thursday, August 12th, the LACBC host the 1st Annual City of Lights Awards Dinner at the Maldef Building, 634 S. Spring Street. Tickets are still available.

The Mayor’s rapidly thrown together Bike Summit is scheduled for Monday, August 16 from 9 am to 11 am at Metro Headquarters, One Gateway Plaza.

On August 18th, Good sponsors Moving Beyond Cars to celebrate L.A.’s alternative transportation, in conjunction with railLA, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and de LaB. The event takes place from 7 to 10 pm at City National Plaza, 525 S. Flower, Downtown.

The Santa Monica Museum of Art hosts the bike-centric Cause for Creativity: Tour da Arts, vol. 2, on August 22, 2010; activities include spoke card workshop, a sold-out bike tour, and closing party.

Streetsblog LA resumes regular publication on Thursday, August 26; the night before, Damien will be hosting a re-launch party and fundraiser starting at 7 pm on Wednesday the 25th at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 11555 National Blvd.

In the category of non-biking but fascinating, a 25th Anniversary walking tour of sites associated with the infamous Night Stalker takes place on August 29th.

And looking further down the road, New Belgium Brewery’s Tour de Fat hits town for the first time on Saturday, October 23rd. The following day, Sony sponsors a Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon; they just need to figure out a way to include bikes in it.

………

I met with a couple of very pleasant writers this past week. Sarah Amelar and Jon Riddle are collaborating on a family friendly guide to Where to Bike in Los Angeles. If you have any favorite riding routes or biking destinations you’d like to share, or any tips, stories, secrets or other recommendations for cycling in the City of Angeles — like watch out for cabs on Venice Blvd, especially if it’s your first ride since becoming mayor — they invite you to email them at wheretobikeLA@gmail.com.

And keep your cameras ready; they’re planning a photo contest for shots to be included in the book a little later this year.

………

Gary rethinks bike routes and lane position. Damien confesses his role in the UN bike share plot. A Long Beach council member looks at the city’s bike share plans. George Wolfburg forwards a story of bike on bike crime in Sacramento. San Francisco is finally freed from the bike injunction in a case that absurdly argued that building bikeways would increase air pollution. Do you stop for a red light at the top of a T intersection, or do you go? Personally, I stop, but I seem to be in the minority. Mad Men actor John Slattery rides a bike in a sharp suit. The League of American Bicyclists updates the fight against bike bans in Black Hawk CO and St. Charles County MO. Can’t we all just get along on the roads? A call for art that can be thrown from bikes, as opposed to at them.  If I’d just moved a little quicker, I could have owned my own bike race and even had Lance race in it. Bicycling’s Alex Steida offers tips on how to stay safe in traffic. Yes, bicyclists have to overcome a bad image and obey the rules, but maybe a more nuanced look is called for. Charleston police finally conclude that the driver was at fault, and that an expert cyclist did not make a suicide swerve in front of an oncoming SUV. Four annoying bike trends, including Cycle Chic, Floyd Landis, expensive Dutch bikes and backlash against the Fixerati.

Finally, a Wisconsin DA recommends ticketing a driver who hit and killed a cyclist for violating the state’s three foot passing law; honestly, I don’t even know where to start.