BikinginLA

Long Beach is hosting a series of workshops and bike rides to update their Bicycle Master Plan and make the city more livable and bike friendly.

Or maybe that should be even more livable and bike friendly.

Because unlike some cities I could name, Long Beach has been successful in building out their previous Bicycle Master Plan — including bicycle signage, bike parking and bike safety awareness, as well as nine of the ten priority bike lanes and routes identified in the plan.

Now they’re inviting you to attend four upcoming workshops — including one this Saturday — to explore innovative new treatments and help craft goals for the new plan:

Through Bicycle Master Plan workshops, community members will have the opportunity to both learn about and experience innovative bicycle facility treatments, including bike boulevards and sharrows, while participating in the planning of an innovative alternative transportation system that serves users of all ages and skill levels.

The Saturday workshops will feature optional neighborhood bike ride designed for cyclists of all skill levels. They will also include a bicycle rodeo for children to learn bike safety skills, and bike valet services.

For more information, contact Courtney Aguirre at 562.570.6667 or courtney.aguirre@longbeach.gov.

Workshop Schedule

Saturday, March 5
El Dorado Park West Senior Center
2800 Studebaker Road
Bike Ride 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Community Workshop 2:30 – 4:00pm

Saturday, March 12
Expo Center (Bixby Knolls)
4321 Atlantic Ave.
Bike Ride 10:00 – 11:30 am
Community Workshop 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Saturday, March 19
Bixby Park
130 Cherry Ave.
Bike Ride 10:00 – 11:30am
Community Workshop 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Wednesday, March 23
Mark Twain Library
1401 E. Anaheim St.
6:00 – 8:00 pm

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Speaking of which, the Year of the Bike Plan continues as L.A. County releases its 2011 Draft Bicycle Master Plan, promising 695 miles of proposed new bikeways throughout the county. It will be interesting to see if it connects with any of the bikeways in the City of L.A. plan.

The plan is available for download, and you can offer comments online or attend any of the 11 workshops around the county.

Date & Time	Location	Address
03/28/2011, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.	Topanga Elementary School	141 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290
03/29/2011, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.	Baldwin Park Library	4181 Baldwin Park Blvd., Baldwin Park, CA 91706
03/30/2011, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.	A.C. Bilbrew Library	150 E. El Segundo Blvd, Athens Village, CA 90061
03/31/2011, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.	Fire Station 129 (Association of Rural Town Council Meeting)	42110 6th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93534
04/04/2011, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.	William S. Hart Park	24151 Newhall Avenue, Newhall, CA 91321
04/05/2011, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.	Altadena Library	600 E. Mariposa Street, Altadena, CA 91001
04/06/2011, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.	East LA Library	4837 E. Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90022
04/11/2011, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.	Las Virgenes Water District	4232 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, CA 91302
04/12/2011, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.	Ladera Park Senior Center	4750 West 62nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90056
04/13/2011, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.	Marina del Rey Library	4533 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
04/14/2011 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.	Pathfinder Park	18150 East Pathfinder Road, Rowland Heights, CA 91748

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

GOOD is hosting a fundraising party for CicLAvia from 2 to 7 pm on March 5th, at Atwater Crossing, 3229 Casitas Ave in Los Angeles; tickets range from $20 to $500. As part of the fundraiser, leading L.A. bike activist and Creek Freak Joe Linton will lead a very short, family friendly ride starting at 1:30 pm.

The third LACBC Sunday Funday ride will roll 62 miles through the North San Gabriel Valley on Sunday, March 6th. Lead by board member Alex Amerri, the fast-paced ride for advanced cyclists will explore the area’s architectural and historical highlights; riders assemble at 8:30 am at Parking Lot K at the Rose Bowl, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive in Pasadena, with the ride starting at 9 am.

Support City Council CD4 candidate Stephen Box with Tour de Box on Sunday, March 6; a series of three rides starting from different points at 1 pm.

March 8th is Election Day in Los Angeles. Regardless of who you vote for, just get out and do it.

Wednesday, March 9th, the groundbreaking anti-harassment ordinance goes before the City Council Transportation Committee for a final hearing before it goes to the full Council for final approval; meeting begins at 2 pm in Room 1010 of Downtown City Hall, 200 North Spring Street. It looks like Safe Routes to School may also be on the agenda.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a few days early at the Hermosa Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade beginning at 11 am on Saturday, March 12th along Pier Avenue; you may recognize some familiar faces in the bike parade.

Flying Pigeon and the Bike Oven host the free Spoke(n) Art Ride on the 2nd Saturday of every month; the next ride will take place on March 12th, starting 6:30 pm at 3714 N. Figueroa St. in Highland Park.

Flying Pigeon’s Get Sum Dim Sum ride takes place on the third Sunday of each month; the next ride will be Sunday, March 20 from 10 am to 1 pm, starting at 3714 N. Figueroa St. in Highland Park.

There should be an app for that. Metro invites anyone with a good idea to develop useful mobile apps or web mashups utilizing their transit data, with a goal of enhancing riders ability to use transit and encouraging more people to go Metro — and you could win up to $2,000 for your efforts. Learn more on Thursday, March 31st from 6 to 7:30 pm at Metro Headquarters, One Gateway Plaza Downtown.

The Santa Clarita Century is scheduled to roll on Saturday, April 2nd with rides ranging from a family ride to a full century.

If you’re looking for something a little more relaxed, visit the free Magical Magnolia Bicycle Tour on Saturday, April 2nd from 3 to 7 pm in the Magnolia Park neighborhood in Burbank; be sure to visit Porto’s Bakery for a great Medianoche or Cubano sandwich and Cuban pastries.

The next three CicLAvias will take place on April 10th, July 10th and October 9th. If you missed the first one, don’t make the same mistake again; word is that Lance won’t.

The Antelope Valley Conservancy sponsors the 16th Annual Antelope Valley Ride on Saturday, May 7th with rides of 20, 30 and 60 miles; check-in begins at 7 am at George Lane Park, 5520 West Avenue L-8 in Quartz Hill.

L.A.’s 17th annual Bike Week takes place May 16th through the 20th, with an emphasis on bike safety education, and events throughout the city. This year’s Blessing of the Bicycles will take place as part of Bike Week on 8 to 9:30 am on May 17th at Downtown’s Good Samaritan Hospital, 616 S. Witmer Street. And Metro is looking for Bike Buddies to guide inexperienced cyclists on Bike to Work Day; heads-up courtesy of the marathon-training danceralamode.

The San Diego Century ride takes place on Saturday, May 21st with rides of 37, 66 or 103 miles, starting in Encinitas, along with free admission to an expo featuring sports, local cuisine and live music.

L.A.’s favorite fundraiser ride rolls on June with the 11th Annual River Ride; advance registrationis open now. Volunteers are needed now and on the day of the ride, email RRvolunteer@la-bike.org for more info and to sign up.

And mark your calendar for the 2011 L.A. edition of the Tour de Fat on October 9th; unfortunately, Yom Kippur also falls on that date this year, so Jewish cyclists will have to choose between atoning and having something else to atone for.