BikinginLA

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.

Celebrate Earth Day a little early as C.I.C.L.E. presents the third annual Lorax Ride on Saturday, April 14th as part of Pasadena’s Earth & Arts Festival. The free ride assembles at 11 am at Pasadena Memorial Park, East Holly Street and North Raymond Avenue, with an 11:30 am departure.

The Spoke(n) Art Ride takes place on Saturday the 14th; riders meet at the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop, 3714 North Figueroa Street, at 6 pm, with a 6:30 departure time. Single speed beach cruisers are available to rent for $20.

The High Desert Cyclists are starting a series of comfortably paced 15 – 20 mile monthly Brunch Rides starting at Marie Keer Park, Avenue P and 3oth Street West in Palmdale. The first ride takes place on Saturday, April 14 at 8 am; bring money for brunch at a local restaurant or coffee shop.

The 10th Annual Laurel Foundation’s Ride for AIDS will take place with a two-day century ride from San Diego to Santa Monica on April 14th and 15th, and a one day ride from Santa Monica to Redondo Beach and back on April 15th.

L.A. favorite rolling street party takes place this Sunday, April 15th as CicLAvia unfolds on the streets of L.A. from 10 am to 3 pm, with a special 9:30 am kickoff event at El Pueblo, 845 North Alameda Street; the route will follow the same expanded course as last October’s. While you’re there, stop by Orange 20 Bikes at the west end of the route, at the intersection of Heliotrope and Melrose, for a book signing with Eben Weiss, aka BikeSnobNYC, starting at 10:30 am. And be sure to visit Chinatown’s first annual Springfest from noon to 8 pm, making it the perfect spot for your CicLAvia after party. Feeder rides will roll from Santa Monica, Culver City, UCLA, and Highland Park, as well as rides from the Bikerowave and back again.

Update: The first meeting of the newly formed LACBC Civics Committee scheduled Wednesday, April 18th at the Downtown Pitfire Pizza has been postponed yet again, date to be determined. The committee will serve to give the LACBC a voice in the local political process to help ensure the election of bike-friendly candidates; Efren Moreno Jr and yours truly will serve as Co-Chairs.

The University of Southern California presents an update to their draft campus bike plan at 1p on Thursday, April 19th at Tommy’s Place in the USC Ronald Tutor Campus Center, 3607 Trousdale Parkway.

Here’s an event for the bipedalists among us, as Los Angeles Walks is hosting a karaoke fundraiser from 7 to 11 pm on Saturday, April 21st  at Atwater Crossing, 3245 Casitas Ave.

Sunday, April 22nd, Santa Monica celebrates the opening of their New Bike Campus at Ocean Park Blvd and Barnard Way with a Bike Rodeo and other festivities; more information to come.

Celebrate Earth Day at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, with a 2 pm screening of Riding Bikes with the Dutch; admission is free if you ride your bike.

The Santa Monica Spoke will meet at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, April 24th, at a location to be announced. Topics will include plans to bring CicLAvia to Santa Monica and the Westside.

Beverly Hills hosts a series of public outreach meetings to gauge support for the city’s proposed bike pilot bicycle routes. The next meeting will take place at 7 pm on Wednesday, April 25th at the Public Works Building, 345 Foothill Blvd, with the final hearing scheduled for a special meeting of the city’s Traffic & Parking Commission at 7 pm on Wednesday, May 9th in the Beverly Hills City Hall, 455 N. Rexford Drive, Room 280A.

Shifting Gears Cycling sponsors the 17th (or possibly 16th) Annual Santa Barbara Double Century on Saturday, April 28th and Sunday, April 29th. The two-day supported ride will travel 100 miles from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara, returning the next day.

Here’s your chance to ride with the USC Cycling Team on Sunday, April 29th, with your choice of three rides of increasing speed and difficulty starting at 9:30 am at Bike Effect, 910 W. Broadway in Santa Monica. Suggested $20 donation supports the 2012 USC Cycling race program.

The BikeFest Tour of Long Beach rolls on Saturday, May 5th, with rides of 31 and 62 miles, as well as a Gran Fondo, and day-long bike festival; proceeds support pediatric cancer research at Miller Children’s Hospital of Long Beach.

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.

L.A. Streetsblog holds it’s third annual fundraiser at Eco-Village, 116 Bimini Place on Friday, May 11th starting at 6 pm; admission is $25 on a sliding scale based on ability to pay.

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.

Here in L.A., Bike Week kicks off at 10 am Monday, May 14th at Expo Park/USC Station, which is also the starting point for the Expo/Mid-City Bike Ride starting at 8 am. Good Samaritan Hospital’s annual Blessing of the Bicycles will take place on Tuesday, May 15th from 8 am to 9:30 am in front of the hospital at 1225 Wilshire Blvd; expect a great breakfast and bike swag, with non-sectarian bike blessings from virtually every faith found in L.A. Bike to Work Day is Thursday, May 17th, with Bike to School Day on Friday, May 18th.

The Amgen Tour of California will kick off with the first of eight stages on Sunday, May 13th in Santa Rosa, with Southern California stages from Palmdale to Big Bear on Friday, May 15th, Ontario to Mt. Baldy on Saturday the 19th, and the final stage from Beverly Hills to L.A. Live on Sunday, May 20th.

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.

Sunday, July 1st, Shuntain Thomas, the Real Rydaz and We Are Responsible People (WARP) will host a ride through the streets of South Los Angeles to raise attention to the problem of childhood obesity and streets as recreational space. The ride starts at 10 am at Exposition Park, and ends at a street festival at 86th Street and Vermont Avenue.

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.

Early registration has opened for the national Pro Walk/Pro Bike® conference to be held September 10th through 13th in Long Beach. The 17th annual conference is sponsored by the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, and Project for Public Spaces.

This year’s Tour de Fat will take place on Saturday, September 15th at Los Angeles State Historic Park — and this time, it’s not scheduled on the Jewish high holidays, so everyone can attend.