BikinginLA

Bike Talk airs every Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK; this week features the estimable Colin Bogart, Education Director for the LACBC.

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.

This month’s LACBC Sunday Funday Ride takes a field trip with the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition for the Fountain Avenue Sharrows Ride. The easy, 4-mile family-friendly ride meets at the WeHo City Hall parking lot, 8300 Santa Monica Blvd at 10 am, rolling at 10:15.

The Pasadena Tri Club is offering a nine week Group Riding Series for new cyclists interested in learning how to ride with in a group with more experienced riders; the course is designed to teach the basics, improve fitness and increase confidence. Sessions meet each at 8 am each Saturday at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center, 360 N. Arroyo Blvd in Pasadena, through April 27th; thanks to Margaret Ho for the heads-up.

Sunday, April 8th a Ghost Bike Ride will be held, starting at 9 am at Ted Watkins Park at E. Century Blvd and S. Central Ave, riding to the 900 block of East 43rd Street.

The Encino Velodrome offers the final session of an intensive six week introduction to track racing on Wednesday, April 10th at 7 pm. Sessions cost just $10 each, 17301 Oxnard Street in Encino.

Caltech Bike Lab teams with C.I.C.L.E. to offer a series of free defensive cycling classes; the next one take place on Sunday, April 7th, followed by a second session on Saturday, June 8th at Caltech Y, 505 S. Wilson Ave in Pasadena. RSVP to bike@cicle.org with the date you want to attend.

See what’s planned for Downtown’s iconic boulevard as plans are unveiled to transform the Figueroa Corridor into the city’s first Complete Street on Tuesday, April 9th, from 5:30 to 8 pm. The session will feature Long Beach’s Charlie Gandy, along with refreshment’s and a free bike valet at the Andrew Normal Hall Orthopaedic Hospital, 2400 S. Flower Street.

The Tour de Carson rolls on Saturday, April 13th from 9 am to 1 pm at Carson City Hall, East Carson Street and Avalon Blvd. The event will feature guided rides for beginner, intermediate and expert cyclists, bike safety and maintenance sessions, children’s health fair and discussion of the city’s Draft Master Plan of Bikeways; register for prizes and free food with RSVP.

Also on the 13th, take part in the Ethnic Nerds Bike Ride: L.A. Murals + Trees + Food, from 2 to 6 pm. The six-mile ride starts that the Plaza at Olvera Street, ending at the USC Rose Garden.

The Classic Gran Fondo San Diego rolls on Sunday, April 14th, starting and ending in the city’s Little Italy neighborhood. If you go, make sure your taxes are done first, since they’re due the next day.

Long anticipated bike-focused Calabasas farm-to-table restaurant, coffee shop and bike shop Pedalers Fork is scheduled to open on Monday, April 15th at 23504 Calabasas Road. I hope they have plenty of secure bike parking, because they’re going to need it.

The City of Los Angeles will hold two Environmental Impact Report and scoping meetings for the new Mobility Element Update, which includes a major bicycling component. The first will take place on Tuesday, April 16th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the North Hollywood Library, 5211 Tujunga Ave in North Hollywood. The second will be held om 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Monday, April 22nd at Caltrans District 7 Building, Room 01.040 A & B, 100 Main Street Downtown.

The inaugural Green Prix of Long Beach will take place from 11 am to 6 pm on Saturday, April 20th in the parking lot of Anderson’s Hardware, 714 Pine Avenue; the free event will offer green artists, urban farmers, green chefs, children’s workshops, film screenings, sustainably focused beer, local venders and food trucks, in addition to a group ride, free bike valet and drawings for bike items.

The next CicLAvia rolls out on Sunday, April 21st from 10 am to 3 pm, following a new route from Downtown to Venice Beach — or as Yo! Venice! puts it, from Dogtown to Downtown — along Venice Blvd. Future events will follow Wilshire Blvd from Downtown to Fairfax on Sunday, June 23rd, before returning to an extended Downtown route on Sunday, October 6th.

The Ride 2 Recovery Honor Ride will take place on Saturday, April 27th, with rides of 17, 40, 62.5 and 100 miles. The ride will start from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, 27050 Agoura Road; funds benefit outdoor cycling programs and spinning recovery labs for wounded vets around the country.

Streetsblog LA hosts its 5th Birthday Party and Streetsie Award Dinner on April 27th, at the home of Deborah Murphy. Suggested donations for the fundraiser range from $25 to $100, but no one will be turned away; RSVP for location.

Sunday, April 28th, the 2013 LA to the Valley Unity Ride rolls to strengthen bonds between the city’s disparate communities. The ride starts and Los Angeles Historic Park and ends at Tia Chuchas. Registration is $20 before April 17th, and $25 before closing on April 19th; it includes lunch, dinner, snacks and mechanical support.

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s Civic Engagement Committee meets at 6:45 pm on the last Tuesday of each month. This month’s meeting will take place at Johnnie’s Pizza at Museum Square, 5757 Wilshire Blvd. on Tuesday, April 30th. This will be the last meeting before next month’s Mayoral and City Council election. You don’t have to be an LACBC member to participate; email bikinginla at hotmail dot com to be added to the discussion list.

This year’s Bike Week will take place May 13th – 19th, starting with Fix Your Bike Day on Monday the 13th, Guided Ride Day on Wednesday, May 15th, Bike to Work Day on Thursday the 15th, and Bike Local Weekend from Friday, May 17th to Sunday the 19th, offering discounts to bicyclists who mention Bike Week.

The 10th Annual Blessing of the Bicycles is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14th at Good Samaritan Hospital, 616 Witmer Street, between 6th and Wilshire. The multi-faith event is always one of the high points of Bike Week. And it never hurts to have a little divine protection when you ride.

Registration has opened for this year’s LA River Ride, to be held Sunday, June 9th, starting and ending in Griffith Park. If you haven’t done the River Ride, I highly recommend it; if you have, then why haven’t you registered already?

Here’s your chance to bike the famed Las Vegas strip and the surrounding Las Vegas Valley, with the 6th Annual RTC Viva Bike Vegas Gran Fondo Pinarello on Saturday, September 21st. The event will offer routes for riders of all levels, from a 17-mile ride to 60-mile Metric Century and a 103-mile Gran Fondo; the longer rides will visit the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and Lake Mead. Discount registration applies through April 10th.