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.

The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee, the city’s only official voice for bicyclists, meets on the first Tuesday of every even-numbered month; the next meeting takes place at 7 pm on Tuesday, April 1st at 6501 Fountain Ave.

Celebrate a belated Valentines Day with Ride for Love: Explore the Changes of Watts, co-sponsored by Metro, C.I.C.L.E. and the East Side Riders. The ride will share love, community and the joy of bicycling while exploring the history and changes of Watts; meet at 9:30 am at 10950 S. Central Ave.

Bike Newport Beach is hosting a Lunch in Laguna Beach Valentines Ride on Saturday, February 15th. Meet at the Newport Beach Civic Center for the 10 am, 18.3 mile moderately paced ride, returning about three hours later.

A memorial ride will be held on Saturday, February 15th for fallen cyclist David Mendez, killed by an alleged drunk driver in Riverside last month. The ride starts at 2 pm at Riverside City Hall, 3900 Main Street.

Last month’s scheduled ride with LACBC and the authors of Where to Bike Los Angeles had to be cancelled due to smoke from the Colby Fire. This month, they make up for it by returning to the planned route through the river bikeways and historic towns of the San Gabriel Valley on Sunday, February 16th. The ride meets at Classic Coffee, 148 N. Glendora Ave in Glendora at 8:30 am, rolling at 9 am.

The first ever Los Angeles Bicycle Commuter Festival and Summit takes place on Sunday, February 16th from noon to 8 pm at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place; tickets $10. The family friendly festival has a full day of workshops and entertainment scheduled anyone who is interested in bike commuting in the Los Angeles area, but has been reluctant to give it a try for whatever reason. Representatives from the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, CicLAvia, LA Bike Trains and SoCal Cross will be in attendance, along with commuter-focused bike shops Orange 20 and Flying Pigeon LA.

Also on the 16th, a fundraising ride from Pasadena to Silverlake will be held to benefit injured cyclist David Enright, who was hit by an unlicensed and uninsured driver last November. The ride will depart from Intelligentsia Coffee Bar in Pasadena at 10 am, riding by historical landscapes, quiet ravines, bustling neighborhoods, and the breathtaking Silverlake Reservoir, ending at the flagship Inteligensia in Silverlake. Suggested sponsorship is $200, however, sponsorship is not mandatory; all proceeds go to help Enright’s long road to recovery.

Monday, Feb. 17th is your deadline to enter the Ride with Greg Laemmle contest. The winner receives a free entry to this year’s Climate Ride, as well as $2500 towards your minimum fundraising total and an Unlimited Laemmle Movie Pass for the remainder of 2014. Two second place winners will get the movie pass, free Climate Ride registration and $1250 towards fundraising.

Serious Cycling hosts a Malibu Gran Fondo from Friday, February 21st to Sunday, February 23rd. Event is limited to first 100 to register.

Get ready to get jiggy wit it as the LACBC invites you to celebrate their 16th birthday with a 1998-themed Bike Prom from 8 pm to midnight on Saturday, February 22nd at the American Legion Post 206, 227 N. Ave. 55 in Highland Park; earlybird tickets are $8 for LACBC members and $16 for nonmembers before February 7th.

Chinatown’s annual Firecracker Ride takes place on Saturday, February 22nd with rides of 20 and 30 miles; 943 North Broadway.

Check out the latest implementation of the Glendale Bike Master Plan with a leisurely ride through the city’s new designated bike routes, ending at the Golden Road Brewery, from 1 pm to 3 pm on Saturday, February 22nd. Meet at the Glendale Public Library, 222 East Harvard Street.

The LABC’s West Bike Ambassadors host a leisurely ride through Venice and Mar Vista on Sunday, February 23rd; the eight to ten mile ride starts at the Mar Vista farmer’s market at the intersection of Venice Blvd and Grand View at 10 am.

The San Fernando Valley Bike Club offers a twice monthly Campagni Group Ride — Italian for companion — on the second and fourth Sunday of every month. The moderately paced, leader-led no-drop ride on February 23rd offers a choice of 25 or 52 miles around Chatsworth Lake, departing from the Northwest corner of Nordhoff and Etiwanda in Northridge (CSUN Parking Lot B1) at 8 am sharp. Click here for more details (footnote d); lots of other great sounding rides on the list, too.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 25th, as Longbeachize hosts a Long Beach mayoral forum at the Art Theatre, 2025 E. 4th Street, sponsored by the LACBC, Bikeable Communities, Streetsblog LA and the Long Beach Post. Topics include bicycling, pedestrian accessibility, placemaking, urban design, and green policies. Time and further details to be determined.

The LACBC’s Civic Engagement Committee meets on the last Tuesday of every month to discuss how bike riders can influence the political process and lobby elected leaders. The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 25th, at 6:45 pm, 634 S. Spring Street in Downtown LA.

A community meeting will be held from 6 pm to 8 pm on Wednesday, February 26th, to discuss the proposed Rail to River Greenway along the Slauson corridor in South LA, at the Los Angeles Academy Middle School’s multi-purpose room, 644 E. 56th Street.

Burbank will host a community meeting on Wednesday, February 26th at 6 pm to discuss the proposed Burbank Channel Bikeway; 301 E. Olive Ave in Room 102 of the Administrative Services Building. The proposed bikeway will run from the Burbank Metrolink station to Griffith Park via the Burbank/Western flood control channel.

Stan’s Bike Shop is hosting Bike Touring 101 on Saturday, March 1st at 3 pm, 880 Myrtle Ave in Monrovia. Experienced bike touring gurus Johnny Lam and Errin Vasquez will offer advice on what to take and what not to, as well as how to pack for your adventure.

The 2nd Annual Bike Oven Fundraiser Auction takes place on Saturday, March 1st from 5 to 10 pm, 3706 North Figueroa St. Donations of any kind are welcome, from auction items to refreshments.

The formal recommendation to include bike lanes on a rebuilt Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills goes before the city council on Tuesday, March 4th, at 7 pm; 455 North Rexford Drive. If you ride through Beverly Hills — or would like to — be there to fight to complete the missing link between the Century City and West Hollywood bike lanes.

Bicyclists are encouraged to attend a court hearing for Wendy Villegas, the driver charged in the alleged drunken hit-and-run that resulted in the death of cyclist Andy Garcia, and seriously injured two others. The hearing is scheduled for 8:30 am on Thursday, March 6th in Division 37 of the Downtown courthouse, 210 West Temple Street.

Sunday, March 9th marks the return of the LA Marathon — and the world-famous Wolfpack Hustle: The Marathon Crash Race. As always, the ride meets at 3 am at Tang’s Donuts, 4341 W Sunset Blvd, rolling at 4 am through the closed marathon course to the coast.

C.I.C.L.E. hosts The Way Back When Ride: La Puente, co-sponsored by Metro and Bike SGV, on Saturday, March 15th. The family-friendly, leisurely paced ride meets at 10:30 am at the Park-N-Ride Lot at Stafford Street and Glendora Avenue in the City of Industry, rolling at 11 am.

Also on Saturday, March 15th, give your legs a test with the annual Malibu Seven Canyon Classic, with routes ranging from 50 to 100 miles, including a new fast, flat route along the coast. All rides start at 8 am.

Finish up the day with the first Streetsblog fundraiser of the year from 6 to 9 pm on Saturday, March 15th as they honor Streetsie Award winner Paul Backstrom, Transportation Deputy to Westside Councilmember Mike Bonin. The event, with a suggested donation of $100, will include Indian food, beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages; location provided upon RSVP to Damien@streetsblog.org.

The City of Los Angeles will host a series of neighbor workshops to collect feedback on the Mobility Plan 2035, re:code LA and the Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles; the Mobility Plan especially will impact the future of bicycling in the city. Click here for addresses and other information (pdf).

• North Los Angeles, 9 am to noon on Saturday, March 15th
• Central, 5 to 8 pm on Wednesday, March 19th
• South Los Angeles, 9 am to noon on Saturday, March 22nd
• East, 9 am to noon on Saturday, March 29th
• West, 6 to 9 pm on Wednesday, April 2nd
• South Valley, 9 am to noon on Saturday, April 5th
• Harbor, 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday, April 12th

The National Open Streets Summit is scheduled for Friday, April 4th through Sunday, April 6th in Los Angeles.

The next CicLAvia is scheduled for Sunday, April 6th on iconic Wilshire Blvd, LA’s historic main street. The free event rolls and walks from Downtown to the Miracle Mile with expanded hours from 9 am to 4 pm.

Fans of the Amgen Tour of California can ride the same official Stage 8 course the pros will when the L’Etape du California rolls on Sunday, April 6th in Thousand Oaks. Entry is limited to the first 1,500 riders to register.

Walk ‘n Rollers teams up with the LACBC to present the free 2014 South LA Kids Bike Festival on Sunday, April 13th from 11 am to 2 pm at the Foshay Learning Center, 3751 S. Harvard Blvd. The fun family event will focus on developing safe riding skills; a limited supply of bikes and helmets will be available to borrow.

The American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure Ship to Shore ride takes place on Sunday, April 27th at the Queen Mary, 1126 Queen’s Highway in Long Beach. Rides range from eight to 100 miles, with a $200 fundraising minimum.

On February 17th of last year, Damian Kevitt was hit by a minivan while riding his bike in Griffith Park. The driver attempted to flee the scene with Kevitt trapped under the vehicle, dragging him nearly 600 feet onto the 5 Freeway and leaving him for dead; the resulting injuries cost him a leg and nearly took his life. On Sunday, April 27th, Kevitt is planning to finish the ride to raise funds for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

The Ride 2 Recovery to benefit wounded vets returns to Southern California on Saturday, May 3rd in Thousand Oaks. The ride departs from the Lost Hills Sheriff Station, 27050 Agoura Hills Road, starting at 8 am; no cost for injured vets.

Bike Week 2014 is set to unfold the week of May 12th, with preview events on Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th.

• May 10th: Get Ready and Fix Your Bike!
• May 11th: Bicycling is for Everyone Celebration!
• May 12th: Kick-off Bike Week LA
• May 13th: Blessing of the Bicycles
• May 14th: Guided Ride Day: Bike Lanes and More!
• May 15th: Bike to Work Day
• May 12th-18th: Bike Local Discounts

Mark your calendar for Glendale’s 2nd Annual Jewel City Fun & Fitness Ride on Sunday, May 18th, with rides ranging from seven to 45 miles.

LA’s most popular fundraising bike ride rolls on Sunday, June 22nd with the 14th edition of the LACBC’s Los Angeles River Ride. Ten rides of varying lengths, with starting points in Long Beach and Griffith Park, including two centuries, a 15-mile family ride and a free kid’s ride; discount prices available through May 27th.

Mark your calendar for the Peace Love & Family Ride for Crohn’s and Obesity in South LA on July 5th and 6th. Great cause; more details when they become available.

The year’s second CicLAvia takes place on Sunday, October 5th with a new variation on the classic Heart of LA route through Downtown LA, from Echo Park to East LA.

The first winter — or late fall, anyway — CicLAvia is also the first to roll through historic South LA on Sunday, December 7th, from the cultural center of the Southside in Leimert Park to the birthplace of West Coast Jazz on Central Avenue.

Find bike racing schedules and other cycling events at SoCal Cycling.