BikinginLA

I’m won’t waste your time talking a lot about yesterday’s first ever CicLAvia.

There’s already been a lot written on the subject — some of which you’ll find below — and there will be a lot more in the next few days.

Instead, I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

But I will say, this was one of the most successful events I’ve experienced in L.A. And one that has the potential to change the way we see and experience out city.

We owe a big thanks to the people behind it.

And like virtually everyone who was there, I can’t wait for the next one.

Obligations at home kept me from getting there until after 1 pm when things were well under way, so I didn't waste time joining in.

The LACBC hosted one of the pit stops; even though the crowd was estimated at up to 100,000, it never felt crowded.

My late arrival meant that I didn't time to stop for the best tamales Mexican-style mocha in town; but clearly, a lot of people did.

Contrary to what you may have read, not all of the Give Me 3 posters face away from oncoming traffic; this day, though, no one needed the reminder.

People made themselves at home on the streets; I saw a group enjoying a picnic in the middle of a normally bustling Downtown intersection.

People paused for various musicians and other performers along the way, a sitar performance ended before I could get a photo.

Everyone observed the few rules, although I did see a walker nearly step in front of oncoming traffic as he spoke on his cell phone.

The beautiful 4th Street Bridge was a popular gathering spot for riders; just imagine what it will be once the river is restored to a more natural state.

Some Angelenos used the opportunity to take a stand on a perfect SoCal day; I wish I'd been there early enough to see the mayor on his bike.

The bored looking police said a lot about how well-organized the event was; they seemed to appreciate the frequent thanks from people passing by.

Virtually every flavor of Angeleno represented a CicLAvia; even the four-legged variety joined in on the ride.

With my own bike out of commission, I was glad to have this Urbana bike on loan; everyone who tried it said it rode like a dream.

Just a few additional thoughts.

The overwhelming majority of people I saw were on bikes. While there were a relative handful of skaters, boarders and pedestrians, we need to find a way to get word out to the larger community beyond those of us on two wheels.

Especially the people who live in the area.

For me, the saddest moment of the day came when a couple of young boys stopped me as I was leaving to ask if it was a race or a bike ride. I watched their faces brighten as I told them no, it’s CicLAvia, and you can do anything you want. Bike, walk, play, even — taking note of the boards tucked under their arms — skateboard.

Then I watched those faces fall as I had to add that it was over now.

And suggesting that there should be another one in a few months and maybe they could come out for that one didn’t seem to help.

That’s a long way away when you’re about seven years old.

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Just a few of the many, many anticipated reports from CicAvia, from Bicycle Fixation, the Claremont Cyclist, Straight Out of Suburbia — who rates it awesome — and Orange 20 Bikes, along with a great timelapse video and panoramic shot from Will Campbell. This Girl’s Bike offers a great photo of Downtown as seen from the 4th Street Bridge. Gary called it life changing, while Ubrayj says the city looked the same afterwards, so it must be something inside him that changed. L.A. Cycle Chic provides unedited video of a friend’s ride, while L.A. Creek Freak offers a couple of videos, including one of the thousands of small children who rode the route. Damien delivers three stories from Sunday, but says the most important number was 0 — as in the number of incidents reported. The L.A. Times says an estimated 100,000 people were there; no wonder I couldn’t find most of the people I was looking for. KPCC’s Larry Mantle discussed it on his AirTalk program; a podcast should be online soon. And in perfect L.A. fashion, Green LA Girl starts her day Downtown and finishes up on the beach. Even the LA Weekly finally got on board just hours before the kickoff. CicLAvia wants your pictures and stories, while the Mayor says this was his favorite shot of the day.

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Alberto Contador says that’s his story and he’s sticking to it, or he’ll sue. The count in the Spanish doping scandal now stands at seven. Australia owns the biking events at the Commonwealth Games, while Uganda riders have to make do with old gear and Kiwi riders get slapped — literally. Bicycling explains why next year’s Amgen Tour of California should be a good race, even though it may never be a great one. The next great American cyclist could be starting his racing career right now.

.………

The Ride 2 Recovery to help wounded war vets reclaim their lives comes to a successful conclusion at the Santa Monica Pier; thanks to Stanley for the heads-up. Gary gets two more questionnaires back from candidates for Santa Monica City Council. The L.A. Time’s Sandy Banks looks at the Wilbur Ave road diet from a decidedly windshield perspective. At least some people in Orange County think it will take more than better manners to reduce to their one-a-month rate of bike deaths, as new sharrows hit the pavement in Newport Beach and a writer makes a suggestion to improve a dangerous intersection. Maybe you can’t ride the L.A. Marathon anymore, but you can ride the Long Beach Marathon next weekend. The C-Blog offers good advice on how to ride in a group; he may be doing a lot of that now he’s got a new bike. Long Beach’s cycling expats travel from Philly to New York, dodging a flood and a close call with a falling branch along the way.  Four people were arrested in Stockton after attempting to rob a cyclist and shooting at a witness who tried to intervene. It’s not cars that’s killing off bike messengers, it’s the economy.

As we’ve discussed before, being pro-bike doesn’t mean you have to be anti-car. A how-to video on safe bicycling for children, courtesy of Madison WI and the NHTSA, and a look at the man behind a plan for a 20% bike share in Mad City by 2020. A physician in my hometown uses exceptionally dubious statistics to suggest that the local paper should only show photos of people wearing helmets, while another couple argue that bike paths lower property values, contrary to all available evidence. The Wall Street Journal jumps heads-first into the great helmet debate, though they miss the point on when helmets offer protection — and when they don’t; link courtesy of San Diego bike lawyer Amanda Benedict. Good to know — 12 emergency bike fixes. Learn how to carve a corner. Nevada cyclists get a chance to break in the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge, but why can’t the media figure out the difference between a ride and a race? Don’t build a Maine casino, build a bike tourism industry instead. Biking is getting better in New Orleans, resulting in the nation’s 6th highest level of bike commuters for larger cities.

Bikes are the latest amenity for upscale boutique hotels. Maybe more people would ride to work if they didn’t face death traps along the way. London’s Guardian newspaper endorses the city’s new bike share program. Separate looks at biking in Rome, and the wine country of Tuscany. If you’re tired of driving your Mini Cooper, now you can ride one.

Finally, by far the best report I’ve seen on the death — and more importantly, the extraordinary life — of endurance great Jure Robic.

They said it couldn’t be done.

No, wait. That was me.

As I recall, when I first heard about plans to shut down L.A. city streets for no apparent purpose, my exact words were, “yeah, right.”

I was wrong.

Against all odds, the capital of car culture is going to host its first ciclovía on Sunday, closing down 7.5 miles of streets through East Hollywood, MacArthur Park, Downtown, and Boyle Heights from 10 am to 3 pm.

And not for a race, a ride, a parade or a street festival. But just because it struck everyone involved as a damn good idea.

Even the mayor got onboard early on, long before his Road to Damascus conversion to bike advocate. In fact, the first time he ever mentioned bicycling as Mayor — back when we still didn’t think he knew what a bike was — it was in support of what we now know as CicLAvia.

That’s see-claw-vee-uh.

A peculiarly Los Angeles variation on a Spanish word that translates to “bike path.” And a uniquely L.A. variation on a popular Latin American event that we’re about see translate from Bogotá to the City of Angeles.

Of course, they couldn’t just call it Bike Path, because then it would take ten years just to get the damn thing approved, let alone built. And all the wealthy homeowners along the Expo Line would be against it.

So what is it?

Who knows?

The simple fact is, no one really knows what’s going to happen Sunday. We can make a reasonably educated guess, based on the original in Bogotá as well as the countless other ciclovías that have spread throughout Latin America, and other recent events in the U.S.

Even New York has their own version. Though in typical New York fashion, they insist on calling it something else to fool people into thinking they invented it.

But L.A., in its own inimitable way, will do it our way.

There will be people on bikes, or course; chances are, lots of people on bikes. You can even borrow a bike if you don’t have your own.

Not to mention people on foot. On skates and skateboards. And in all probability, on lawn chairs and loungers and hammocks and stilts and maybe even pogo sticks.

There may be people playing music, or dancing to it. People playing games, and playing hooky from work or church. People in fancy costumes, and people wearing the same costumes they wear everyday. People visiting museums — for half price, no less. People eating and drinking, and restaurants and coffee shops and food trucks.

Lots of food trucks.

Not to mention L.A.’s best non-profit tamales. And what has been called the best pastrami on the planet.

You’ll see L.A. neighborhoods you’ve never seen before. Or never seen this way.

Without cars. And filled with people wondering where all the cars went — and why it can’t be like this all the time.

Best of all, you’ll see Angelenos being Angelenos, in all their glory. And that alone should be worth the price of admission.

Which is free, by the way.

And even here in auto-centric L.A., the only ones who seem to be against it are those arch-conservatives at the no-longer counter culture L.A. Weekly.

Go figure, huh?

And one more added attraction, just to seal the deal. According to the L.A. Times, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the bike community’s new BFF, is planning to ride the entire route.

With helmet and elbow pads, of course.

Now that’s something I want to see.

Volunteers are still needed; email CicLAviaLA@gmail.com.

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No point in traveling to a car-free event by car, is there? Gary says CicLAvia could be history in the making. LA Snark invites Angelenos to actually ride their bikes outside for a change. Tips for wheelchair participants. Wear your biking best, because you could be photographed; and not just by the paparazzi for a change. LADOT Bike Blog looks at volunteer opportunities and opportunities for fun, too. LA Eastside says we need it here more than ever. It’s a great way to experience the city, says Daily Sundial. Maybe you can meet up with someone, or maybe even a blogger, but make sure you get the day right. If you’re feeling political, join in on the rally to Kick Coal and Oil Out of Los Angeles. And the Daily Trojan says this is your chance to take to the streets when there’s no Lakers riots scheduled until next spring.

Then again, there is an alternative event for those of you in the South Bay. And Santa Monica’s ciclovía, which had been planned for the same day, has been postponed for now.

………

A cyclist riding cross country to raise funds for victims of the Gulf oil spill is killed on Wednesday when he’s hit from behind by a pickup just 200 miles from his Florida destination. Roger Grooters of Gulf Shores, Alabama was keeping a blog of his journey; the last entry was dated Tuesday evening, after riding 100.7 miles for the day.

He was 66.

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Former national champion and Postal Service rider Kirk O’Bee has been banned for life after a 2nd doping violation; the American Arbitration Association rules that Aussie rider Nathan O’Neil was intimately involved in his doping program. Italy’s top anti-doping prosecutor says all cyclists are on drugs and it should be legalized — or not.

And in another sterling example of sportsmanship, an Aussie cyclist flips off the judges after he’s disqualified for dangerous riding.

On the other hand, Mark Cavendish shows some class by refusing a 5-star hotel to stay with his teammates at the Commonwealth games.

………

Red light cameras could be used to catch drivers using cell phones; of course, that’s not the only cause of distracted driving. LACBC hosts its first Streetside Outreach Pitstop, and looks for volunteers this month. Long Beach is still looking for volunteers for next week’s bike count, too. San Clemente gets new sharrows; oddly, the city traffic engineer discusses bike lanes, instead. Unbelievably, the man whose lawsuit brought San Francisco’s bike plan to a grinding halt for four years says he plans to appeal. A bike recall for the youngest members of the peloton. Where to ride for the best fall colors. How to uncork a bottle of wine with your bike pump. A warning to beware of glare — and not from the driver you just cut off. Just days after riding in Maine, Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey says Tyler, Texas is his favorite place to ride. Arlington County VA installs bike counters on bike lanes and paths to get an accurate count; why can’t we do that here? A teenage bike thief is arrested after trying to sell a stolen bike back to its owner. An off-duty cop kills a cyclist in the nation’s deadliest state for cyclists. A 72-year old British man is killed after colliding with a cyclist, who was also injured.

Finally, why do anti-bike curmudgeons go so far out of their way to tell you how much they used to ride before their asses outgrew their saddles?

His words, not mine.