Most rides, you don’t see anything out of the ordinary. And others just take your breath away.
I’ve ridden past the hang gliding launch site above Dockwieler State Beach for a couple decades now, and never actually seen one in the air. Until now.
Let alone ridden alongside, so close I could nearly touch it.
Then again, maybe you could do the flying yourself on your next ride.
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This is what happens when I find myself stuck updating recent stories instead of working on my next post.
I get scooped once again by the ever-intrepid Damien Newton of LA Streetsblog.
Then again, this is a story worth sharing.
Because there’s a bike party going on at the LA Zoo. And if you’re over 18, you’re invited.
The Zoo’s Roaring Nights program offers live music, a DJ, stand-up comedy, food trucks and — here’s the best part — full bar service. Which means you can enjoy a beer while watching the bears. Or a martini with the marsupials.
Okay, maybe the second best part.
Because the Zoo is going to be LA Bike Central every Thursday for the next three weeks.
They’re encouraging everyone to ride their bikes there and leave their cars at home. Which means you could take a pleasant ride up the LA River bike path to the zoo on a warm and starry summer night. Or thanks to the 7 pm start time, make your way causally through the Griffith park area in relatively light post-rush hour traffic.
And you’ll find a free bike valet once you get there, courtesy of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, along with a special discount on admission for LACBC members.
You are a member, right?
WHEN:
Thursdays, July 11, 18, and 25, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
LINE UP:
July 11: Live band So Many Wizards; Comedians Rob Gleeson and Jonny Loquasto
July 18: Live band CHIEF; Comedians Francisco Ramos and Helen Hong
July 25: Live band NO; Improv comedy troupe
WHERE:
The Los Angles Zoo, 5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027
The Los Angeles Zoo is located at the northeast corner of Griffith Park at the junction of the I-5 (Golden State) and the 134 (Ventura) freeways.
Biking to the Zoo is encouraged, and the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition (LACBC) will provide free bike valet for all of the Roaring Nights events.
COST:
The event is $18 for general admission, and $15 for members of GLAZA, KCRW, and LACBC members.
INFO:
For more information online, or to purchase tickets, please visit www.lazoo.org/roaringnights or call (323) 644-6042.
All events are 18+ and up. No outside food or drink is permitted.
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The carnage continues, as two Highland CA boys are seriously injured when the bike they were sharing was hit by a car after they unexpectedly rode off the sidewalk into the roadway. The six- and nine-year old boys weren’t wearing helmets, despite state law requiring them for anyone under 18.
Meanwhile, Ontario police look for the killer of 17-year old cyclist Horacio Pineda, but have little to go on.
………
Patrick Pascal sends word that new bike lanes continue to spread across the city.
LADOT has finally completed the “last mile” of the Sunset Blvd bike lane! For several years the lane ended at Douglas just west of Elysian Valley Parkway (the main entrance route to Dodger Stadium). Today the reconfiguration was completed, adding (1) several hundred yards of bike lane from Douglas to Elysian Park and (2) a bus/bike lane continuing to Figueroa (where bike lanes into downtown were recently added).
While this project was modest in scope, it now allows a bicyclist to ride on bike infrastructure all the way from Hollywood to downtown.
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The LACBC’s Eric Bruin’s and Boulevard Sentinel bike lane hater Tom Topping talk road diets with KPCC’s Larry Mantle, with a cameo by Flying Pigeon’s Josef Bray-Ali at the end. Speaking of Flying Pigeon, their popular Spoke(n) Art ride takes place this Saturday, and they say we should call them neighborhood greenways, instead. Bicycling is thriving in South LA, even if NPR and the Bike League are just starting to catch on. That universal access playground they’ve been building on the bike path in Santa Monica is finally ready to open. West Hollywood wants your online feedback for their new Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility Plan. Free bike safety classes are coming to Santa Monica and LA. Pasadena’s Municipal Services Committee rejects the city’s proposed bike plan, telling designers to come back with something more ambitious — including an east/west cycle track; Boyonabike calls it a sea change. LA Magazine offers a brief, mostly positive review of Calabasas bike café Pedalers Fork.
A Santa Barbara bike rider is killed in a late night collision; initial reports blame the victim. Professional mountain biker Matthew Slaven was shot in a Santa Cruz robbery on Monday. Santa Rosa becomes the latest city to pass an LA-style vulnerable user anti-harassment ordinance; thanks to murphstahoe for the heads-up. Is a bike path a success if most cyclists won’t ride it? A Palo Alto man is arrested for masturbating during the local fireworks show — while riding a bike, no less; the last line of the story is classic. A Donner Lake pedestrian was killed by a cyclist allegedly biking under the influence at 4th of July ceremonies. Dangerous days in Sacramento, as cyclist is intentionally rammed in a road rage attack, and another dodges a bullet fired by an angry driver.
The Bike League looks at Ride 2 Recovery through the eyes of a wounded warrior. A Texas right hook is caught on dashcam video. From wannabe Texas A&M yell leader to bike thief; can’t wait to see the inevitable Lifetime movie. A drunk hit-and-run driver is arrested for running down a seven-year old St. Paul cyclist. Now that they need cyclists’ votes, formerly anti-bike New York mayoral candidates are falling over themselves to be bike friendly. Evidently, the NYPD thinks bikes are more dangerous than cars. A Delaware rider is arrested for biking under the influence after crashing into a police cruiser. Famed open-source software developer Seth Vidal is killed in a North Carolina hit-and-run, his killer turned himself in on Tuesday; thanks to Monet Diamonte for the link. A speeding driver gets 7 years for killing a Florida man walking a bike.
Dogs chase bicyclists, so why wouldn’t a Yukon wolf, who stuck around to chew on the bike after the rider wisely bailed. A pair of experts put relative road risks in context while offering a polite smackdown in response to a paper’s call for licensing bicyclists. Calgary cyclists feel safe on the city’s new downtown cycle track. A UK cyclist is killed when he’s hit by a van during a local road race. A philosophical take on road raging anti-bike Twitter users, who somehow don’t seem to know what they’re saying. Wrong way Brit driver injures pedestrians before crashing into bus, so of course, it has to be the bicyclist’s fault. A writer for London’s Guardian says there’s no ethical case to be made for mandatory helmet laws. Meanwhile, London’s Mail manages to correct itself; the original headline located RAGBRAI in Idaho and called it a race, but at least they got the fact Lance will be riding there right. Pro rider Mark Cavendish is doused with urine — from a bottle, thankfully — during Wednesday’s Tour de France time trial; somehow, that didn’t make it into this otherwise all-inclusive animation explaining Le Tour in great, and very cute, detail. An international cycling classic just concluded in both Italy and great obscurity; no one even noticed an American won. I’m liking this guy more all the time, as newly installed Pope Francis calls on neophyte priests and nuns to give up fast cars and, yes, ride a bike; a Columbian priest actually takes him up on it. An Aussie man is told to stop buying stolen bikes, even if he is doing it for the right reasons. An Australian cyclist dies six months after he fell from his bike.
Finally, how could you not love this photo from the recent Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, courtesy of Red Kite Prayer‘s Patrick Brady? And yes, it gets bigger with a click.
Seriously, if you’ve forgotten the sheer joy of riding your bike, that smile is guaranteed to remind you.
I want to be like him when I grow up.
