LACBC
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Newsletter

December 19, 2013 

In this issue
Join Us for Flame Your Frame: A Holiday Bike Parade of East L.A.
LACBC Helps Launch Two Private Bike Share Programs
Sunday Funday: A Mini Architecture Tour of Long Beach
Updates from Around L.A. County: Wayfinding Signs Coming to the L.A. River
LACBC Members Save at Complex in Glendale
Thanks for Caroling in the Streets of Larchmont with Us
More Photos from the LACBC Open House
Support LACBC on Climate Ride California this May
Donate to Our End-of-the-Year Campaign to Start 2014 Off Strong
What's Ringing Our Bike Bells: All We Want for Christmas Is a Big Red Bicycle
Events, Meetings, & Volunteer Opportunities
Join Us for Flame Your Frame: A Holiday Bike Parade of East L.A.
FlameFrame

LACBC and Red Bull present Flame Your Frame: A Holiday Bike Parade of East L.A. Trim your rims this holiday season and show off in the most Navidad of neighborhoods: East Los Angeles.

When: Saturday, December 21; Meet at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Meet at the parking lot of 4801 Civic Center Way, East L.A. 9002 (Gold Line Stop: Civic Center)
RSVP and spread the word through our Facebook event.
 
Ride and show your pride through the streets of East L.A. with musical accompaniment. Music, tacos, Red Bull, and champurrado after the ride.The best decorated bikes, as judges by LACBC Luchador El Pedal, will be awarded prizes, including a bike for the 1st place winner.

Join us for this festive and free ride!
LACBC Helps Launch Two Private Bike Share Programs

LACBC is proud to announce our partnership in launching two private bike share programs in Los Angeles this past week. We partnered with an Eagle Scout candidate and competitive cyclist named Diego Binatena whose Eagle Scout project was to set up the bike share programs. Diego contacted Jovenes Inc. in Boyle Heights and PATH in East Hollywood. Both organizations provide services and housing for the homeless, and the bikes will be used by their residents to run errands, go to work or job interviews, go to school, or simply provide greater self-reliance through transportation on a bike. Diego raised funds and collected in-kind donations for the project. LACBC donated 20 electric assist bicycles that we had received from Kilowatt bikes (now defunct) as well as providing advice and connections to potential donors.

LACBC, Diego, and Stan's Bicycle Shop will be providing follow-up services and educational programming to support both facilities. LACBC sees these bike share programs as a model that can be repeated at similar ex-homeless facilities or transit-oriented developments. We plan to keep you posted about how these bike share programs progress.
 
You can check out media coverage of the Jovenes launch on KABC-TV, KCRW, and La Opinion. We also have a photo album from the Jovenes launch on our Facebook page
Sunday Funday: A Mini Architecture Tour of Long Beach

LongBeachSunday 

Long Beach is home to buildings by Killingsworth, Neutra, Lautner, Greene & Greene, and many other world-famous architects. See some of them on this two-wheeled mini tour, led by LACBC board member April Economides. This 10-mile ride is family-friendly, and supervised children are welcome. Enjoy a special discount at a local cafe along the route. Sunday Funday riders will receive 15% off the book Long Beach Architecture at Apostrophe Books if you say "Sunday Funday" on the day of the ride (or receive 10% off in-store or online before the ride).

 

Stay tuned for more details.

 

When: Sunday, January 5; 1:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Where: downtown Long Beach meeting place TBA 

  

RSVP: To RSVP or volunteer as ride support, please contact Carol Feucht, Membership & Communications Director, at [email protected]. Or RSVP to the Facebook event.

 

About Sunday Fundays: Sunday Funday Rides are free and open to LACBC members plus one guest. Interested in becoming a member? Sign up for membership online or become a member at the ride at a discounted price.

Updates from Around L.A. County: Wayfinding Signs Coming to the L.A. River

L.A. River / Elysian Valley: Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) are working on bringing wayfinding signs to the Elysian Valley section of the L.A. River Bike and Pedestrian Path. Signage will identify nearby city streets and indicate the distance to major points of interest. Read more about it here and see photos here.

West Hollywood: The West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition (WeHoBC) has been collaborating with the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station to promote communication between bicyclists, law enforcement, and the City concerning laws and ordinances pertaining to bicycles. The WeHo Sheriff's Station was the first to assemble a permanent bicycle team, and the L.A. County Sheriff's BEAR (Bicycle Education And Registration) program originated there.

The bike team participated in a recent "Operation Firefly" bike-light giveaway hosted by the City, and were on the scene when a bicyclist and car collided during the event. In a subsequent meeting with Sheriff's and City staff, WeHoBC representatives requested that bicycle accident data be collated into a separate category for monthly and 6-monthly reporting to the City and community. Sheriff's representatives were receptive to the idea and advised on procedures for working with the City to institute the practice.

WeHoBC learned that Sheriff's deputies would be willing to participate in WeHoBC community rides.  Sharrows were recently installed on Fountain Ave. from La Brea Ave. to Sweetzer Ave., continuing those already on the street in Hollywood between Vermont and La Brea Avenues, and the rights and responsibilities of bicyclists on that stretch of Fountain Ave. have recently been discussed in the bicycle community. It was agreed among all parties at the meeting that, as per the Calif. vehicle code, bicyclists have the right to ride along the sharrows, effectively taking the narrow right lane, with the proviso that they not impede travel of more than four cars at one time. Separately, the Sheriffs Dept. would like to emphasize that bicyclists are expected to stop at red lights, which is required by law and improves safety for themselves, pedestrians and motorists. WeHoBC also reminds bicyclists that blowing through red lights is unhelpful to bicycle advocates trying to work with cities and the community. The Sheriff's Dept. offered to hand out LACBC "Rules of the Road" pocket guides during their "Meet the Captain" events. 

Los Angeles: The City of of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department (RAP) is seeking public input on the future and funding of our City parks. This is being conducted through a series of public meetings, and an online Community Budget Discussion survey.

Concered Off-Road Bicyclists Association (CORBA) and LACBC are taking this opportunity to remind RAP of their obligations and duties as identified in the 2010 Los Angeles City Bike Plan. CORBA worked diligently to keep the meager provisions for off-road cycling in the 2010 Bike Plan, while the powerful equestrian lobby fought hard to have them removed.

 

To our knowledge, nothing has yet been done to implement the off-road cycling provisions identified in Chapter 4, Sections 3.3.5, 3.3.6, and 3.3.7 of the 2010 Bike Plan. The lead agency identified for those provisions is RAP. The Bike Plan calls for these provisions to be completed by 2015.

 

City of Los Angeles residents are encouraged to complete the survey. The survey is available at http://laparks.org, where a popup window will direct you to the survey. The survey can also be accessed directly at http://m.laparks.org/survey/#survey, but please read on before doing so.

 

El Monte and South El Monte: The San Gabriel Valley Bicycle Master Plan is currently in development. Part of this project entails the first ever comprehensive bicycle data collection effort for the region. Volunteers are still needed for the count on Saturday in South El Monte.

 

Round 2: South El Monte (5 locations along Thienes/Rush/Durfee Corridors)
  • Saturday, December 21; 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Reserve your spot today: http://doodle.com/x66wybp354f73x4f
LACBC Members Save at  Complex in Glendale

As an LACBC member, you can enjoy many great discounts from local supportive businesses. We're excited to welcome Complex, a new bar and live music venue in Glendale, to our growing list of businesses that offer discounts to LACBC members.

Show your LACBC membership card and receive either 15% off your purchase or whatever the daily cycling discount is.

MGN Five Star Cinema is located at 806 E. Colorado Blvd. in Glendale and can be contacted at 323-642-7519.

Thanks and welcome, Complex!
Thanks for Caroling in the Streets of Larchmont with Us

Thanks to all who came on our annual caroling ride this past Sunday! Together we brought joyous songs to the Larhmont neighborhood and took in the festive and well-decorated homes.
 
Check out some photos from the ride on the LACBC Facebook page.
More Photos from the LACBC Open House 
 

We've added a few more photos from the Open House to our LACBC Facebook page, thanks to our intern Vincent Ho.
 
We also have photobooth shots from Jon White up.
 
Thanks to all of our photographers--Vincent, Jon, and CJ Aroche--for capturing the night's energy!

Support LACBC on Climate Ride California this May

 

You're invited to join Team LACBC on Climate Ride California! We are once again a beneficiary and you can join the brand-new epic 4-day pedaling adventure in Northern California through wine country.

 

Right now, we're recruiting members for our new Team LACBC on the California ride. You can be part of the fun and raise funds for LACBC at the same time! Team LACBC was the top team in last year's California ride. Let's bring the trophy (OK, pint glasses) back home this year!

 

Climate Ride California (May 17-20, 2014) is a 4-day, fully-supported cycling adventure that begins in San Francisco, heads north up the coast and through Wine Country to California's Capitol in Sacramento. 

Donate to Our End-of-the-Year Campaign to Start 2014 Off Strong

This past year, our members, supporters, donors, and partners have helped to make bike improvements all across the County! With your continued support, we hope to accomplish even more in 2014. Donate to our end-of-the-year-campaign to help us reach our goal of raising $50,000. 


Your donation ensures that we have the capacity and resources to remain strong in 2014! 



What's Ringing Our Bike Bells: All We Want for Christmas Is a Big Red Bicycle
Big Red Bicycle Christmas
Big Red Bicycle Christmas

Who wants a bike this holiday season? Well, there is a holiday song about that that we hope you'll be singing this holiday season. "Big Red Bicycle" is a tune from Nora and One Left.
 
Have a listen, and have a happy bikey holiday season!

Events, Meetings, & Volunteer Opportunities

 

Flame Your Frame: A Holiday Bike Parade of East L.A.
When: Saturday, December 21; Meet at 4:30 p.m.
More info in newsletter.
 
Touring L.A. County with LACBC and Where to Bike: Route 66

When: Sunday, December 22; meet at 8:30 a.m., ride at 9:00 a.m.

Where: Union Station in downtown Los Angeles - 800 N. Alameda, Los Angeles, 90012 (Meet in the garden courtyard on the south side of the main concourse of Union Station.) 

Route 66, also known as the Mother Road, Main Street of America, or the Will Rogers Highway, is one of our Nation's first interstate highways. Opened in 1926, it rolls west from Chicago. In our end of the country, it passes through Azusa, Pasadena, downtown L. A., and on to its unofficial terminus at the Pier in Santa Monica. On this 40-mile tour, we'll experience a bit of this historic highway by following a bike friendly version of Route 66 (the current official route is on the 101 Freeway from downtown to Hollywood) from Union Station west on Sunset Boulevard, then Fountain Avenue, then Santa Monica Boulevard and a few side streets to the ocean. Along the way, we'll ride down holiday decorated streets in Silver Lake, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, West Los Angeles and Santa Monica. After a short break at the Pier, we'll meander back to downtown on Main Street, Abbot Kenney, Venice Boulevard, and another Main Street. More info.

 

LACBC Winter Break

When: December 23 - January 1

The LACBC offices will be closed from Monday, December 23rd through Wednesday, January 1st for our Winter Break. 

 

Sunday Funday Ride

When: Sunday, January 5; 130 p.m.

More info in newsletter.

Other Events Around Town

LACBC Local Chapters

Join LACBC or Renew

 

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is a member-supported organization that works for you to build a better, more bike-able L.A. County. 

Members are the backbone of LACBC! Help keep LACBC strong by becoming an 
LACBC member (or renewing your membership) and be part of the change!
Contact Information

Carol "In the Streets of Larchmont" Feucht
Membership & Communications Director
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

[email protected]

 

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