Pedal Power: Bicycling in LA

Print |

Photo courtesy of julio piña (pi_na), Flickr (Click here to enlarge)

Los Angeles may be synonymous with car culture, but a steadily growing number of bicyclists are claiming their own chunk of the road and forming a rather vocal subculture in the process. "A combination of bike skills, blessings, mechanics, and activism transforms the simple act of riding a bike on the streets of LA into a political movement," says Stephen Box, longtime local bike activist who ran for city council in 2011.

That movement has picked up speed in recent years. In 2010, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled the city's "Give Me 3" bicycle safety-awareness program, which encourages drivers to maintain a three-foot gap between their cars and bikers when passing them on the road. The city stepped up its cyclist-friendly efforts further in March 2011 by announcing a plan to expand its bike-route network from its initial 1977 goal of 600 miles to almost 1,700 miles of paths and bike lanes. At the start of the fourth CicLAvia (see below), Mayor Villaraigosa announced the city's first "bikeshare" program, a European-style rental service that enables people to pick up bikes at kiosks across the city. Bike Nation plans to invest $16 million for 4,000 bikes at some 400 kiosks. The first kiosks are scheduled to open this fall.

Local bicyclists and visitors who engage their inner Breaking Away are encouraged to spend more time on two wheels and off four wheels. Following are some ideas on how to do just that.





The Amgen Tour of California is the largest cycling event in America, a professional cycling road race presented by AEG that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams. The race is key for many riders’ build up for the Tour de France. The 2012 Amgen Tour of California begins on May 13th in Santa Rosa, and ends more than 750 miles and eight days later in Downtown LA. Along the way, riders race a challenging course over California's most beautiful and iconic highways, coastal drives, landmarks and landscapes. On Sunday, May 20th, the eighth and final stage of the race will begin in Beverly Hills and travel through West Hollywood, Hollywood and Chinatown before finishing at L.A. LIVE.

For the first time in the race's history, cycling fans and enthusiasts will have the opportunity to participate in the 2012 Amgen Tour of California by riding on the actual race course just prior to the competition. The Nissan Ride Before the Pros is taking place in Downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, May 20th from 8-9:30 a.m. Cyclists of all levels will be able to ride on a 5-mile, closed circuit course that will be part of the Amgen Tour of California‘s final stage, taking place later that same day. The Nissan Ride Before the Pros is FREE to participants and will begin and end at the race’s official finish line. In order to participate in the Nissan Ride Before the Pros, interested fans must register prior to the event on the Amgen Tour of California website at amgentourofcalifornia.com/nissan. Participants must be over the age of 18 or receive permission from a parent or legal guardian.





To explore even more of LA on your bike, Metro has a variety of options for cyclists that lets you combine your ride with Metro Rail and bus. You can take your bike on Metro Rail anytime, in any direction, as space allows. Bicycle racks are available on a first-come, first-serve basis on Metro buses. And bicycle racks and lockers can be found at many stations throughout the system.

Phase I of the new Metro Expo Line opened on April 28, 2012, along with 5.9 miles of bike lanes running parallel to the line. New bike lanes include Exposition Blvd. and Jefferson Blvd. between Vermont Ave. and La Cienega Blvd., and a bike/pedestrian path between La Cienega/Jefferson Station and Culver City Station.

Bike Week LA 2012 May 14-18
For the 18th straight year, Metro will partner with community organizations to celebrate all things bike. Several events are planned throughout Los Angeles:

• Monday, May 14 - Kick-off Event at Expo Park/USC Station, 10 a.m.
• Tuesday, May 15 - 9th Annual Blessing of the Bicycles at Good Samaritan Hospital, 8 a.m.
• Wednesday, May 16 - Expo/Mid-City Bike Ride starts at Expo Park/USC Station, 8 a.m.
• Thursday, May 17 - Bike to Work Day - Free rides, pit stops and more!
• Friday, May 18 - Bike to School Day - Support your local school!

For more information about Bike Week 2012, visit www.metro.net/bikes/bike-week.



The Critical Mass movement, in which a large group of cyclists meet at preset time and en masse improvise its way through town, is alive and well in LA, with at least four separate branches within the county. The largest is the Los Angeles Critical Mass, which meets the last Friday evening of each month at the Metro Rail station at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Koreatown. NELA (Northeast Los Angeles) Critical Mass does the same on the third Friday of each month, meeting up at the Highland Park Metro Rail station on Avenue 57 near Figueroa Street. Pasadena's Critical Mass is a more family-friendly daytime affair, taking place on the third Saturday morning of each month. And the Santa Monica Critical Mass starts out its first-Friday-evening-of-the-month in dramatic fashion by meeting at the foot of the Santa Monica Pier.

Inspired by Ciclovía, the original, weekly street closure event in Bogotá, Colombia, CicLAvia opens LA streets to pedestrians and bicyclists, creating a temporary web of public space on which residents of Los Angeles can walk, bike, socialize, celebrate and learn more about their own city. The first CicLAvia took place in October 2010, and the fourth on April 15, 2012, when 10 miles of roadways were temporarily closed to car traffic and open for recreational purposes. From Boyle Heights to Downtown, MacArthur Park to East Hollywood, El Pueblo/Olvera Street, and South LA, CicLAvia encourages Angelenos to not only make active use of their streets, but to rediscover the roadways and neighborhoods that too often go unnoticed in a car. The next CicLAvia is scheduled for October 14, 2012.

The 12th Annual Los Angeles River Ride takes place on Sunday, June 10, 2012. The event actually consists of seven separate rides, including a Century (100-mile) ride that runs between Griffith Park and Long Beach, a Half-Century, a new "Reverse" Ride that starts and ends in Long Beach, and a Kids' Ride and Fun Fair. 



There's probably no better way to get a first-hand look at LA bike culture than at the bicycle-repair education collectives that have popped up all over town. These nonprofit, volunteer-run groups give riders workshops where they can take their bikes, get access to tools and talk with repair experts and other bike junkies. Most of the cooperatives don't charge a price, though they do suggest a donation of between $5 and $7 an hour. Among the most notable cooperatives are Bikerowave in Mar Vista, Bicycle Kitchen in the Hel-Mel neighborhood between Thai Town and Silver Lake, Highland Park's Bike Oven and Valley Bikery in Van Nuys.

For those looking to drop the wrench and break out the credit cards, though, there are well-stocked bike shops all over the region, including Highland Park's Flying Pigeon, Orange 20 in Hel-Mel, LA Brakeless in Mar Vista, Beverly Hills Bike Shop, Downtown LA Bicycles and Cynergy Cycles and Helen's Cycles in Santa Monica.



Anyone who's seen the opening credits to "Three's Company" is familiar with the beachside bike path that runs through Santa Monica and Venice, which is likely the most popular dedicated bike path in the region, if not the state. That route actually starts in Pacific Palisades at Pacific Coast Highway and Temescal Canyon Road, runs about seven miles southeast to Marina del Rey, circumnavigates the Marina and continues another dozen miles or so between Playa del Rey and Redondo Beach. Few places offer a more prototypical glimpse of the Southern California lifestyle.

That said, the coastal bike path isn’t the county's longest. That distinction goes to the San Gabriel River Trail, which runs almost 40 miles between the Azusa foothills and Seal Beach. Other lengthy dedicated, or so-called Class I, bike paths include one that runs along Ballona Creek between Playa del Rey and Baldwin Hills, another that parallels the Los Angeles River between Maywood and Long Beach, and another that winds its way through the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area in Encino.

Additionally, for those feeling a tad more intrepid, there are Class II dedicated bike lanes all over the region, including the many that criss-cross Santa Monica and others in parts of Brentwood, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Calabasas, Silver Lake, Long Beach and Lakewood. The LA Metro website has a detailed map at http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/bikes/images/la_bike_map.pdf.



Getting out of the car can be a bit of a culture shock in itself, but there are those here ready to help with the transition. West Hollywood-based Bikes and Hikes LA offers seven different tours, including a 32-mile "LA in a Day" bike tour and a slightly less intimidating Old Hollywood/Hancock Park bike tour. Pedal…or Not offers guided tours of Venice and Santa Monica on electric bicycles for those who want the option of letting a good old-fashioned motor do some of the work. And Topanga Creek Bicycles in Topanga Canyon offers bike rentals for those looking to go off road or off path, while Perry's Beach Café and Rentals has eight bike rental locations in Santa Monica and Venice so that visitors can easily explore the coast on two wheels.

Follow us on:

SEARCH

• accommodations
• activities
• arts & culture
• dining
• nightlife
• shopping
• transportation
• visitor resources