Farmers Market Ride Begins this SUNDAY - 7/12
Ride will have 3 great stops- Bike Station, Portfolio, and Jones's Bike Station.
We will leave at Bike Station at about 9:10 (On Braodway near Pine)
We will then travel to Portfolio Coffee house and will leave at about 9:25 (Corner of 4th and Junipero) Next we will travel to Jones's Bike SHOP and will leave about 9:45 (2nd st and Pomona)
From there we will travel to the Farmers Market!!!
This ride will continue until the end of September!!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Bike Lanes do not make a city “Bike Friendly”
I recently (very recently) got rid of my car because everything in Long Beach is within a very bikeable distance.
Making my way down Ximeno, I was going at a leisurely pace, but nothing that could make anyone impatient, or so I thought. As I was busy pedaling away, saving the planet and bettering my health, someone took it upon themselves to throw their fast food trash at me…not casually out the window, but at me. So not only were they littering, but also being very disrespectful to someone who wasn't bothering anyone at all.
They proceeded to reach the red light before me and of course taunted me in their rear view mirrors. I stayed behind and ignored them. At the next red light, it was as if they were almost daring me to do something. I’m a mature adult and prefer not to have confrontations, and being a lady, it’s not very classy either.
I’m a law abiding cyclist. I’m a League Cycling Instructor (#2259), I’m courteous and a very understanding cyclist since I once was a daily driver. If you’re in a hurry though, leave a few minutes earlier. Don’t take out your impatience on someone who is on time.
It’s not a matter of how much paint you throw down, how many sharrows are stenciled or how many different colors you paint the street, it ultimately comes down to educating the citizens and letting them know that cyclists do have every right to be on the roads.
We’re also human beings; just because we’re on two wheels instead of four doesn’t make it okay to disrespect us and disregard us as someone’s daughter/sister/girlfriend.
Making my way down Ximeno, I was going at a leisurely pace, but nothing that could make anyone impatient, or so I thought. As I was busy pedaling away, saving the planet and bettering my health, someone took it upon themselves to throw their fast food trash at me…not casually out the window, but at me. So not only were they littering, but also being very disrespectful to someone who wasn't bothering anyone at all.
They proceeded to reach the red light before me and of course taunted me in their rear view mirrors. I stayed behind and ignored them. At the next red light, it was as if they were almost daring me to do something. I’m a mature adult and prefer not to have confrontations, and being a lady, it’s not very classy either.
I’m a law abiding cyclist. I’m a League Cycling Instructor (#2259), I’m courteous and a very understanding cyclist since I once was a daily driver. If you’re in a hurry though, leave a few minutes earlier. Don’t take out your impatience on someone who is on time.
It’s not a matter of how much paint you throw down, how many sharrows are stenciled or how many different colors you paint the street, it ultimately comes down to educating the citizens and letting them know that cyclists do have every right to be on the roads.
We’re also human beings; just because we’re on two wheels instead of four doesn’t make it okay to disrespect us and disregard us as someone’s daughter/sister/girlfriend.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A Celebration of Sharing
We want to urge all members and friends of cycling to come out on this Saturday the 27th of June to experience the latest high profile improvement in bicycle facilities in Long Beach for quite some time.
The shared lane markings, or 'Sharrows' will be unveiled at 10:00 am at Polly's Gourmet Coffee located at 4606 E. 2nd Street. Ride in the lane, like we have a right to, and see the Sharrows announce to all roadway users that we are riding where we belong, Bikes Belong!
"Hey! What's that bicyclist doing in my lane?!"
Simmer down, Sir; read this FAQ
The shared lane markings, or 'Sharrows' will be unveiled at 10:00 am at Polly's Gourmet Coffee located at 4606 E. 2nd Street. Ride in the lane, like we have a right to, and see the Sharrows announce to all roadway users that we are riding where we belong, Bikes Belong!
"Hey! What's that bicyclist doing in my lane?!"
Simmer down, Sir; read this FAQ
2nd Street Bicycle Counts
This past weekend, nine intrepid individuals took time out of their day to help gather data along 2nd St. for some "BS" - that's "Before Sharrow". As of this posting, the Sharrows have been painted and in a few weeks/months another survey will be done to see if driving (both cyclist and motorist) behavior has been changed for "AS" - After Sharrow.
The surveyors stood at the corner of 2nd St/Corona from 7am Friday to 10pm Sunday and counted every bicyclist that went by.
1,252 cyclists were counted over the three days.
We had a VERY unbalanced gender ratio of 74.8% male... so all you single guys out there need to find a new way to meet ladies!
Check out this break-down of Bicycle Types:
And here is the info that we REALLY wanted - the reason for the Sharrows! An astounding 45% of riders counted this past weekend were riding IN THE DOOR ZONE!
A great deal of appreciation goes out to:
Jim Powers
Clancy Cramer
Russ Roca
Jacob Dougherty
Allyson Clark
Travis Bos
Brent Haddock
Michael Bos
April Sabucco
The surveyors stood at the corner of 2nd St/Corona from 7am Friday to 10pm Sunday and counted every bicyclist that went by.
1,252 cyclists were counted over the three days.
We had a VERY unbalanced gender ratio of 74.8% male... so all you single guys out there need to find a new way to meet ladies!
Check out this break-down of Bicycle Types:
And here is the info that we REALLY wanted - the reason for the Sharrows! An astounding 45% of riders counted this past weekend were riding IN THE DOOR ZONE!
A great deal of appreciation goes out to:
Jim Powers
Clancy Cramer
Russ Roca
Jacob Dougherty
Allyson Clark
Travis Bos
Brent Haddock
Michael Bos
April Sabucco
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
BIKE VALET helps us raise the money we need to establish our Non-Profit
Please come support us this weekend at Soul Motion, the first of several outdoor concerts this summer!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Come be part of the Dialog Long Beach!
Long Beach Bold
Norman Vincent Peale counseled "Be bold, and the forces of power will come to your aide."
The bold goal set by leaders in Long Beach of becoming "the next great bike city in America" has served as a catalyst for money and talent moving to Long Beach. Since this goal was established in 2007 literally millions of dollars have come from outside Long Beach in the form of grants and funding allocations to help achieve this bold goal. Business owners have taken voluntary leadership positions in this campaign. Specialists in bicycle education, planning and street design have joined the team. The City of Long Beach recognizes the economic development potential of this bold goal and is capitalizing on it. All this activity, from establishing the goal, to keeping the focus on outcomes, have come from an unexpected source - Long Beach bicyclists and the people who love them.
So what is next?
Part of our strategy is to broaden the conversation in Long Beach to consider ways other cities have successfully evolved to safely incorporate cycling into the streetscape. On Monday, June 15, 6pm at the appropriately named Cafe - Utopia, (corner of E. 1st and Linden, downtown), a recognized expert in quality street design for cycling, Michael Moule, will give a lecture on traffic circles, bike blvds, and other innovations on the horizon in Long Beach. Please attend this free event if you are interested in this topic and would like to know more. Mr. Moule is a traffic engineer who as worked in Seattle and now Tampa, Florida.
Rock Miller, a respected leader among progressive traffic engineers in Southern California will also be at this event and will present specific opportunities for bike blvd. treatments in various Long Beach locations.
Hosted by Brian Ulaszewski, Project Design Director, Studio 111 and Charles Gandy, City of Long Beach Mobility Coordinator.
Charles Gandy
City of Long Beach
Mobility Coordinator
(562)570-6679
Norman Vincent Peale counseled "Be bold, and the forces of power will come to your aide."
The bold goal set by leaders in Long Beach of becoming "the next great bike city in America" has served as a catalyst for money and talent moving to Long Beach. Since this goal was established in 2007 literally millions of dollars have come from outside Long Beach in the form of grants and funding allocations to help achieve this bold goal. Business owners have taken voluntary leadership positions in this campaign. Specialists in bicycle education, planning and street design have joined the team. The City of Long Beach recognizes the economic development potential of this bold goal and is capitalizing on it. All this activity, from establishing the goal, to keeping the focus on outcomes, have come from an unexpected source - Long Beach bicyclists and the people who love them.
So what is next?
Part of our strategy is to broaden the conversation in Long Beach to consider ways other cities have successfully evolved to safely incorporate cycling into the streetscape. On Monday, June 15, 6pm at the appropriately named Cafe - Utopia, (corner of E. 1st and Linden, downtown), a recognized expert in quality street design for cycling, Michael Moule, will give a lecture on traffic circles, bike blvds, and other innovations on the horizon in Long Beach. Please attend this free event if you are interested in this topic and would like to know more. Mr. Moule is a traffic engineer who as worked in Seattle and now Tampa, Florida.
Rock Miller, a respected leader among progressive traffic engineers in Southern California will also be at this event and will present specific opportunities for bike blvd. treatments in various Long Beach locations.
Hosted by Brian Ulaszewski, Project Design Director, Studio 111 and Charles Gandy, City of Long Beach Mobility Coordinator.
Charles Gandy
City of Long Beach
Mobility Coordinator
(562)570-6679
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