Photo (right) by Samuel Lippke
1:30am | On Tuesday evening, as I sometimes do, I grabbed my heavily-worn basketball and headed to El Dorado Park for a pickup game or two at the playground. I usually drive, but it was an exceptionally nice night and it suddenly struck me what a waste it is to drive a few miles when you can ride your bike; so I pulled the Huffy out of the garage and set off.
My thighs burned – and therefore, my jump shot suffered – but I’m glad that I made that decision. After an intense summer of biking but not much riding recently, I think I’ll be getting back into it much more often in the near future.
Long Beach officials are hoping that more people will ditch the keys for the pedals, beginning promotion for the annual Bike Festival this May, and held a fun and informative event for children yesterday at Miller Children’s Hospital to kick off the campaign.
Long Beach has done much to improve its reputation as a bicycle-friendly city in recent years.
The first annual Bike Festival drew spectators and competitors with a professional race through downtown streets last year, while also spreading information about biking benefits and safety.
The introduction of bicycle “Sharrow” lanes in the street drew fervent support as well as sharp criticism last year, but Los Angeles and other surrounding cities have rushed to catch up with the trend and could see implementation by this June. In a Tweet last week, BikeLongBeach.org hinted that new protected bike lanes could be in the works for Long Beach around the area of Broadway and 3rd Street. The lbpost.com will have more information on that development as it becomes available.
At the event on Wednesday, professional cyclist and Long Beach native Tony Cruz set out to dominate the competition in a race. A tricycle race against children. He lost. But! The point was to raise awareness and interest in biking, and the smiles on the faces of the victorious children say it all (a video of the event from the Mayor’s office is below). Cruz, a former professional racer and Tour de France veteran, led the effort to plan last year’s Bike Festival and played a crucial part in designing this May’s 31-mile route through Long Beach that is designed for all levels of riders.
Your thighs may burn, but they’ll thank you, too.