Thousands of cyclists, including Long Beach local Tanya Timess, began the Lifecycle Ride To End AIDS this week, a seven-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles which raises awareness and money to fight the disease, snaking their way down the coast to support those affected in the bookend cities.
All too often, Long Beach is the tale of two cities: the part along the coast, including downtown, and then the other part. When it comes to bicycling, it is even more evident (hence the excitement over the upcoming ciclovía)—and that is why Long Beach native and Los Angeles County Bike Coalition (LABC) board member April Economides wants to take bicyclists through Central Long Beach.
After a Metro staff recommendation list was accidentally leaked, one thing is clear: Long Beach looks like it will officially have its first ciclovía in Spring 2015, thanks to $260K from Metro’s Open Streets Program should the Board follow staff recommendations.
Already noted by The Alliance for Biking & Walking for having the third most miles of biking facilities in the nation, Long Beach just added a few more miles through its extended sharrows along Bay Shore Avenue.
Across Los Angeles County, public transit systems—including Long Beach Transit and Metro—will be offering free rides in the name of Bike to Work Day.
The Alliance for Biking & Walking has released its massive benchmarking report which takes 52 major US cities and analyzes them in terms of biking/walking friendliness, with Long Beach showing both strengths and weaknesses as it moves forward toward its goal of becoming the nation’s most bike friendly city.
Hotel Maya will be a hosting a “Hero’s Welcome” reception to honor and recognize Rob Jones, the double-amputee Marine who is biking across the country in pursuit of dollars for charity.
Operation Firefly, an effort driven county-wide by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and locally by Vice Mayor Robert Garcia, set up shop at Long Beach Boulevard and Anaheim to hand out 100 free bike lights to riders who needed them.
Over 100 cyclists took part in the Long Beach AIDS Ride this weekend, the first AIDS ride dedicated solely to the Long Beach community and one that organizers hope will continue to take place every year directly before Worlds AIDS Day.
Now five months past a planned February launch, Tustin-based Bike Nation says the permitting process for kiosks has been the main source of delay in Long Beach’s much-anticipated bike sharing program.
