Bicycle Fixation Weblog

Bart Reed of the Transit Coalition announces a meeting on Thursday, June 2^nd, that could be one of the most important of the year for the Los Angeles area. It will comprise a presentation to the Sierra Club of the GRID project, which conceptualizes an integrated transport system that could easily replace freeways for most freight and much passenger movement in the eastern part of the region, as well as underpin the development of car-free TOD villages and add to the countywide bicycle network, all using locally-sourced current technology and skills.

We have outlined GRID in an article at our sister publication, the New Colonist, titled Start Making Sense: Beyond Freeways, but this is a chance to hear about it directly from designer David Alba, and ask a few questions later.

Here is Bart Reed's invitation to you in his own words:

Dear Clean Air Colleague:

Recently I came across a simple solution to remove a huge volume of trucks that foul our air and clog the 710, 10 and 60 Freeways. It is just a different way to move cargo, that cuts out the trucks. Ship to Train or Train to Ship. It uses existing technology, labor and rail corridors in a different configuration, cutting out the trucks.

My colleague David Alba, GRID Project Designer will present, as the special guest speaker at the Sierra Club Transportation Committee this Thursday, June 2 with networking starting at 7 p.m. at the Sierra Club Lower Plaza Meeting Room. Everyone is welcome, Sierra Club Member or not at no charge, except for the paid parking lot. (Meeting Details)

Please see the Agenda for the Thursday, June 2 meeting (networking @ 7 p.m.), presentation starts promptly at 7:30 p.m., at the chapter office, 3435 Wilshire Boulevard, (the tall Equitable building across from the late Ambassador Hotel). Look for the meeting room on the lower plaza (LP) level which is on the parking entrance level, past the elevators toward Wilshire, then a left turn and straight to the end of the hall.

Paid parking is inside the building with the entrance off Mariposa, or you can take transit. Ride the Wilshire Purple Line subway or Metro Rapid bus #720 to Wilshire / Normandie). If you're coming via bicycle please call me in advance and we can make accommodations for space. My cell phone is 818-419-1671.

Thanks and see you all Thursday!

Bart!

If you will be in Los Angeles next week, please try to attend this meeting.

Richard Risemberg on Sat, 28 May 2011 08:42:42 -0800 [link]  

Will I never shut up?

About cycling, probably not....

Over at Orange 20, I cover The Santa Monica Museum of Art's delightful Tour da Arts Ride.

And Flying Pigeon LA hears me expound on why Beverly Hills Matters.

Richard Risemberg on Fri, 27 May 2011 07:39:12 -0800 [link]  

While Los Angeles, where I live, is far from being a bicycle city yet--very far--I do regularly see signs of progress. What I call "natural progress," ridership increases on streets that are not, or are not yet, showcase streets with obvious, perhaps brilliant bicycle-oriented infrastructure. Relatively ordinary streets.

My beloved Fourth Street, for example; though plans are in the works, as regular readers here will know, to transform it into a bicycle boulevard, and it recently received sharrows, it is really a rather neglected "bike route" still, with horribly broken pavements and two wide streets to cross without the benefits of traffic lights. Yet yesterday, as I rode it around the tail end of rush hour, I saw many fellow cyclists of all sorts, riding every sort of bike from the shiny to the pathetic, all apparently on their way somewhere.... (For while Fourth is a pretty street, it is not a recreational route. It does, however, tie several parts of town together nicely, from the densely-packed apartment streets on the east to job-rich Miracle Mile on the west.)

And the day before I was on Seventh, on my way to a meeting at the sewing factory, and once I got near downtown it seemed that nearly every one of the numerous sidewalk bike racks was in use.

And Sunday, the day before that, when I stopped for coffee on the far west side, on Abbot Kinney in the formerly boho realm of Venice Beach, the lanes were full of bikes, and the array of racks in front of Intelligentsia Coffee were nearly full. (They could use a bike corral there!)

Nothing spectacular--just more folks riding bikes to get somewhere. But the ordinariness of it is perhaps what is truly spectacular. And that aside from bike racks and some paint strips on a few roads, little has been done here to nurture this growth in riding. It is self-directed growth--people choosing to bicycle in spite of civic neglect.

Imagine how much more we could have with a little encouragement!

Richard Risemberg on Wed, 25 May 2011 16:28:06 -0800 [link]  

On a spin through the Westside this morning, I stopped for coffee on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and before unlocking the Bottecchia and heading on toward the Bridge, I lifted my little camera out of the pannier and took a stroll up and down that still-bohemian street, to see what I could see.

What I saw was a phalanx of nice-looking little city bikes lined up behind the sidewalk, with a sign indicating that "Linus Bikes" could be found at the end of a narrow passage leading behind the streetfront stores.

So I went in, of course, and found the Linus Showroom, which is a trim little cottage with a workstand, a shelf of accessories, and a whole lot of bikes propped all around in the courtyard.

Linus makes what look like practical, lightweight city bikes, designed in Los Angeles (but made, as are oh-so-many others, in Taiwan or, as in this case, China). Simple, strong frames, a classic aesthetic, capable geometries (to look at them; I suggested they might cut one loose far one of my one-month road tests), and a variety of portage choices, along with (usually) fenders, make them look like a good choice for utility riding that will break neither the bank nor your back.

If I get ahold of one to torture for a few hundred miles, I'll let you know how it does; meanwhile, here are some pix of these inexpensive but classic-looking little bikes.


Linus Bikes on display on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, in Venice Beach


The secret passage....


A gaggle of city bikes


A squadron of scorchers, complete with flip-flop hubs for getting real!


Brooks saddles, baskets, sweet canvas panniers, and other stuff

I have been seeing Linus bikes all over town, too, so it seems that the folks who buy them actually use them day to day. Find a local dealer here.

Richard Risemberg on Sun, 22 May 2011 20:00:48 -0800 [link]  

Couple more posts that I've insinuated into other people's blogs....

At Flying Pigeon LA, we talk about how LA's little siblings in the county seem consistently to outdo us in bicycle goodies...see They've Got Us Surrounded!

And at Orange 20 we suggest that maybe LA's first separated onstreet bike lane should on West Washington Boulevard, where there's a lot of Wasted Space.

More next week!

Richard Risemberg on Fri, 20 May 2011 16:00:21 -0800 [link]  

Although I could never find out when it was going to open--it sort of just did--and no one seems to be sure when it will close, I still recommend dropping by the CalTrans building kittycorner form City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles if you can. They've put up a very good exhibit on urban bicycling in LA, including some very old historic photos, photos of current bike infrastructure (including a few by Bicycle Fixation), videos, posters, equipment and magazines, and of course bicycles. Really very nicely done!

To whet your appetite--or in case you can't go, or aren't in LA--I'll post some snapshots below.


Photos of current bikeways treatments, and police and fire department bicycles behind them.


Street design, bike sharing, analysis, brochures.


Historical photos, gear and magazines, and Dutch bike display.


New bike parking regulations, and more analysis.


Guidelines for bicycle boulevards--ironically, these are from the Minneapolis Department of Public Works!


Another view of the room.


Dutch bikes courtesy of our pals at Flying Pigeon LA.


CalTrans District Seven HQ, aka the Squatting Robot; LADOT also has its offices there.

The exhibit is in the building's "museum," a display space just behind the guard station in the lobby. You don't need to sign in to see it, and there are bike racks right in front as well as in the underground parking cavern.

It may be up till the end of the month--or it might not be. No one seems to know. Go soon if you can! The official address is 100 S. Main St. Open office hours.

Richard Risemberg on Fri, 20 May 2011 15:46:37 -0800 [link]  

With Spring still barely able to break loose from winter's soggy grip, and the economy likewise mired in recession, we've decided to do us all a favor and lower our knickers for a while...er, wait a second, I mean lower our knicker prices for a while. Till June 6^th, in fact.

All our Classic Wool Knickers and City Knickers v2.0 will be just $109.00 till next month.

The Classics are elegant and supremely comfortable, great for commuting to work or going out on the town--or just on a happy ride in the clearing spring weather--and the more casual City Knickers are fit for commuting, pub crawling, group rides, walking, or just hanging around...in short, for anything you want to do where you'd prefer to look great and feel comfortable. And we still have some City Knickers available in ultra-tough hemp blend as well. They've been used on tours as well!

So check them out, along with our other bike-friendly (and eye-friendly!) products, on our shopping page.

Richard Risemberg on Wed, 18 May 2011 08:09:28 -0800 [link]  

For months, a little stretch of the Ballona Creek bike path--which I use rather frequently to get to the marina area--was blocked for construction. A bit annoying to have to detour--the creekside path is fast and quiet, with no car traffic and no at-grade crossings--but now that it's done it feels really worthwhile.

Culver City--which is where this portion of the path lies--repaved and landscaped the path and installed a native plant garden and bioswale there--the latter feature serving to capture and cleanse runoff from the adjacent schoolyard.

Yesterday it was looking particularly good, as the flowers were blooming wildly under a brilliant blue spring sky.

Take a look:



Southern California riding at its most pleasant today, despite the cold wind.

Richard Risemberg on Mon, 16 May 2011 20:42:18 -0800 [link]