Monthly Archives: December 2011

Save the Date LACBC Winter Merriment & Volunteers Needed for Bike Valet

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - 11:30am - 11:00pm

 

Save the date! We’re back at the Library Alehouse to close out 2011! Stop by, grab some grub, bring your friends, and hang out. Ten percent of all sales on the 27th benefit LACBC at this fundraiser, so you’ll be supporting bicycle advocacy just by eating and drinking! You’ll also have the chance to to enter our raffle and win a new Tern folding bike.

->O<-

Once again Santa Monica Spoke will support the event providing Free Bike valet!

We need volunteers!  

Bike Valet hours are 5-10pm in 2-3 hour shifts.
Please click here to email us Volunteer@SMSpoke.org –  let us know when you’re available.
Special FREE raffle just for volunteers!

LACBC’s Mid-Winter Merriment at the Library Alehouse

When: Tuesday, December 27; 11:30 AM – 11:00 PM
Where: Library Alehouse – 2911 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA

Ride the BAP with us this Sunday: location update

Ride the BAP with us this Sunday meet up location has changed, slightly.

We will meet at the Bike Center located at 4th and Broadway 9:30am for refreshments and snacks to discuss and plan our routes.

If you plan to attend please click here to send us a quick note: RSVP@SMSpoke.org – so we can have enough for everyone.

Holiday Charity Ride, Benefiting Ralph’s Riders on behalf of Russell Moon

Date:   December 17th
Time:   7:30am – 11:00am
Meet:   Santa Monica Bike Center

Each year a local “Fashion Show” cycling group gathers during the holidays to ride throughout the west side of Los Angeles and spread good cheer to unsuspecting homeless throughout these communities. They generally bring small gift cards and small amounts of cash to surprise the homeless they come upon.

This year tragedy struck our local west side cycling group when Dr. Russell Moon was struck by a car on Allenford Ave. He was just returning from an afternoon mountain bike ride. Dr. Moon’s injuries are life changing as he is now paralyzed from the neck down and currently relies on a respirator. The accident has sickened many of us and heightened our awareness about our own fragility.

The group will ride in Russell’s honor and raise donations for Ralph’s Riders Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which enables individuals with spinal cord injuries and paralysis to achieve their highest level of independence, health and personal fulfillment. Ralph’s Riders Foundation brings people living with a spinal cord injury together with those living with similar injuries who have overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and are living life at its fullest.

The ride will take place on December 17th, 2011 at 7:30AM, meeting at The Santa Monica Bike Center, 1555 2nd St., Santa Monica, CA (310) 656-8500 and will conclude at Bike Improve 10929 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025 (310) 400-0363 where they will have refreshments and the proceeds from any sales at the shop will go to the charity, Ralph’s Riders.

Total ride time should be approx. 2-2-1/2 hrs., including some rest stops along the way.

Read the Inspiration behind Ralph’s Riders Foudtion here

facebook event here

 

Give input – Ride the BAP with us this Sunday

 

Date:   This Sunday!
Time:  9:30am – 12:30?
Place:  Santa Monica Bike Center
– 4th and Broadway

In a committed effort to get input from the community – Lucy Dyke, City Staff and Santa Monica Spoke invite the bike community to take a ride on the streets that are first up for BAP (Bike Action Plan) implementation and re-striping.

We will take a ride on these streets to get feedback, input and discuss how to implement the tools available to best improve the bike infrastructure, safety and circulation in these areas.

This is the first in a series of rides we will host to get input from the community on different areas of the city as Santa Monica makes bike improvements and begins to implement the projects in the BAP.

Follow-up and more information on the streets ridden will be posted here at SMSpoke.org for those who may not be able to attend. You will have the option to ride the streets on your own and forward your input via email. (not as fun or interactive)

We hope to see you SUNDAY!

 

Light refreshments will be served –
please RSVP to:
RSVP@SMSpoke.org

Please bring your own H20 and snacks for the ride.

 

The attached file includes highlights on Bike Action Plan streets that will be restriped by the current paving contract.  People who show up can choose which streets to ride.  We can use the Bike Action Plan and, we hope some standard plans which may be available by then, to get an idea of what is likely to go in on those streets and provide comments to the design and inspection team.

click to download larger size

 

 

 

Thursday party & fundraiser for LA.StreetsBlog,org

LA.StreetsBlog first annual end of the year party and fundraiser ….. WOW that’s a mouth full!

Join us this Thursday to support LA.StreetsBlog.org – the venue has been changed but the party, prizes and fun will all be there in the new venue!

Thursday, December 8th at 6:30pm

At Earl’s Gourmet Grub, 12226 Venice Boulevard between Grand View Boulevard and Ocean View Avenue (or between Inglewood and Centinella for those using larger streets.)

Suggested donation is $25, but everything is on a sliding scale. For more information, check out the “top ten reasons” to party with Streetsblog we published earlier or sign up for the event on Facebook.  You might have noticed that the Streetsblogs are holding an end of the year fundraising drive, if you use that link you can donate ahead of time, but make sure that you specify that you want your donation to go to Los Angeles.

While Streetsblog has prospered, the City of Los Angeles has begun to move towards livability itself.  In the past year, ground broke on Expo Phase II in Santa Monica, the Gold Line Foothill Extension continued into the suburbs, Los Angeles embraced a Bus Only Lanes proposal for Downtown to Beverly Hills and a portion of the Westside, and implementation of the surprisingly-progressive Bike Plan has begun.  We’ve been there to cover it all, and we’ll be there into next year as debate on the Crenshaw Line and west side Subway stays hot, new Bus Only Lane plans move forward, the City continues to figure out how to do bike planning and other stories break around the city.

But for a couple hours this Thursday, let’s celebrate how far we’ve come, and how much farther we’re going to go.  Join L.A. Streetsblog, our Streetsie Award winners Colin Bogart, Sunyoung Yang, Rye Baerg, Dana Gabbard and Brigham Yen (what’s-his-name is going to be in Asia) and many of the people that make Livable Streets advocacy so successful and so fun.  We’ll have food, New Belgium Beer, wine, non-alcoholic drinks and the premier of our Spanish Language Streetfilms by Social | Impact Consulting, LLC.