Category Archives: bicycle science

Conversation with Dutch Students: Urban Cycling Institute, Rotterdam

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May 2 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Santa Monica Main Library
— 2nd floor Mulit-Purpose Room

Social will follow at the West 4th & Jane 

Join us as we kick off Bike Month with an evening conversation with this years group of students from the Cycling Institute in Rotterdam. The presentations will include a how the Dutch are approaching technology and bike safety as well as where we park all these bikes once we get folks riding as well as the effects of transportation poverty.

The topics for this evenings conversations will be:

  • Technology and bike safety â€“ Students will present on 5 different approaches used in Europe to stimulate bike usage by means of different types of technology. Some cases are focused on travel time reductions, others on safety and or infrastructure improvements. The cases will firstly be explained (how does the system work?), before they will discuss results and improvements that they fell need to be made to achieve better results.
  • Bicycle parking â€“ the students  looked into bike parking in several Dutch cities, parking in city centers and esp. near train stations.
    • Parking cleans up the streets from chaos where bikes are parked everywhere. 
    • Technology enters parking structures and some are now as advanced if not more than car parks. 
    • Bike parking plays a role in Ditch cities for using the bicycle to the city center, School and work.  In fact, bike parking seems to enhance bike riding. Surprised?
  • Transportation poverty results of 200 initial interviews in difficult neighborhoods in order to find out what their preferred mode of transport is in the city and in their neighborhood. Lack of access to mobility keeps people locked up in their neighborhoods and results in social isolation.
    • When a bicycle could literally be a vehicle to gainful employment.
    • People with lack of mobility options interviewed felt exclusivity when it comes to participating in city life.

Every year we host a new group of students visiting Los Angeles from the Cycling Institute in Rotterdam.

Last years event

Breeze = Bikes & Business = #BikeLocal #BuyLocal

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People who ride bikes are not only good for the environment they tend to shop locally and are good for the local economy! Studies have shown that people on bikes may spend less per trip, but return more often and ending up spending more money monthly than folks that drive to their destinations. founding member add
Breeze puts 2 wheeled, healthy, active, transportation within easy reach for our residents and visitors and helps immerse them in our local community and connect to our local businesses. Each trip by bike is one less trip by car which helps the community reduce traffic congestion and polluting emissions.

Breeze is not simply for tourist or visitors – it is for Santa Monica Residents. Bike share can create expanded public transposition options into the neighborhoods so residents can get to and from transit, employment and shopping destinations without the need to use their cars. Adding just one more option for daily trips. Station are not only strategically placed at shopping and transit, but in neighborhoods for residential access to the broader transportation network and directly to local destinations.

Become a founding member before the Launch November 12th and get attend the Launch Party that Thursday evening! Bikes & Bikes!

Here are a just a few stations and some of the local destination connections! Where will you #RideBreeze?

Annenberg Beach House connects to Back on the Beach, Bike Mike’s Ultimate Beach Workout, Westside Adventure Boot Camp
Barnard Way & Ashland connects to Groundworks Coffee Co, Finn McCools Irish Pub, South Beach Park Playground
Bergamot Transit Village connects to Bergamot Cafe, Mrs. Winston’s Green Grocery, Elabrew Coffee
Colorado & 4th connects to Harvelle’s Blues Club, True Food Kitchen, Santa Monica Place
Colorado & 11th connects to Funnel Mill, Pono Burger, Shape House Day Spa
Douglas Park connects to Tacoteca, Bru’s Wiffle A Waffle Joint, Bread & Porridge
Hotchkiss Park connects to Ocean Park Ranch, Urth Cafe, Rawvolution
Virginia Ave Park connects to Pico Library, The Daily Pint, Lo/Cal Coffee & Market

Santa Monica Festival, May 9th starts Bike Week!

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Santa Monica Festival kicks of Bike Week for us here in Santa Monica as it celebrates its 24th year at Clover Park Saturday, May 9th from 11am to 6pm.  The Santa Monica Festival showcases sustainable living and culture through an array of free, family-friendly activities and performances, including art workshops, music and dance performances, cooking demonstrations, fitness classes, and more that reflect the culture and diversity of this unique beach City. The free festival is an opportunity for residents and visitors alike to come together to connect, create, and celebrate Santa Monica.
Check our Calendar for more upcoming events for Bike Week, BTWD, and so much more added all the time! 

We celebrate this year with an even bigger expanded FAMILY BIKE HUB!
Bikes again play a large roll in the festivities. Santa Monica Spoke is again excited to be participating by putting on our 5th Bike Exhibition, a Youth Skills Course / Bike Rodeo and Bike Demos in the ever expanding BIKE ZONE / Family Bike Hub supported by the City of Santa Monica Planning and Community Development Dept and Safe Routes to School.

The Bike Exhibition demonstrates the wonderful versatility of the bicycle and how it can enhance our lives as a healthy, sustainable part of our city and the environment.  We demonstrate the adaptability of bicycles and how bicycles can be more than just for pleasure – they can get us to work or school, go shopping, get groceries, run errands, and take us on terrific adventures from cruising in the sun to bike touring destinations near and far.

We will have a large variety of bicycles on display from standard cruisers, mountain bikes and road bikes to the increasingly popular cargo bikes and folding bikes.  We will have trailers for hauling all kinds of cargo from your children and pets to trips to your local farmers market, weekly groceries and weekend shopping sprees.  We will also have some nice vintage bikes on display as well, still ready for daily use.
Volunteers needed – email volunteer@SMSpoke.org
Bikes on display are courtesy of Santa Monica Spoke community, and with generous help from our local bike shops.
Family Bike Hub

Youth Skills Course – Bike Rodeo NOON to 4pm will offer a fun training and skills course for children to learn or improve their riding skills and learn safety precautions. Adults can get instruction, safety tips and learn their rights and responsibilities of smart cycling.

Activities will include helmet decorating, Bike Safety check and bike maintenance workshops with Bikerowave, & REI, Photo Wall , FUN PRIZES AND MORE!

Ride your bike to the festival, Free Bike Valet will be provided by the City of Santa Monica.
Free rides on the Big Blue Bus (line #8 only) will be offered to festival participants. Click to print coupon. Also, Santa Monica Free Ride will offer free shuttle service between Main St. at Ocean Park Blvd. and the Festival. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.

We look forward to you visiting our Exhibition and talking with you about bicycling in Santa Monica and the City’s progress on the Bike Action Plan.

The Festival:      Website      On Facebook      Facebook Event       twitter @santamonicafestival

The 24rd annual Santa Monica Festival is presented by the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division and Office of Sustainability and the Environment, and is produced by Community Arts Resources (CARS). The festival is free and open to all ages. See you on May 9th!

Each year since 1992, Community Arts Resources, (CARS) who also has produced this event that has grown into Santa Monica’s largest celebration of its civic identity. The Santa Monica Festival expresses the city’s persona through a two-pronged approach: culture and the environment. Now one of the greenest festivals in the Los Angeles area, the event employs solar-powered stages, carbon offsets, waste diversion and product replacement to be as sustainable as possible. The festival, located in Clover Park since 1994, also celebrates the amazing diversity of Santa Monica through programming on two stages, a Town Square of local non-profits and government agencies, a Global Café, and a Marketplace of diverse vendors. The festival is presented by the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division as well as the City’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment.

SANTA MONICA, CA (APRIL 10, 2011) – Commemorating its twentieth year (in 2011), the Santa Monica Festival has evolved into a celebration of the unique intersection of art and the environment.  Festival-goers can celebrate Mother Earth and all moms this Mother’s Day weekend with an eclectic mix of live music and dance, DIY art workshops utilizing recycled and repurposed materials, guilt-free shopping from vendors featuring earth-friendly artistic wares and local resources offered by a variety of City and local non-profit organizations.

Tuesday Events: Morning Lady’s Choice, Sunset Ride of Silence

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Take your bike to the 10th Annual Blessing of the Bicycles.

CAFFE BELLOMorning event – Lady’s choice – a ride to coffee, tea, networking? We can explore the benefits, challenges and shared experiences as women on bikes. Non-gender specific – all are invited  – but lady’s choice on ride and topics.
Meet up location for morning beverage and conversation at Cafe Bello 7:30am, 1912 Broadway

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Sunset Memorial Ride of Silence – in honor of the injured and killed cyclist. The ride is conducted in silence. This will be the 10th year of this international event and will be one of multiple Rides of Silence across LA.

Meet in front of Santa Monica City Hall at 6:30pm – roll at 7:00pmSanta Monica City Hall, 1685 Main Street
We’ll conclude the ride at Casa Martin Mexican Restaurant, 1654 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401. Casa Martin is supporting bike month with 10% off during May when you arrive by bike.

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