Category Archives: National

May: National Bike Month, National Bike Challenge & More!

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MAY: NATIONAL BIKE MONTH IS HERE!!!

TheLEAGUE-BikeMonthMay is National Bike Month, sponsored by the  League of American Bicyclists and celebrated in communities from coast to coast. Established in 1956, National Bike Month is a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling — and encourage more folks to giving biking a try.bike_month_250x250

Whether you bike to work or school; ride to save money or time; pump those pedals to preserve your health or the environment; or simply to explore your community, National Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride.

Each year the number and diversity of Bike Month celebrations continues to grow, accelerating the momentum around bicycling nationwide.

Join us for the National Bike Challenge 

The National Bike Challenge is a nationwide event uniting thousands of current bicyclists — and encouraging countless new riders. In its simplest form it is a logging center for users to record miles ridden and be part of the national community of bicyclists. It is a free and easy way to challenge yourself, colleagues and the greater community to ride more. Users compete on a local, state and national level. The year the Challenge aims to unite 75,000 riders to pedal 35 million miles from May 1, 2015 until September 30, 2015. Now in its fourth year, the Challenge is a successful partnership between the PeopleForBikes and Kimberly-Clark’s Scott Natural Brand.

PeopleForBikes owns, operates, and maintains the National Bike Challenge website. PeopleForBikes mission is to making bicycling better for everyone by uniting millions of riders, thousands of businesses and hundreds of communities..

Join the Challenge and ride for team Bike Santa Monica!NBClogo-SCREEN

After you sign up for the National Bike Challenge. and create your account – join team Bike Santa Monica!

The National Bike Challenge officially starts May 1st. We are already warming up in April – don’t wait join now! This year there are 4 apps you can choose from to record your participation. Visit the app gallery here. IT”S EASY!

May 4th: National Walk Bike to School Day
& Bike it Walk it Week Santa Monica

Bike Walk to School

The first-ever National Bike to School Day took place on May 9, 2012, in coordination with the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike Month. Almost 1,000 local events in 49 states and the District of Columbia joined together to encourage children to safely bicycle or walk to school.

The event builds on the popularity of Walk to School Day, which is celebrated across the country – and the world – each October. Many communities and schools have been holding spring walk and bicycle to school events for years. National Bike to School Day provides an opportunity for schools across the country to join together to celebrate and to build off of the energy of National Bike Month.

Bike it Walk it Week Santa Monica, May 2nd -6th

Santa Monica and Malibu schools celebrate Bike it Walk it Bus it Week May 2nd-6thth. Join the fun by contacting SRTS Coordinator Cory Keen, your PTA President or the Bike it Walk it Bus it coordinator at your school to find out about how you can participate.

SMMUSD Bike it Walk it

  • Lincoln Middle School: May 4th
  • Franklin Elementary: May 5th
  • Will Rogers Learning Community: April 29th
  • Edison Language Academy: May 4th
  • Grant Elementary: May 5h 
  • John Muir Elementary: May 5th
  • SMASH: May 5th
  • McKinley Elementary: May 4th – 6th
  • Roosevelt Elementary: May 3rd
  • John Adams Middle School: May 5th
  • Samohi: May 18th

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Bike Week / Month 2016

Bike Week LA is an annual week of community events sponsored by Metro and local advocates all over the County of Los Angeles to promote bicycling as a sustainable and practical mode of transportation. Check Metro website for events all over LA.  In Santa Monica we have you covered, to get connected in your area look up LACBC, or your areas LACBC Local Chapter.

Santa Monica Spoke we will again participate and host rides and events through out the week! More info on these rides and events is coming soon Check out our Event Calendar for the latest. Here is an overview of Metro Events some of what we have planned locally to get you excited!
More are being added – check calendar for updates! 

  • Nation Bike Challenge Begins. Log miles over smiles from May 1st to September 30th. Join Team Bike Santa Monica in this National Competition. More info online.
  • Sunday, May 1st – Gear Up! as we launch Bike Month! Get ready to ride, learn to pedal safely, and win free stuff! 11am-2pm McKinley School, 2401 Santa Monica Blvd
  • May 2nd – 6th – Bike it! Walk it! Bus it! to School – SMMUSD. For more information contact Cory.Keen@smgov.net
  • Sunday, May 1st – Adult Learn to Ride bike class. For more info and to sign up visit smbikecenter.com/services/bike-classes/
  • Every Wednesday Camp Coffee, #CoffeeOutside at Ballona Creek 7:00-8:00am. Bring your camp brew kit or ready made, It’s a great way to start your day. On the jetty at the end of Ballona Creek Bike Path past the bike bridge.
  • Wednesdays in May Bike Maintenance Workshop – 4 part series, Santa Monica Bike Center , more info visit smbikecenter.com/services/repair/
  • Every Thursday in May Handlebar Happy Hour – Celebrate all things bike as we explore our Santa Monica Buy Local, Bike Local business. This month we visit the Most Loved SM Happy Hour Finalists. Areal, The Craftsman, Rusty’s and Upper West.
  • Sunday, May 8th LA Bike Festival: Grand Park, Downton Los Angeles
    CycloFemme Rides
  • Thursday, May 12th, BREEZE BIKE SHARE Handlebar Happy Hour 6 Month Anniversary Celebration at The Craftsman Bar and Kitchen
  • Friday, May 13th Big Blue Bus Buy One Get One stock up on your BBB fare!
  • Saturday, May 14th Expo II Bike Path Ride info as confirmed at SMSpoke.org
  • Sunday, May 15th CicLAvia Southeast Cities 9am-4pm ciclavia.org

Bike LOCAL WEEK Santa Monica 

  • Sunday, May 15 – Breeze Bike Share Community Ride & Bike Route Tour 10am – noon, meet at 17th Street Expo station.
  • Meatless Monday, May 16 – Ride & Fundraiser to the Veggie Grill – We meet at Colorado Center Park at 5:30 to ride (or meet us) at Veggie Grill, 2025 Wilshire blvd
  • Tuesday, May 17th Ladies Choice Women and Biking discussions over morning coffee at Sidecar Donuts  — 7:30am to 9am, 631 Wilshire Blvd, SM
    12th Annual Blessing of the Bicycles
  • Wednesday, May 18th Special Edition Bike Week Camp Coffee #CoffeeOutside at Ballona Creek 7:00-8:00am. Bring your camp brew kit or ready made, It’s a great way to start your day. On the jetty at the end of Ballona Creek Bike Path past the bridge.
    Guided SM City Bike Tour. We’ll check out the new Esplanade & cycle track, then ride some of the great bike facilities that earned Santa Monica its Silver Level Bike Friendly City Designation. We ride to a bonus Handlebar Happy Hour, location tbd
  • Thursday, May 19th is Bike to Work Day! Sponsored by Metro Visit our website for a full list of Santa Monica pit stop locations. We will be at City Hall as well as several other locations.
    Bike From Work Handlebar Happy Hour: TWO in Santa Monica! We will be at Areal 2820 Main Street Main St and Public Bikes 2714 Main St is hosting a Bike From Work Handlebar Happy Hour that benefits Santa Monica Spoke. WOOT!! So FUN and so close – you can do BOTH!
    People on bikes Ride Metro and Big Blue Bus for Free today!
    Visit metro.net/bikes/bike-month/ for Bike events all over LA County
    Free ride time on Breeze Bike Share Thursday May 19 to Saturday May 21
  • Friday, May 20th Opening Expo II light rail line and Expo II Bike Path. Festivities are scheduled for noon at 4th Street Terminus station – smgov.net/expo
    Expo Trains are FREE Friday & Saturday, May 20th & 21st
    Bike to the Movies / Date Night at the Laemmle Theater. Meet at the 4th Street Expo Station and ride to the movies at Laemmle Monica Theater. Time tbd
  • Saturday May 21st Expo II Station Parties. Visit all three stations, each is themed differently – we plan to be at all three stations. This historic event is one not to be missed. 10am-4pm all stations.
  • Sunday, May 22nd Santa Monica Spoke Family Bikes on Expo Tour. Let’s go multi-modal with the whole family. We start at 17th Expo Station take a short ride on the Expo II Bike Path and then jump on Expo to Exposition Park for a short ride around the Rose Garden, then back to Santa Monica. Fun for the whole family. Start time planned for 10am, final details posted to the website soon.
    Bike + Train Tour SM Learn to connect bikes to transit with PUBLIC Bikes & Sustainable Streets, free Breeze ride and tap card! 10am- 4pm meet at 2714 Main St.
    Intermediate Learn to Ride bike class. For more info and to sign up visit smbikecenter.com/services/bike-classes/

Close out Bike Month with Bike Night at Union Station! 

  • Friday, May 27th Bike Night is more than just bikes: music from Jungle Fire,    raffles and games, awesome prizes from Public Bikes and Tern Bicycles, and the highlight of the evening, a bicycle fashion show!

Join the National Bike Challenge: Ride for team BIKE SANTA MONICA

More Bike Week, Bike Month & Bike Local SM Specials posted “linked here” soon!

National Bike Challenge begins May 1st!

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It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for: the National Bike Challenge starts this Sunday
Sign up today and start tracking your rides. (It’s free, fun and easy.)

In its simplest form, the Challenge is an easy logging center for you to record the miles you ride while competing with other riders all over the country. But the National Bike Challenge is so much more than that. It is a community of people who all share a love of riding bikes. With competition possibilities on the local, state and national level, it is a free and easy way to challenge yourself, colleagues and the greater community to ride more. The Challenge aims to unite 100,000 riders to pedal 75 million miles from May 1, 2016 until September 30, 2016. Now in its fifth year, the Challenge is a successful partnership between PeopleForBikes and Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle Products brand.

Compete with your friends, co-workers and neighbors for a chance to win new prizes each month. It doesn’t matter if you’re riding hundreds of miles a week or just getting back in the saddle, you are welcome in the National Bike Challenge. Now get rolling!

Join the Challenge and ride with us on team
Bike Santa Monica!NBClogo-SCREEN

After you sign up for the National Bike Challenge. and create your account – join team Bike Santa Monica!

The National Bike Challenge officially starts May 1st. We are already warming up in April – don’t wait join now! This year there are 4 apps you can choose from to record your participation. Visit the app gallery here. IT”S EASY!

Santa Monica Spoke is the local community host – Our TEAM Bike Santa Monica is a collaboration with City of Santa Monica, Bike Local,  and the Santa Monica Bike Center. Together we host lots of events like our Handlebar Happy Hours throughout the challenge!

Cynthia Rose and Mobility Plan 2035 Are LACBC’s National Advocacy Award Winners!

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We are thrilled to announce that Cynthia Rose and LACBC have been awarded multiple Advocacy Awards by the Alliance for Biking & Walking at this year’s National Bike Summit & Women’s Forum in Washington DC!

After receiving five nominations, Monday night we took home:

  • Susie Stephens Joyful Enthusiasm Award - Cynthia Rose, Santa Monica Spoke

  • Winning Campaign of the Year - Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Mobility Plan 2035

Cynthia Rose (right) accepts the Susie Stephens Joyful Enthusiasm Award.
LACBC staffers Eric Bruins, Ishraq Ali, Hyeran Lee, and Tamika Butler accept the award for Winning Campaign of the Year for Mobility Plan 2035.
Cynthia Rose rides a Breeze Bike Share bike with Countri Bike's Jeffrey Tannenhaus around Santa Monica. Photo: Santa Monica Spoke.

Cynthia Rose rides a Breeze Bike Share bike with Countri Bike’s Jeffrey Tannenhaus around Santa Monica.

Susie Stephens Joyful Enthusiasm Award

This award commemorates Susie Stephens, one of the Alliance’s founders and an enduring inspiration for many members of the bicycle and pedestrian movement. The honor goes to an individual who carries on Susie’s passion for advocating for bicycling as a fun and economical means of transportation, as well as creating a safe biking and walking environment for all.

  •     Cynthia Rose, Santa Monica Spoke

I feel so incredible honored to have received this award that commemorates the dedication and inspiration of Susie Stephens. I am so grateful to her and her inspirational mother who has carried on her daughters enthusiasm with her own commitment and dedication. With that I must say that like any successful advocacy – there are many to thank. Those that preceded us and make our work and successes possible, those that continue today working with us side by side, and in Santa Monica to our wonderful, talented community and civic partners that help and support us in creating a safer environment that encourages more people to walk and bike. I am deeply appreciative of all these partners every single day. 

Thank you to the Alliance of Biking and Walking and the League of American Bicyclists for their national leadership and support of local advocacy — and to our regional and state partners at LACBC and the California Bicycle Coalition. 

“Together We Lead” our communities to a healthier, safer, more equitable future biking and walking.

— Cynthia Rose 

From the Alliance for Biking & Walking: “Cynthia Rose, a co-founder of Santa Monica Spoke, is also known to many in the Los Angeles area as ‘Purple’ (her favorite color) — but her vibrance spans the spectrum of bicycle advocacy. She played a key role in helping launch the first public bike share program in Los Angeles County: Breeze Bike Share, and pioneered the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Local Chapter program. She is an educator, an advocate and a rider leader, but even her actions are outdone by her joyful enthusiasm. Her bright smile and infectious attitude have invited countless new riders into the movement by making bicycling welcoming and fun. As her nominator summed up: ‘Cynthia truly is an inspiration.'”

Winning Campaign of the Year

This award goes to an organization for a winning campaign, in the last year, which has had the biggest impact on walking and biking. Their victory will dramatically increase active transportation in their state/ community or will dramatically shift the way that walking and biking are considered.

  • Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Mobility Plan 2035

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From the Alliance for Biking & Walking: “With 300 miles of protected bike lanes, the adoption of Vision Zero and a central commitment to safety, the Mobility Plan 2035 passed by the Los Angeles City Council in 2015 marked a major transformation for big city transportation. Behind the scenes, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition helped to lead that charge with a thoughtful, strategic and multi-year campaign to increase access and safety for all. Their inside-outside game, rallied the public and LACBC members to engage with their policymakers, brought new partners to table and authentically considered the need of all road users, from bicyclists to bus riders. Read much more about their effort here.”

We would like to thank all of our members, partners, and supporters for making these wins possible! These wins (plus our additional nominations) are recognition of every call to action you’ve responded to, every meeting you’ve attended, every letter or email you’ve written, every public comment you’ve made, every hour of time you’ve volunteered in the office or on the streets, every hashmark recorded for our bike and ped counts, and every bike light installed as a member of Team Firefly, not to mention every mile you’ve pedaled either with us or on our behalf. We hope you’ll help Santa Monica Spoke, LACBC and all our local chapters continue this work to make Los Angeles County a great place for all people from all communities to ride their bikes everywhere, safely and conveniently, by becoming a member of LACBC and a local chapter or renewing your membership.

Congrats to Cynthia and all the other winners: Living Streets Alliance (Tucson), Fernando Martinez, and Community Cycling Center (Portland). Read more about all the winners on the Alliance for Biking & Walking blog.

Tell NHTSA to test new cars for bicyclist safety

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Bike League Action

NHTSA recently announced an update to its 5-Star Safety Rating for new cars. This is a key means by which the federal government promotes consumer awareness of safety technologies. According to the proposed update, the 5-Star Safety Rating will for the first time include an assessment of crash avoidance technologies and pedestrian protection. While this is a great step forward for promoting the safety of people outside of cars it is not clear how or whether the safety of bicyclists will be included in these assessments.

The League of American Bicyclists has submitted comments asking NHTSA to:

  • Consider the completeness of crash avoidance technologies and whether they are effective at avoiding crashes with all road users when assigning a crash avoidance rating;
  • Include all non-occupants, including bicyclists, in the pedestrian protection rating; and
  • Develop appropriate tests and procedures if the lack of appropriate testing and procedures means that bicyclist crash avoidance and protection cannot be included in the 5-Star Rating System at this time.

Join us and endorse the League’s comments calling for an assessment that includes the safety of all people, including bicyclists, or submit your own comments to ensure that bicyclists are considered when crash avoidance and other new vehicle technologies are assessed by Clicking Here. This comment period will end on February 16th.

Action Alert: Ask Your Senators to Support Bicycling

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People for Bikes
Write a letter to your senators in support of bicycle infrastructure funding.
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Did you know that your senators are making decisions that will affect the future of bicycle infrastructure in California?
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Use this easy letter-writing tool to reach out to your senators and ask them to continue their support of bike funding.
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The U.S. Senate is currently working on a proposal for TIGER grants, an important source of federal transportation funding for projects to build roads, transit, ports, and bicycle infrastructure. The House has proposed $100 million in funding for next year, far less than the $500 million that TIGER was funded at this year. Let your senators know that you support full funding of the program and the bicycle projects it helps make possible.

Thanks for taking action!

— The PeopleForBikes Team