Join us on a leisurely bike tour to visit some of our local Community Gardens and ride on MANGo, our Neighborhood Greenway, presented by the Metro Bicycle Education Safety Training (BEST) Program.

We’ll start the tour with a visit to an urban fruit forest and Urban Agriculture Education Site at Ishihara Park, where neighbors get their hands dirty in the Communal Garden Program and Learning Garden, a communal spot to learn and acquire gardening skills. Seasoned as well as new gardeners of all ages are welcomed. This shared learning community garden has provided over 1200 pounds of free produce to the community. Next up, on our ride to Park Dr and the Euclid Gardens we will experience our local Neighborhood Greenway – The Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway, MANGo – we will see and hear about the new improvements planned for connecting 17th & Michigan Avenue to Expo, Santa Monica College and neighborhoods to the north. We’ll visit Park Drive and Euclid Community Gardens where residents maintain their own garden plots. We will walk through the gardens, view the different plants, talk to gardeners, and hear about Santa Monica’s community garden and urban agriculture programs.

TIMELINE:
10:00 am – Meet up.
1:00 pm – Ride end.

START/END: 26th Street/Bergamot Expo Station – meet in the parking lot on the south side of the station – Bergamot. IMPORTANT NOTE: You may not park in the Bergamot lot. Please do not try. See below for car parking.

ROUTE: Approximately 4.5 miles. Mostly flat, residential streets.
Route Map: HERE
Experience Level: Beginner

GETTING THERE:
Walk or Bike: Approach the station on the Expo Path
Transit: Take the Expo line to 26th Street/Bergamot Station.
• Bus, Big Blue Bus serves the station or check routes at METRO.
By Car: The start location is at Olympic and 26th Street in Santa Monica, just north of the 10 freeway, Cloverfield exit. Car parking in the area is limited and generally not free. There’s metered parking 26th Street and an off street lot at the Colorado Center Park at 26th and Broadway.

WHAT TO BRING | PLEASE NOTE:

• Please reserve an “I’ll bring my own bike” ticket.
There are bike share stations at the 26th Street/Bergamot Expo Station.
• Your bicycle in good working condition. We strongly recommend taking your bike to a local bike shop for a tune up if you haven’t ridden your bike in a long time or if you aren’t sure that it’s working properly.
• A good lock. We recommend a heavy duty u-lock. We will not be far from our bikes on the tour.
• Cash or credit card – optional extras like food or beverages
• A helmet is required for anyone under 18.
• Children 17 and younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• Bikes with training wheels are not permitted, but children are welcome to attend if pulled in a trailer, a tag-a-long, or on-bike child seat or capable riding at a moderate pace on streets with traffic.

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PLEASE NOTE: All ride participants must sign a waiver to participate. A parent or legal guardian is required to accompany and sign for any minors (under 18) participating in the ride.
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This event is made possible by Metro Los Angeles, Santa Monica Spoke, and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.
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About us:
Santa Monica Spoke was founded in 2009, and served as the primary catalyst and launched as the founding chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition – this has lead to the implementation of chapters throughout the County of Los Angeles.
Santa Monica Spoke is a community based, volunteer-run non-profit organization dedicated to improving biking in the City of Santa Monica. Through our advocacy education and outreach we strive to make Santa Monica more sustainable, and a better place to live, walk, bike, work and play.

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) is a membership-based nonprofit organization that works to make all communities in LA County healthy, safe, and fun places to ride a bike through advocacy, education, and outreach.

#BikeSM #BikeLocalSM #LACBCeverywhere #bikeLA #BikeMetro #SaMoSafeStreets #GoSaMo