If you’re looking for a job in bike activism and education, C.I.C.L.E. is hiring a Managing Director.  Under the direction of the Steering Committee, the Managing Director will oversee all fundraising, programming, events, and advocacy efforts of C.I.C.L.E.

C.I.C.L.E. gave me my start in mainstream activism.  Mandi Trimas wanted to create a system of bike mentors who could walk nervous newbies through the beginning trials of bike commuting.  I joined up with Mandi and C.I.C.L.E. promoted our efforts through their website.  The effort eventually died, but I always appreciated that C.I.C.L.E. were willing to support untested activists on a new project.

If you’re looking for a job in bike activism, C.I.C.L.E. would be a great place to start.  Download the job description here.

Already know what happened and want to do something about it? Click here to skip to the end of the article to find out what next steps you can take.

Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood

Friday May 28, 2010 Los Angeles Critical Mass took to the crowded streets with hundreds of riders demonstrating their right and freedom to ride. After a full calendar of Bike Week events, endorsements, and excitement the close to Bike Month ended with the harsh reality that cyclists must persist with the fight for equal protection on the streets. You would think after a public service announcement by Chief Beck, progress with operations notices supporting cyclists and a new cyclist’s rights education module the LAPD would take a moment before going back to their old ways of harassing cyclists.

You would think, right?

As Critical Mass was making it’s way east along Hollywood Blvd. (near Highland Ave.) to end the ride they were met with a contingent of LAPD Officers armed with batons kicking and tackling cyclists off their bikes. Officers drove squad cars into the crowd of riders. Some cyclists were even stopped in their tracks and flung from their bike with a baton stuck in the spokes (a la Breaking Away). These cyclists were then brutalized, handcuffed and then cited for small infractions such as no lights or not obeying traffic laws. From the video above you can see that cyclists were taking the lane legally, riding slowly; it seems as if they were simply targeted for being last to ride up on the scene of a poorly defined ‘incident’. At no point was the mass of riders identified as an illegal assembly or addressed with a formal dispersal order. In fact: officers employed the use of force to effect dispersal (which is against LAPD policy and illegal). The events are chronicled on the internet as many riders use Twitter:

While all this was going on a cyclist decided to stop and take a video of the events as they unfolded. He was then tackled by a few police officers, given conflicting orders to comply and then detained: all while officers smirked at their own dirty deeds. The attack aimed to stifle our basic rights to a free press which can provide oversight over the brutality expressed by the Los Angeles Police Department. It was a dark night in LA Critical Mass history. It was a direct assault that demonstrates that the LAPD will take violent measures to operate free and clear of the constraints of public scrutiny. Furthermore, the events captured on this video are violation of the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, the California Constitution, and California state law.

It doesn’t just stop there…

There was great difficulty in contacting the Hollywood Precinct to report a crime had occurred. Stephen Box called and spoke to the Watch Commander who would not take a telephonic report or complaint, would not initiate an investigation over the phone and then hung up on him four times. One does not have to be a victim or a witness to report a crime or something suspicious is going on. The LAPD has a defined responsibility to take a telephonic report — most especially when it involves a crime committed by some of their own officers. LAPD depends heavily on citizen assistance in reporting crimes and provides a diverse list of phone numbers on their website to contact. Plainly stated: you do not need to report a crime in person. This is yet another criminal method LAPD is using to operate without the public’s oversight.

How can be sure these gross civil injustices will be addressed by the LAPD, LA City Council and the Public at Large?

1. EMAIL: If you are a witness or a victim of the police brutality that went down on the night of Friday, May 28, 2010 at LACM you should contact Alex Thompson, President of Bikeside LA via email: alexcthompson@gmail.com or anyone else you may know from BikesideLA.org

2. WEB: If you are a witness or a victim please submit a confidential incident report to LABikeMap.Com. You can file the report as a ‘harassment’ or ‘collision’.

3. IN PERSON: If you are a witness, a victim, or just generally concerned with LAPD’s infringement on cyclist’s rights please attend and give public comment at the LA City Council’s Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting taking place this Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 7pm at Hollywood Neighborhood City Hall, 6501 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles, CA

Bikeside LA will be at the Bicycle Advisory Committee presenting the Backbone Bikeway Network which just so happens to include this section of Hollywood Blvd where the police brutality took place. The Backbone is committed to connecting the community and it’s services to provide for and protect cyclist rights to the road. Education, as a component of the Backbone, is tasked to enhance the LAPD’s knowledge base and interaction with cyclists across the many communities within the City of Los Angeles. If you show up to support the many cyclists that were viciously attacked please also offer your support for the Backbone Bikeway Network as a method of improving our relationship with the Los Angeles Police Department.

After all, we want to be known as the CITY WITH A BACKBONE — not broken backbones!

In case you were wondering, Bikeside Speaks is a free pizza opportunity, aka an event, where 7 Bikesiders (and affiliates) will talk about 7 projects, for 7 minutes each, with 7 minutes of Q&A.  It’s this Saturday, at 5pm, at Bikerowave (12255 Venice Blvd.)  Here’s the lineup:

• Mihai Peteu: Winning with Data – Crowdsourcing & LA Bike Map
• Sara Bond: Personalizing Hit & Run
• Jeremy Grant: Connecting LA with the Backbone Bikeway Network
• Enci Box: Moving LA with The Greensters
• Stephen Box: Changing the world with Cyclists’ Rights
• Ron Durgin: Every street is a People Street – Sustainable Streets
• and a special presentation on Bikerowave, and it’s incredible progress as a bike co-op.

And of course Marcy & Bill.  See you there!

Venice, California Neighborhood Council Logo

As each cyclists arrived, Alex Thompson prepared them with pointers, significant pieces of information that would help the council identify with us not as a whole with a larger agenda, but as an individual fighting the lone battle for our rights.

As time wore on and we dove deeper into the Neighborhood Council Meeting, we kept each other alert and sound, the energy in the air was of excitement for the fight we knew we would be encountering. Approximately two hours and ten minutes into the meeting, President, Mike Newhouse, called a vote on the Cyclists’ Bill of Rights as long as everyone agreed it would pass. If not, then the bill would go back in the agenda and we would wait it out another forty-five minutes so that the cyclists’ may have the floor for public comment and the board would be able to attest.

It was unanimous! Bill passed! Special thanks to Kristopher Valentine and Linda Lucks for their positivity and help in bringing the bill to the floor. I look forward to working with them this summer as the Venice Neighborhood Council puts forth a Mobility Committee that I will be a part of in the hopes of making Venice streets safer!

And a HUGE Thank you to the cyclists’ who came out and supported the bill! Kristopher said that without all of us being there, the motion would not have been brought to the floor as it was and passed unanimously! This goes to prove that showing up is half the battle.

“Cyclists have the right to travel safely and free of fear.”

Stephen Box holding the Cyclists' Bill of Rights' spoke card.

The residents of Venice and those that hold the seats that can approve the bill have truly “old” Venetian mindsets. They point the finger without looking at a solution toward a common goal. I ask that if you are free and able to attend, please do so. We need all the numbers and voices of our cycling community to unite as one and provide a clear understanding that we have rights and they must be recognized.

We can’t police all cyclists that ride through Venice nor can we police all the vehicles that race down Venice and Ocean. But quite possibly, we could open a communication with the Council by approving the Cyclists’ Bill of Rights so that we may work together in the future and bring awareness to cyclists and drivers alike so that we may exist in a safer and more friendly environment.

We need to bring the fight to their doorstep! Please join us! Tuesday, April 20th at 8pm at Westminster Elementary School, 1010 Abbott Kinney Blvd., Venice. The more cyclists in the house, the better represented we are, the win for everyone involved! No Rida left behind!

Winograd for Congress

Winograd, who will be at Bikerowave to talk bikes with Bikeside and Bikerowave volunteers, challenged Harman the last time around in a last minute campaign.  This time Winograd started early and is going after Harman hard.  Harman, an Iraq war supporter, is a member of the Blue Dog Democrats, a group of democrats that are right wing on issues of national security (WAR) and intelligence (WIRE TAPPING).  Winograd, by contrast, is much further left, as founder of the LA chapter of Progressive Democrats of America, and known for connecting the dots between excessive defense spending and lack of funding for other programs.

Swing by, and if you can’t, come by on Thursday between 6:30pm and 10pm for the Bikeside Salon.  On Thursday, I can give you a little sneak preview of what I know about the forthcoming LA Bike Plan.

ArtCycle 2010, Santa Monica & Madison, 2pm till 10pm

Best Saturday ever – ArtCycle at Madison & Santa Monica Bl, from 2pm till 10pm.

The Full Backbone Network

This Saturday, March 6th, we’ll finalize the Backbone Bikeway Network streets, and move on to discussing methods for making those streets ultra safe and ultra convenient for cyclists.  From 2pm till 5pm the fifth Bike Working Group will convene at the Hollywood Adventist Church (around the back) at 1711 N Van Ness Blvd.

Everyone is welcome, and everyone will be looked to for input.  Come out and be heard!

Here’s some links to accurate articles about the Backbone:

• The Vision of the Backbone at IlluminateLA
• Wayfinding & Signage on the Backbone Bikeway Network at JeremyGrant.com
• LA’s Best Bike Plan – A plan with a Backbone at SoapBoxLA
• The Backbone Bikeway Network – Valley Edition at JeremyGrant.com
• The Backbone Bikeway Network right here, on BikesideLA.org

Brandon Chau, December 4, 2009, 9:45am

Brandon Chau speaks at Beverly Hills City Council

In a movement to stop Los Angeles’ growing epidemic of hit and runs, Bikeside, a new Los Angeles bike lobbying group is bringing awareness to City Councils through public comment on unfortunate examples mishandled in their region of the city. First up, Beverly Hills. On February 16, eleven cyclists who commute through the mine fields of Metro Los Angeles’ streets, most car free, brought to the floor a call to action to not only reopen Brandon Chau’s closed “hit and run” case, on the count of not being able to give a facial identification, but also, have bike lanes that are void on their streets as well as brighten and repave Santa Monica Blvd’s treacherous gauntlet from Camden to Doheny.

Brandon Chau, UCLA grad and at one time, employee, was victim to a hit and run as the car that hit him drove off, leaving him injured and his bike broken. A witness of the incident pursued the driver by car and was able to the woman’s license plate number. Brandon gave a full police report to the Beverly Hills police who arrived later at the scene. In mid January, 2010, Brandon was called down to the Beverly Hills Police Department to give a facial ID on the driver. When 6 photos were placed in front of him, all pictures of women in their mid thirties, white and brunette, Brandon, feeling like he had to make a choice, chose the wrong picture. The police then showed him the picture of the woman who actually did it and let him know that since he could not give a positive facial identification, the DA would not pick up the case. The Beverly Hills police officer than apologized for what they called, a “loophole.”

At the Beverly Hills City Council meeting, Roadblock, LA cyclist, stated that he too had been a victim of a hit and run in Los Angeles. If was not for his own detective work, his perpetrator would not have been brought to justice. Roadblock suggested that Beverly Hills City Council “compel the Beverly Hills Police Department to pursue and confront these driver’s who put cyclists lives in danger – if not, they are telling driver’s it’s okay.” Mayor Nancy Krasne replied, “[Beverly Hills] is the only city in town where if someone cuts off a bus and you call the police department and by three blocks away, they’re pulled over.” Her response was the perfect example of misconstrued priorities for the Beverly Hills Police regarding cyclists that ride on their streets.

Roadblock Listens to Testimony

Alex Thompson, reiterating the mishandling of Brandon’s Chau’s case, also brought to their attention, “To improve other issues in regard to cycling [through their city].” Santa Monica Blvd. Has no bike lane, the pavement quality is so bad and there are no street lights. He asked for them to focus on “making this city more livable and bike friendly.”

Ron Durgin, Resident of Beverly Hills since 1999, suggested, “Education for motorists and police officers on how to behave and share the road with cyclists” and then ended his comments with a reminder to the council of their own vision statement (pulled off their website), “Beverly Hills is committed to being the safest city in America.”

Surprisingly, the newly appointed Beverly Hills Mayor, Jimmy Delshad, taking office on March 16, 2010, said, “[Earlier that morning], I was on my bike at 6:30. I had an eight o’clock meeting with our city manager and had to take Santa Monica Blvd. At our meeting, I told him one of my agendas will be to bring to the city council, how can we put a bike lane on Santa Monica Blvd. Safety is very important. I felt very scared today several times when I saw the cars. But it’s something in my view that needs to be discussed. And I’ve asked our city manager to bring it to the council so hopefully your comments will be heard.”

Brian Cooperman took home the point of what it is to be a cyclist in Los Angeles with, “Unless you spend a lot of time on bike, you are not aware of what it is like. People [Drivers] are really hostile. People have cut me off on purpose, threatened me and when you’re on a small twenty pound bike, all cars are scary.” Brian struck a cord with Mayor Krasne, she replied, “You inspired us to sit down and talk. You certainly inspired me.”

Beverly Hills Mayor, Nancy Krasne

But it wasn’t until Brandon Chau finally commented, telling his side of the story, that Mayor Krasne asked the City Manager if there was something they could do. The city manager, Jeff Kolin, said he “would talk to Chief Snowden to review the case and see what we can do.” And then, Mayor Krasne ended the comment session with, “If that car belongs to that person, if it wasn’t them in it, let them explain who was driving their car. As legal owner, if they are not driving, they must be responsible for who had the keys at that moment.” To which the entire room erupted in approving applause.

Cyclists of LA can only hope that the Bikeside was heard and understood, that the Beverly Hills City Council will stick to their word and investigate Brandon Chau’s case as well as make their streets safer and more bike friendly. Rest assured, this will not get swept under the table, and if push comes to shove, they’ll be back at the podium once again for “Beverly Hills is committed to being the safest city in America” and they’re making sure they stick to their word.

Our mission, simply, is to make LA safe for cyclists.  We’re going to do that with the same brand of hard hitting, assertive and insightful activism you’re used to getting from the Bike Writers Collective.  Therefore, it’s fitting that our board of directors consists of four members of the BWC: Enci Box, Erik Knutzen, Stephen Box, and myself, Alex Thompson.

We are a pure lobbying organization.  Parties, bike rides & film screenings – all these things are secondary to our main purpose: making policy change.  We are not a non-profit, but a similar entity, known as a 501c4.  Traditional non-profits are legally prohibited from doing substantial lobbying, and cannot take part in elections.  Bikeside can.  Our focus is pressuring City Hall to shape up and make the changes we need to be safe and secure as cyclists – and our ability to do that is unique, due to our 501c4 structure, within the Los Angeles biking community.

Lobbying doesn’t mean carrying a suitcase full of cash to council offices.  With Bikeside not having a lot of money (we are totally accepting donations though!) that would be FAILsauce.  Instead, our currency is your participation.  Support is important too, but if we can choose between a letter of support, $$$, and your participation, we choose participation.  We want you to volunteer.

If you do, I can promise that it will be worth your while.  Bike activism has taught me, and my fellow board members, numerous lessons that have enormous value personally and professionally.  As a Bikeside volunteer, we will train you to maximize a variety of tools such as Google Docs & Twitter to achieve change.  There is a huge difference between someone who is passingly familiar with these tools, and someone can make them work together to their benefit – we can teach you those (marketable) skills.  We will also teach you political skills such as framing the debate which have many applications.  And, if you prove yourself, we will offer you opportunities to lead your own initiatives to improve LA for cyclists, under the Bikeside banner.  That means, if you Make It Happen, we’ll put resources at your fingertips that normally would be difficult to get ahold of.

Why did we create Bikeside?  Three reasons (there’s always three – ask Stephen Box.)  First, we wanted an entity – aka a corporation – that would allow us to collectively own assets and take donations to support bike activism.  Secondly, because many of the existing bike organizations that can do that tend to take a softer line on bike issues than our founders prefer, we needed a new one.  We wanted a place for a more assertive style of activism.  Finally, of the existing LA bike organizations that do political lobbying, none can legally spend a majority of their time lobbying for change.

“But I thought that LACBC and CICLE lobby the City?!”  Yes, they do.  However, as 501c3 non-profits, these organizations can only spend an “insubstantial part” of their time and resources on lobbying.  In other words, translating that negative, they may not spend a substantial part of their resources on lobbying (which is sometimes defined as 20%.)  Non-profits often play fast and loose with the definition of what “lobbying” is but it’s a dangerous game to play. Non-profits are hamstrung when it comes to lobbying, unless they break the rules.

Bikeside is what’s known as a 501c4.  It’s an organization type that’s defined in the same section of tax code as non-profits.  There are similarities, and there are differences, but the key take away is that 501c4s are designed to lobby for policy change.

Where a non-profit is only allowed to do a little lobbying, Bikeside can spend unlimited resources on lobbying.  Where non-profits cannot endorse candidates in elections, Bikeside can endorse candidates, and campaign for them.  Bikeside will make endorsements for these November elections, and we will be very involved in the City elections next March.

One downside, really the only downside, is that where contributions to non-profits are tax deductible, contributions to 501c4s are not.  That means that 501c4 orgs are less attractive to foundations, and 501c4s cannot work with the government.  However, the reality is that most people don’t itemize their taxes, so the tax deductible thing means little to the smaller donors.

Taking government funds, it’s a good way to get funded, and non-profits are configured to do it.  That’s how many of the advocates at LACBC get their salary paid.  However, it can be a problem for a movement.  When your salary comes from LADOT, or MTA, and you’re tasked with keeping them honest, that’s a conflict of interest.  Sometimes the temptation to withhold criticism so that your grant money isn’t jeopardized ruins organizations; their willingness to stand up for what’s right is compromised and suddenly public discourse becomes tepid and timid.

In a way then, 501c4s are well immunized against that dangerous form of corruption.  501c4s can’t really compete for government money, and therefore they rarely experience that deep conflict of interest.

The ACLU, Sierra Club, and the NAACP all have a 501c4 component to them.  So does the NRA.  Not all of these organizations are good, but they are all very effective.

Bikeside is joining the fray.  Our website is a little rough, and right now it’s just Westside Bikeside moved to a new domain.  However, pretty soon it will be all polished up, and we’ll have regular postings here from some of your favorite writers.  Bikeside is also collaborating with the Bike Writers Collective to produce LA’s Best Bike Plan and the Backbone network.  We’ll also be building a record for key figures in LA politics, keeping track of how they perform on bike issues.  And, Bikeside is working on a campaign to stop Hit & Run.  Plus, we’ve got an ace up our sleeve that we think you’re really going to love!

Join us!

To me, it was nearly a polar opposite of what I’ve encountered frequently in meetings on the street, or in the boardroom even, with police.  I can remember a meeting with Santa Monica Police Department years ago that foreshadowed all most of my encounters as a cyclist with police since.  This was the opposite.  The lines of communication were wide open and we had a free ranging discussion with authentic respect on all sides.  Commander Doan and his staff were gracious hosts.

That meeting with Santa Monica PD (yes, I know they’re not LAPD) was in September 2006, and it was the 2nd meeting with police about their, then recent, crackdown on Santa Monica Critical Mass.  Mike Feinstein arranged for a meeting with Chief Tim Jackman, a Captain of Operations, Lt Keene, and Sergeant Horn.  Jackman skipped out the meeting except to come in and shake Mike’s hand.  The Captain, whose name eludes me right now, spoke little, as did Keene.  In the end we ended up being lectured for nearly an hour by Sergeant Horn about traffic laws and public safety.  It was the ultimate sign of disrespect, to have a former Mayor (Feinstein) and allies lectured by a sergeant at length.  No two way discussion, just a Chief who made phone calls in the other room, and a Captain who let his blowhard subordinate do the talking.  Most interactions I’ve had with police since have been remixes of that meeting.

In this case Commander Doan and his staff engaged in a real discussion.  We had an agenda in front of us, but we went over time – a lot over time – and we went off topic in productive ways.  There were admissions from Doan and others that LAPD doesn’t always get it right, and there were some interesting disclosures about some of the bureaucratic problems at the department.  His staff were human beings after the meeting, before the meeting, and during it – we all discussed our personal lives and our neighborhoods as citizens – not just in our roles as activist & officer.

In short, an auspicious beginning to a new relationship.

That doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly gone soft on LAPD.  There are real, deep problems with how LAPD reacts to cyclists, not to mention the problems with how LAPD reacts to citizens.  The Ed Magos hit and run, in which the watch commander referred to the incident as an “accident”, is a palpable demonstration.  I will stay hard on those problems, in part because I think we may have some really good people in LAPD who are now professionally engaged in addressing cycling issues.

The famous negotiating tome, Getting To Yes, suggests that a powerful negotiator is “hard on the problem, soft on the people”.  I always thought that was good, but not good enough.  A good negotiator ought to improve the situation of his or her constituents, and therefore has a chance to be a hero to their own.  For LAPD, that would mean no more embarrassing bike incidents, and maybe a collaborative relationship with cyclists.  Any LAPD staff who are willing to get out in front of cycling issues and deliver solutions, will be heroes to the cycling community, and quite possibly, to LAPD.  In Commmander Doan, and his point man for cycling, Sergeant David Krumer, we might have two men willing to put on the form fitting spandex uniform of the bike-superhero, right leg rolled up of course.  So, if it makes sense, I hope I can be “hard on the problem, and lionize the people.”

After the comment deadline on the Bike Plan passed without council attention, many called attention to the failure of Councilman Bill Rosendahl to pick up the issue.  I’m glad that Rosendahl has re-engaged on the Bike Plan.  After talking with him in December, Bill invited Stephen Box and I to submit a series of questions, which he would pose to LADOT & Planning staff responsible for the bike plan.  These questions are the questions we submitted, and staff received them a day ahead of time, so they would be prepared to answer them.

I appreciate Rosendahl’s willingness to ask some hard questions, particularly in a LA culture where city staff are often treated too gently.  By asking those questions, Rosendahl helped to expose a possible prejudice of Michelle Mowery’s, and put staff on the record on important issues.  Here’s the 12 questions:

1. From the “scope of work”, to the contract, to the selection of the consultants, to the supervision of the consultants, to the final development and presentation of the Draft Bike Plan, who is in charge and who is responsible for the Draft Bike Plan?

2. How was the drafting of the proposed plan funded? Who pays the consultants and the staff for the development of the Draft Bike Plan and where do the funds come from? What is the mandate for these funds and what is the accountability?

3. The proposed Bike Plan plans to add how many miles of Bike Lanes to the Streets of Los Angeles?

4. In what ways does this proposed plan propose improve safety conditions for cyclists as they travel to schools, employment centers, transit hubs, social and entertainment attractions? How does this Draft Bike Plan get cyclists where they need to go?

5. The current plan is good until the end of 2012 – what’s the motivation for replacing the current plan with the proposed plan?

6. How does the proposed plan differ from the plan that Alta delivered to the city?

7.  Regarding the current plan and the proposed plan – what metrics measure the difference between the two?  Will we use the Bikeway Quality Index (BQI) and the Cycle Zone Analysis (CZA) that our consultant, Alta Planning, uses in Portland?

8. Currently bikeways stop and start and don’t connect to one another.  What are the projected cost and timeline estimates for the development of a Bikeway Network that connects our city?

9. Alta Planning is reportedly one of the finest consulting groups in the world for bike planning. How is it that the City of Los Angeles kicked off the Draft Bike Plan process with Alta but did not incorporate the robust Bike Plan process that Portland used/is using to develop their own Bike Plan?  For example in Portland Alta maintained eleven working groups, and they used community bike rides to engage and survey.

10. The CA Supreme Court supported the City of Los Angeles will not assuming liability for cyclist injuries due to unsafe bike paths on the LA River and Ballona Creek.  Does the plan address this?  Why would the City of LA continue to build bike paths that shirk responsibility for protecting cyclists, resulting in a “ride at your own risk” bikeway that offers less legal protection than if the cyclist were on the street?

11. Chapter Three of the Draft Bike Plan addresses off-road cycling, currently prohibited/restricted in the City of Los Angeles. Given that the initial recommendation to study this topic appeared in the 1996 Bike Plan and that the topic was addressed by the Department of Rec and Parks in their assessment study last year, why would the LADOT and the Department of Planning continue to address a Rec & Parks issue in a Planning document? Is the Department of Rec & Parks involved in the development of Chapter Three?

12.  This plan is an element of the Transportation Plan, so what is the motivation for including off-road cycling, which is primarily recreational, within the plan?

The full audio of the meeting is available here.

Please be advised that the anti-harassment ordinance will be heard in Public Safety committee this coming Monday, January 11 at 9:30 AM (item #4 on the agenda) in City Hall Room 1010.

09-2895 Motion (Rosendahl – Reyes) requesting the City Attorney, in conjunction with the Department of Transportation, prepare an ordinance prohibiting the harassment of bicyclists in the city of Los Angeles. (At its meeting held December 9, 2009, the Transportation Committee recommended that the City Council approve Motion.)

I doubt cyclist attendance is needed, but it’s good to keep an eye on where this one is headed.

5 year old Pablo Castelaz was diagnosed with a rare form of children’s cancer and underwent treatment at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. His parents started the Pablove Foundation to help improve the lives of children suffering from cancer. Just when it looked like Pablo was going to beat the disease, in June 2009 he lost his battle 6 days after his 6th birthday.  Pablo’s father, Jeff Castelaz, will take to the bike for the last two hours of the fundraiser.

If you’d like to ride, email gigiyogini AT yahoo.com.

BILL ROSENDAHL: Alta Planning is reportedly one of the finest consulting groups in the world for bike planning. How is it that the City of Los Angeles kicked off the Draft Bike Plan process with Alta but did not incorporate the robust Bike Plan process that Portland used/is using to develop their own Bike Plan?  For example in Portland Alta maintained eleven working groups, and they used community bike rides to engage and survey.

MICHELLE MOWERY: With all due respect the City of Portland is 450,000 people.  It’s a homogeneous community that is very white, and very progressive with respect to transportation.  They have a trolley system that works very well, as well as their transit overall.  We are a very diverse, disjointed city of 4 million people.  They are 30 years ahead of us in the development of their, well, they’re not quite 30, they’re more like 20 years ahead of us in the development of their bikeway.  So we’re a step behind Portland in what we’re trying to do. Granted, several of us would like to see a lot of changes in the city happen very quickly, but again we have a very diverse city with a lot of needs.

Ok, let’s start from the beginning: Mowery doesn’t even answer the question.  The question, rephrased, is why did LA not get the same intensive process in revising the bike plan that Portland did, given that we used the same consultant? Mowery never answers that question, and instead makes throwaway remarks about why LA is behind Portland in bike friendliness.  Mowery does mention that Portland is far ahead of Los Angeles in terms of being bike friendly.  You might interpret that as an answer to the question, in that a less bike friendly place will have less to talk about, and less people to talk to. Mowery never makes that connection directly, and even if she did, it’s still not an answer.  Frankly, given that she saw these questions 2 days ahead of time, and that she has been working on this plan for 2 years now, she should have an answer.

The real answer is probably that we didn’t spend enough money.  Or, rather, we didn’t spend enough money on community outreach.  LA contracted with Alta to update our bike plan for $450,000 . . . but most of that money went into things other than community outreach.  For example, instead of having a quality community outreach process, we spent a ton of the money on a technical handbook which we could have easily got from San Francisco at a 5-finger discount

Instead of mentioning the 450,000 bucks LA spent on a terrible plan, she focused on the 450,000 people of Portland and how that compares to LA’s 4,000,000.  I don’t see how LA being larger than Portland should mean that Portland would have a larger outreach process than LA?  MTA believes that LA has a 2.5% mode share for bikes, and Portland has roughly 9%.  That means that, in absolute terms, there are more trips made by bicycle in Los Angeles, than in Portland, because LA exceeds Portland in population by a factor of 9, but lags in mode share by less than a factor of 4.

What possible connection can racial diversity have to it?  By saying that Portland is homogeneous and LA diverse, Mowery seems to be making an argument that diverse places are inherently slower to adopt bicycles, or inherently dysfunctional politically.  It’s not clear to me, but it smacks of a freshman political science major selling a bad theory.  I can think of two examples of racially diverse cities that are politically functional (at least as compares to LA), and are making huge strides toward bike friendliness.

New York.

Chicago.

Those are the 1st and 3nd largest cities in the US, with LA being the 2nd largest. They’re both world class cities with cultural and racial diversity up the wazoo.  They are, very much, LA’s peers.  Therefore, the argument that Portland is ahead of us because of it’s alleged homogeneity falls flat. And it still doesn’t explain why the outreach process for LA’s bike plan update was so lack luster.

It all comes back to, why highlight Portland’s WHITENESS?  The homogeneity argument isn’t convincing, but at least it’s color neutral.  I don’t really think it has anything to do with bikes at all.

You can hear the meeting audio here, with the Bike Plan report beginning around 20:20, the question and Very White answer at 40:28 (and you can also hear me briefly take Mowery to task at 58:01.)

(I  just read through my piece here looking for errors and I thought it came off a little bit Vulcan = detached, unemotional, logical.  So I just wanted to add a note here and say that I’m outraged at the way Mowery handled this question, and I think it’s a truly vile way to discuss an issue, and I’m mad about it.  So hopefully that informs the tone, adjusting it to an Angry Vulcan tone.)

Last time we identified our 5 most important design principles:

• Genesis: Every street is a street cyclists will ride
• All City: Create a Backbone bikeway network that will get cyclists from any part of the city to any other
• Action: LA must commit to implement key measures within 2 years
• Transformation: Neighborhood pilots projects to create pockets of ultra bike friendliness, including bike boulevards.
• Equality: The Cyclists’ Bill of Rights is the foundation for the plan.

Last time we got started on identifying streets for the back bone network.  This time we’ll start with that, getting a solid discussion going on which streets and what should go on them.  Then we’ll spend some time identifying what programs the City of LA could implement as low hanging fruit in other categories, and what measures we want implemented within 2 years of adoption.

Come by, and lets work!

(Photo by Mr. Rollers)

(Photo by Gary Se7en)

(photo by Richie Thomassen)

If you can do two things for cycling this week, go to the Bike Working Group, but before that, go to the LA Bike Plan community input in West LA on Wednesday.  It’s from 5pm till 7pm on Wednesday, at the Felicia Mahood Multipurpose Center at 11338 Santa Monica Blvd (Facebook event.)

If you do three things for cycling this week, do those two, and email me at alexcthompson@gmail.com, and I’ll give you a third thing.  And tweet this post!

The Bike Working Group will take a deeper look at the plan, vote on some recommendations from the previous meeting, and begin reworking the plan into a new plan, written by cyclists, for cyclists.  We’re calling it LA’s Best Bike Plan.

At the Bike Plan meeting on Wednesday consultants for Alta Planning, which drafted the proposed plan, and officials from DOT will be accepting public input.  At the meeting in South LA on Saturday, there was an active back and forth between consultants, officials, and activists.  It was interesting to observe the positions on the plan crystallizing.

This Saturday the Bike Writers Collective invites you to change the course of cycling in LA.  Join us Saturday, 2pm, at the Hollywood Adventist Church, 1711 N. Van Ness Ave., Hollywood, CA 90028, to review, discuss, and critique the draft LA Bike Master Plan with your peers (Facebook event).  We’ll be in the Fellowship Hall on the NW side of the parking lot.  It’s the LA Bike Working Group, and we’ll be working to inform, learn, and focus on the LABMP.  I’ll be there, Stephen Box will be there, along with many others to facilitate the discussion.  We’ll briefly discuss the plan, and then promptly break into groups to discuss it more energetically.

This is your opportunity to engage in a free for all of ideas.  Together we can become better informed and more effective as a community in owning our Bike Plan!  Unlike the upcoming community meetings, sponsored by the city, this meeting will focus on no holds barred discussion by cyclists, for cyclists.  This is unstructured, knock down, drag out, nitty gritty discussion that will leave you bursting at the seems with ideas and information.  Coming out of it we hope to have a more focused, deep, and effective community critique of the plan for the community meetings.

Bring your laptop so that we can look over the plan together.  (It’s 600 pages, so we ain’t printing it!  SAVE A F*&%ING TREE!)

I hope to see you all there!

(tweet it you twitterers!)

And, you heard it here first – there’s two websites competing to be the number one resource on the LA Bike Plan.  No, it’s not SoapBoxLA and WSBS.  No, it’s not BikingInLA.  It’s labikeplan.COM, and labikeplan.ORG.  Check em both out, and compare and contrast!

w00T!!

(photo by Gary Se7en)

I once stood in the old Bikerowave on Thursday night, in a shop full to the brim with 17 cyclists working on bikes.  17 men.

Bikerowave is a little heavy on the Y chromosomes, an unfortunate and apt representation of the LA bike scene.  That’s one reason Bikerowave is proud to have a new women and transgender only night.  Every Tuesday, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Bikerowave is open, but only to women and transgender people.

I’d tell you what it’s like, but even as Bikerowave’s treasurer and co-founder, I can’t go.  Someone want to go and review it for me?

Come out and show your support for the Cyclists’ Bill of Rights, and encourage the Palms Neighborhood Council to give it a rousing, ringing, and unanimous endorsement.

When: Wednesday, July 8th, 7:00pm
Where: Iman Cultural Center, 3376 Motor Ave

Afterward, a rambling ride around the Westside ending in gluttony, somewhere!

Updates on Westsidazz twitter.   Bike Writers Collective Facebook Group, and Facebook invite.

ROBOTZ is back, as ROB0131313TZ (Facebook event.)  If you’re a hoomanz, you’re unlucky, because only robotz can bike with robotz.  This time it’s 25 miles-ish, finishing at 2am somewhere in West LA.  We meet at CRANK MOB PARK, 9201 Venice Blvd, at 7pm, and leave promptly at 8pm, this Saturday.  It’s a mild hustle, so be prepared with full tires and tigger legs!

Either way, I figured I’d put some of my thoughts in writing on the topic of mixing two of the things I love most in life. They both give me unlimited amounts of freedom and have over time become intertwined with everything I do in life. These two hobbies (for lack of a better word) affected almost every facet of my personality, how I present myself on a daily basis, how I act in various situations, my outlook on life, etc.

This cat back in high school sold me De La’s “Stakes is High” (someone else’s review) for a crisp $5 bill. I thought he was kidding at first when he made the offer, I didn’t understand why he’d want to get rid of this classic. I shrugged my shoulders, and jumped on the deal.

By that year (circa 1996) I was pretty much hooked on the jazzy nature of hiphop music and lyrics that made my neurons shoot off all kinds of electrical charges. Early nineties hiphop was a dichotomy of mean/macho West Coast “ganster” rap and conscious East coast groups like De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest.  That’s about the time I jumped into the mix, an immigrant in his teenage years getting his first glimpses of American culture.

I always found hiphop culture to be pretty much all-inclusive and the one with the least judgemental peers. In that sense, it’s very similar to the cycling community in Los Angeles – you can just be yourself. True, some kids go overboard with their cool obsessions, image is important for a lot of folks in Southern California. But for the most part, everyone is comfortable with who they are.

Hiphop doesn’t always push the most eco friendly ideas, heck most rappers drive ridiculous cars and as a result are mad out of shape. I, at one point in my teenage years, wished to own a ridiculous car just like everyone else that’s bombarded by mainstream advertising. So I won’t try to reconcile the two, I just wanted to point out that you can always pick up on the positive things from anyone or anything you look up to, while dropping whatever you don’t find appealing.

A relatively inebriated female once asked me what my favorite rap song was, and I tried to answer to the best of my ability, even though I could tell she wasn’t genuinely interested. Easy, I thought, it’s a close tie between The Roots‘ “What They Do” and De La’s “Stakes is High” with Pete Rock and CL’s “TROY” coming in a close third.

So when the Southside Midnight Maraudazz ride came around, those three songs were automatically on the playlist.  Midnight Marauders happens to be the name of a classic Tribe Called Quest album, and it was the inspiration for this specific nighttime outing. “Seven times out of Ten, we listen to music ride our bikes at night”. It was a chance to roam through Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills, past the Crenshaw Mural (long shot, detail), and even do a couple of loops through LAX departures and arrivals. All while blasting old school hiphop tunes from a portable Roland guitar amp. A picture perfect Saturday night, thanks to the planning efforts of this gentleman.

(photo & video by Rick Darge)

This month has been filled with outrageously fun night time excursions, that seem to all blend together into one hard-to-believe narrative. Steven, another westsider who also volunteers at the BikeRoWave and happens to be a hiphop head, helped put on two of the livest parties this past weekend. First there was the wild in-the-streets dance party during Abbott Kinney’s Art Walk, then the BikeRoWave party and fundraiser, aka BikeRoParty 2.0. Our tunes did not get as many folks dancing as we had wanted to, but BikeRoParty 3.0 will make that happen. Heck, we may even invite a few bboys to get the party started correctly.

Bottom line is, whatever your hobbies or passions are, don’t complain that the bike scene isn’t for you, bring something to it. If there’s something that you like to do, plan it out, build a ride around it. Make it happen ™

If you think yours may be one of them, use the contact info below and try and recover your bike.  If you don’t have your serial, at least start writing down specifics of your bike (brand and model of each bike part) so you have something written you can present to them in person to try and prove that the bike is yours.

Please feel free to pass this on to anyone else you know that has lost a bike, especially if it was stolen in West LA or Westwood area.

“Message from LAPD Senior Lead Officer Juan Ceja below.  He can be reached through the LAPD Pacific Division Community relations office – Cell Phone # 310-622-3975 or contact the Senior Lead

Basic Car Coordinator Sergeant Pompano – 310-482-6334
___________________

Re: Recovered Bicycles

On May 14, 2009 an outside agency conducted a search warrant of a house and they located several stolen bicycles. The brands vary from Giant, Trek, Town & Country and Specialized to Connondale and Denali.

If anyone had their bicycle stolen and have the serial number of their bike or can identify the bicycle by markings on it then please call me. Thank you.

**** This is why I continue to remind everyone to engrave their names, made-up code or just write the serial number of your bicycle somewhere in your wallet so in the event that your bicycle gets stolen, we have a better chance in recovering it.****

Senior Lead Officer Juan Ceja“

How to catch a Bike Thief (Part 1)
How to catch a Bike Thief (Part 2)

Bikerowave is throwing a party this Saturday(Facebook event.)  From 1pm to 7pm shop usage is free, and the party is low key.  Starting at 7, prepare for full scale biker party.  And when the party adjourns at midnight, well, it’s summer, so you know there will more to do, just not on Bikerowave’s premises.  Caturday, bike day?  Yes – come to Bikerowave on Saturday.

Some of you are probably already aware of Bear Cavalry, an internet meme of awesome.   But, if when you saw this poster, you didn’t immediately think – this will be a bike ride led by KNITTENS, and you just don’t understand the LA Bike Scene.  What’s BEAR CAVALRY got in store?  KNITTENS writes:

BEAR CAVALRY is a bike ride. Specifically, it is a slow drunken Saturday afternoon bike ride. It BEARS resemblance to Pier Pressure, but with more 8 inch claws.

This ride will not stop you from wearing a bear costume. It will not criticize you for drinking bears. It won’t ridicule for having whiskers.

We start at Venice Skatepark at Noon. Except we don’t. We’ll actually leave unBEARably late around 1:30. We might head south. We might not. There might be a hill, but we might wait at the top.

I’m there.

It’s back!  After a 2 month hiatus due to lame organizing by moi et al, VCM is back (Facebook.)  Meet us this Friday at 7:30 pm at the Windward Circle in Venice.

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