Bike Week LA started off on the right foot this morning at the North Hollywood Metro Station. Representatives from Metro, LADOT and LACBC were on hand along with camera crews and bicyclists excited for Bike Week LA to begin.
The LADOT Bike Program was in attendance
The kickoff was commenced with short speeches by LADOT Interim GM Amir Sedadi, Metro Deputy CEO Paul Taylor, LACBC Executive Director Jennifer Klausner, CicLAvia’s Joe Linton, Good Samaritan Hospital CEO Andy Leeka, and the bicycle-loving CD 4 Council Member Tom LaBonge.
Topics ranged from Metro’s repeal of peak-hour bike bans to free bus rides for bicyclists on Bike to Work Day to new bike lanes on MLK and Expo to Mayor Villaraigosa accepting the Golden Spoke Award on Tuesday to bicyclists and drivers alike staying safe on the road to even the simple joys of exploring Los Angeles by bicycle.
None other than Mr. CicLAvia himself helped kick off Bike Week LA
Free Swag, Free Tune-ups, Free Food
The kickoff wasn’t just limited to speeches; Metro, LADOT, and LACBC staff manned tables giving away all types of free bike-y gear. Patch kits, new LADOT bike maps, and pencils made from recycled car tires were all popular items.
The Downtown LA-based El Maestro bike shop was on hand to offer free tune-ups for bicyclists and Clif Bar had a tent set up handing out free snacks to attendees. You can check out the rest of our photos from this morning on our flickr page.
A Busy Week Ahead
LADOT Bike Blog’s coverage of Bike Week LA is just getting warmed up. Tomorrow morning, from 8:00-9:30, is the Blessing of the Bicycles at Good Samaritan Hospital. This annual non-denominational event is always popular with bicyclists during Bike to Work Week, and this year should see an even more robust turnout. Mayor Villaraigosa will be on hand at the Blessing of the Bicycles to accept the Golden Spoke Award for his tireless efforts over the past year to make Los Angeles a more bicycle-friendly place.
Riding on the streets of LA, a little blessing can't hurt
LADOT Bike Blog will also ride in the Downtown LA Ride Wednesday morning. We’ll be towing the LADOT Bike Program trailer, full of free bike-y goodies. We’ll be towing the same trailer one day later during Bike to Work Day. Expect to see us tooling around downtown between the three pit-stops set up for Bike to Work Day. You can find the locations of over 40 Bike to Work Day pit stops right here.
Plenty of places to fuel up on your bike ride to work
We’ll have another post up tomorrow after the Blessing of the Bikes, so keep your eye on LADOT Bike Blog for Bike to Work news all week long.
