May is National Bike Month

May has kicked off with warm weather. What a better way to enjoys nature’s gift than to take a nice bike stroll around your neighborhood or local park.

Gas prices are currently averaging $4.25/ gallon! Alleviate those pockets by taking your bike to school or work on some days of the week. Not only will you help your pockets but you will be helping our environment as well.

When using your bike, always remember the following safety precautions:

Maintain Control of Your Bicycle
There are many things you can do to control your bicycle, even in an emergency. First, ensure your bicycle is the right size and properly adjusted to fit you. A properly fitted bicycle is easier to control, more comfortable, and causes less fatigue. A bicycle shop can help you choose the correct size bicycle. Ensure your bicycle is in good working order by inspecting it regularly.

Protect Yourself
Even a simple fall can cause a life threatening head injury. The brain is fragile and often does not heal the way that broken bones can. The damage can stay with you for life. Helmets provide protection. By law, bicycle riders under 18 years of age must wear a bicycle helmet while riding on a public road (VC §21212). Wear your helmet correctly!

Be Visible and Alert
Even if you obey all traffic laws, there is always a risk of being hit by a motorist who is not obeying the laws, or who simply does not see you. Ride carefully—Vehicles waiting at stop signs, in driveways, or parking spaces may suddenly pull out in front of you. Watch for vehicles that have just passed you and may turn right, as well as vehicles across the street that may turn left in front of you.

Be prepared to stop or take evasive action. Signal before making turns or changing lanes to warn traffic around you. To signal a left turn, look behind you, over your left shoulder, and then extend your left arm out. To signal a right turn, hold your left arm up with your elbow bent (you may also hold your right arm straight and point to the right). You do not have to keep your arm extended while completing the maneuver—Always have at least one hand on the handlebars to maintain control. To signal that you are slowing or stopping, extend your left arm down.

Using lights and reflectors at night is the law (VC §21201). Increase your visibility by wearing light or bright colored clothes, such as yellow or lime green. Red appears black in fading light and is not a good choice for riding in the evening. Mirrors provide opportunities for increased awareness of your surroundings, but use mirrors only as an aid. Always look over your shoulder to make sure the lane is clear before turning or changing lanes. Make sure your brakes are in good working order.

Ride With Traffic
Ride in the same direction as the traffic. This will make you more visible to drivers entering roads or changing lanes because they will know where to look for possible conflicts. On a one-way street, you may ride on the left as long as you are riding with traffic.

How Far to the Right?
Ride on the right, but not so far that you might hit the curb. You could lose your balance and fall into traffic. Do not ride too far to the right:

• When avoiding parked vehicles or road hazards.
• When a traffic lane is too narrow for a bicycle and vehicle to travel safely side by side.
• When making a left turn so that vehicles going straight do not collide into you.
• To avoid conflicts with right-turning vehicles.

Los Angeles Bike Paths

Biking is a fun and great work out. Take the time to explore your city! Los Angeles has beautiful bike paths to offer. Make it a family affair, a day out with your friends or a date. Either way you’ll have a great time and get your daily dose of physical activity.

South Bay – Along the Beach
From Palos Verdes North to the Marina
This portion of the beach trail runs southward from Marina Del Rey, and has the most naturally spectacular scenery. The route follows a flat, curving path that snakes among the dunes of Dockweiler Beach State Park; in Manhattan Beach it’s more like a broad boardwalk, and near King Harbor it’s commercial – you’ll have to dismount for part of the way through this busy shopping area. There are plenty of restrooms, restaurants, snack stands, bike rental and repair shops, and path access along the entire route. A great ride, but read cyclists’ warnings!

Santa Monica & Venice
From the Marina North to Sunset
You’ve seen this stretch of beach in hundreds of movies and TV shows: folks on inlines and boards (both skate and surf) as well as bicycles, the flashy Marina and the oddities of Venice.
The path is about 8.5 miles, north from Washington Blvd., to Temescal Cyn Rd. Access is continuous.

Los Angeles River
From Griffith Park to Elysian Park
The first 3.2 miles, from Riverside Dr. (at Victory) down as far as Los Feliz Blvd., had been opened to the public for quite a few years. The next mile and a half, as far as Fletcher Drive, opened in 2000. The Los Feliz overpass was finally completed, and lighting is now installed all the way.
This bike trail could grow into a fabulous Los Angeles River Project some day with parkland hugging the west bank of the river from above the Sepulveda Basin all the way downtown, and – who knows – maybe one day all the way to Long Beach. That’s what they tell us, anyway.
Access is at each end, and above the golf course. You can ride the river trail in one direction, then make a loop by going back through Griffith Park, along Crystal Springs Rd.

Long Beach
Shoreline Drive, Belmont Shore, Queen Mary
The only shortcoming of this ride is that it’s too short! It passes by some of the more interesting sights in the LA area: the Port of Long Beach, the Queen Mary, cutesy little Shoreline Village and Lagoon and the adjacent Convention Center. To the east is the attractive Belmont Shore area as well as Naples, with its canals and ersatz gondolas. A few blocks further east, you’ll be at the mouth of the San Gabriel River (tho’ unfortunately it’s hard going through some heavy highway traffic to connect to that trail).

For more information on bike paths in Los Angeles visit http://www.labikepaths.com/