Stories

As far as I’m concerned, biking and coffee go hand in hand. So when I’m riding my bike and I see (or smell) a small coffeehouse, I usually hop off my bike and check it out. Last week I ended up at El Cielito Café in South Gate, which was opened just nine months ago by Daniel Olivares.

by Ronnie Takkens, CicLAvia blogger

17 tower structures, the highest 99.5 ft. high, all handmade by one man, decorated with sea shells from Long Beach and tiles from Malibu Potteries, strengthened with clothing hangers: these are the amazing Watts Towers built by Simon Rodia between 1921 and 1954.

by Ronnie Takkens

The next CicLAvia is coming up on Sunday, May 15, 2016, and will be connecting six communities in the Southeast Cities. Nearly 10 miles of roads will be closed to car traffic, so a lot of car-free riding, skating or whatever-you-like awaits! We all know CicLAvia is not just about riding the route: it’s all about having a good time, hanging out with friends and family, and meeting other people. I often find that one of the best ways to do this might not even be on my bike, but when I get off.

by Ronnie Takens

After volunteering for CicLAvia and attending just one CicLAvia before (CicLAvia - Heart of LA on October 18 of last year) I was really honoured when the executive director of CicLAvia asked me - just a regular guy from The Netherlands living in Los Angeles for just a half year - to go out and explore the route of the next CicLAvia. “You bike everywhere around town”, Romel told me, "so just get on your bike, bring your camera and bring us some stories of places along the CicLAvia route! The Road to CicLAvia!”

by Clarke Miranda, Outreach Lead

I've been out on the route for CicLAvia - The Valley doing our second round of route notification the past few weeks, eating lots of burritos and looking at lots of murals. I love San Fernando Mural Mile, so I took some time last week (with super volunteer Ryan) to snap a few photos of some of my favorites.

Learn more about Mural Mile here!

Guest blog post by Shannon Huang, Ryman Arts, and Tati Simonian, Grand Park

October is a great time of month for the arts. It’s National Arts & Humanities month, the month of the Inktober initiative, of The Big Draw, and most significant for Southern California, it’s the month of The Big Draw LA hosted by Los Angeles based non-profit, Ryman Arts.

The Big Draw LA is a series of drawing activities where the public – people of all ages and abilities – makes art at a wide variety of venues — from museums and parks to unique locations in neighborhoods. These events are organized and led by community-based organizations across the region. The Big Draw LA is linked to The Big Draw – the national festival that is taking place in over 20 countries of communities hosting art events during the month of October.

Love is a word we hear a lot at CicLAvia. People love the freedom of car-free streets. They love the neighborhoods they've never visited. Sights, sounds, aromas and adventures: all loved. But, as we look back at our eighth CicLAvia on October 6, 2013 as part of the countdown to our 15^th event on October 18, we find a different, deeper love. The kind of love that comes but once in a lifetime.

April 21, 2013. The day CicLAvia transitioned from a really cool event centered more or less in Downtown LA into a transformative movement that spread out across 15 miles of LA city streets. Dubbed "CicLAvia – To the Sea", the longest-ever CicLAvia route attracted more than 100,000 people to experience a car-free day from the historic El Pueblo in downtown to the glistening waters of the Pacific Ocean at Venice Beach – which may have led to a little congestion at one point…

Today’s look back at the first 14 CicLAvias leading up to our 15^th event on October 18 sees CicLAvia expanding beyond the downtown streets of our first four routes. The fifth route, which took place on October 7, 2012, took a break away from Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights and the Bike District in East Hollywood. Instead, CicLAvia found its way to MacArthur Park and Exposition Park.

Our look back at CicLAvia’s history continues as we count down to our 15th event on October 18th. Today, we remember our third event October 9, 2011, once again in Downtown L.A. The first anniversary event saw a shift in public awareness about CicLAvia and an increase in enthusiasm on social media.