bicylists at CicLAvia 2016
Downtown / Downtown Los Angeles / Festivals around LA

CicLAvia in downtown L.A. was a parade of cycling fun

by carollightwood
AARP pedicab at CicLAvia
A pedicab with an AARP sign on back, but the people in it and peddling were not very old. The blue-shirted woman riding was wearing a CicLAvia Staff T-shirt. Hmmm. No AARP members around to ride along? Or is this part of the attempt at localization by AARP?

I have been working on my new travel book this week so I am late in posting about the latest version of CicLAvia.  The course began downtown and ran along Wilshire Blvd. for miles and miles. It was a hot day with temperatures in the 90s.

intersection supervisor CicLAvia 2016
At intersections volunteers like this man with a colorful headdress stopped bicycle traffic to let pedestrians cross. I just waited until there was a clear space and darted across the street.

No cars or trucks.  Just bicycles, walkers, skateboarders, strollers and even a pedicab with an AARP sign on the back.

In a time when it seems there is nothing but trouble and anger everywhere I look, CicLAvia was just thousands of people having fun on a Sunday morning.  There was one political event about a block away from the start but it was small and benign.

Here is some of what I saw:

White People 4 Black Lives
These two women and about a dozen others seem to be part of some demonstration. They all wore T-shirts that read ‘White People 4 Black Lives’.
CicLAviasts posing for a group photo.
Happy bicyclers having their picture taken before they headed out further on Wilshire Blvd. Someone in the building behind them decided to program a sound track for CicLAvia. The rock music boomed between the tall buildings!
Lady on skateboard CicLAvia 2016
I loved this! An older woman was on a skateboard with a red umbrella she used as a sail to carry her along the street. She was moving so fast I barely caught a picture of her.
dog riders CicLAvia
Of course, one man brought his dogs along for the ride. And, of course, several photographers snapped pictures of them.
custom bicyles CicLAvia 2016
Two examples of the many customized bicycles that were out on the route. There were also several beach bikes with fat tires.
Bike Repair CicLAvia 2016
In the shadow of high-rise office buildings downtown the free Bike Repair booths were busy. Nearby was a Metro bike rental station. It costs $1.25 to rent a bike for a half an hour–not just during CicLAvia.  I didn’t know that the Metro had gone into the bike rental business.

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