Biking Buddies and Pedaling Pals

Is it just me, or has the world gone mad for bicycles? Cruising around the web, there are almost too many bike communities to keep track of. Take 1 World 2 Wheels, for instance. They’ve got a Go by Bike Challenge going one with a nifty calculator to help you estimate how many of the small trips around town you could take by bike. Once you’ve pledged miles it’s added to the community total (almost 33,000 last time I checked) and you can see cumulative benefits too—like the amount of carbon dioxide reduction or the number of calories burned.

Bikes Belong Coalition is a little harder to figure out. Put together by a conglomeration of bicycle companies about 10 years ago, the group is aligned with the League of American Bicyclists and offers grants for communities to plan and build bike friendly projects. It has links to other groups like the Alliance for Biking and Walking and an assortment of bike-related photos.

The League of American Bicyclists like the big kahuna, at least at first glance, with safe biking tips, a gadget for finding local bike groups and bike shops, a smart cycling online course and a roster of instructors. They run National Bicycle Month (which happens to be May) and feature a colorful tile ad for a tantalizing site called Bicycle City. Too much chewy goodness to encapsulate, so I’ll have to do a whole blog sometime next month.

New Vistas for Bicycles in Long Beach

Well, the dust has hardly settled on the Long Beach Bike Festival and Bike Long Beach has already begun its campaign to make our auto-centric city a little more bike friendly. Last night was the first meeting about establishing a Bicycle Boulevard on Vista Avenue from Nieto to Temple. This street was selected because children from nearby schools like Mann Elementary and Rogers Middle School could benefit from a safe thoroughfare to get to class each day. Not to mention all the pollution from Mom and/or Dad taxi services that would be reduced.

Tonight, Wednesday, April 29, another meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Lowell Elementary School to discuss the various design options and provide a forum for public discussion. Here’s an idea! Why don’t you pedal down and give Vista a try for a before and after experience.

Water is Green Too

Tomorrow is watering day. I've just learned that its best to water in early morning (before 8 am) to reduce evaporation, so I'm setting the clock a little earlier. My sprinkler needs some adjusting and leak-proofing, and I'm in the process of mulching around the shrubs. Once I'm done, I can expect to save hundreds of gallons a water per year. That's a big improvement for a couple of hours work. And that's just a few suggestions from the Long Beach Water Department.

Green to the Corps

Talk about a win, win situation. The Conservation Corps of Long Beach is keeping Long Beach a little greener and training promising young people in new skills that will give them a headstart in the job market for years to come. And it's been doing this for almost 25 years. Since its inception, over 200 at-risk youth have been employed here on landscape restoration and recycling projects for the city and other nonprofit agencies and thousands of school children have participated in after-school programs.

The Conservation Corps of Long Beach offers free recycling bins at its headquarters at 340 Nieto Avenue for California Redemption Value Materials--aluminum, cans, glass bottles and jars, plastics bottles and containers. They will pick up these materials from businesses and apartment houses for free and can also remove other refuse such as flattened cardboard, office paper and old newpapers for a small fee.

Show Those Trash Collectors Some Love!

Who beter to honor on Earth Day than those who keep my personal world looking clean and smelling sweet week after week--the hard-working crew at the Long Beach Enviornmental Services Bureau. Due the their efforts and those divine purple receptiacles they dish out for free to Long Beach homeowners, the city diverts 69% of its solid waste from landfills--a heaping helping more than the state-mandadated 50%. To maximize your recycling efforts, check out their list of recyclable items, including top secret info about where to get rid of your used batteries. There's also a list of drop-off centers for used motor oil there too, or you can call 800-RECYCL2 and the city will provide containers and pick up the oil for free.

When it comes to clean, Environmental Services is hard to beat. It's provided supplies for over 350 campus clean-ups at schools throughout the city, and it maintains Litterfree Long Beach to encourage neighborhoods to start their own clean-up campaigns. And as if that's not enough, 100% of Long Beach's street sweepers and the majority of its refuse trucks are powered by natural gas. AND THIS JUST IN! Long Beach is now set to use reclaimed water in its street sweepers, estimating this clever move will save about thirteen million gallons of water per year.

So here's to the unsung heroes at Environmental Services, mean, clean, and green, and never afraid to get their hands dirty.

Let Your Blue Jeans Do the Talking

Tomorrow is Denim Day in LA (and Long Beach too!). Women's alluring clothing (like tight jeans) have been used as an excuse by rapists for their crime, so tomorrow wear your jeans to demonstrate your support of victims of sexual assault and their courage for speaking out. Many rape victims, especially teenagers most in need or help, are not supported in their families and communities. They become isolated because the subject of rape is embarrassing or troubling or just not a nice thing for girls to talk about. So put your best jeans forward tomorrow and let those women know you're not afraid to listen.

CELEBRATE A HEALTHY PLANET

CELEBRATE A HEALTHY PLANET

Earth Day festivities stretch out over a couple of weeks here in Long Beach. The official city-sponsored free event takes place at Recreation Park on Saturday May 2 from 11 am to 3 pm. There’ll be vendor booths with information on conserving resources and saving money and lots of groups on hand to let you know how to get involved in making our world cleaner and greener plus kids’ activities, music and giveaways. If you’re interested in a refreshing stroll, head over to nearby Colorado Lagoon for a walking tour. It’s not too late to volunteer and get an insider’s view.

This Saturday, April 25, you have your choice of events. The Aquarium of the Pacific has special exhibits on Saturday and Sunday which are included in the price of admission. There’s a $10 discount for adult tickets if you bring an e-waste item. Big guns like Honda and the Sierra Club among many others will be there and the Aquarium’s watersheds exhibit is a must see for environmental enlightenment.

Volunteers will be along the trail at El Dorado Nature Center on Saturday April 25 from 10 am to 2 pm to answer questions about the plants, birds and pond dwellers (love those box turtles!) you’ll find there. Admission is free, but there is a parking fee, so save the planet as well as a few bucks and ride your bike or at least ride share.

The Long Beach Green Guide lists several other interesting events, including an Earth Day Mixer sponsored by Friends of Colorado Lagoon, an Earth Day Celebration at Tract’s, a week-long showing of Fuel at the Art Theatre, and oodles of neighborhood clean-up opportunities.

Have You Hugged Your Librarian Yet?

Across the country, National Library Week is over, but here in Long Beach, it lasts for the whole month of April, so it's not too late to live out whatever bibliographic dreams you've just been too shy to consumate. Popwatch has a great feature on unforgettable librarians in the movies. Don't forget that there are plenty flesh-and-blood ones out there too who need our support to keep the information flowing.

Long Beach Public Library has a list of events on its website. I'm planning to make the scene at Bay Shore Branch for its 50 year centential this Saturday, April 25, at 1 pm. Music, food, and surprise guests are promised, and, what the heck, maybe I'll check something out while I'm there.

Miracle on Seventh Street

I just heard that the northbound I-405 and Highway 22 connector, also known as the 7th Street bridge will be closed for construction for about a year beginning in 2010. It’s part of a major freeway improvement project headed by the Orange County Transit Authority called the West Count Connectors project. The 7th Street westbound entrance will also be closed, and detour routes have been planned but not given final approval.

As an Alamitos Heights resident, I say, “Hip, hip, hooray! No noise and air pollution from 7th Street for a whole year!” I know I’m trying to make lemonade out of lemons here, but wouldn’t it be great if they turned the westbound lanes of 7th Street into a greenway for that year. Think of it—an inner city bike/hiking trail, volleyball courts, slides and swings, sand and potted plants, a labyrinth—the possibilities are endless.

Which leads to my real ulterior motive: make 7th Street an underground roadway through residential areas and Recreation Park. A bold and mind-bogglingly expensive proposition, but not impossible. I’ve read where other cities have plans to cover parts of freeways and put in playing fields. Hey, let’s get Sean Hitchcock on the job. He could construct his ever-loving soccer fields in a logical location.

By the way, there will be an Open House hosted by Councilmember Gary DeLong and OCTA on April 23 from 6 to 8 pm at Wilson High School Auditorium to discuss the closures and how traffic will be impacted. These are mature, level-headed adult, so crackpots with loony ideas about parks and bikes and green things best stay away.

Never Too Soon for Kaleidoscope

This year, Kaleidoscope takes place on the Cal State Long Beach campus on Saturday April 25 from 11 am to 5 pm. Lots of food, music, games and good times, not to mention enough balloons to launch a moonshot. The event started almost 25 years ago as an open house for students accepted to the upcoming academic year and as a celebration of Earth Day, but it has grown into a campus-wide event for students, friends and families. From the Push Cart Grand Prix to the crowd-pleasing performances by the CSULB belly-dancing club, there's truly something for everyone.

Bike Redux

Great photo by Briebanofsky, n'est-ce pas?

It’s been a little over a week since the Bike Festival and bike news just keeps rolling in. Unfortunately, even though I’m pedaling as fast as I can, I just can’t seem to keep up with it all. Last Sunday April 5th, for instance, the CSULB Cyclists held a Sustainability Bike Ride from Colorado Lagoon, past Sims Pond and around the Los Cerritos Wetland. The event was co-sponsored by LB Cyclists and Friends of Colorado Lagoon and sounds like a good ride for a good cause. The blog highlights a monthly event as well as many other regularly scheduled opportunities to “ride your ass off,” so grab your helmet and go!

Meanwhile, over at the Art Theater, a Bike-In Movie Night was sponsored by LB Cyclists on April 11, where valet bike parking was available. Missed it! The good news is that there will be at least two more—Saturday May 2nd and Saturday June 6. With any luck, I’ll get a bike light for Mother’s Day and I’ll be all set.

I am a little bit ahead of the curve with this last item. Bike Long Beach is going to sponsor a video contest on the theme “Grab Life by the Handlebars—Bike Long Beach.” The contest begins on April 15 for 4 minutes (or shorter) videos. More details will be posted on the website soon.

Hippity Hoppity the Long Beach Way

Happy Easter, one and all!

This is something of a landmark date for me, because last year on Easter day was the last time I posted a blog in 2008. I’ve been a lot more productive this year, so here’s “hopping” that I can keep up the momentum and break through the barrier to complete the year.

I want to report that the 10:30 Easter service at Covenant Presbyterian Church was resplendent. After the procession of the flower cross, Dr. Robert Langworthy did a bang-up sermon—inspiring stories, heartfelt advice, and just the right amount of humor to spice things up. It was awe-inspiring to the crowd of diverse faces—young, old, black, white, Asian, Hispanic—reflecting the spirit so joyfully. The experience reminded me of why I love living in Long Beach.

We took 3rd Street to get to church, and in my opinion, if the Easter Parade gets reinstated next year, it should be held on 3rd Street in Alamitos Beach rather than 2nd Street in Belmont Shore. Why, you ask? Because of the Bunny! This big fella has been bearing witness to the glory and the whimsy that is Easter since I moved here in the early 80s. Not to be outdone, the hard-working firefighters at Fire Station #2 have dolled up Zeep the Sheep in bubble gum pink bunny ears. The photo I took was too out-of-focus to even attempt to doctor it up, but trust me on this, it was too too divine. Did I mention I love living in Long Beach?

It's Now Easy Being Green

This just in! The Long Beach Green Festival will be held at the East Village Farmer's Market all day on Saturday, May 9. Looks like the planning's still in the early stages--the perfect time to volunteer. There'll be bands and booths for local eco-groups to inform and entertain us all. They're asking people to bring their own t-shirts to be stamped with the Green Long Beach logo. Now that's a new wrinkle, or in the case of my t-shirts a lots of old wrinkles. Well, at least they're organic.

GM, Where Have You Been All My Life?

Yes, I’ve got a crush—a crazy, spring is here and I’m in a madcap mood kind of crush. When I saw the first picture of the GM PUMA on Edmunds.com. I had to get more. I’ve been surfing around picking up all kinds of comments about the little chariot (or is it a rickshaw?), pro and con. It’s not safe, it can’t go far enough, fast enough, what will I do with the kids? The dog? My great Aunt Tillie? Blah, blah, blah

Can’t all these naysayers see that this thing is new and bold and innovative and it’s from an American company? I’ve ridden a Segway. They’re got a rental place right here in Long Beach. They’re sturdy and easy to handle and lots of fun. This is the kind of new-fangled jalopy that could get our exhausted country back on the road again.

No Muss, No Fuss, Just Hop on The Bus

Speaking of gardens ( as I was in my previous post), Long Beach Transit is offering the Museum Express again this year, which offers express transportation to some of the premiere gardens in Southern California as well as most of the major museums. The special program runs from June 2 through August 30 and offers a round trip ride to venues as diverse and widespread as the Descanso Gardens in La Canada and Planes of Fame in Chino for $7.00 a ticket.

You can buy tickets at the Transit Center downtown or at L.B. Transit Headquarters at 1963 E. Anaheim St. or mail in the form available at the website and the tickets will be mailed back to you. The buses leave from 1st Street downtown and there’s parking nearby, or consider taking a bus to the bus (or bike and park at the BikeStation) for a low-carbon footprint.

Tops on my list are Descanso, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Huntington Gardens, and the Arboretum, but there are lots of other fun new choices like the Hollywood Museum and Wilshire’s Museum Row (LACMA, LaBrea Tarpits and Peterson Automotive Museum). Check out the schedule and reserve soon because some of these trips fill up fast.

At the Beach, Life's a Garden

Attention, plant lovers! The Horticultural Club at Long Beach City College is holding its 37th Annual Open House and Plant Sale from April 8 to 11, from 9 am to 6 pm. Great prices and a large selection of plants bring people from all over the region to the Horticultural Garden on the Pacific Coast Campus (at the corner of PCH and Orange Avenue).

I already bought all the tomatoes I can handle, but I plan to stock up on herbs and a few bedding plants if it suits my fancy. Fruit trees, roses, and shrubs are also for sale. Hand-crafted garden accessories like waterfalls, planters, and wrought iron furniture will also be for sale there. Proceeds from sales go to scholarships and student activities and there’s even free parking, so hurry on down

It's Alive! Alive!

I got some lovely little seedlings into pots today. Not just any pots though--organic compost fortified self-watering pots. Two tomatoes --Big Beef and Early Girl and two sweet red pepper plants are now snuggled next to each other in black rich moist dirt. I feel worried and vulnerable, kind of like a parent before a child's piano recital. I just hope they're healthy and do the best they can.

At this point, organic gardening is not saving me any money. I've laid out about $70 dollars to prepare the compost, get pots and soil and self-watering inserts. But if I think of it as a long term investment to grow vegetables for years to come, it helps keep my attitude positive. I feel good about growing my own food and understanding the very basics of what makes organic gardening work.

Beyond Karma Queen

I didn't know what to expect at the Health Freedom Expo, and, believe me, I was not disappointed. The exhibit hall was jam-packed with crystals and negative ions and oceans of lotions and essential oils. The salespeople were sincere and low key and always gracious when I said, "Thanks but no thanks." I had some scrumptious gazpacho from Leaf Organics and then went up to the gorgeous atrium of the Long Beach Convention Center and practiced a little of my own version of mindfulness meditation as I leafed through the swag bag I got after paying the $15.00 admission fee.

The speakers offered a little more substance than the salespeople down in the exhibit hall. I had wanted to see sustainable lifestyle guru John Robbins, but he had to cancel, so I sat in on Catie Wyman's lecture instead. Wyman suffers from a rare blood disease and began to study nutrition as a way to help her and her son attain good health despite their disease. She found that many supplements intended to enhance vitamin and mineral, especially calcium, levels in the body can actually have harmful effects instead. She advocates designing your diet to include vegetables and fruits high in mineral content rather than taking synthetic supplements. She sells organic greens supplements and her book The Truth about Calcium, gives details on finding the cure in the kitchen.

My favorite speaker was Vaishali, who calls herself the spiritual wild child and handed out bumper stickers with "Beyond Karma Queen" printed on them. Draped in purple velvet and dripping with purple jewelry, she even sported purple nail polish and lavendar lipstick. This woman knows what she likes! In fact, she was just demonstrating her philosophy, based on works by Emanuel Swedenborg, which she boiled down to "You are what you love, and you love what you give your attention to." She encouraged the audience to laugh and have fun even as she explained some serious concepts about releasing toxic thoughts and feelings even as you release digestive waste. She's written two books, You are What You Love and Wisdom Rising as well as a "playbook" to explain her thoughts on living a full and rewarding life.

Bikes A Go Go

What a weekend! It started with a spirited conversation at the Covenant Presbyterian Church book discussion group. This month we discussed Blood Brothers, Elias Chacour’s autobiographical account of growing up as a Melkite Christian in Palestine during the early years of Israel becoming a Jewish nation. The book is both a moving journey of a young boy as he develops a deep Christian faith and ultimately becomes an activist priest and a revealing look at injustices upheld by the Jewish military against Palestinian citizens and landholders. I came away with a new understanding of the complicated and longstanding disagreements that have erupted again in Israel.

After that, I headed over to Pine and Broadway, the epicenter of the first annual Long Beach Bike Festival. I had ridden my bike 5 miles and parked it for free at the BikeStation—how cool is that? Like many inaugural events, organization was a little rough around the edges. The venders were still setting up when I arrived at 12:45, and the announcers seemed a little unsure about what to say at times.

I stopped by the Bike Long Beach booth and studied the maps of the proposed bikeways on Broadway and Vista, part of the Long Beach Bicycle Master Plan which is explained in detail on its website. A representative said if the plans don’t hit any snags these bike friendly east-west corridors across the city should be operational within a year. I love the idea of cruising downtown without the constant worry that I’m going to be broadsided by a car door or mowed down by someone turning right without noticing a bike approaching.

Most people were there to see the bicycle races billed as the Bicycle Grand Prix, of which I know nothing. There were lots of guys and gals whizzing around in bright-colored spandex suits, and an interesting assortment of folks on old clunkers. The announcers pointed out that the course had been designed with lots of turns to add interest for the spectators and it was fun to watch the race fans sprinting down the Promenade to catch another glimpse of the leaders coming around the bend again and again and again. I stayed for the first race, and then decided to head down to the Long Beach Convention Center to get out of the sun.

Save Water and Get into the Aquarium Free

Just got a postcard in the mail today from Long Beach Water Department. Among other things, it's promoting free landscape classes. The one the intrigues me is called Choosing the Best Plants for you and takes place at the Aquarium of the Pacific from 8:30 to noon on April 25 and May 23. If the class reveals even one plant that can stand up to my love/hate relationship with watering, it will be well worth the time. An added bonus, after the class, you get free admission to the Aquarium and see how they put all that water to good use.

Back to Work, Watch Your Back!

I filled in for someone at my regular job. See above for the wide open spaces where me and my coworkers roam. Does it ever get to you working in a pod farm? By "it," I mean the lack of privacy, the noise level, the sterility, crushing sameness of it all. After being away for a few weeks, it occurred to me that one of my biggest headaches is that people are working (and even worse, horsing around) behind my back.

Think about it, eons of fight or flight instinct is being contradicted here. Depending on where you sit, you could be turning your back on over half of you workplace. It's positively un-American not to face things head on, or is it just me?

So, happily, I'll be back in a traditional office situation tomorrow and for the next three weeks--my desk, my pens, my tissue box, my drawer to stuff all my do-overs in. Oops! Well, I haven't filled up the whole drawer yet. After all, I have appearances to keep up--pride of semi-ownership.