2025… that was it?!? It seems like this year flew by, but as we look back at what we were up to this year, it turns out that we were super busy!
We started the year off rough with the fires that displaced a lot of folks. Then the rain came too late and seemed to only aggravate the situation.
Our first Bikes and Coffee of the year was postponed until February. We made the journey to Bolsa Chica Wetlands down in Seal Beach. We met with the Amigos of Bolsa Chica who gave us a brief tour and helped us understand the delicate ecosystem that’s reclaiming the land. We learned what we can do (or not do) to help it along. Basically, we should stop riding through the trails if we can avoid it. Let nature do its thing. Thank you to the Amigos of Bolsa Chica!
Later in February saw the return of our feeder rides to CiclaVia. We went to West Adams to University Park, and added a stop along the Inglewood Cemetery, which was in the process of public input for an upcoming redesign.We like incorporating a multi-modal approach where we can take advantage of the access we have to the Metro A line here in Long Beach. It really opens up the possibility of destinations we are able to reach on our bikes.
In March we did our first Straight Into Compton ride, a multi-modal ride where we got to explore the Compton Creek, Bike Infrastructure, and landmarks that exist in Compton. We had a special tour of Moonwater Farm, and we had a hands-on lesson about food independence and sustainability. Thank you to Moonwater Farm for opening your doors and letting us play with the goats!
In April we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the first Toxic Tour by going on an unhinged and abridged version where we focused on the toxicity of Pier B and the Port of Long Beach.
Suddenly, Bike Month was upon us!
- We hosted a feeder ride to the City of Bell Open Streets event, which was a first in South East LA.
- Beach Streets was a hot day on the Westside, with the opportunity to bike across the Willow St Bridge with no car traffic.
- We showed up with Car-Lite Long Beach for a Bike Lane Clean-up along the Marina.
- We hosted a Bike to Work Day feeder ride from Long Beach to Downtown LA.
- We had a massive turnout in Downtown Long Beach for our Bikes on Broadway Bikes and Coffee ride, where we went up and down the entire stretch of protected bike lanes on Broadway.
- We closed off Bike Month with a celebration of the completion of the Artesia Great Blvd Project, where we also rode the entirety of the new protected bike lanes on Artesia Blvd in North Long Beach.
In June we rode up to Cal-Heights to see what the situation on Orange Ave is like. Unfortunately, we now know what the ultimate result will be for the Orange Ave Bikeway Backbone Project through the Cal-Heights neighborhood, but for a second there the possibility of a safe and thoughtful bikeway was almost a reality. We also participated in the Downtown Long Beach BIKE FEST, which not enough people knew about. Hopefully in 2026 we can get the word out sooner.
For July we visited Cal State University at Long Beach and the surrounding areas. We explored some secret passages in Park Estates. While we didn’t get to visit the Japanese Gardens due to a private event, we did get to meet with the Friends of Puvungna and learn about the sordid history of the University’s treatment of indigenous land. Thank you to the Friends of Puvungna for allowing us to enter this sacred place and sharing your knowledge about the land we live on.
In August we went on our most ambitious feeder ride yet where we planned a muti-modal expedition that took us to CicLAvia Venice meets Culver City and the new LAX Metro Station. It was one giant loop on the A, K, and C line, with some riding in between. The destinations that are possible when you combine transit and safe biking paths is amazing. Later in the month we also revisited our tour of West Long Beach, where we got to show our friends from the Carson Bicycle Coalition some of the hidden gems and neighborhoods on the Westside.
In September we helped host BUSFEST, which was the first time a bunch of buses gathered for a beach day! We helped people practice boarding their bikes on buses and celebrated all things transit. Thanks to Move LA and Car-Lite Long Beach who really helped this fever dream come true. In September we also joined Bixby Knolls Kidical Mass, where we got to ride with all the future bicyclists in Long Beach. The organized chaos is always a great example of what our streets can look like when we remove cars from the streets. The drive-through donut shop at the end is definitely the highlight of that ride and I hope a lot of core memories are built around that experience.
October did not go to the dogs: We went to them! We toured the various dog parks in Long Beach and ended our ride at the Haute Dog Howl-o-ween Parade, where we got to see all the dogs in costume.
Even with November Rain, we still hosted our feeder ride to Bike LA’s BIKE FEST HAPPY HOUR, which is BIKE LA’s fundraising celebration. We hung out with the rest of the BIKE LA Chapters and had a great time catching up with everyone. For Bikes and Coffee we kept it real chill and rode out to the peninsula to check out one of the last original boardwalks in Long Beach.
To wrap up the year, in December we rode out from Bixby Park to the Bixby Bridge to investigate the rumor about the bridge being open all the way to Terminal Island. While the rumor proved to be false, we had a good time with a gorgeous view and good company. We also joined the Lbians and Queercicles end of the year party ride! It was also a really nice way to enjoy the last sunny weekend of the year with other bicycle crews in Long Beach.
So 2025 came and went. We made some more appearances in the media and at City Councils, and we are happy to have joined the new South East LA and Gateway Cities Mobility Coalition to advocate for mobility justice in our region.
Bike Long Beach has big plans for next year, so if you want to help us make them a reality, then join us by hopping on one of our virtual meetings or joining our Slack. We’ll be looking for more volunteers this year, so please reach out to see how you can help.