🚴‍♂️ to live and bike in LA

As a daily bikerider in car-centric Los Angeles, I've become quite used to being the odd person out. At least most drivers are pretty friendly to cyclists here though (hahaha, jk, can you imagine?) But once every three months or so, like magic, Ciclavia takes over a different part of the city and suddently there are tens of thousands of other bikeriders joining me on gloriously car-free streets. It's like a glimpse of a better urban way to operate, if only for a day. The event was inspired by an open streets event in Bogota Colombia that began over 50 years ago. Residents wanted to see what it would be like to close down a few miles of city streets and make them human-powered only (bikes, pedestrians, skateboards, rollerskaters, etc.) I'm eternally grateful to the Angelenos who followed their lead and brought the same concept to LA back in 2010.

I could fill several blog posts with gripes about the way cyclists are treated in this city on a normal day, but this is just a celebration of the festival atmosphere that Ciclavia brings. I'm always amazed that so many people take part, its a real if you build it they will come type situation.

I've participated in probably a dozen or so Ciclavias in total. And the one on Sunday was one of the most unique as it was in collaboration with Netflix to celebrate the final season of Stranger Things. Thanks to my Netflix corporate overlords for writing what I assume was a pretty hefty check to Ciclavia for this event. I also heard several bikeriders who had never been to a Ciclavia before saying they can't wait to attend more, which is great.

And I'm glad Stranger Things got a lot of people out and ready to bike in LA, especially the adults. I read recently about the trope that in American pop culture, riding a bike signifies that the character is a loser. I don't find this trope personally triggering, but it is interesting that Hollywood has dedicated itself to denigrating the idea that adults could actually enjoy riding a bike and not be the object of ridicule. I did my small part, filming a video with Pee-wee Herman for Funny or Die years ago in celebration of his outlaw, bicycle riding spirit. Rest in power Pee-wee:

Sorry, I've lost the thread a bit with my self-righteousness and self-aggrandizement. The purpose of this post is to celebrate Ciclavia so here are some of my favorite moments from the Stranger Things-focused event on Sunday as well as some other Ciclavias from years past:

the cutest demagorgon

this less cute demagorgon

the perfect '80s fit

Hawkins High Cheerleaders (beats working at Netflix house, at least they got to be outside)

not sure who these guys are, a bike car full of David Harbours maybe? would have loved to see a Lily Allen impersonator on a bike yelling at them

this roller skating couple

this contraption!

love the color combo on this guy's bmx

gingers are cyclists too!

unicyclists are the pole vaulters of the cycling world

LAPD chillin, just watching the bike show

another stranger things thing that I wasn't sure what it was

and these kids doing some sweet bike tricks

And finally, here's some photos from previous Ciclavia events, and just general photos of enjoying bicycling in LA.

go bikes, go birds, and see you at the next Ciclavia