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VIDEO: Los Angeles Doesn’t Need Mountain Bikes – Lowelifes Trail Crew

Old Man Mountain joined Lowelifes for one of their monthly work party campouts to gain a little insight into what makes their trail organization different from other groups in California. They do grueling work, from long hours breaking up granite with 60V demolition hammers to cutting out forests of Poodle-Dog Bush. They also know how to have fun, hand-pressing tacos for their volunteers in the backcountry. Join us and learn more about Lowelifes and what makes the trails around LA so special…

Help Out the Los Angeles Bicycle Academy

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Help Out the Los Angeles Bicycle Academy

Help Sustain the Wheels of Change at LABA!

Los Angeles Bicycle Academy (L.A.B.A) is a youth bicycle education and safety program, community bike shop and cycling race team with a mission to empower, educate and develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills in youth. The success of our organization is contingent upon generous supporters who have a passion for bettering the lives of underserved youth through the sport of cycling.

LABA needs your help. Read on for their SOS below…

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Los Angeles Bicycle Academy Launches an Initiative to Expand its Youth Outreach Work

Los Angeles Bicycle Academy (LABA) is an organization that believes the sport of cycling can change the trajectory of young peoples’ lives. Today we are launching a funding initiative with the goal of raising $300,000, in order to further develop our program to help underserved youth (ages 8-18) develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills that they can use for the rest of their lives. Check out the full initiative below!

State Bicycle Co and Killer Mike: Fundraiser BMX Bike for Los Angeles Bicycle Academy

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State Bicycle Co and Killer Mike: Fundraiser BMX Bike for Los Angeles Bicycle Academy

Our friends at State Bicycle are running a Killer (Mike) fundraiser!

State Bicycle Co. is giving away, this 1 of 2 (Killer Mike has the other one) – BMX Bike in order to support, raise funds, and awareness for Los Angeles Bicycle Academy. The bike was originally created for rap-legend, community leader and activist Killer Mike. We are asking participants to voluntarily donate $10 for Los Angeles Bicycle Academy on this product page, and they will be automatically entered to win the bike*.  We will draw a person at random. The bicycle recipient will be announced Saturday, June 27th. No purchase necessary, see below for details. 

About Los Angeles Bicycle Academy (LABA): 

Los Angeles Bicycle Academy (LABA) is a youth education program, community bike shop and youth cycling team with a mission to empower, educate and develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills in boys and girls between the ages of 8-18. Within the context of a full-service bike shop we employ a comprehensive hands-on bicycle mechanics, sales and service curriculum including an ‘earn-a-bike’ program. LABA’s cycling team seeks to expand the capabilities of youth from communities where exposure and access to the sport of cycling and lifestyle are limited. LABA will support 9 youth cyclists on its roster for the 2020 season. The bicycle is a tool for liberation and freedom. It is positive for both mental and physical health. Through the ownership of a bicycle, possibilities are expanded, travel becomes easier, new places are discovered.

Head to State to join in on the raffle!

L39ION of Los Angeles: Pride of the People – Raised Over $50k to Help Bring Diversity to Cycling

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L39ION of Los Angeles: Pride of the People – Raised Over $50k to Help Bring Diversity to Cycling

We’ve been reading, watching, and listening, as the world’s largest push for civil rights has unfolded in front of us this week and in that time, fundraisers have smashed expectations, surpassing their goals. L39ION, a road racing team, based in Los Angeles, and founded by Justin Williams has raised over $50k to help bring diversity to cycling in LA and beyond. This fundraiser is still going, so let’s do our best to keep pushing it! Donate to their GoFundMe if you have the means and give the team a follow on Instagram!

Learning from Los Angeles: Into the Verdugo Mountains with SRAM

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Learning from Los Angeles: Into the Verdugo Mountains with SRAM

I was an architect in my previous life. Before I began documenting cycling culture. One of my favorite architectural theorists is a fella named Rem Koolhaas. In his book, Delirious New York, he claims that “A city is a plane of tarmac with some red hot spots of urban intensity”. While the book is an examination of New York City, many have applied this observation to the sprawling city of Los Angeles.

During COVID-19, These Los Angeles Bike Shops Are a Lifeline to Their Communities

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During COVID-19, These Los Angeles Bike Shops Are a Lifeline to Their Communities

Photo by Damon Casarez

There has been a rumbling online. A debate. The conversation centers around whether or not bike shops should be “essential.” Some very outspoken individuals claim cycling is a rich white man’s sport and that the shops which remain open are catering only to that demographic. While we can’t deny that might be the case in some shops, Bicycling Magazine contributor Peter Flax presents a different side of this debate.

“It is the first Friday of April, 15 days after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shelter-in-place order. In Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other large cities in California—as well as in many other states—bike shops have been classified as essential businesses, a move that has been celebrated by some and derided by others. Some critics have argued that bike shops primarily cater to privileged fitness-oriented hobbyists and that putting shop staff in harm’s way (and risking community spread of disease) to serve recreational riders is unwise. But that assumption renders invisible the thousands of neighborhood shops in cities across the country that serve customers who mostly rely on bicycles to facilitate their livelihoods, customers from some of the most economically vulnerable communities in the U.S.”

Continue reading at Bicycling.

A Few From Last Sunday’s Los Angeles Explorers Club 1980s Movie Ride

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A Few From Last Sunday’s Los Angeles Explorers Club 1980s Movie Ride

Last Sunday, the Los Angeles Explorers Club convened in San Marino a the Cub House for a “historic” ride through the surrounding neighborhoods of South Pasadena and Pasadena, stopping at famous homes featured in Hollywood movies from the ’80s. Included in the list were houses used in Teen Wolf, Back to the Future, Pretty in Pink, Terminator, Halloween (technically 1978), Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, and more.

Aimee Gilchrist, the LA Explorers Club founder, dressed up as Doctor Emmett Brown from Back to the Future, as she guided a rather large group of cyclists through picturesque, tree-lined streets, on a 14-mile jaunt around town. Afterward, a dance-off competition ensued, all while BBQ eats and beverages were sold.

If you like informative and very relaxed rides like this, be sure to follow the Los Angeles Explorers Club on Instagram!

The Los Angeles Tracklocross Series

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The Los Angeles Tracklocross Series

Tracklocross. Yeah, you heard it, Tracklocross. It’s exactly what it sounds like and it’s spreading faster than you could ever imagine. With contingencies popping up all over the globe, things are really beginning to culminate this year as we lead up to Nationals in June (Bay Area) and the World Championships in August (Japan). With Los Angeles’ second race of the season in the bag, the vibes are only growing stronger out here as things continue to build momentum. Safa Brian came out and completely crushed the course. He took a commanding lead out the gate and put a significant gap between him and the rest of the pack. The spectator crowd camped out in the middle of the grass and more or less turned their heads as everyone ran laps around them.

Steel is Real: The Starling Murmur 29 Factory Roosts in the Mountains of Los Angeles

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Steel is Real: The Starling Murmur 29 Factory Roosts in the Mountains of Los Angeles

In 1890, the European starling was released into New York’s Central Park by the American Acclimatization Society. They were an organization that believed European flora and fauna should be present in North America for cultural reasons. The head of the AAS was a fella named Eugene Schieffelin, who decided any bird mentioned by William Shakespeare should be in North America and he pushed for 100 of these birds being released into New York City. Thus, the invasive species has taken over. You’ve probably seen them, en masse, as they fly in a tight flock, moving like a black mass across the late afternoon sky. This swarm is called a murmuration.

You see where I’m going here, right?

Unlike the European starling, the Starling Murmur, a full suspension, steel mountain bike was a welcomed species in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles.

Imperfect Asphalt: Riding the New Salsa Warroad in Los Angeles

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Imperfect Asphalt: Riding the New Salsa Warroad in Los Angeles

Salsa hasn’t had a true road bike in their lineup for some time now. Sure, they have the Warbird, which is a gravel racing road bike, but with that, comes a more stable geometry with a longer wheelbase. The Warroad is a straight up endurance road bike, with two wheel sizes and multiple build kit options. Warroad is a new platform for Salsa, designed to take on chunky, imperfect asphalt, with what Salsa is calling their “Endurance Road Geometry.”