A little bit of bike rap Courtesy of the City of Amsterdam who is finally waking up to the fact that bicycles are one of the Netherlands greatest attractions and on e of the strongest reasons it’s just such a darn lovely, peaceful place to visit or live. The incredible cycling mode share enables very high population density without the typical urban noise, danger and stress. Much of the 17th and 18th century city remains not as a museum but as a living, breathing, charming city as the city was once defined: a place for people. We love riding our bikes here… with our kids, dogs, SO’s, to work, to the pub, to school or just for the sake of riding!
Here in L.A. there are plenty of people in town trying to make this city a little bit more like Amsterdam (when it comes to bicycling), and I’d encourage you to get involved with any of the following organizations:
If you want to ride a real “fiets”, come to Flying Pigeon LA! We carry a host of bicycle brands straight from Holland to the streets of L.A.: Gazelle, Batavus, Achielle, Velorbis, Nihola, and many more.
This past Sunday, July 11, 2010, in the wilting heat of the San Fernando Valley, the second of four Coaster Brake Challenge off-road races took place.
The Coaster Brake Challenge is a an off-road, unsanctioned, bike race organized by Atomic Cycles in Van Nuys. Competitors can use any type of bike frame they like in the race, but are only allowed to use a coaster brake (common on childrens bikes and beach cruisers) to bring their bike to a halt.
Competition was fierce, with 2009 Coaster Brake challenge champ Dingo emerging victorious yet again. Charlie from Team Flying Pigeon came in second place. Dingo and Charlie placed in the same positions in the first race of this series, setting up something of a rivalry for the trophy in the remaining two races.
Another member of Team Flying Pigeon sent in a report of the first race in the series, which took place on July 4, 2010. DJ Chicken Leather emailed a massive missive via email: Read More »
It has been a good run but, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to sell quite as many Nihola cargo bikes as we’d expected. So, we’re going to put them on sale: all Nihola cargo bikes at Flying Pigeon LA now have no tax, no shipping/delivery fees, a free carriage cover, and a free seat cushion included in the deal. Read More »
Dingo, Charlie, and Msr. L'auteur at the first of four Coaster Brake Challenge races being held in the summer of 2010.
Another summer, another Coaster Brake Challenge.
The coaster brake challenge is a non-sanctioned off-road race on bicycle equipped with an old-fashioned coaster brake as the only means of stopping the bike. It is organized by Paul Choppercabras of Atomic Cycles in Van Nuys.
For the past three races, the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop has sponsored riders in the race by giving them our signature Flying Pigeon Racer to use in the competition.
MOM Rida "Active" picks up another fare during the Downtown LA Art Walk on Thursday, July 8, 2010
Flying Pigeon LA rode through the Downtown LA Art Walk last night in high style with a pair of bakfiets and a pedicab.
Active (a member of the MOM Ridaz) hustled the pedicab from North East LA all the way into Downtown. With the group yelling out “Pedicab rides!” he was able to pick up a few fares, and dropped some people off next to their cars.
I stopped by a food truck bonanza on Spring Street and grabbed some sliders from the Flying Pig Truck as well as some Spanish food to-go from a truck dispensing tapas.
Did we stop in at any galleries? Nah. It was more fun to ride around looking at the crowd of under-30′s dressed in their “going out” clothes. I think we’ll be back next month with more cargo bikes to cruise the neighborhood (and stop in at some galleries on “art night”).
Holland just beat Brazil 2-1 in the World Cup quarter finals!
Woo hoo!
The man responsible for both Dutch goals, Wesley Sneijder, is from Utrecht – which is why I’ve selected the short film above to demonstrate what else they excel at in this ancient city.
Some younger riders ready to go at the 2010 Pershing Square Discovery Ride.
This past Sunday, June 27, 2010 I got up early and rode my bakfiets from Lincoln Heights down to Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles for the the 2nd Annual Pershing Square Discovery Ride organized by the Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation.
I got there just as the bulk of ride participants were arriving and getting ready to mount their bikes. There was a yoga warm up and a bit of time to mill around before the send off.
A testament to Dutch bicycle design: the 2010 Batavus Old Dutch step-through at Flying Pigeon LA
Dutch bicycles are the best at day-to-day transportation, their ridership is the highest in the developed world, their roads are some of the safest on the planet.
How did the Dutch end up developing such a bike-friendly transportation system? Can Los Angeles do something similar? Read More »
A crowd of cyclists and supporters outside Flying Pigeon LA for Streetsblog's NELA fundraiser on June 18, 2010.
Streetsblog LA’s NELA Fundraiser this past June 18, 2010 was a fun one. We were all able to raise a couple of hundred dollars to keep the best livable streets news source in Southern California running.
Though we sometimes mock the noble beach cruiser, we cannot ignore it's symbolic power. Behold!
On Sunday, June 27, 2010 the City Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, Pershing Square will hold it’s second annual free Pershing Square Discovery Bike Ride. Flying Pigeon LA bike shop will be there to show off some of our bikes and to lend a hand with a wrench if need be. Read More »
