More than 40 dedicated bicycle enthusiasts met Tuesday morning at the Playa Del Rey biker bridge. Their mission: to let you know that biking is a great way to get around Marina Del Rey and Los Angeles.

Enjoying partially clear blue skies and 60 degree weather, the almost 19 miles to downtown Los Angeles was an easy ride. Some were wearing bright yellow spandex, others jeans and dress shirts. Their “steeds” were anything from expensive pro bikes to  “clunkers and junkers” to quote one rider. They peddled on already established bike paths, public roadways and streets soon to be designated bike access routes.

Unlike popular U.S. biking towns like Portland, OR, or Key West, FL, Los Angeles is not your usual cycling destination. The city, however, has a “soon to be adopted” bike plan and Culver City already has one.

Taking 10% of the monies from Measure R, the ½ cent sales tax increase, and from other funding sources, the plan is on the path to becoming a reality. Dr. Paul Simon, Director of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention at the LA County Department of Public Health, was one of the riders.

“When you think of keeping people healthy … being able to bike across the city of Los Angeles is a wonderful way to do it," Simon said. "What’s really important is to create networks that will allow people to ride recreationally and to allow them to get to work or other errands safely.”

Culver City was one of the communities “given a grant of millions of dollars in trransportation funding to develop ‘built environments,’” to get people to be more physically active, he said.

West Coast Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency Jared Blumenfeld and a group from the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) along with other Los Angeles dignitaries, guided the group along the path on the Los Angeles River to Culver City, and downtown Los Angeles with the goal of ending up in Boyle Heights.

Their first stop was Linwood Howe Elementary School where they were met by students and Principal Amy Anderson.

“Our school received a grant of about $450,000 for the Safe Routes to School program. Originally we had about 19% riding to school, we increased that to about 45% for this project,” she said.

Riding thru beautiful tree-lined neighborhoods and heavy traffic areas, the colorful troop wound its way from Venice Blvd to 4^th Street making a stop at MacArthur Park. Bloggers in the pack were sending tweets the entire ride, saying “Awesome ride! Nice way to spend the Day!”

After stopping by the new County Cycling Collaborative Bike Wrangler Space on 6^th Sreet, the group ended up at Los Angeles City Hall for a group photo.

Complaints from local cyclists in 2010 about safety issues and lack of funding for dedicated bike lanes have seen results.

“Bicycle advocates have appeared before the city council repeatedly to argue that funding from Measure R, should be set aside for bicycle and pedestrian related initiatives.” To date that is one of the Plans sources for money.  

According to the LACBC website, planned improvements made to the bike path along Ballona Creek will enhance the path for both bicyclers and pedestrians.  But Riders are also asking the city to solve the problem of crossing Washington Boulevard, where the present path ends abruptly. In a recent article in LA.streetsblog.org, Rider Jim Kennedy said, “Cyclists should not have to take a detour down Washington Boulevard into Marina del Rey” and is pushing for an extension of the beach trail.

In the city's revised 2010 Draft of Bicycle Plan Facilities, the existing bicycle paths would be extended from 49 miles to almost 97 miles. The mayor’s office is reviewing the plan and it is tentatively scheduled to be presented to the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management and Transportation committees on Feb 9. It includes plans for a citywide bikeway system and maps of the proposed routes.

In the Supplemental Staff Report (12/ 2010), the Plan calls for 3 “Networks.” The “Backbone Network” consists of 707 miles on streets with 24/7 availability for cyclists who are comfortable riding in heavy traffic. The  “Neighborhood Bikeways Network” is 834 miles of local streets with less traffic and is for bikers used to slower speeds.  The third is the “Green Bikeway Network” and it is 139 miles of roads to be used by commuter and recreational bikers. It includes the high-use bikeways along the Orange line, the Los Angeles River, Ballona Creek and the Beach bike paths

The Mayors office has designated a 5 year implementation plan to take their plans to completion according to their website.

Jennifer Klausner, Executive Director of the LACBC said of the ride, "I think it was a great success and was very impressed by the turnout of Organizations as well as people who care about cycling."