CicLAvia visits the Valley
The car-free festival full of cyclists, skaters and pedestrians comes to the area for the first time, much to residents’ delight
CicLAvia, the car-free festival that has become a popular fixture in Los Angeles, arrived in the San Fernando Valley for the first time Sunday.
Under a cloudy March sky, thousands of bicyclists, skaters and pedestrians took to the streets for the daylong event.
The open-street festival got started about 9 a.m. at the Metro Red Line North Hollywood station, with riders streaming down the 5.5mile route along Lankershim and Ventura boulevards in Studio City.
It was the 12th CicLAvia event in Los Angeles since 2010. The festivals are modeled after the Ciclovia custom in Colombia, where some streets are closed to cars every Sunday and are intended to promote good health and a clean environment.
On a side street near Lankershim, Duane LaDage unloaded his family’s bicycles from his truck as his 9-yearold daughter, Caroline, waited patiently on her “purple flower power” beach cruiser. The LaDages live in Hollywood and don’t get to ride their bikes as often as they’d like, so they were excited for the opportunity to ride safely.
“We get to take the streets back,” LaDage said. “It’s our chance to ride on the streets without being run down by a car.”
Caroline watched from the sidewalk as her family rode in a previous CicLAvia down Wilshire Boulevard, so she was thrilled that she would finally get to ride for the first time. “It feels cool that I get to be a part of it,” she said.
Down the block, Herman Lopez explained to a nun at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church at Lankershim and Moorpark Street that he was missing his usual morning services for the ride but assured her that he’d be back in the afternoon.
Lopez, who lives nearby in North Hollywood, said his schedule always got in the way of previous events. He’d like to start getting back into shape, and so he did an hourlong ride before the event began.
“I’ve always wanted to do one, and this is just around the corner from my house,” he said.
Talia Rubino, 32, of Valley Village and Katie Mongan, 26, of Sherman Oaks walked briskly down the ride route, outpacing even some of the riders. They often go for hikes to stay active on the weekends, but instead decided to walk alongside the cyclists.
“This is a nice alternative — it’s kind of like an urban hike,” Mongan said.
The lifelong Valley residents were excited to see a big event come out to what is often an afterthought when people think of Los Angeles.
“It makes us feel like we’re included in L.A.,” Mongan said. “I think the Valley is pretty cool.”
Peter Richter rode his mountain unicycle along the route, while his young daughter kept pace and wife Lena Richter ran alongside him — often speeding past her one-wheeled husband.
The Altadena family had heard of the CicLAvia events but never ridden in one before. They were hooked, they said.
“It’s a great way to see L.A.,” Paul said.