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My favorite days of the year are when the city of Los Angeles cordially agrees to close several miles of city streets to motorized vehicular traffic, and open them to pedestrians, cyclists and any other people-powered form of transportation you can think of. For it's nineteenth installation, CicLAvia will be returning to downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, October 16. The event—the last one for this year!—will run from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Sunday's CicLAvia event will open up 5.75 miles of public road for people to ride, roll and walk on, totally car-free. The event's 'Heart of L.A.' route returns, offering people a chance to walk or ride from through several of central L.A.'s most hallowed neighborhoods. Westlake, Boyle Heights, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Historic Core, and the city's Civic Center are all on the route, giving Angelenos who partake a chance explore the whole world from the saddle of a bicycle, but in their very own city.
As always, event planners have stocked a full array of activities and culinary choices to make your CicAvia experience thoroughly enjoyable. While businesses and restaurants will be open all along the route, CicLAvia events also have designated hubs where food trucks, bicycle repair stations and other activities will be concentrated. On Sunday, hubs will be located in MacArthur Park, Grand Park, Chinatown and Mariachi Plaza. A more detailed breakdown of the events and activities at each hub can be found on CicLAvia's website (click "Activities Along the Route")—take special note of the collective mural that will be painted in MacArthur Park.
As always, the Heart of L.A. route is one of the most absolutely accessible CicLAvia routes; five different rail lines have stops along the route. The Expo Line, Red Line, Purple Line, Blue Line and Gold Line all offer direct connection to Sunday's CicLAvia, meaning you ride the train directly to the route from spots like Azuza, Santa Monica, Long Beach, East L.A. and North Hollywood. Here's Metro's rail system map, and, yes, you totally can take your bikes on the train.
Parking in central L.A. is, unsurprisingly, pretty tight. While you certainly can find a spots to park in downtown, be prepared to pay a pretty penny. If you insist on using your car, a Metro fan put together this exceptionally convenient map of all the parking spots located at Metro Rail stations.
If you're feeling a bit more adventures, take part in a feeder ride that will let you pedal to CicLAvia in a modestly paced group-ride. CicLAvia's website again is an excellent resource (click "Feeder Walks & Rides"), and includes information on feeder rides from Culver City, Pasadena, Glendale, SGV and more.
Weather on Sunday should be be cool and cloudy (is it Fall?). Temperatures are forecast to stay below 72 degrees, perfect for being outside on a bike.
Happy riding!
