What a Weekend!

Tour De Fat.

CicLAvia.

We hope you had as much fun as we did.

Ride On!

Hope to See You There!

Hello.

Just a couple of friendly reminders:

Tomorrow the Bicycle Kitchen will be closed because we will be at Tour De Fat staffing the Merch and DIY booths. We will also have two mobile stands setup if you need to come and tune up your bike for CicLAvia which is on Sunday!

And the organizers of CicLAvia have asked us to pass on some advice.

From Joe Linton: "We're really trying to urge cyclists to slow down and to be respectful - to share the streets with 5-year-old cyclists, pedestrians, wheelchairs, etc. CicLAvia participants should expect a festival, not a race. We think that the route, especially downtown, is going to get very crowded, and we're suggesting that, wherever it gets really crowded, bicyclists should slow down, and probably should walk their bikes where appropriate.

We're doing a mandatory dismount in two locations (Beverly and New Hampshire, 4th and Boyle.)"

What a fun weekend we're about to have!

See you THERE!

Ride On.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Cooks

BIG Bikey Weekend THIS Weekend!

SATURDAY
Tour De Fat
New Belgum's Bicycle & Beer Festival
October 8th | 10am - 5pm

SUNDAY
CicLAvia
October 9th | 10am - 3pm

:: ::

and, don't forget...
FOK Rock!
A Musical Compilation of Friends of the Bicycle Kitchen.
DOWNLOAD at bandcamp:

:: ::


Ride On.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Cooks.

TOUR DE FAT::LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY!

WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8TH
TIME: 10am - 5pm (register for bike parade at 10, parade at 11, bands, bike art and beer at 12pm)
WHERE: LA Historic Park (1245 N Spring St, LA 90012)
COST: ADMISSION IS FREE!

Do you love bicycles so much that you think they should have their own festival? Well, fear not, New Belgium Brewing does too! They created Tour De Fat, a touring festival of bikes, beer, fun times and solar power. And it's returning to Los Angeles for a second year on Saturday, October 8th! The day starts off with a bike parade--Costumes STRONGLY ENCOURAGED. FAMILY FRIENDLY. FREE!!!

The Bicycle Kitchen will be staffing the New Belgium Merch booth and the DIY craft booth. Our friends, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition will be running the fabulous Bike Parade and CICLE will be pouring the suds. We will also have our Mobile Bici there for anyone who is looking to tune up their bike for CicLAvia (which is the NEXT DAY--what a weekend!) And we're going to bring our silkscreen if you want to bring your own shirt to screen.


Press Release below.

#################################

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jenny Foust
(w) 303.433.7020

(c) 720.244.4268

jfoust@csg-pr.com

New Belgium Brewing’s “Tour de Fat” to Bring out the
Inner Cyclist in 13 Cities This Year

Come Enjoy Bikes, Beer and Benevolence on a Beautiful Afternoon

Ft. Collins, CO, May 16, 2011 – If you haven’t experienced Tour de Fat, you just haven’t had enough fun on two wheels. In its 12th season, New Belgium Brewing’s traveling celebration of all things bicycle will make its mark on 13 cities this year, singing the praises of the bike life while raising funds for local non-profits. Tour de Fat is more than an event; it’s a rite of passage that includes a costumed bicycle parade, New Belgium beer, eye-popping entertainment, local food, bizarre bike contests and much more.

A highlight of Tour de Fat is the annual car-for-bike swap. At each Tour de Fat stop, one person will hand over his or her car keys and commit to one year of living car-free. Tour de Fat is now seeking volunteers to accept the swapper challenge. Each car-for-bike swapper will receive a hand-built Black Sheep (http://www.blacksheepbikes.com/) commuter bike in return for their car.

Volunteers are chosen after submitting an application describing their desire to live sans-car. To submit, go to the New Belgium Tour de Fat Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/TourDeFat), click on events and your city of choice, and upload your application in one of three formats: video (two minutes or less, please), photo or the written word.

“The car-for-bike swap epitomizes Tour de Fat, wherein one brave soul makes the commitment to live car-free while inspiring others to think about driving alternatives,” said Bryan Simpson, spokesman for New Belgium. “We’re building a network of folks who originally said they’d leave their car behind for a year, but are still living car-free today.”

Tour de Fat kicks off in Durham, NC on June 25 and wraps up in Austin, TX on October 22.

A few tidbits about Tour de Fat:

• Tour de Fat encourages everybody to team up and present each city with the most colorful, respectful and creative bike parade ever witnessed. (Hint: No one stands out like the guy who was too cool for a costume!)

• Tour de Fat seeks to leave as small an environmental imprint as possible and composts and recycles waste. The waste diversion rate for 2010 was 91 percent.

• Tour de Fat is free to attend, but beer and merchandise proceeds go to local cycling non-profits. During its lifespan, Tour de Fat events have raised more than $1.75 million for philanthropy. Last year Tour de Fat raised $331,428.

• All musical acts perform on a solar-powered stage decorated with recycled materials; trucks and transport use biofuel sourced from recycled waste oils; and all vendors operate off the grid.
  
  

• This is a pro-bike celebration, not an anti-car rally…non-cyclists are more than welcome to join the festivities.
  
  

See http://www.facebook.com/TourDeFat for the Tour de Fat credo, schedules, videos and to submit your entry to swap your gas guzzler for a shiny new bicycle.

Tour de Fat 2011 will cycle through each of the following cities:

June 25 – Durham, NC, Diamond View Park

July 9 – Nashville, TN, Centennial Park

July 16 – Chicago, IL, Palmer Square

July 23 – Minneapolis, MN, Loring Park

July 30 – Milwaukee, WI, Humboldt Park

August 20 – Boise, ID, Ann Morrison Park

September 3 – Ft. Collins, CO, Civic Center Park

September 10 – Denver, CO, City Park

September 24 – San Francisco, CA, Golden Gate Park

October 1 – San Diego, CA, Balboa Park

October 8 – Los Angeles, CA, L.A. Historic Park

October 15 – Tempe, AZ, Tempe Town Lake

October 22 – Austin, TX, Fiesta Garden

About New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, began operations in a tiny Fort Collins basement in 1991. Today, the third largest craft brewer in the U.S., New Belgium produces eight year-round beers; Fat Tire Amber Ale, Ranger IPA, Sunshine Wheat, Blue Paddle Pilsner, 1554 Black Ale, Abbey, Mothership Wit and Trippel, as well as a host of seasonal releases. In addition to producing world-class beers, New Belgium takes pride in being a responsible corporate role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management and a commitment to environmental stewardship. For more information, visit www.newbelgium.com.

###

FOK Rock::A Musical Benefit for the Bicycle Kitchen

For Immediate Release
September 8, 2011
Contact: Kelly Martin, Operations Facilitator
Phone: (323) 662-2776
E-mail: kelly@bicyclekitchen.com | www.bicyclekitchen.com

The Bicycle Kitchen, an all-volunteer run nonprofit bicycle repair education space, is pleased to announce a unique fundraising event called FOK Rock. It’s a musical benefit launching the start of our strategic plan to raise funds to build a permanent home for our operations within the next two years.

The Bicycle Kitchen celebrates the musical talents of its Cooks and Supporters a.k.a. Friends of Kitchen (FOKs) with a two part benefit:

First, FOK Rock is a name-your-price album for download only at bandcamp. Available for download on September 21st at www.fokrock.bandcamp.com.

The album includes tracks from the Ditty Bops, LaMuff, The Cooling Time, Telematique, Psychic Weather, Triple Chicken Foot, Mikki and the Mauses, Slumgum, Glassell Park Three, Lethal Apes, McDougall and Aarrrón! The musical genres span jazz, old time, post-rock, punk rock, dance, ragtime, corridos, folk and the theme for our favorite Midnight Ride. Second, we mark the album release with an evening generously hosted by The Echo on September 21st. There will be a concert featuring short performances from bands on the compilation as well as FOK Rockers--Jeremiah and the Red Eyes, Danger Bees, Common Decency & the State Law and Cárcelas. MC-ed by the Bicycle Kitchen’s very own Jonny Green and in between DJ sets by Cook, DJ Evan C there will also be a raffle and other surprises.

Promotional Poster and Album artwork designed by Amanda Sutton.
Album mastered by Patrick Houston.

FOK Rock: A Musical Benefit for the Bicycle Kitchen
LOCATION: The Echo | 1822 W. Sunset Blvd., LA 90029
DATE: Wednesday, September 21st
TIME: 8:00 PM
COST: $10
Featuring Live:
The Cooling Time
Cárcelas
Common Decency & The State Law
Danger Bees
Jeremiah and the Red Eyes
LaMuff
Mikki and The Mauses
Telematique
Triple Chicken Foot
MC-ed by Jonny Green
DJ-ed by Evan C
AND

AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD at Bandcamp:
Name your price and download the album starting September 21st at
www.fokrock.bandcamp.com
Featuring:
Aarrón!
The Cooling Time
The Ditty Bops
GP3
LaMuff
Lethal Apes
McDougall
Mikki and the Mauses
Psychic Weather
Slumgum
Telematique
Triple Chicken Foot
_________________________
Individual Bios
The Ditty Bops
The Ditty Bops, also known as Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald, have been writing and performing music together since 2003. They released two albums on Warner Bros Records and four independent records including their new album, "Love Letters", and the Grammy- Nominated "Summer Rains". In addition to their musical endeavors they recently published 3 short stories and held two public exhibitions of their paintings.

The Ditty Bops have recorded with a variety of artists from Bob Dylan to Natalie Merchant. They were named one of Billboard Magazine’s Top Ten Green Bands for completing a 5,000 mile bicycling music tour across the USA. They have been featured on Late Night with Conan O’Brian, The Late Late Show with Craig Fergusson, The L Word, Extra, NPR’s All Things Considered, and A Prairie Home Companion. Their music has appeared on Gray’s Anatomy, Men in Trees, Ellen and in numerous films and commercials.

Telematique
Telematique is Aurisha Smolarski and Somer Waters, a violin/cello duo who take their "classical players gone eclectic" styles to create an ambient yet provocative pop/chamber duet. They construct live loops of violin, cello, add melodic vocals, often sung in French, and energy from the audience to craft a captivating and unique sound. They perform at local music venues, museums and multi-media events around LA. They have done short European tours where they played in Paris, France as well as in Poznan, Poland. They performed and composed music for dance performances and collaborative multi-media projects at venues such as The Hammer Museum, REDCAT, Highways Performance Dance Space, Municipal Art Galley in Barnsdall Park, and the Santa Monica Museum of Art.

Slumgum
slum•gum (slŭm’gŭm) n. 1. A term used in beekeeping, slumgum is the impure residue, consisting of cocoons, propolis, etc., remaining after the wax is extracted from honeycombs. 2. “An outstanding risk-taking jazz quartet from Los Angeles” –(Gabe Meline, North Bay Bohemian)
Slumgum is a perpetually inventive quartet of adventurous musicians. The band’s unique voice is shaped by unbridled imagination and diverse influences that include jazz, free improvisation, world music, and modern classical music. They collaborate with a facility and playfulness that is rare for an ensemble, giving their musical curiosity room to explode and yielding daring results. All of these qualities find a home in the band’s innovative and colorful compositions. Performing live, Slumgum delivers their original music with spontaneity and a blend of grit and finesse. For the audience, Slumgum’s exhilarating music projects their sheer joy in playing together.
___________________________________________
Slumgum is:
Jon Armstrong: Tenor Sax
Rory Cowal: Piano
Dave Tranchina: Bass
Trevor Anderies: Drums.
The Cooling Time
Organic may seem like a foreign term when it comes to speaking about music today. Between bands whose ranks barely fit on stage to artists who are oddly interested in making old sounds with new technology, natural songwriting structures are rarely the end product. L.A.’s The Cooling Time is a nice reminder that rock music can have a solid foundation of heavy melodies and dynamic chord progression without any frills but still maintain musical relevance. Chris Hostetler, Michael Deragon, Eric Potter, Dave Ramirez and Steve Kim formed the band over two years ago, and they still haven’t given in to unnecessary glitz. With Hostetler’s gripping vocals and Potter’s riveting guitar riffs, songs such as “Paper Thin” already offer an earful of the good stuff.

McDougall
Portland based one man band “McDougall” announces his fifth full length album “Our New Histories,” on Sonata Cantata records, along with November 2010 tour dates opening for Hillstomp.

Scott McDougall is a noble little grizzly with precious old timey wisdom. His songs of travel, discovery, and perseverance will purify your every day lifestyle and ring adventure when driving home from another day at the office. As the bush bearded road wrenched McDougall quietly sits down at his humble set up of: kick drum, high hat, harmonica and simple stringed instruments, the fans making up his growing national following begin taking turns shouting “McDougall!” Once the banjo begins . . . everyone moves. I’ll bet a hundred bucks you can’t stand still through
a McDougall set, seriously. His toe tapping, punk infused old time songs bring fury to the dance floor, and poetry to your record player. Don’t fight it . . . this is the way.

Triple Chicken Foot
Triple Chicken Foot is an Old Time trio playing early American fiddle and banjo tunes and songs. With Ben Guzmán on fiddle/mandolin, Mike Heinle on banjo and Kelly Marie Martin on guitar and all three singing, they have found their voice with foot stomping dance tunes, beautiful duets and intense three part harmony acapella ballads. This music’s tradition is a social one, so in addition to performing, they host monthly old time jams at neighborhood bars and have been throwing square dances in all kinds of nooks and crannies around LA with callers Susan Michaels and Cory Marie Podielski. They also produce the yearly festival, The Los Angeles Old Time Social. Bust down, it’s a Squarevolution!

LaMuff
LaMuff is a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter. Her vocal-driven music ranges from dry-witted synth rap to layered, orchestral pop.

Playing the Los Angeles cabaret scene since 2008, LaMuff’s performances have been called “astounding” by the LA Weekly. Her live shows border on performance art—complete with wigs, costume changes and prop-wielding backup singer/dancers—bringing to the forefront her visual, physical and lyrical persona.

The artist behind LaMuff is Monica Howe, a studied vocalist and graduate of Art Center College of Design. Her influences include Hollywood musicals, West Hollywood drag queens, 1950s crooners and 1980s pop. Her songs are produced by composer and sound designer Joshua Fielstra.

LaMuff released her single and video “Come on, Taste my Rainbow” in 2011. She plans to release a four-song EP and new video for the underground hit “Gold Lamé” later this year.

Lethal Apes
Lethal Apes is an ongoing music project featuring producer / song writers Too Tall Jahmal and James Morris. Morris and Jahmal were first united as teenagers via Social Justice, a late 80's politically conscious hardcore group that had ties to the Heliotrope / Melrose intersection through gigs at the now legendary and defunct Macondo Club in the early 90's. Morris and Jahmal have maintained ties through graffiti art, music production, skateboard culture, cycling and beer ever since and have collaborated on projects including 50mm Los Angeles, Downset, Very Special People and a variety of other endeavors rooted in hip hop and hardcore culture.

Jeremiah and the Red Eyes
Los Angeles based artist Jeremiah (Sammartano) and the Red Eyes sprang out of the Southern California coffeehouses and bars, picking up sounds and ideas here and there and mixed it all up to make an intoxicating brew of sounds . What came out was a blend of the Delta blues and old folk songs, Tom Waits and the Replacements, some Willie Nelson twang, some good old garage rock and roll - and a whole lot of other things - Delta blues and twangy grooves.
2004 saw the release of Red Eyed and Restless on Bull Stud Records which had songs played on various U.S. stations including the syndicated show, "Altville", and Chris Morris' “Watusi Rodeo” out of LA, and across Europe. Over the years they have been well supported by the Americana scene in Los Angeles and have shared the stage with Southern Culture On The Skids, Dead Rock West, and Mike Stinson - to name a few - and also David Olney and Tommy Womack in Nashville, where Jeremiah relocated for a spell from 2008 to 2009.

In 2010, Jeremiah and the Red Eyes, filled out by Nashville singer/songwriter Lauren Austin on vocals, mandolin, banjo, and other various instruments, hit the road in support of a new CD, Under Your Spell, and covered a good 40k miles starting with LA and then onto Phoenix, Denver, Austin, St. Louis, Nashville, Chicago, San Francisco, and various cities in between making some good connections in each town.

2011 is off to a good start - 11.5K miles have already been covered for a Spring Tour, including a stop in Austin for SXSW, a spot on The Blue Plate Special Radio show on WDVX out of Knoxville, TN, a set on the Live@Lunch radio show on KRFC out of Fort Collins, CO., and recently picking up an Emmy nomination for music written for the documentary, Prison Through Tomorrow's Eyes. A late Spring into Summer tour where 9K miles were traveled has been completed and now plans are to step off the road for a while and concentrate on writing and recording.

Psychic Weather

Psychic Weather is the vehicle for Matthew Thornton's musical meanderings.

Mikki and the Mauses

Glassell Park 3
Glassell Park is one of Los Angeles's older neighborhoods, having been developed in the late 19th century along the Los Angeles Railway track that formerly ran in the median of Eagle Rock Boulevard and the adjoining hills. It is a quiet, almost sleepy, largely residential district, with a large industrial corridor along San Fernando Road (which parallels Union Pacific railroad tracks) and low-rise commercial buildings along Eagle Rock Boulevard. Today it is largely working class, Latino, white, Filipino and Asian.

It was here that the Glassell Park 3 began sometime in 2002, hidden away in a small industrial/ living space, affectionately known as The Mule. This space is no longer in the hands of any gp3 member, but it still stands as a testimony to all the good times had by friends, family members and bands that have passed through it's metal gated door and into it's cement belly.

One night when Uncle John and Scotty, of the Foothill Music band The Barren Foothill Breakdown, were hanging around The Mule they decided to play some music with the box n snare (uncle j's instrument of choice) and the guit-jo (scotty's choice) and what they ended up playing that night became the beginning of gp3. As more or less a joke, they played a made-up garage-style rock n' roll tune with these totally accoustic instruments and it struck them as being
"kinda crazy." They later played it for fellow members of the BFB and were then encouraged by them that this kind of musical behavior should indeed continue. So Uncle J and Scotty commenced to "write" a slew of crazy accoustic punk, rock and blues songs in this vein while Scotty made up lyrics/mumblings as the songs were played. They played their first show in 2002 at the King-King in Hollywood and the crowds response was one of more confusion (and possible cringing) than anything else. This fanned the flames and gp3 moved forward to intensify their ruckus style of simple, raw, energetic music. They took it to the studio (The Mule, of course) and recorded their first release in this raw fashion, called "number 2." Their friends seemed to like it.

With experimentation being a driving force behind their music, Glassell Park 3 again decided to try something different one night. Although the all-accoustic sound was something they very much endeared, all the intensity that Scotty layed upon his 6 string banjo (guit-jo) could not compete with the rhythmic poundings of the blacksmith, Uncle John. They grabbed a nearby accoustic guitar pick-up, shoved it into the back of the guit-jo, plugged it into a nearby bass amp and turned it loud enough that it distorted...thus the gritty and powerful gp3 sound was born. At this point Scott started to write real lyrics and they recorded their second release, "Avenue 34." They continued to play this way until another experiment came to mind while talking to another bandmate from BFB, Gavin. They decided to try playing with Gavin improvising his way into the songs on bass. What they came up with was an even more intense sound, explosive at every turn. After playing a number of shows with lil' G (Gavin), they recorded their latest release with the help of Kelly Martin and her fabulous one-mic set-up, called "The Night Before." It is at this point that we find gp3's current state. They often play as the threesome, but it is not uncommon to see U.J and Scotty playing as the original twosome. Either way, the set is always filled with dancing, pounding, hollering, sweating and celebration, proclaiming that music is always successful when played while surrounded by those one cares about most - their friends, family and neighbors.

SIX DAYS LEFT TO HELP US WIN!!!

$2500 for our Earn-a-Bike Program.

VOTE!

Ride On,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Cooks

Don't forget to VOTE...

...for the Bicycle Kitchen's GOOD idea! FYI, our next Earn-a-Bike session starts September 13th.

Thanks and Ride On,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Cooks

Heads-up Cool Kids: The BK will be at FYF!!!

The Bicycle Kitchen is lucky enough to have snagged a booth at this year's FYF! We'll be partying it up in true BK style with repair demos, bike crafts, and more. Come see us and... bring your friends!

VOTING FOR locklighthelmet4EAB BEGINS TODAY AT NOON!

http://goodla.maker.good.is/projects/locklighthelmet4EAB

Help us WIN $2500 for our Earn-A-Bike Program!

¡¡VOTE For our "GOOD" IDEA!!

And help the Bicycle Kitchen win $2500 to buy locks, lights and helmets for our Earn-A-Bike Program!

http://goodla.maker.good.is/projects/locklighthelmet4EAB

Voting begins at 11:59!!

Tell your friends.

Thank you and Ride On.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Cooks

The Urban Biking Handbook::OUT NOW!

The Bicycle Kitchen is full to bursting with pride for author, Charles Haine and photographer Drew Bienemann. Read below!

The Urban Biking Handbook: The DIY Guide to Building, Rebuilding, Tinkering with, and Repairing Your Bicycle for City Living

Written by Cook (volunteer), Charles Haine who spent 6 years at the Bicycle Kitchen in Los Angeles formulating ideas on riding bikes in cities, especially cities that some consider not cycling friendly, the Urban Biking Handbook is designed for the beginning rider (or even the non-rider) who wants to start using the bicycle as a means of transit for city living. It's full of technical info, bike trivia and helpful lifestyle hints to make using your bike in the city easy and convenient as possible.

Currently, we have a limited amount for sale at the Bicycle Kitchen. You can also pick it up from the publisher, Quarry or that other online bookseller. : )

Congratulations, Chuck!

Ride On.

SWEEEEET!!!

Rafflin' it off on Sunday at Roots Roadhouse. Awesome.

Mobile Bici at Roots Roadhouse!

The Bicycle Kitchen has been invited to bring our Mobile Bici (bike stand and tools) to this year's Roots Roadhouse Festival at the Echo and Echoplex. It's an all-day celebration of Country/Americana/Bluegrass/Blues/Old Timey Music with local vendors and us!

Bands that are also playing which didn’t make it to the artwork include: RESTAURANT, NIKKI LANE, and MY GRAVEyARD JAW...

There's also bingo (MC-ed by Cousin Roy, hopefully?)and FAT TIRE BEER and vintage clothes and other vendors. A special craft table for some hands on fun and BARBIES Q bbq truck!

Here's a link to discounted tix.

Hope to see you there!

Check out our Homepage!!

Check out the homepage of our BK website for a new link to "Some Info" with some rad materials made by our very own MaBell AND our gussied up "Donate" button.

Donations are a big LIKE!!!

Bicycle Chandeliers

Cheque out artist Carolina Fontoura Algaza!

The Bicycle Kitchen donated some parts for her beautiful chandeliers.

To Live & Ride in L.A- new film and article on bike culture

and! our very own Sean Martin, Kelly's brother, is featured in this article.
Cheque it out!

SAVE THE DATE::TOUR DE FAT!!!

The weekend of October 8th/9th is going to be one GREAT bikey weekend for LA.

Tour De Fat, New Belgium Brewing's bicycle festival returns to Los Angeles for a second year on October 8th (press release below) and cicLAvia is the next day on October 9th. The Bicycle Kitchen, C.I.C.L.E. and LACBC will staff and be the beneficiaries of the proceeds from the days events. It's pretty generous of New Belgium and super fun and FREE to get in. Mark your calendars now and Hooray for bicycles!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jenny Foust
(w) 303.433.7020

(c) 720.244.4268

jfoust@csg-pr.com

New Belgium Brewing’s “Tour de Fat” to Bring out the
Inner Cyclist in 13 Cities This Year

Come Enjoy Bikes, Beer and Benevolence on a Beautiful Afternoon

Ft. Collins, CO, May 16, 2011 – If you haven’t experienced Tour de Fat, you just haven’t had enough fun on two wheels. In its 12th season, New Belgium Brewing’s traveling celebration of all things bicycle will make its mark on 13 cities this year, singing the praises of the bike life while raising funds for local non-profits. Tour de Fat is more than an event; it’s a rite of passage that includes a costumed bicycle parade, New Belgium beer, eye-popping entertainment, local food, bizarre bike contests and much more.

A highlight of Tour de Fat is the annual car-for-bike swap. At each Tour de Fat stop, one person will hand over his or her car keys and commit to one year of living car-free. Tour de Fat is now seeking volunteers to accept the swapper challenge. Each car-for-bike swapper will receive a hand-built Black Sheep (http://www.blacksheepbikes.com/) commuter bike in return for their car.

Volunteers are chosen after submitting an application describing their desire to live sans-car. To submit, go to the New Belgium Tour de Fat Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/TourDeFat), click on events and your city of choice, and upload your application in one of three formats: video (two minutes or less, please), photo or the written word.

“The car-for-bike swap epitomizes Tour de Fat, wherein one brave soul makes the commitment to live car-free while inspiring others to think about driving alternatives,” said Bryan Simpson, spokesman for New Belgium. “We’re building a network of folks who originally said they’d leave their car behind for a year, but are still living car-free today.”

Tour de Fat kicks off in Durham, NC on June 25 and wraps up in Austin, TX on October 22.

A few tidbits about Tour de Fat:

• Tour de Fat encourages everybody to team up and present each city with the most colorful, respectful and creative bike parade ever witnessed. (Hint: No one stands out like the guy who was too cool for a costume!)

• Tour de Fat seeks to leave as small an environmental imprint as possible and composts and recycles waste. The waste diversion rate for 2010 was 91 percent.

• Tour de Fat is free to attend, but beer and merchandise proceeds go to local cycling non-profits. During its lifespan, Tour de Fat events have raised more than $1.75 million for philanthropy. Last year Tour de Fat raised $331,428.

• All musical acts perform on a solar-powered stage decorated with recycled materials; trucks and transport use biofuel sourced from recycled waste oils; and all vendors operate off the grid.
  

• This is a pro-bike celebration, not an anti-car rally…non-cyclists are more than welcome to join the festivities.
  

See http://www.facebook.com/TourDeFat for the Tour de Fat credo, schedules, videos and to submit your entry to swap your gas guzzler for a shiny new bicycle.

Tour de Fat 2011 will cycle through each of the following cities:

June 25 – Durham, NC, Diamond View Park

July 9 – Nashville, TN, Centennial Park

July 16 – Chicago, IL, Palmer Square

July 23 – Minneapolis, MN, Loring Park

July 30 – Milwaukee, WI, Humboldt Park

August 20 – Boise, ID, Ann Morrison Park

September 3 – Ft. Collins, CO, Civic Center Park

September 10 – Denver, CO, City Park

September 24 – San Francisco, CA, Golden Gate Park

October 1 – San Diego, CA, Balboa Park

October 8 – Los Angeles, CA, L.A. Historic Park

October 15 – Tempe, AZ, Tempe Town Lake

October 22 – Austin, TX, Fiesta Garden

About New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, began operations in a tiny Fort Collins basement in 1991. Today, the third largest craft brewer in the U.S., New Belgium produces eight year-round beers; Fat Tire Amber Ale, Ranger IPA, Sunshine Wheat, Blue Paddle Pilsner, 1554 Black Ale, Abbey, Mothership Wit and Trippel, as well as a host of seasonal releases. In addition to producing world-class beers, New Belgium takes pride in being a responsible corporate role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management and a commitment to environmental stewardship. For more information, visit www.newbelgium.com.

###

Spring | Summer News

SPRING/SUMMER

Happy Spring and into Summer! Don't let the June Gloom get you down. Jump on your bicycle and ride.

Here's some newsy news from our cocineros.

:: ::

BICYCLE KITCHEN CYCLING CAPS //

We have a limited number of super sexxee cycling caps designed by Cooks, J.Patrick Adair, MaBell and OpsFac, Kelly. Come on down to the Kitchen and pick one up for yourself. (Starting Monday, the 13th at NOON)

:: ::

WORKSHOPS //

Just a reminder that we offer maintenance classes about once or twice a month. They fill up fast, so check 'em out! HERE.

:: ::

CLOSURES //

Bicycle Kitchen Annual Retreat June 10th - 12th

We are heading out to Malibu Creek for our Annual Retreat. Bike camping, swimming and a fruitful discussion about where we're headed for the next two years are on the agenda with the weekend facilitated by Joe Linton and Federico Tobon of the Los Angeles Eco-Village.

We'll be open with our regular hours on Monday at Noon.


Fourth of July Weekend

Since we're an all-volunteer run organization we like to take three day weekends as an opportunity to close and give our Cooks a chance to RIDE THEIR BIKES! We'll be closed for the July Fourth Holiday from July 2nd - 4th.

Regular Hours resume Tuesday, the 5th at 6:30pm.

:: ::

WRENCH N' RIDE IS ON IT'S WAY

The Bicycle Kitchen has signed the lease FINALLY! on the space at Hollywood/Western, which will (hopefully) begin construction in July. If you would like to make an earmarked donation towards tools, video projector or screen for this fantastic new bicycle repair education space go HERE.

:: ::


Ride On.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Cooks.

www.bicyclekitchen.com
www.bicicocina.blogspot.com
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Awesome events featuring FOK, Alexis Lantz and BK's, Jimmy Lizama!!!

Speaker Series
June 8, 2011 5:30pm-7:30pm
RSVP

William Roschen, President of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission & Alexis Lantz, Planning and Policy Director for Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

Join us in conversation with Commissioner Roschen and Alexis Lantz discussing the Los Angeles City Bicycle Master Plan, approved in March by the City Council. The Bicycle Master Plan calls for an eventual network of 1,680 miles of interconnected bikeways, including more than 200 miles of new bicycle routes every five years. It also calls for a safety campaign to educate drivers about sharing the streets. Learn how the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Los Angeles City Planning Commission, and Department of Transportation collaborated to make this vision come true.


June 8, 2011 5:30pm-7:30pm
Environment Now
2515 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90403
Ride & park inside. Drinks and Light Refreshments served.
RSVP to speakerseries@environmentnow.org today.


TEDx UCLA
June 18, 2011 12:15pm - 3pm
RSVP

Jimmy Lizama: I am a Bicycle Messenger, My Message is Bicycle.
Jimmy Lizama has been a bicycle messenger in Los Angeles for over a decade. His vocation has taken him around the world to participate in bike messenger events and locally it has inspired and facilitated several ventures into invoking bicycle culture in the city he holds so dear, chief among them The Bicycle Kitchen/La Bicicocina, a DIY bicycle repair space in East Hollywood that he originated in a small kitchen of the Los Angeles Eco Village, an intentional community in Korea Town. With subpoenas, 6 packs, prose, pizzas, costumes, flyers and now a 1-year old boy in tow, Jimmy has navigated the expanse of L.A. without a car his entire life. He invites you to join him as he cycles through what it means to ride a bike in L.A. and why it’s vital that you join the club atop two “push-pedals.”

Jimmy is our co-founder along with Ben Guzman and a veritable poet. Space is limited so RSVP today!

Bike Beats Car::Join in During Bike to Work Week!

Bike Beats Car

Dear Bicycle Kitchen,

As a regular bike commuter and UCLA student, I've been working hard to put my passions for bike commuting to real use in celebration of Bike Week LA. Through the help of my internship at ONE/x, I've organized an ongoing bike commuting event called The Beatdown, launching on Monday and continuing through the end of Bike Month. From our newly created website at bikebeatscar.com, we're challenging people to time and log their commutes to work or school both by bike and by car, in order to prove that biking is faster than driving for urban commutes of 7 miles or less.

Check out our Website: www.bikebeatscar.com
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bike-Beats-Car/126354834109402
Attend our Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=154152191317964
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/BikeBeatsCar

Blessing of the Bicycles::TOMORROW!

The Annual Blessing of the Bicycles
at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Blessings to begin at 8 a.m.!

Get Blessed!
Get Breakfast!
Get a Free Bike Check!

For more information call Good Samaritan Hospital: (213) 977-2911

Cable&Housing Box!

Cook, John Cassidy strikes again with his rad invention of a box for
cable and housing.

Part dispenser, part wrangler, hopefully it will keep those
Jagwire boxes in their place.

Viva industrious volunteer power!!!