Greetings Friends of the LA Bike Tour: In an effort to ensure a world-class experience, we've decided that the 2010 LA Bike Tour will not be held Marathon morning, as it historically has been. We'll share further details once they're available and look forward to hosting a great bike event later next year.
Russ Pillar
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39 comments:
This is a terrible decision. I hope it’s not too late to revert it. Why would you fight to change the date back to original one and at the same time cancel bike tour – an integral part of the event for years? By taking away a part of the uniqueness of LA marathon you are not doing yourself or the community any favors – just robbing a lot more people of the joy and chance to participate in something special. What a shame.
Shame on you! Shame. Shame. Shame on you! The LA Bike Ride has been an annual tradition held before the LA Marathon for many years. Aside from it being an all ages, positive, and culturally cohesive event for the community, as well as guests from throughout the cycling communities, other US cities and other countries, what could it be that is now eroding the fabric of this great cycledom? Could it have to do with the cost of clean up, still existing after the runners compete? Could it have something to do with the state of the car manufaturers which in the past have supported the riding event? Could have something to with the cost of policing for the city? Events such as this bring business to our great city which is supposed to be in financial need. This is a sad day in history. If some events must pass so others can thrive, what could this be? Mac
WHY WOULD THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES AND THE LA MARATHON TURN DOWN CYCLIST ENTRY FEES... THE CITY NEEDS INCOME AND EVERYONE WHO OWNS A BICYCLE WOULD LIKE TO RIDE IN THE GREAT LA MARATHON... TURNING DOWN $$$$$$ IS NOT PRUDENT...
don't like this decision.
Horrible. What genius thought it be a good idea to exclude the thousands of paying bicyclist from the L.A. Marathon? The new owners of this event need to get it together and quit messing around with dates and excluding people from this great event.
Please don't abandon us cyclists. I have participated for 10 years in a row. The 2000 Tour got me off the couch, and I re-discovered cycling again. Please continue the tour, and get others like me off the couch, and on the road.
It doesn't seem plausible that their motive is "to ensure a world-class experience." Through all the months of working on changing the date and the route there was not a word about the bike tour. Then the first we hear about it is when they open registration for the marathon and, oh yeah "the 2010LA Bike Tour will not be held Marathon morning." They must not want to deal with it and hope it dies off.
"In order to ensure a world class experience" means "we can't be bothered to shuttle a bunch of people with bikes all the way back to Dodger Stadium"
I seriously doubt they're planning on closing off a large number of major LA streets just for cyclists "later next year", if that was the plan, they should have made it clear.
Maybe they've got something awesome planned, but I suspect not.
What!!!! Who made that stupid decision? I've been doing the LA Bike Ride since the that first rainy day.
There have been many others riders young and old with me more then I could see. My first born was 6 months old when I first pulled him in the trailer, Which by the way I paid full price for him. I have seen little boys and girls riding their bikes beside me. Just looking at them riding by them selves only made me think of how great it would feel that some day my Jacob (5) will be riding beside me. Now, that he has his own bike and can ride, you take it away from him and many other who have been loyal to the Los Ageles Marathon and its many route change and date changes. All of us have paid for years for a metal and a pre-paid t-shirt. I am a true Los Angeles Dodger Fan and love Los Angeles.
You still have time.
Well everyone said what the rest of us have been thinking. The Bike Tour is an integral part of the LA Marathon day - and the roads are already closed and the money earned from all those bike tour entries is a bonus on top of the marathon fees. The logistics of bringing all those cyclists and bikes back to the start is certainly daunting. Why not send the bikers down the course as usual and then at 11 miles bring them back on the other side of the street? They would finish back at the start and the marathoners could start on down the course in waves staying to the right for the first 11 miles. This would give everyone what they want - a marathon and a Bike Tour and the city could earn some much needed funds. Just a thought.
This plan would allow runners like me, whose husband has completed the bike tour while I run the marathon, to still do this impressive double.
Linda
San Dimas
I'd love to cycle the new Marathon route. Get it reinstated!
I agree with a great many of the posts, that this is a big mistake. You have certian feel, or ambiance when you know that there are thousands of runner getting ready to start their run right behind you. Many have family members running while they ride, others ride and then watch the run itself, like me. There are some serious morons running this marathon these past couple of years and it isn't getting any better.
Russ Pilar, this decision seems unfathomable. It's a tradition. I don't mean to shoot the messenger, but I hope you will pass on these thought to the "powers that be".
Espousing to promote healthier lifestyles by producing the LA Marathon and the "Health and Fitness" Expo it seems incongruous to not continue the LA Bike Tour.
Biking is as "green" and healthy as it gets, not only promoting cardiovascular exercise but alternative modes of transportation which lessens one's carbon footprint.
This would be a "green" aspect which the LA Marathon organizers are not realizing they are downgrading and disregarding by not including the traditional LA Bike Tour. The LA Bike Tour was an important event which not only bonded neophyte and avid cyclists but allowed all to experience our great city while realizing that biking is fun and a great alternative to using our cars.
LA Bike Tour like no other amalgamated bicycle advocates and has helped our city adopt bike lanes and began the dialogue and more importantly the mindset to think of how to make our great city more "green".
Closing the door on the LA Bike Tour would be faux pas especially for a city with a global reputation as being choked with cars, traffic, and our infamous smog.
I hope they will reconsider and choose to include the Bike Tour. Trumping the spirit of healthier life choices in exercise and transportation doesn't seem the image LA Marathon needs to be seen as in the media.
Thank you in advance for your further consideration and the ultimate inclusion of the LA Bike Tour.
There gonna charge us triple the day after the marathon and call it the world class la bike tour
I am very disappointed. Please reconsider.
The Stadium-to-Sea route looks like it would be a lot of fun to bike!
Actually, a pretty good decision - now instead of wasting my entry fee on an organization that doesn't care about cyclists, I'm signing up for the L.A. River Ride from the LACBC instead and have some $ come back to benefit biking.
Incredible!! How can it possibly make sense to have the Bike Tour on another day. I suspect the plan is to not have it at all. So poor. Who's running this thing off the track? Russ Pillar? I would guess at least 20,000 bicyclists would like to participate. Can't believe it.
Who is running this thing now anyway? This year's course basically sucked (compared to 2007 and 2008, which took you into downtown among all the tall buildings and over 6th street bridge -- so cool). Not to mention the change of date to Memorial Day (bad decision -- not as many sign ups I'll bet). And now we're not even going to ride on the same day as the marathon? And how do they plan on getting all of those runners from Santa Monica back to L.A. where they're parked?? Are these organizers even thinking?
I'd say I was disappointed, but I had already given up on the bike tour last year after someone made the ill-advised decision to push back the marathon to Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, this is just one more bad decision and another slap in the face to the bicycling community. Where is Richard Riordan? We need you!
thank you Russ, for takng away the one thing i look forward to every year! if the event needed more money i am sure most of us would have payed a higher fee, or could have done without the t-shirts....
I certainly hope there is a bike marathon this year. I've enjoyed the routes I've ridden - 2009 went once again within a block of my house. And I loved the course that took us across the bridges of Los Angeles, too.
It would be a shame to disappoint the good will of thousands of cyclists who come together for a common - and good - purpose each year.
That the cycling community has heard nothing officially yet is upsetting.
Okay. Now what? When is the new date for the tour? I dont see anything that suggests its happening someother time.
Does anyone have the ability to have KTTV or KCAL cover this? I'm sure the city will reconsider when it hits the aire..
This is a terrible thing to do to those who enjoy participating during the LA Marathon. I'm a runner and cyclist and enjoying both, taking turns each year. I'm truly dissapointed to hear this : (
After participating in the bike tour from the very first one, I have now been let down. We used to make a day out of the Bike Tour and Marathon. We looked forward to the Bike Tour every year, Hollywood, Downtown, Universal Studios, The Coliseum, La Brea Tar Pits, etc. Now it's just pulled out from under us.
The promise is to have it later in the year! The Bike Tour was hardly mentioned on TV before, but for the thousands that participated, it was not about TV exposure, it was about feeling good and being a part of Great Day.
Now we are told they will close the streets of LA for cyclists. I think not!
Well at least Thanks for the memories, which is all we apparently are going to have!
I'm shocked and saddened to hear this. The sentimental value of this race is heightened by the death of my father (who rode in it every year) and the promise i made to him to keep riding together with my son every year. I'm truly in shock right now. It is a shame.
What a SHAME! I am deeply saddened by this. This was a chance for all of us cyclers and people unable to run to participate in the Marathon. This would have been a great opportunity for cycle enthusiasts to experience L.A. in great way to ride from Dodger Stadium to the coast with no traffic. Priceless. A later date huh? Kind of like how L.A. Triathlon is handled. Minimal road closures and an after thought. Get it together and put the Bike tour Back!
Let's all band together and do our own ride on Saturday and follow the complete route. We can obey all traffic signals and laws and have a great time riding to Santa Moica.
I guess it has all been said. Still I find it hard to believe that someone made the decision to cancle the Bike Tour. I have been a participant for many years and I have all of the posters framed and hanging on my office wall along with my finisher's medallions. I even finished the ride while being treated for colon cancer. The City of Los Angeles seems to have accomplished what cancer couldn't; stopped me from riding in the LA Marathon Bike Tour!
Brad: What would be a good time to start on this route? Do you have any idea how they work it, closing the route? I'd like to start at Dodger Stadium, ride the route to "the sea", then peddle back to Dodger Stadium. I'm concerned about being on the way back, and having all kinds of "enforcers" jump at me...
Is there any update on this..is there going to be a bike tour this year in 2010.
I rode the Pasadena Marathon Bike Tour last Sunday, pouring rain, but what fun! I am truly disappointed by being abandoned by Honda, Acura, LA Marathon organizers, or whoever made this descision. Cheers to Pasadena for picking up the slack. It is a great event. If LA doesn't want our money, please consider Pasadena next February. The check-in parking was $3, and free parking !!! on race day. I always paid as much for LA parking as the race entry fee. I have decided, that I will not miss it. Go Pasadena, Boo LA! This would have been my 11th LA Tour ride in a row, but no more!
WOW!!! SUGGEST ALL BIKER RIDERS JUST SHOW STANCE AND SHOW-UP!!!
"YOUR NOT MY OFFICIAL"
What a bunch of crap !!!
what a bunch of crap !!!!!!!
I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS BIKE TOUR BUT I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO IT
REALLLLY SADDDDDD!!!!!!!
Well, I thinking of getting to Dodger Stadium around 3:00 a.m.: will take me maybe two hours (?) to bike to "da beach", then two hours back. I'll want to be OUT OF THE WAY by the time the runners take off. Anyone want to join me? :)
This SUCKS!!! I have participated in the Bike Tour for many years. This is a BIG mistake the city needs the money........
Leave it to the city to make a pretty dumb decision. My first time wanting to do the marathon and getting my 5 year old grandson Into biking and becoming part of something so meaningful like the LA Marathon.
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