CicLAvia is once again closing streets to cars and opening them to cyclists and pedestrians as it launches its 2024 season starting Sunday, Feb. 25.
And after strolling or biking through carless roads, participants can throw back a cold one too because CicLAvia has teamed up with a local brewery to create its own beer for the season.
“There’s nothing better than a beer after a bike ride,” said Andrew Fowler, an avid cyclist and co-founder of Los Angeles Ale Works, which has brewed a beer named “seek-la-VEE-ah”
It’s named that for educational purposes.
“The beer’s name is the phonetic spelling of our organization. Since it is a made up word often people don’t know how to pronounce it. So we’re hoping getting this beer out in the world will give people more of an idea on how to pronounce the name CicLAvia,” said Rachel Burke, chief program officer for CicLAvia.
Since 2010, the citywide event has closed certain stretches of streets to motorized traffic and given them over to alternative forms of non-motorized transportation including bicycles, skateboards, skates, as well as pedestrians. Along the routes people can expect activities like scavenger hunts, street games and cultural hubs.
The 2024 season launches Feb. 25 with a route on Melrose Avenue between Fairfax and Vermont avenues from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The eight event season continues through Dec. 8 with Sunday events in areas like Venice, Wilmington, Hollywood, Lincoln Heights, the San Fernando Valley and other neighborhoods.
“We see this as an opportunity to introduce people to new neighborhoods and to introduce neighbors to each other,” Burke said. “We hope people will feel the joy of the city of Los Angeles, of the county of Los Angeles. We hope people will feel more connected to each other and that they might think twice about driving short distances,” she added.
But before the streets close to cars the cans of beer will pop open with a Feb. 16 season launch event at Los…
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