The Bike Oven shop will be closed tonight. The volunteer crew from the Bike Oven has a bunch of stuff we have to figure out, and tonight is the night to get things settled for next month - which is looking to be a doozy.
You can check out tonight’s meeting agenda or you can check out our Management Meeting Page and bore yourself with the minutia of trying to run a bicycle repair collective
Bike Oven wrench, jraspa, holds a bicycle frame as one of our newest DIY bike builders hammers a new headset into place.
Since moving to our new location in mid-August of 2007, the Bike Oven has grown and mutated into something I never imagined possible. Our main focus, since having a long beer-influenced talk with Lars Lehtonen (the founder of bikeboom.com) years ago in my garage, has been on helping people who ride bikes. Our mission used to be to provide tools and a social network for people who are already wrapped up in cycling.
Things have started to change - and now we have been able to attract a steady trickle of non-bicycle geeks into the world of bicycle repair, social bike rides, parties, and our L.A. cycling scene’s culture of inclusion.
| November 27, 2007 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
Bike Oven regulars Manny, Brian, and Arthur hanging out behind the front desk on Sunday, November 4, 2007.
Meeting to take place on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 7 p.m.
Sorry about this cyclists, but the Bike Oven will be closed on Thursday, November 22, 2007.
We all hope you enjoy today, if you’re with your family or not.
If you get bored, and want to go for a ride, you can join some of the Cub Camp tonight on their “Friends of the Friendless” ride.
| December 8, 2007 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
This month’s Spoke(n) Art Ride is brought to you by “The Transient Landscape” - a photographic exhibition at the Bike Oven that will be up until the end of December. The exhibition will have its opening on the same night that the Spoke(n) Art Ride takes place.
| December 2, 2007 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 3:00 pm |
The Bike Oven, on behalf of the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, participated in the 2006 NELA Christmas Parade.
On Sunday, December 2, 2007 the North East Los Angeles Christmas Parade is going to slowly make its way down Figueroa Street in Highland Park. In 2006 a contingent of cyclists from the Bike Oven rode in the parade, handing out decorated children’s bicycles along the way.
We’ve been asked to participate in this year’s event, and after filling out a parade entry form, all we need is a group of cyclists willing to join us as we spread “Peace Around the World!” (the theme of this year’s parade).
Continue reading ‘Wheels of World Peace in NELA Christmas Parade’
A packed house took in the cabaretera classic “Aventurera” with a side of Tecate and Mexicali Hot Dogs .
With art from the last opening still up on the walls, a tool rack full of half broken bike tools, and spare tires hanging from hooks to the rear, a dedicated crew of cyclists set up a screen and projector at the Bike Oven this past Sunday evening - and my what a show they put on.
This month’s event was primarily organized by Wonder Dave (of the amazing Eagle Rock based duo Crespin and Wonder Dave), with large assists from Crespin, Black Lady Sidekick, and the projector slangin’ mediterranean we all love, Marino. Ratt_Bones of the Bike Oven spent part of his evening hooking up a screen that can be set up and put away quickly - and it really helped make the film more visible to more of the room.
You can read about the film, “Aventurera” and the screening by visiting either the Bike-In Theater event post for “Aventurera” or the Midnight Ridazz event post.
On top of all the movie watching going on, the Bike Oven was open (from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.) for open shop time, and we had a pretty steady flow of traffic in the door. We’ll be open on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evening this week for shop hours from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
I am always amazed with how quickly this place turns into so many different things. I hope that next month’s Bike-In Theater keeps bringing more folks into the fold, and keeps on building bicycle culture.
A big thanks to everyone involved in tonights screening, and thank you to all who came!
| November 18, 2007 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
Cabaret or … whorehouse? If only poor Elena had known the difference!
Bike-In Theater at the Bike Oven this month will feature a rarely seen classic Mexican Melodrama “Aventurera” (Adventuress). The film is in En Espanol with English subtitles.
This 1950 black-and-white outrageous masterpiece is a film that would make Pedro Almodovar proud. Young, virginal, Elena seeks revenge from those who forced her to transform from goody two-shoes into an immoral slut by tricking her into working at a cabaret/bordello. This movie has thrilling twists and turns, high drama, as much sex as you can pack into a 1950 film with musical cabaret numbers that have to be seen to be believed.
You can find more information in this Bright Lights Film Journal article on “Aventurera”.
$3 donation requested at the door.
Also available: Mexicali Dogs, Cheap Coronas, and Sangria.
The doors open at 6:30 p.m., the film starts at 7:30 p.m.
If you’d like to discuss this with others, check out the Midnight Ridazz forum post for this month’s film.
The Bike Oven is located at 3706 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90065.
The Situation:
For at least the last two months the L.A. River bike path, which runs from Fletcher Dr. in Atwater Village to Victory Blvd. in Burbank (at least the main portion does) has been dark. Even with top quality bike lights, this is a very dangerous situation for anyone that rides the path at night. Not only is it just dark, but the headlights from northbound I-5 traffic are blinding, creating a double threat.
There are lights all along this portion of the path, but vandals have busted open the access panels and stolen the highly sought after copper wiring to sell for scrap. Copper prices have risen and apparently you can get quite a bit of money for it in various forms. Despite pleas for help, the city, more specifically The Bureau of Street Lighting has failed to solve the problem.
So far inquiries to the Bureau Of Street Lighting have accomplished NOTHING. Their answer is that they have attempted to fix the lights, only to have the copper wiring stolen again. They are basically giving us the bureaucratic two step and not making this a priority. Surely with all of the city’s resources, they can come up with a solution quickly, before someone gets hurt…or worse.
What Can We Do About It?:
Bureau of Street Lighting
1149 S. Broadway, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90015
…until the problem is solved.
If this was on city street in a rich neighborhood, you can bet this would have been taken care of a long time ago. Apparently bicyclists are a low priority. Let’s change that people!!!
FOR MORE INFO - CLICK HERE
Spoke(n) Art Ride participants at the starting point for the November 2007 “We Lookin’ at Art” ride (photo: digablesoul).
This past weekend’s Spoke(n) Art Ride was a bit smaller than usual, but the spectrum of artistic expression on display during NELA Art’s Second Saturday was larger than ever.
Our first stop was at the confluence of the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco. These two bodies of water meet near the intersection of San Fernando Road and Figueroa Street under the 5/110 interchange. We had to scramble down the cement walls of the Arroyo to get to the confluence, bikes in hand.
It was night time, so our view of the recently created murals, pieces, throw-ups, and tags was hindered by low light. I gave up trying to take night time pictures in the river bed, but if you’d like to see images of the work take a look at a series of posts about the “Meeting of Styles” that took place in early October on the LA Weekly’s Lurker blog.
Sadly, about 300 yards of murals were destroyed by the Los Angeles County Public Works Department “buffer” - a middle aged latin american man driving a white pickup truck full of grey paint. On my way to work, I see him making his bi-monthly trips up and down the Arroyo buffing (painting over) all the graffiti along the Arroyo Bike Path. Sometimes, his wife is driving the truck while he sprays.
The sculpture above was created during the course of the evening by Brian - one of our Bike Oven shop regulars. It has since been disassembled - the objects it was made out will one day ride out the door as parts on working bicycles.
Once we extracted ourselves from the Arroyo, it was on to several other galleries. We ended at the Bike Oven - for our first group show, featuring a whole host of pieces, from oil paintings to pottery. We even had some on-the-spot work created by a Bike Oven regular during the course of the evening (see photo above). The show will run until December - so stop in during shop hours to check it out. Our show next month will be collection of photographs of the Los Angeles area. If nothing else, it promises to be a fun opening night party and an interesting exhibition.
If you’d like to see more photos from the evening, take a look at digablesouls’ Flickr photoset for the evening.
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