A couple hundred riders at the start of the thirty six mile route.

Yesterday was the LACBC’s 9th Annual River Ride, which doubles as a major fundraiser for the Bike Coalition and a heck of a bike party in Griffith Park.  As normal, a couple thousand people showed up ready and eager to pay $50 for some schwag and a chance to ride the streets and bike paths of L.A to show their support for the LACBC and better, safer cycling in Los Angeles.

Despite sponsorships from the offices of County Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky, Gloria Molina and Don Knabe and City Council Members Eric Garcetti, Wendy Greuel, Jose Huizar, Tom LaBonge, and Ed Reyes; the only politico I saw was Councilman Richard Alarcon’s Media Director Becca Doten who exchanged a quick chest bump with Josef Bray-Ali at the Five Mile Marker before pedaling away.  To be fair, me and my mom took the thirty-six mile loop together, so for all I know Yaroslavsky and Molina could have been rolling along in a tandem bike together on the long road to Long Beach, but somehow I doubt it.

(Edit: Ubrayj02 says he saw Council Member Ed Reyes zoom past in the early morning.  I stand corrected)

While I was there with my camera, I’d love a better shot for the "Eyes on the Street" caption below, so please forward on your own pics to damien@streetsblog.org or leave links in the comments section.  In the meantime, you can check out my pics at the Streetsblog Flick Pool.