alicestrong

So Much to See, So Little Time: The Jewels of San Gabriel Valley


Pull out your calendar and mark the date for C.I.C.L.E.'s Urban Expedition Bicycle Ride to the San Gabriel Valley on Saturday, May 24 at 10am. We encourage riders of all ages and abilities to join this leisurely and inspiring journey that explores the best hidden jewels of El Monte and South El Monte. The League Certified Bicycle Instructors of C.I.C.L.E. will partner with the expert guides of Amigos de los Rios to lead riders through the vision for the Emerald Necklace, an interconnected greenway that will unify parks and open space along the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel rivers. Other must-see stops include the 'pearls' inside Whittier Narrows. Next, take a rest and enjoy some fresh, organic foods under the shade trees at Earthworks Community Farm, where a personalized tour will be given of the organic gardens and farmers market. The 'Jewels of San Gabriel Valley' ride gives locals a chance to connect with your neighbors, stretch your legs, and to ask honest questions about the future of your community green space.

This ride is a recreational social event open to all skill levels. The ride will begin at the El Monte Bus Station and wind through the streets and bike paths of El Monte and South El Monte. The pace of the ride is relaxed and easy, and beginning bicyclists should feel free to join the ride. The ride is lead by experienced cyclists. The ride will end back at El Monte Bus Station. Riders are reminded to bring water and have their bikes inspected for safety.
The Jewels of San Gabriel Valley ride is a part of Urban Expeditions program, a monthly ride series of community-focused bicycle rides aimed at getting people out of their cars and onto their bikes for a cleaner, greener city. The Urban Expeditions series is made possible in part by REI.

Fresh, organic snacks are provided by Bon Appetit and Earthworks Community Farm.

Where: Meet at El Monte Bus Station
Who: C.I.C.L.E., Amigos de los Rios, and You!

alicestrong

This ride Saturday is going to be fun. We're going to ride about ten miles along the Bosque del Rio Hondo through all that kind of wild, overgrown area and around the lake, too...

East Hill

Is it going to be hot? The shade from the bridge looks quite enticing!

What kind of birds do you see in and along the route?

East Hill

alicestrong

Oh East Hill! Hi there!

This weekend is going to be really nice, I think. All the heatwave is over for now...much better for biking.

There are so many birds on this route. Great Blue Heron, Red Tailed Hawk, Snowy Egrets, pelicans. Oh ducks of course, lol!

That's one of the really nice things about this area.

East Hill

We managed to get up to a record 89 degrees about three days ago. Now it's back to 58 degrees .

You guys are much tougher than I am if you can even think about riding a bike anywhere past 85 degrees .

East Hill

nekohime

OOOOH. I'm so gonna try to drag teh BF to go, but he doesn't have a decent bike. I can lend him my brother's crap Walmart MTB but it might be a little too small for him. The other choice is to dust off his old MTB he hasn't ridden in years and give it a little tune-up. Hmmm...

East Hill

I like the dust off old MTB and tune up idea...

East Hill

nekohime

Or I can bug a neighbor and borrow a bike from them...lol

alicestrong

The history behind the construction of the parks is fascinating...

Placid Casual

I was just thinking of those three lines tonight, and now here they are on my screen. And for that I give this thread a free bump.

alicestrong

This happened this morning...right in front of the El Monte Station where we leave from tomorrow morning...

https://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,7411154.story

I went by the farm to drop off some donated water and Farmer Eddie told me he just happened to drive by the scene in the morning and saw the cyclist covered with a tarp...

alicestrong

Ride at 10AM still on...
Bosque Del Rio Hondo: South El Monte


Preview: The Bosque Del Rio Hondo Park (Spanish for “forest of the deep river”) is a 5-acre park within the 277-acre Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, a lush and wild natural area with excellent bird-watching in the riparian wetlands. The original San Gabriel Mission was established here in 1771; in 1775, after a flood and fire, the mission was relocated to its present location, above the floodplain, in today’s city of San Gabriel. In recent years, the area has been known as Marrano Beach, an unofficial local hangout. Like other areas behind flood-protection dams, the site features an un-concreted, relatively natural streambed. In addition to the Rio Hondo, which flows year round, the site also features seasonal creeks: Mission Creek and Butterfly Creek. It is plentiful with critters, including herons, coots, ducks, hawks, turkey vultures, rabbits, turtles, frogs, and even (harmless) gopher snakes.

nekohime

How was it? I was too sleepy/hungover-ish to go, although I did wake up at 7:30am.

alicestrong

It was a really good ride. I was just live on Killradio.org talking about it.

We had maybe 40?45? riders? The sun actually came out.

nekohime

Haha, I hid under the covers when the sun came up.

alicestrong

Pictures from digablesoul are up...

https://www.midnightridazz.com/artist...Id=408&pgnum=1

roadfix

excellent!