To Live & Ride in L.A has been around the world and has one final screening in Australia before coming home to the good ol’ US of A.

This one is going to be good. Our friends over at Treadly bike shop in Adelaide, Australia are presenting the film with an alleycat to benefit the Japanese earthquake victims. Check out the poster, Aussies have a good sense of humor…

It’s going down this Sunday if you are in the Adelaide area, or if we all want to pitch in to buy JTR roundtrip airfare I think he can win this one.

Big thanks to Treadly and all the folks in Australia that have been emailing us about the DVD – it’s coming soon! Hope you enjoy the film.

- TRAFIK

This is a cool piece created by David Rowe about the Brimstone Ridazz who are featured in To Live & Ride in L.A.

Here is what David Rowe had to say about it…
Hey everyone I’m really excited for the long awaited upcoming release of To Live & Ride in L.A. which is coming up just around the corner. In the meantime check out this video I did for Vimby about the Brimstone Ridaz who are featured throughout TL&R. It was good to work with the guys again and also include some footage we shot before that didn’t get used in the feature film. Anyway enjoy, and I promise this movie will be out before you know it!

Stay tuned for more updates on To Live & Ride in L.A., including where to cop a DVD – THIS SUMMER!

The Chubby Boob “Revenge of the Nerds” race went down in Riverside this past weekend. It was a great way to kick off the racing season with a really fun college themed race thrown by Chubby Boob, ACE, TOLA and Two Rabbits Studios.

Riders had to hit multiple checkpoints where there was a panty raid, beer pong, and a paintball shooting gallery. Each racer was “graded” depending on when they arrived and if they could earn “extra credit”. The race manifests were report cards. Whose crazy ideas was this again?

Although some people got turned around on the unfamiliar streets, it ended up being an awesome event with great weather, clear streets, and a gang of fools showing up to rep LA. Great job putting together such a fun event. Check out some pics from Chubby Boob blog and TRAFIK Flickr.

WWW.TOLIVEANDRIDEINLA.COM now available in Japanese for all our readers in Japan and those uber-hipster-trilingual kids from L.A. that can order their dragon rolls in Japanese. Maybe it was a practical functionality to add, but mostly it just looks cool!

btw, we have mixi page too: http://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=5299115

And while we’re at it, here’s a previously unreleased video we made when Rick went out to Cyclemode in Tokyo. The video features Tomity, Nasty, and Rick checks out a bike polo session too. We love Japan.

To all our supporters, sponsors, believers, FB & Twitter followers, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Origin

This Mellow Monday’s article’s name sake was inspired by a ride a few of my friends hosted out of my buddy’s shop on Melrose called Capsole. The shop was ran by two really close friends of mine, Jay and Cicero. When i started commuting to work i would pass by their shop every day. Ever so often i would see some one riding a track bike in side one of the shoe stores that lined melrose. At the time it was rare to see another person commuting let alone on a track bike.

Jay

As time went on I would cruise by, give them the hand wave and they would wave back. One of the times on my way back home from work, Cicero waved me down because of the obvious common ground, Track Bikes. We’ve been pals ever since. Cicero had that energy about him. I guess Mellow Mondays wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for this guys desire to ride. He encouraged Jay who at the time was bikeless to get one. Like a snowball the numbers kept growing. We saw more and more people commuting down Melrose. Cicero had this ability to attract people that were jazzed on bikes.

Cicero
Mellow Mondays was the least serious ride out there. It was an outlet for most to relieve the ails of working retail on the block. The rides never had a consistent type of ride, ranging from exploring our city to hanging out in parks knocking a couple back. It was fun. It was always fun. I mean the slogan “Spin Spokes and Tell Jokes” spawned from Cicero. AND DON’T FORGET THAT!

The thing i liked about this ride the most was how it grew by word of mouth. Friends brought friends in. And I’m sure that is how a lot of rides started. When this ride started, i would have never imagined that cycling in LA would be the way it is today. But then again, cycling does carry an energy behind it. Judging by the growth, it’s a positive energy that I would love to watch grow.

I would like to thank all those that went on Mellow Mondays. All of you have made a strong impression in my life. In the near future, i would love to spin spokes and tell jokes with yous guys.

As you are getting ready for your holiday feast, on the other side of the planet they are preparing for another type of extravaganza…the Australian Premiere of To Live & Ride in L.A.!!!

TRAFIK is happy to be screening as part of the Melbourne Bikefest, a multi-day event bringing the Aussie cycling community together. From their site… “By showcasing the breadth of bike culture in Melbourne, we want to break down stereotypes around bike riding and celebrate it for what is really is – a fundamentally good way to get around.”

This is going to be a unique screening sponsored by our friends at Little Mule Co., a really cool bike shop/cafe in the heart of Melbourne. They are closing down the “lane” (Aussie for alley) to build an outdoor screening venue The Laneway Cinema. Come early, the show is FREE and I’m not sure how many people a lane holds (kinda fuzzy on the alley to lane conversion).

It’s summer in Australia, so it’s perfect timing for the folks down under to see how we do it when it’s hot outside.

Cache Uno

When you become familiar with your route you start to notice repeating characteristics that stick out in your mind. For me it’s a few things, the Day Laborors at the hardware store, the Nurses smoking cigarettes at Kaiser/Childrens Hospital, and then i’m fianlly greeted by that mural above. A mural Cache and Toons did behind the shop. The mural was painted when Orange 20 took over the furniture store on the corner. I’m very blessed to be surround with such grand murals while i’m at work.

When it comes to the familiar, Cache’s murals are something that are familiar to a lot of cyclists that commute around Los Angeles and Downtown LA. Between Orange 20 and downtown there are countless Murals that are painted by Cache and his Friends. Scenes that have subtle politcal undertones often accompanied by EyerOne and Colorful landscapes with fellow artists such as Kofie. One of the reason Cache stuck out in my mind was seeing a reoccurring theme of cycling. The piece on Sunset before Alvarado sticks out in my mind.

Cache is well traveled recently visiting places such as Mexico City and Guatemala Painting with local artists. During his travels, he and his wonderful girfriend Erin have done acts of philanthropy such as donating bicycles to a family in Guatemala (pictured below).

He also has had his share of art shows, displaying works along side artists like, Mear One, Shepherd Fairy, David Flores, Will Manville (another personal favorite), and Two Rabbits Studios.

His murals are a apart of the bicycle community just as much as the sharrows on the streets of LA. What do you encounter on your route that sticks out in your mind?

Photos From the sleepers and Rock.Paper.Scissors

if you want to see more of Cache’s work, click here.

TRAFIK proudly supports the 3rd annual Thanksgiving Race that featured rider Hern and the VCR (Venice Chill Ride) crew is holding this Tuesday. Registration Opens at 7:30pm Tuesday, November 23rd at the Windward Circle in Venice Beach, Ca. Race will start at 8:15 SHARP. See his post for full details here.

Griffith Park

I remember the first time i rode around Griffith Park. We were shooting Kyle’s section for TL&R. After climbing the back side I remember thinking to my self, i never want to ride here again. At the time, I had never encountered a climb like that. Since then, i think i’ve rode around the park at least twice a month. It grew on me and I fell in love. It’s a great place to break the monotony of street lights and honking cars.
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