Alas, it’s time for me to take a bit of a break from writing on this website.  I have all sorts of fun things happening right now that require more of my bandwidth; not least of which is my new foray into the bowels of SEM and large scale implementations for international resellers.  This is a new chapter and I’m attacking it with full force.  Once I get settled, I’ll be back here again writing about all things tech.  One thing I can predict is that my working knowledge of SEM will balloon to new levels.

Until then, thanks for reading and know that I’ll be back soon.

When people think of “bike cities” they think of Portland and Boulder.  What they don’t know is that cities like Long Beach, California are listening to the needs of its citizens and taking action by making Long Beach the most bike friendly city in the USA.  Not only does this resonate with life-long residents, bike commuters and kids, but also with the fastest growing bike segment in the USA- fixed gear bike riders.

The reality is that the fixed gear phenomenon has been alive and well in Long Beach for many years (like in most major cities) and these riders spend the majority of their time cycling the streets.  Though not all fixed gear riders are angels, many in the Long Beach area subscribe to the adage of “live and let live”.  There is no arbitrary beef with other cyclists and motorists.  These riders, like all cyclists, just want to feel safe when going to the office, heading to class, to spending time with their loved ones and having fun with friends .  Safety is normally not the first thing cyclists (of any type) as they venture out into the city as illustrated by a verbal harassment my buddy and I experienced this evening by a fellow Long Beach resident when riding (within the law, I may add) to a local retailer, “Go get some brakes, fags.”  Though that does not represent the view of all residents in Long Beach, it does represent enough motorists that cyclists of all types feel nervous when riding around the city.

The good news is that thanks to a proactive city council and Charlie Gandy, the City of Long Beach’s Mobility Coordinator, residents and tourists are able to access more shops, offices and beaches via bicycle.  As a resident of Long Beach, technology professional, husband and avid cyclist I am amazed at the progress Charlie and the City of Long Beach have made.  Not only have they been able to bring cycling of all stripes together to create a solution, but they’ve been able to bring the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) to the discussion.  The good news is that the LBPD has made it clear that they want to ensure the safety of all the residents of Long Beach; cyclists included.  So, no longer is the LBPD “the man” out to hassle local cyclists or ignore their concerns as local, money-spending residents.

Last June Long Beach was the first city to implement green “sharrows” on the city streets.  Pictured below, green sharrows were installed in Long Beach to remind cyclists and motorists that the law states that bikes are required to be on the streets and not on the sidewalks.  This is a reality that most residents in most cities in the USA don’t realize.  Sometimes we need a small reminder.

Another initiative they have put into action that will come to fruition in the next few months is the Vista Bike Boulevard.  This is a special street that is being redesigned to accommodate pedestrians, motorists and cyclists.  They will install 7 traffic circles, decorative signage and diversion areas.  This will be the first of its kind in Southern California.

One of the key elements that the City of Long Beach and Charlie Gandy have identified is that cyclists spend money.  They’ve been able to convey that to local merchants.  The good news is that savvy merchants are listening and getting that famous “aha” moment.  They realize that in tough economic times consumers- cyclists, pedestrians or motorists- speak with their pocket books and want to support merchants that care about their customers.  Addressing the cyclists needs is just one of many ways merchants can benefit, but it is a way that many have not realized and are beginning to leverage.

My family, friends and colleagues support the work that Charlie Gandy and the City of Long Beach are doing.  After all, when we distill it down to the lowest common denominator they’re just making Long Beach a safer and more desirable place to live, work and play.

from L to R… chris prynoski (Titmouse), ollie green (Adult Swim), t-pain (Jive Records), carl jones (Iroko), monica jones (Iroko), nick weidenfeld (Adult Swim), jacob escobedo (Adult Swim)

What happens when one mixes a group of cagey animators and high profile hip hop stars in a venue with over 100 plasma TVs deep in the bowels of Hollywood?  Offspring caked in “ice” arguing about the powers of Dragon Ball Z?  Close, but not quite.  It’s more like a river of booze with high profile rappers slapping fives with some of the top artists in animation.  These are the types of parties Hollywood-based Titmouse animation studio throws.  Giddy up.

Last week I attended the Hollywood premiere of “Freaknik the Musical”.  This animated movie, airing on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, featuring the likes of Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain and Young Cash is quickly exploding across the country being called everything from a hood heater to a cult classic.  Apparently these types of projects fall into Titmouse’s wheel house and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Known for bringing  internationally famous projects like “Metalocalypse” to life through their animation, direction and production chops, Titmouse rubs elbows with the most unlikely mix of creative and influential people in Hollywood.  If they aren’t hanging out with Slash at their studio or having meetings with Disney execs, they are fine tuning their reality show project called 7200 Frames or destroying sh*t at one of their infamous Smashing Parties.

The Hollywood premiere of “Freaknik the Musical” is no exception to the enigma that surrounds Titmouse.  The evening was hosted at the plasma screen mecca called Capitol City Bar and was flush with music  and comedy celebrities like T-Pain, George Clinton, John Witherspoon (dad on the movie “Friday”), Christopher “Kid” Reid, Mr. Marcus, Gene “Poo Poo Man” Anderson and Affion Crockett.

The evening started with DJ Stefi spinning a hip hop mix of bangers, underground heaters and classics.  Just when the party was hitting the 300 person mark, the music faded and all eyes went to the mic.  Co-Creators Carl Jones (Co-Executive Producer of “Boondocks”) and Nick Weidenfeld welcomed the eager crowd.  Jones kicked it off by thanking Titmouse.  Weidenfeld followed by thanking Cartoon Network and Adult Swim and then passed the mic to T-Pain.

T-Pain is the voice of the main character in “Freaknik the Musical” that looks like a ghost monster from Pacman plastered with green dollar signs.  After speaking about his enthusiasm about working with Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Titmouse T-Pain gave the cue and and all 100 screens burst to life with the first public viewing of the movie.  The crowd went crazy.

I’m not sure how they did it, but Titmouse was able to convince hundreds of semi-drunk people in a club in Hollywood to stay quiet and watch a 45 minute animated movie.  It was like Grizzly Man and Steve Erwin came down from the heavens and did their uncanny mind melt on all of us.  However they managed to pull that off, they succeeded in hosting one of the most badass premieres in Hollywood.  So glad I was there.

For many of you that travel frequently for business, you know that weight loss or even a diet are things that don’t cross your mind.  Between getting your life back in order from the previous trip, assuring loved ones that you’ve got to take this trip and the pressure of closing the deal, there is not much time to address the fact that your pants or skirt don’t fit the way they used to.

There are any number of variables that can hinder you from making smart dining choices while you are on the road and go the opposite direction of weight loss.  Maybe you can’t find anything organic on the menu at the Sheraton in Atlanta or maybe it’s as fundamental as not having a predictable routine away from home.  Peter Greenburg, the author of The Traveler’s Diet:  Eating Right and Staying Fit on the Road, seems to think it’s the latter.

Listen up, businessmen.  He makes good points about changes in schedules and never knowing if you’re going to dinner at 7 across town or at 9 in the hotel.  That’s not even taking into consideration the cocktails you have before dinner or having to skip meals due to meetings.  But, as Green points out, it’s not all doom, gloom and kaboom to your waist line.

On his website, Greenburg points out some basic tips that fall into the “why didn’t I think of that category”.  And they don’t even involve that loaded term “diet”.   Here are some of his tips:

• Always make sure the break basket or chips and salsa is on the other side of the table.
• Eat only half the sandwich.  (I’ve been doing this a lot recently and it’s amazing how well this one works.)
• If you know that you’ve got a lunch scheduled, then load up on breakfast early with eggs or oatmeal.

Many of his points highlight the need for self control.  It’s basic, but it’s so difficult to do.  I recently spoke about this with one of the leading multisport coaches in the USA at Triathlon Training Systems.  We were chatting about one of his clients, “Joe”,  and he said that the biggest obstacle for him becomming faster was being able to “push away the plate” when he was eating.  Don’t finish everything on your plate.  It’s that simple.  Or is it?  I think about that now when I’m on the road.  It’s simple and it’s helping me me keep off the lbs.  What are you going to do on your next trip?

LA based art and object creators, Electroland, have outdone themselves with their creation of the Urban Nomad Shelter.  Not only does it provide a place for homeless people to sleep, it is pleasing to the eye like a piece of modern art.

If you’ve spent any time on any skid row or highway underpass in the world, you’d know that there is a need for the Urban Nomad Shelter.  Sure, it’s pleasing for the eye of the person driving by in a car, but it’s the only logical solution for housing the homeless on their terms.  Sometimes a homeless person may find an old camping tent, but they are heavy and difficult to transport.  This shelter enables the person to blow it up and deflate each day.

Since we all know municipal governments aren’t going to do much about the homeless problem other than issue tickets, this would at least help the community in which the homeless people are sleeping.  It would be a win-win, but not a solution.  Thanks for doing your part, Electroland.

What happens when Deckstar, Dirt Nasty, Andre Legacy and B-Real get together for a Gammy party?  Pandemonium.  We were out in Hollywood at My House for the Deckstar Grammy party.  The turnout was huge and the surprise entertainment was great.

The Cosmic Kids opened the evening.  They always manage to spin great disco/soul music with their modern touch.  The tone was set.  After that B-Real from Cypress Hill spun a set for a while.  He was spinning some old G Funk anthems and the crowd loved it.  Little did all of us know that he was going to surprise us with a quick rap performance too.  He still has the chops.

Then Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy got on stage to get the crowd crunk.  They got the job done. Dirt Nasty did his “1980″ track.  I think New York DJ phenom Jesse Marco went on after him.  I happened to run into and see a lot of people that night.

I ran into A Girl Like You and she so kindly provided the photos you see in this post.  Check out her photos on her site and get stoked..  We also saw some of the El B Si crew, Eminem’s manager, comedian David  E. Taylor, DJ Killer Cam, the founders of Gnar Caps and many other local mover and shakers.  For those of you that don’t know the depth of Deckstar’s artists check out this who’s who of world famous DJs:  Peanut Butter Wolf, Steve Aoki, Glitch Mob, the late DJ AM, Jazzy Jeff and many other big hitters.

Deckstar seems to be growing and growing.  They’ve carved a unique niche for themselves as the premier DJ management firm with street cred.  Between internationally respected DJs like Grand Master Flash and Jazzy Jeff, ties to Mikey Avalon, Dirt Nasty, Andre Legacy, Paris Hilton and driving the Hollywood party scene Deckstar is becoming a bigger force to be reckoned with.  Stay tuned.

I recently sat down with New Berlin at Intelligentsia in Silver Lake to talk about movies, world travel and his latest mixtape available for free download at Teleport Door.   Intelligentsia is the sort of place that stands out on Sunset in Silver Lake.  It, like its neighbor the Cheese Store of Silver Lake, represents the sleek foreshadow of what is to come in an area that is known for being equal parts grime and artsy.  It was the perfect backdrop for our conversation.

The Super Social mixtape is many things, but it is not contrived or boring.  Like his previous mixtapes, New Berlin ventures down a new road of uncategorizable sonic stylings.  The intro tracks lead the listener to believe the Super Social mixtape is a techno endeavor.  Don’t be fooled!  This mixtapes ebbs and flows from up-tempo electro to pop R&B to indie rock to vocal house.  This is the sort of mixtape one would hear at a club in Tokyo, Germany or Poland.  It was worth the wait.  Trust me.

The word here in Los Angeles is that Netflix is “entertaining” Hollywood’s idea of delaying new releases by 30 days.  Are they taking kazi shots in the boardroom of Netflix?  I must be missing something on this deal.  Why would Netflix, a key player in the decrapification of Hollywood lameness, decide that the best decision for their brand is to piss off its customers?

Stop the insanity.

I clearly understand that Hollywood studios have a responsibility to their shareholders/stakeholders to deliver a desirable P&L statement.  What I can’t understand is why Netflix feels that it’s a better idea to save some cash in the short term, rather than consistently “giving the people what they want”.

Let’s face it.  The Neflix service is a great convenience to anybody that has the ability to play a DVD at home.  Netflix is able to deliver convenient service, low subscription costs, on demand viewing via computer and a broader selection of videos than any other video store.  These are great value-adds to a video service, but there is something else going on.

Netflix is giving consumers what they want.  It’s that simple.  We, as humans, view brands and people in much the same way.  We love them if they stay consistently pleasant and provide us with what we want/need.  We turn our backs on them if they change in a way that we feel is out of integrity of their core values.

Like MG Siegler at Tech Crunch mentioned, Netflix would be making a risky move that could easily lump them in the Dumb and Dumber category.  What’s more, he postulates that this move could increase priracy in the DVD world.  Do you agree?  Or do you think MG and I are insane?

The one constant that all social media platforms share is their competition for more loyal, long term and active users.  How do these communities keep their existing users engaged, while simultaneously recruiting new users?  Yelp.com has an advantage over the other platforms and communities with which they compete.  Simply put, they have found the missing link.  Not only have they found it, they are working it like James Brown.

Experiential marketing is their secret.  Experiential marketing creates an emotional attachment with the brand via an in-person interaction or a contest of some sort.  Brands like Sprite and Scion have been doing this very well in the last 5-6 years, but social media companies have not fully embraced it at organization-wide levels; That is, except for Yelp.

Like any other area in marketing (yes, including social media), there has to be 100% buy-in at the top of the organization and an unwavering follow through by the staff when it comes to integrating an experiential strategy.  Yelp does this with aplomb via their official parties.  They have managed to fully bridge the gap between the digital and real worlds through their frequent and consistent parties and events.

It’s simple.  Yelpers (what Yelp calls their community members) feel important.  Taking it a step further, Yelpers truly feel like Yelp gives a damn about them.  They make it even more memorable by granting “Elite” users early and exclusive access to said parties and events.

I’ll give you one example of many that I have experienced with Yelp.  Last week they threw a party at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, California to “celebrate” Dia de Los Muertes.  The event was replete with fire dancers, DJ, face painting, free all-night tequila tasting, gratis draft beer, complimentary food from local restaurants, an ice cream truck giving away ice cream bars and an endless supply of Jarritos.  They let the Elite members privately enjoy the party before the rest of the Yelp community was allowed to enter.  In total there were easily 450 people there.

Think about that.  A social media company was able to bring together nearly 500 people at their party on the night before Halloween (one of the biggest party nights of the year).

The interesting part of all of this, is that this Dia de Los Yelpos party was not a 1-off event for them.  They do events like this all of the time all over the USA and London.  Yelpers have come to expect it and Yelp consistently delivers.  Too see how powerful and compelling these events are, this party has a full 5-star rating and has been reviewed more than 80 times in less than a week.  Put in context, local restaurants are thrilled to have 30 4-star reviews of their establishment over the course of a year.

Other social media brands are not delivering these types of experiences and cultivating legions of brand advocates and evangelists like Yelp.  You be the judge.  What’s more compelling to you as a human?

Free homemade Mexican food, organic tequila, meeting new people, tamarind Jarritos and fire dancing?

OR

An updated homepage featuring a newly shaped button?

Germany makes tasty beer.  The people are great and love David Hasslehoff.  Overall, they are direct, receive tons of vacation time and create sweet ideas like the bike carrier for commuter trains.  USA cities, like Los Angeles, better get out their notes pads.

Commuting via train with a bike is probably one of the most difficult things to do in Los Angeles when riding the MTA lines.  Between waiting to get your cell phone stolen from a bunch of gangsters that didn’t even purchase train tickets and watching a girl try and stab a boy with a steak knife on the platform of Wilmington Rosa Parks Station, it very difficult to balance a bike in tighlty packed cars.  The space where one can position a bike is the very space that all of the moms with strollers compete for positioning.  It’s tough going.

If the MTA slapped one of these big metal platforms onto their trains, commuter life in LA would be so much easier and we’d most likely see more people riding the train with their bikes.  That means more cash for the MTA.  Are you hearing this, MTA?

People that ride bikes know that that riding through the ports to get to and from the South Bay from Long Beach is a death sentence.  Others that want to ride from downtown LA to Long Beach or Norwalk know all too well that their loved ones would never see them again.  That leaves cars or dodgey trains.

It would be great if a city like Los Angeles and the MTA organization considered adding a few of these to trains.  What are your thoughts?  Would you like to see one of these on a train in LA?  I know I would.

Though YOUR mom is not a pro blogger.  It seems that everybody and THEIR mom wants to become a pro blogger in the blogging world.   At the first annual Wordcamp LA, blog guru and the brains behind Bloggers for Hire , Jim Turner was kind enough to give us the nuts and bolts of what it takes to “go pro” in the blog world.

He began with his take on blogger skill sets.  “Those of you that run your own blog have a valuable commodity that companies want,” he exuberantly declared.   If you are like me, you think all the value is in your earth shatteringly amzaing quips and copywriting ability.   Though your content has to be top shelft, he contends that understanding how to actually use a blog is a valuable thing.

Hey!  He has a point.  Try this test.  Ask your smartest or most successful  friend what CMS platform they like the most and what hosting service is their favorite.  See where Big Jim is going with this?

He then went on to talk about how blogging is “participatory marketing”.  The person writing the blog articles has to be interested in the topic, engaging, understand branding and marketing.  That’s a no-brainer, right?  Well, not as much as one would think.  That is illustrated by a great rhetorical question he posed over and over again:

Why would a company leave their online marketing intiatives to an intern or a receptionist?

That’s a damn good question.  Sadly, we all know the answer.  How many companies can you name off the top of your head that have entrusted a 20 year old that is “good at MySpace” to run their social media and blogging activities?

I digress.

Becoming a pro blogger has a bit of a recipe, it turns out.  There are five key areas in which a blogger must be proficient.  Jim laid it out for us and I have listed it below:

1. Content:  Writing, videocast, podcast, livecast
2. Evangelist:  Passion and a message
3. Conversing:  Comments, email, networks
4. Monitoring:  Data Mining, conversations
5. Reporting:   Analytics

That’s it.  That’s all it takes to become a professional blogger.  Ahhhhh, I wish it were that simple.   It’s a craft that one continues to refine over time.   No longer can people dismiss bloggers as people that simply puke-out their opinions.

To what blogs are you addicted?  Which ones really deliver some tasty morsels?

Micah Baldwin is the sort of speaker with which  audiences can truly connect.  Listening to Micah speak about “Failure is Job One” at the first annual Wordcamp LA is like having a pint of beer with him.  He served-up his topic with 2 parts sincerity, 1 part off-the-cuff and zero parts  BS.

Micah (”mee-hah”) is best known for creating “Follow Fridays” on Twitter in addition to his work with Lijit .  He was quick to set the record straight by declaring, “Follow Friday’s was the result of my failure to connect friends via Twitter.”  He had my attention.

He went on to talk about how to fail and the rules of blogging, but his overarching message still rings in my head:

Failure is a process.  A failure is an event.

Losing is an ending.  A loser is a person.

Take a second to think about that.  His point was that failure is part of the journey to success.  It’s just an event in one’s personal or professional trek.  It doesn’t define us.  Rather, it helps season us with wisdom to help us better achieve our goals.  Ah, that’s the catch!  We have to have goals clearly defined before we can chalk-up any events as a “falure” or “success”.  Do’h!

This point is relevant to brand managers, marketers, mothers, entreprenuers, employees and any other human.  If we’re not setting goals and willing to experience failures, then we have eliminated any possiblity of success.   That sounds pretty grim, huh?  I didn’t think so either.

Are you setting goals for your personal life?  Are you setting goals at work?  The reality is that most of us don’t set and measure our goals, failures and successes.  You need to start if you want to experience real success as an individual and/or as part of a team.    What does this have to do with a blog or social media or you as a person?

It means that we need to screw things up once in a while.  We need to drop the ball with a loved one, feel the sting and learn from it.  We need to insert our feet in to our mouths in a social network, feel the the sting and learn from it.  We need to write crap blog posts that people hate, feel the sting and learn from it.

At the end of the day, if we are not evolving, then we are devolving in our jobs and in our lives.

Have some stories about a major screw up from which you gained a tremendous of wisdom or “never going to do that again”?

It’s official.  The first annual WordCamp LA was a success. Ben Huh, founder of FAIL Blog and I Can Has Cheezburger, had a large hand in making that a reality.

I, along with everybody else it seemed, didn’t know what to expect from his lecture.  In all honesty, I was torn:  Do I go “glitz” and attend Ben’s or do I go “uber value” by attending Darren Rush’s session on search and improved performance.

I chose “glitz” and listend to Ben Huh work the crowd like a pro.  I’m so thrilled that I did.

One of the most important elements of his lecture was his insistence that tricks, bells & whistles and sweet plugins aren’t necessarily the key ingredients that comprise the coveted, secret internet guru sauce.  Rather, removing oneself from the bottleneck within one’s brand or blog  combined with keeping things as simple and as free as possible will ramp-up success more quickly and with more desireable results.

Let’s cut the bs.  You ARE the bottleneck.

The overarching message was “you have a major opportunity to run your brand or blog better than you are currently.  Wake up, simplify, be yourself and have fun.”  Sounds like it was puked straight ouf of the mouth of some “dot slob” person that made it big in the late 1990s choking down a Double Gulp of Mountain Dew, right?  Wrong.  By applying Huh’s attitude towards business and growth, one’s ability to be transparent, honest and trustworthy is enhanced 1o-fold.  If  trust can be built, people will be more apt to spend cash on your service or product, surf your blog, retweet your content, etc.

Regardless of what you think about his business philosophy, you can’t deny that all 26 of their websites (including FAIL blog and Icanhascheezburger) account for 12% of all of Wordpress’ traffic, they receive 1 BILLION page views per month and that they pay $Zero for advertising.

Here are the highlights from his session.

• Learn how to cache properly
• Create a brand or blog that is scalable
• You are the bottleneck
• Keep your lazy attitude (I’m doing that right now by simply posting my notes)
• Users care about what THEY want, not what you think
• Who are you trying to impress?!
• Don’t make people register, unless they want to vote
• User generated content is the future
• Before hiring another person, make sure you have a consistent 500,000 page views / month
• When possible, pay your moderators

At the end of the day, knowing and understanding what to do is much different than real world, first-hand application.  Make mistakes.  Screw up.  All of that knowledge will eventually evolve into wisdom that will help guide you to success(s).

What are your thoughts on Ben Huh’s opinions on business?  Have you already applied some of what he’s saying?

#benhuh? #wordcampla

Leaving a trail of energized bloggers and speakers in its wake, the 1st Wordcamp LA, hosted by Wordpress, has come and gone like a toothless, sweaty caravan of carnies.  Austin Passy and the crew at Wordcamp LA couldn’t have selected a better venue for the kickoff to what attendees hope will be an annual event.

It was my first time visiting the LMU campus in Playa (Playa del Rey), though I’ve driven by it no fewer than 500 times since I’ve been living in LA.  Once I arrived it appeared to be a bit of a challenge to locate the registration table, but I quickly saw the Wordpress balloons and coffee table (not like the crappy Ikea table you have in your apartment) and was ready to get into the mix.  For what appeared to be a modest, grassroots event, Worpcamp LA packed a lot of punch.  So high was the caliber of attendees, speakers and organizers that I’d be remiss if I were to try and stuff all of its goodness into a single post.

I’ll follow this post with three successive articles about the sessions I attended (Ben Huh, Co-founder of FAIL blog and Icanhascheezburger.com; Micah Baldwin, of Lijit and Follow Fridays fame; Jim Turner, founder of One By One Media).  Though there were other panels that people raved about, I was only able to squeeze in a whopping three.  In the meantime, I think its worthknowing who was there and about what they spoke.  Check out the list of speakers below:

#wordcampla #benhuh #Genuine #brendon

A few weeks ago LA showed its true colors when a group of gangbangers in the Highland Park area of East Los Angeles shot a cyclist in the back.  Every few weeks the Midnightridazz, a bike enthusiast group, gathers to take part in themed mass bike rides across East LA, Hollywood, downtown LA, Silver Lake and Echo Park.  Known to last until the wee hours of the morning, these rides are made up of hundred of bike riders.  Unfortunately, last Friday’s “Neverland Ride” turned out to be more like the “Straight outta Compton, crazy muthaf&^%@# named Ice Cube” ride.

The sad truth is that on most of these rides there is a large percentage of people working on a buzz or already drunk as hell riding fixed gear bikes with no breaks, breaking traffic laws and/or wearing costumes.  One could see how a 300 person ride like this could get out of hand quickly.  But, did all of that culminate into the shooting on July 10th?  Nobody knows.

As the group was riding through Highland Park (an area most people won’t walk through in the daytime), bottles began to fly from a house on the corner.  The street was littered with broken glass, making it difficult for the bikes to get through.  This split the large group of cyclists.

After word spread ahead that a female cyclist had fallen or been knocked down, many riders went back to check on her.  That’s when the trouble started.  Approximately 10 gangbangers ceased throwing bottles at the cyclists in the street and began beating riders and stealing their bikes.  One of the gangsters had a shovel and was threatening to hit people.  That’s when things escalated.

One of the riders yanked the shovel from the hands for the thug and yelled, “What’s up now!!!????”  In the following seconds other gangsters and riders exchanged punches.  Next, the rider holding the shovel found himself facing a black 22 caliber handgun.  As the rider turned to run, the gangbanger shot him in the back.

Apparently the backpack the rider was wearing helped slow down the bullet; keeping it from lodging into his spine.  The police arrived in a few minutes and were now faced with a gunshot victim and a standoff with the thugs.  The police stayed camped out in front of the house until early morning.  Eventually, there were able to apprehend all of the gangsters and return the bikes to the owners.

About these rides…

Midnight Ridazz and other rides like them across Los Angeles garner polar opposite responses from the bike and non-cycling community when asked about them.  To some, these rides are an excuse for people to rebel and cause traffic problems and proclaim “bikes have rights too”, though this mantra is illustrated by incessant violation of traffic laws.  To others, these sorts of rides are a way to “wake up” drivers in a city that is infested with car drivers that feel cyclists have no right to be on the road.  What’s more, some cyclists feel this is their way of showing that they’re fed up and  tired of being hit by cars or run off the road by malicious or irresponsible drivers.

It’s important to note that this is not a cyclists vs. automobiles situation.  Many riders in the LA cycling community frown upon these sorts of rides, as they feel they drive a wedge further between the cyclists and drivers.  To some it forces an unneeded tug-of-war.  To others it creates a necessary discomfort that is needed to force motorists to learn that they don’t own the road.

Either way, this is the sort of Los Angeles we love. Viva Venice Beach.