Movies, Exercise, Pals: Bike Week Pasadena

Several days of cycle-sunny social engagements dot the Crown City calendar.

Just about everyone knows that one person who, in anticipation of a huge event on the horizon with many guests throws a bit of a practice party a few weeks in advance, the better to get the cake-baking down, the party favors just so and the placement of the hi-fi in the den.

We might, in a charming and light-hearted way, think of Pasadena as such a person, and the 100,000-person-strong CicLAvia as the huge celebration on approach.

But to call Bike Week Pasadena a practice run for CicLAvia would do a serious disservice to this fizzy 'n fun event, one that could well serve as a well-planned, bike-knowledgable beacon to other cities looking to start up their own Bike Weeks.

This year's Bike Week gets into gear on Sunday, May 10; picks up speed, like one does zooming down a big hill, throughout the week and wraps on Saturday, May 16. In the wicker basket on the front of this bicycle? A Taste of Pasadena Restaurant Bicycle Tour, Women's Bike Night, Bike to Work Day, a Bike-In Movie Night, and a Pedal Party to bid all of the bike-y good times adieu.

By the by, three guesses as to what the movie might be at Bike-In Movie Night, which happens on Friday, May 15? Okay, one guess shall suffice: It's "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial," one of the few films where the flying spaceship is out-wowed by a flying bicycle earlier in the movie.

C.I.C.L.E. -- Cyclists Inciting Change thru Live Exchange -- is the organizer of this get-to-know-your-fellow-cyclists week, a week that is also about bike safety and the benefits of rolling by two wheels to your next destination.

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As for CicLAvia Pasadena? That sets out on the final day of May. And we'll say it again: Bike Week Pasadena is not the early-in-the-month prep for the sure-to-be-ginormous bicycle bash at the close of the month.

They're both distinct, with Bike Week boasting happenings over several days while CicLAvia pedals on one. But that Pasadena is the relaxed host for both further reminds us that the Crown City's transportation icons are more than just the New Year's Day floats.

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