CicLAvia: San Pedro Meets Wilmington

Cycle along 7 miles of closed-to-cars streets while enjoying cool neighborhoods dotted with special activities.

An open street, one that has no zooming cars but, rather, a good number of pedestrians and cyclists toodling down the center of the road?

That's something we might see, very rarely, at neighborhood block parties, the kind of get-togethers that close a cul-de-sac to traffic. But to witness several miles of major thoroughfares in a car-free state, one must look to an open-street event.

And the one that is billed as "...the largest event of its kind in the United States & a leader in the global open streets movement" is pedaling in this direction for its next out-sized outing.

It's CicLAvia, which first pedaled into LA, and into the hearts of hundreds of thousands of new fans, in the fall of 2010. Now happening a few times a year, in various parts of Southern California, the open-streets event welcomes anyone who wants to roll or stroll for a day of free, neighborhood-acquainting, exercise-getting fun.

Next up, on Sunday, Aug. 13? It's San Pedro Meets Wilmington, a first for the pedal-through party. And as with every other CicLAvia, it is free to join.

The stretch, though it isn't along a single street, will cover seven miles, so getting an early start is a solid idea.&

Plus you'll want to check out the specials and goings-on along the way. Hojas Tea House in Wilmington will be giving out gratis tea samples, and there'll be a jazz band, too, performing in the early afternoon. And at the Burrito Factory in San Pedro? Oh yeah: Burritos stuffed with beans and cheese will be a buck.

The Scene

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A quartet of hubs along the way will feature activities and a host of helpful services for participants, like places to get a kid's helmet fitted (for free) and phone-charging stations. Turn your handlebars toward Banning Park Hub, Wilmington Waterfront Hub, Port of LA Hub, and Pacific Avenue Hub, though you might want to see what each hub offers before swinging by.

The route, and all of the places you may want to stop? There's a downloadable map, and it comes with a lot of the features of the event.

As for those hours? Spokes'll be sparkling from 9 a.m. to 4 o'clock on what looks to be a perfectly perfect, water-close, get-to-know-a-new-(or-beloved)-area kind of summer Sunday.

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