Santa Monica to Debut a 'Bicycle Campus' on Earth Day

Where did you first learn how to ride a bicycle? For me it was a sidewalk outside my house; luckily, I never took a wobbly b-line into the street full of cars. Now if I'm ever in the position to be teaching someone, I can send them to an alternative in Santa Monica.

For Earth Day this Sunday, the city will introduce its permanent bicycle campus, which is being touted as a first for the Los Angeles area. The facility "is an off-street learning area for people of all ages and abilities to become confident about their riding skills," explains a news release. "It features a skills course where users can learn and practice bicycle riding, handling, and street skills with the aid of educational displays.""The Santa Monica Bike Campus isn't quite as elaborate as the 'traffic gardens' used in the rigorous bike education programs of the Netherlands, but it's a pretty good start," notes Gary Kavanaugh on L.A. Streetsblog. "The facility is meant to provide a dedicated space for local LCI (League Certified Instructors), and area schools to teach bike safety principles in a safe space before working up to lessons involving live traffic."

The campus is located south of Ocean Park Boulevard at Santa Monica State Beach. Opening festivities start at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday April, 22 followed by bike training from 1 to 3 p.m.