Long Beach Bicyclists Pedal Under the Full Moon

Erik Garcia helped start the monthly Moonlight Mash bicycle ride more than two years ago to encourage Long Beach bicyclists interested in pedaling around the streets at night.

The group’s co-founder, Johnny Tully, first encountered this concept of a monthly ride during while studying at the University of Oregon. What started out as nearly two dozen bicyclists has ballooned to more than 200 riders for some events.

“To be honest it’s kind of surreal,” Garcia said. “In the beginning, we were getting 20 people, which we thought was a lot.”

Garcia said most people fear riding alone at night because of hazardous motorists. Another motivation was the noticeable gap between people casually riding beach cruisers down the bike path and the long-distance cycling groups who speed along the Los Angeles River Trail.

Moonlight Mash rides encompass everyone from dads with their kids to a group of women who use the ride as their monthly meet-up, Garcia said.

Since the rides are free and volunteer-operated, Garcia relies on word of mouth and local artists who design monthly flyers for free. Local organizations like LBcycology Bike Collective and Pedal Movement are also key partners in these nighttime bike rides.

“I think 25 to 30 percent who ride with us are just people out eating and drinking and then they join us on the next ride,” he said. “We’re thrilled that other people love it as much as we do.”

Moonlight Mash’s next event is the Blue Moon Ride and kicks off at 7:45 p.m.  Jan. 31 at Bikestation, 223 E. 1st Street. Riders are encouraged to wear blue to celebrate the lunar event. Garcia said 2018 will actually see two blue moons- the next one will be March 31- which only happens once every 19 years.

Blue Moon Ride participants are encouraged to bring helmets and mounted lights. Anyone who doesn’t own a bike can rent one at a discounted rate from Long Beach Bike Share. For more information visit facebook.com/MoonlightMashLB.

About the Author

Shannon Jones has been selling real estate since 1998 and specializes in listing and marketing homes. She has consistently been one of the top Realtors in the Long Beach area. Prior to her award-winning career in real estate with the Shannon jones Team, Shannon has had successful careers in journalism and public relations. She holds a bachelors degree from UC Irvine and a masters degree from UC Berkeley. Shannon holds E-Pro, CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert), and PSC (Pre-Foreclosure Specialist) certifications. Shannon is very personable and maintains a very strong moral compass, always putting the best interest of home buyers/sellers above monetary goals. A California native, Shannon enjoys gardening, travel, reading, cooking and poker when she’s not selling homes MY DESIGNATIONS Lic# 01247705 | CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) | E-Pro | PSC (Pre-Foreclosure Specialist) MY SERVICE AREAS Anaheim Bellflower Buena Park Carson Cerritos Cypress Downey Fountain Valley Garden Grove Huntington Beach La Palma Lakewood Long Beach Los Alamitos Los Angeles County Norwalk Orange County Rossmoor San Pedro Seal Beach Signal Hill South Bay Westminster

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