For Immediate Release - Two Stylish, Fun and Free Events for May’s National Bike Month in Long Beach! The Cyclone Coaster Vintage Bike Ride on Sunday 5/5 + BikeFest with Three Special Vintage Events on Saturday 5/11!

Image by Allan Crawford. On Left Kitty Marie Wyman on right Bernard C. Serrano of Cyclong Coasters in Long Beach's scenic East Village neighborhood of Downtown. Print resolution available upon request.

From: Melissa Balmer – Vintage Events @ BikeFest Coordinator – email: wobsocal@gmail.com Cell (562) 221-9672

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Long Beach CA – This May celebrate National Bike Month in style with two fun and free bicycle focused events in Long Beach California:

• Sunday May 5^th Cyclone Coaster Monthly Vintage Bike Ride. This multi award winning ride begins at 9:30 am with a “Meet & Greet” and a 10:30 am departure from Portfolio Coffee House at 2300 E. 4^th Street on the Corner of Junipero and 4^th Street in the scenic 4^th Street Shopping District. One of the largest monthly vintage rides in the country this is a slow easy cruise around Long Beach that lasts about two hours. All types of bikes are welcome; however, the majority of the riders are on a colorful array of bicycles created prior to Pre World-War II – with over 250 bikes showing up for the ride this last March! Members of the media who would like to attend please contact Melissa Balmer at wobsocal@gmail.com or via cell (562) 221-9672 and let us know you’re coming so we can arrange for you to speak with founders Bernard C. Serrano or Frank Drews prior to the ride.

• Saturday May 11^th Long Beach’s BikeFest.  Continuing Long Beach’s passion with all things bicycling this 9:30 am to 4:00 pm free family event will honor Long Beach’s rich bicycling history and the city’s famous vintage collecting culture with a vintage bike exhibit, vintage bike + fashion show, vintage bike contest and live swing bands.  Set at The Pike at Rainbow Harbor and starting at 9:30 am to greet the first riders to complete The Tour of Long Beach, Bikefest will also include: Beachwood and friends craft beer garden, favorite foods from downtown Long Beach restaurants, a bike shop vendor village, free bike valet with ample bike parking, special activities for children and live entertainment. To learn more please go to: http://www.downtownlongbeach.org/Latest-News-Detail/Bike-Fest-of-Long-Beach?id=64857.

Media passes for BikeFest can be arranged by contacting Julie Korinke, Communications Manager for the Downtown Long Beach Business Association at (562)485-3138 or via email at juliek@dlba.org.

About Bernard C. Serrano and Cyclone Coasters

Bernard C Serrano, with fellow bike enthusiast Frank Drews, hosts the monthly vintage “Cyclone Coaster” ride in Long Beach, held rain or shine on the first Sunday of every month. The ride where all bicycles are welcome is one of the largest rides featuring vintage bikes in the country, now drawing 250+ riders from all over the Southland for a leisurely paced tour of our fair city.  Serrano is also a vintage bicycle collector of note, with more than 100 bicycles in his collection, and a talented swing dancer who has danced for such bands as The Brian Setzer Orchestra.

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About Long Beach’s Bike Friendly Passion

In 2012 the City of Long Beach California achieved “Silver” status in Bike-Friendliness with the League of American Bicyclists and was ranked the 19^th most Bike-Friendly U.S. City by Bicycling Magazine. Long Beach is the home of Bikestation, the nation’s first public bike parking facility, and award winning pilot projects such as the nation’s first Bike Friendly Business Districts and Bike Saturdays, the green “sharrow” lane in Belmont Shore, and the Vista Bike Boulevard project. In fall of 2012 the City launched a newly revamped www.BikeLongBeach.org website and the multi-media road safety information campaign “Share Our Streets” which included the development of the “Street Savvy” adult bicycle safety program and the “Know Your Neighborhood by Bike” tours. Learn more at http://www.BikeLongBeach.org.

For Immediate Release - Romance with a Twist: The Love Letters Charming Animated PSA’s Remind Us to Share Our Streets Safely for Valentine’s Day

From: Melissa Balmer/Editor Women on Bikes SoCal - email: wobsocal@gmail.com tel. (562) 221-9672

Note: To request actual clips of the videos please contact Georgia Case at Idea Group georgia@ideagroup.us

Re: Romance with a Twist: The Love Letters Charming Animated PSA’s Remind Us to Share Our Streets Safely for Valentine’s Day

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Long Beach California – Getting to the heart of the matter with wit and romance the short sweet “Love Letters” videos share the growing crush between “Auto” and “Bicycle” in a series of four short beautifully crafted hand-drawn pieces of animation reminding us all of the need to share our streets safely. The videos include “Act I: The Road is Ours,” “Act II: Mind the Door,” “Act III: Sidewalk Sorrows," “Act IV: Stop! In the Name of Love” and "Act V: A Little Space Goes a Long Way" in a series of smart safety tips both in English and Spanish, and can be found on the Bike Long Beach website: http://www.bikelongbeach.org/sos-safety/share-our-streets-2/love-letters-act-i.

The videos were developed by Idea Group as a part of the “Share Our Streets” multi-media road safety campaign created for Bike Long Beach and sponsored by a grant from Metro. The use of simple but charming animated videos were an innovative step in Idea Group’s strategy to use friendliness in the campaign’s overall look and feel to engage drivers, bicyclists and transit users alike in remembering the rules of the road:

"Love Letters has been a great vehicle for reaching out to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians - sending our message that our streets are for everyone to share.   As Long Beach works to become the most bike friendly city in the US we have to communicate our 'Share our Streets' message to develop a culture where there is mutual respect for bicyclists, drivers and pedestrians.  The response we have heard from people in Long Beach - and in particular motorists - has been very positive.  They very much appreciate the message that it is a shared road...and a shared responsibility for everyone to be safe. Love Letters has been a key part of communicating this message in our theaters, on our public access TV and on bikelongbeach.org website." Allan Crawford, Bicycle Coordinator for Bike Long Beach.

The “Love Letters” DVD set will be sent to all schools in the Long Beach Unified School District this spring and will be available to order by schools and non-profits as of 2/14/12. For details please email Allan.Crawford@longbeach.gov. The videos can also be shared by link or embedding via Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/45808780#.

Georgia Case, principal of Idea Group and Executive Producer for the videos, oversaw a talented creative team which included Associate Producers Margo Newman and Jaime Ryan Heintz, Director/Designer Laura Yilmaz, composer Ben Decter and Graphic Designer Baktaash Sorkhabi who created the Title Cards and the Bike Long Beach website.

Case shares her thoughts on the concepts behind the creation of both the “Love Letters” videos and the complete “Share Our Streets” campaign with Women On Bikes SoCal Editor Melissa Balmer here: http://www.womenonbikessocal.org/bike-minded-market-watch/. Full disclosure, Balmer was a member of Idea Group’s creative team for the creation of the Share Our Streets campaign.

About the "Share Our Streets" Road Safety Campaign of Bike Long Beach

In the fall of 2012 Bike Long Beach began rolling out a comprehensive multi-media road safety outreach campaign encouraging motorists and bicyclists to “Share Our Streets.” The campaign features a wide variety of components, including street banners; advertisements in local publications; public transit posters; Public Safety Announcements (PSA) in movie theaters; and a Tool Kit including a variety of tips and tools for the public about road safety. The Share Our Streets campaign was made possible courtesy of a grant by Metro.  Learn more about the campaign and download useful road safety materials go to: http://www.bikelongbeach.org/sos-safety/share-our-streets-2/sos-toolkit.

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