South LA bicycle clubs welcome the city to Watts Towers

By Ride SouthLA

A hundred cyclists are expected on Sunday June 17 for a group ride to celebrate and test a community bicycling map in South Los Angeles. They will receive free copies of the first map from RideSouthLA.com, a coalition of groups promoting bicycling in South LA and revealing community assets like the Watts Towers along a recommended bike route. The group ride starts at 10am at Augustus Hawkins Nature Park (5790 Compton Ave.), continues to the iconic Watts Towers, runs along the Metro Blue Line, and includes a visit of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee before looping back to the Nature Park.

The partners behind this effort point to a broad social agenda — from city planning to bicycle and social change advocacy. Central partners include T.R.U.S.T. South LA, Bikerowave, the East Side Riders Bike Club and C.I.C.L.E.. This return ride challenges cyclists to find what the print map is missing, and invites them to add their own live stream of pictures highlighting neighborhood assets they feel should be added. “We support basic cell phones — anything that can take pictures,” said Professor François Bar of the University of Southern California, which advised the project on technology.

“Our goal with each map project is to bring awareness to a different aspect of South LA culture that is easy to bike to and enjoy for both residents and visitors.” declared Tafarai Bayne, Community Affairs Manager with T.R.U.S.T. South LA. Sunday’s route is co-led by the East Side Riders (ESR), one of the bicycle clubs and education groups that calls Watts and Florence-Firestone home. “We see the map and the rides as a way to advocate for safe biking, but also for community service and engagement” said John Jones, who co-directs ESR. Other South LA bicycle clubs will be represented as well, including the Real Rydaz, the Compton Schwinn Masters, and the newly formed Los Ryderz.

For more information, visit RideSouthLA.com