>> 10 deals and freebies for pedaling during Bike to Work Week. Get free bike gear, win bike-friendly prizes, and get to fun parties and rides.

>> L.A. cyclists can get a free $20 for their bikes each month by commuting to work on bike. Are you taking advantage of this freebie?

>> LAPD’s got new electric bikes to help patrol bike-friendly events, and CA-36 congressional candidates say they’re all about improving cycling in the city.

And in other green transportation news:

>> Metrolink will debut a $10 weekend pass come July 1. Plus, expect expanded rail service for L.A. County in the years to come –

>> 9% of new Los Angeles vehicle sales to be electric by 2015, 11.7% by 2020, says UCLA study. By 2020, that number could jump to 11.7 percent.

Photo of the inaugural CicLAvia on Oct. 10, 2010 by Gary Leonard

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>> 5 discounts and deals for traveling green in Los Angeles. From a free gift with a green spa treatment to 20 percent off locavore-friendly dining!

>> 7th Street to get a bicycle-friendly makeover. From Catalina Street in Koreatown to Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles, 2.2 miles of bicycle lanes will be painted, giving cyclists more room and visibility. That room will come from cars, who’ll see their driving space reduced from two lanes down to one lane going each way. Street parking will be retained.

>> Will Wilshire bus-only lanes get more Angelenos riding Metro? There’s a plan to give buses their own lanes for 7.7 miles on Wilshire during rush hour — a plan that would shave 11 minutes of public transit riders’ commutes! Some car-dependent Angelenos aren’t happy about the idea, however. What are your thoughts?

Photo by biofriendly/Flickr

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>> Streetfilms answers the question, “What is CicLAvia?”

>> 13 Ways of Looking at CicLAvia. My poetic roundup about the car-free event.

>> Metro to drop day pass prices back to $5 in July. Hurting from gas prices yet? Metro’s trying to entice you to ride, not drive.

>> Master bus riding in Los Angeles with your smartphone. Plan trips instantly and find out when the next bus is coming while on the go.

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High-speed rail has yet to revolutionize American travel, but that’s not stopping two green-minded adventurers from exploring the U.S. via train — and the fold-up bikes they can carry or ride. Russ Roca and Laura Crawford are redefining the American road trip — by going the distance without ever getting into a car.

“Big Adventure, Small Wheels” is what the simple-living, travel-addicted couple is calling their journey. The two aren’t new to adventure travel — or to a remarkable dedication to alternative transportation. Just a few years ago, I knew Russ as the local bicycling photographer, famous (at least among environmentalists and cyclists) in the L.A. area for lugging all his heavy photography equipment around on bike.

Then in 2009, Russ and Laura sold everything they owned to go on a bicycling adventure called Path Less Pedaled — traveling 10,000 miles over 15 months all over the U.S. After a short break, the two are ready to venture out again — this time adding trains to the mix.

“We’re getting some great support this time round,” said Russ in an email. “Adventure Cycling is pretty excited about the idea of multi-modal touring. We’re hoping to get Amtrak officially on board. And we’ve got 3000 Facebook fans this time around, to help guide us to some interesting places.”

Want Russ and Laura to come by your town? Get their attention through Facebook, Twitter, and their blog — and cruise over on your bike to meet them when they roll into town.

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Does your city have an innovative smart transit policy? The Natural Resources Defense Council’s Smarter Cities project put together a list of America’s Smartest Regions for Transportaion, naming the 15 U.S. metropolitan regions that are really thinking outside the car. On top of the list are well-known mass and alternative transportation leaders like New York City and Portland, but cities I’d never heard of — like Yolo, Calif. and Bremerton, WA — also made the list.

That’s because the study includes four to seven cities in three different population size categories. San Francisco, Calif. made it on the large cities list with its bicycle network and BART system, but partly rural and partly urban Yolo., Calif. also got kudos for its Yolobus system, bike-friendly streets, and alternative fuels leadership.

Sadly but as expected, Los Angeles did not make the list. After all, the metropolitan regions were judged based on public transit accessibility, car use, and transportation costs — all areas that the L.A. metropolitan area could improve upon.

That said, Los Angeles just got a big bicycle plan for the city, will be opening the first half of the Expo Line next year, and has plans to continue expanding its rail network. Maybe in a few years, the city known for its car culture will start getting recognized for its out-of-the-car transit options.

One can dream.

Earlier:
>> EPA: The real energy-efficient home is a less car-dependent home
>> Avoid heart attacks by not sitting in traffic
>> Abogo reveals the transportation costs of your neighborhood

Photo by Ernesto Andrade

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