This year is already flying by us! Spring is in the air all over this fine city. I sure hope that March doesn’t bring any lion-like rain on a normally lamb-like Sunday. That lamb-like Sunday being March 24th of course, the date for the next W/T/F Bike Brunch.

In honor of the old CicLAvia route downtown, heck just in honor of yummy food, let’s pedal our way down to Mercado La Paloma. If you’ve never heard of the space, it’s a converted garment factory-cum-gathering space. Several restaurants have stalls located within and there are neat little shops, too. You may be familiar with Jonathan Gold’s ravings over Ricardo Zapate and Mo-Chica Restaurant perhaps? Well, Zapate began with a stall in Mercado and still keeps it running. Yeah, now we’re on to something. GOOD FOOD!

There is something for everyone at Mercado, and it’s a bit more lunch-y than brunch-y so we’re starting the ride at 10:30am instead of the usual 10am. So maybe have a snack before you hop on your bike. But the ride will be fun, easy route through Silver Lake into downtown, along the tall sparkling buildings and by the parks. The meetup spot is the Sunset Triangle Plaza on Sunset at the end of Griffith Park Blvd. It’s the new (and green!) pedestrian plaza/parklet where the Silver Lake Farmer’s Market is held. Email me to RSVP – brakingthelimits(at)gmail(dot)com!

Eat your heart out, east coast. Today we enjoyed a 70 degree sunny, clear blue sky as we rode a few miles along the LA River Path into Burbank for brunch. We followed the beginnings of a network of bike lanes and sharrows in Burbank to our restaurant, Sweetsalt Foods, on Riverside Drive. It was about an 18-mile ride round trip. Burbank has recently approved both a bicycle master plan and a city general plan (for development and growth) and will soon be seeing better alternative transportation infrastructure that will make riding there even better. Might today’s group also suggest to the city smoother roadways and improved road conditions? Somewhere along those roads I hit a bump that gave me a snake bite (punctured tube from it pinching the two sides of the rim inside the tire). Not fun to walk out of the restaurant to, but luckily last December’s bike workshop brushed me up on my flat tire skills!

On the path heading north to Burbank from Atwater Village.

Flat tires are never convenient but easily (and quickly) can be changed to get back on the road.

Back in action in 2013 and ready to ride and dine with you all!

This month’s ride will be on Sunday, February 24. The ride will start at the corner of Fletcher Drive & Crystal Street. Crystal Street is called Ripple on the west and Crystal on the east. There is a light at this corner so it makes turning on Crystal easier. Crystal ends in a cul-de-sac, where we will all meet to hop onto the River Path and head up to Burbank. We will be brunching at Sweetsalt Food Shop on Riverside Drive. Menu and restaurant info here: http://www.sweetsaltfood.com/

Ride starts at 10:00am and we’ll be happy with food in our bellies by 11:00am. If you can’t make the ride, meet us at the restaurant!

Once again, our beautiful graphics provided by Nicole Smith.

It turned out to be a pretty lucky day for the brunchers this time. The skies parted and the sun even came out for the hours we hit the road and broke bread together. Thanks to everyone who came for a fantastic time!

The ride was 7 miles through Griffith Park and climbing up Trash Truck Hill (also known as Garbage Truck Hill, but really, what’s the difference?) and back down to our starting location at the corner of Los Feliz Blvd and Crystal Springs Dr. If you liked the route, you can find the Strava details for it here and the full Google Maps view of the route here. Post up on the Facebook page if you’re ever interested in riding it with a partner!

After the ride, we headed for Village Bakery & Cafe in Atwater Village. Their pastry display case made me feel like I should do the Hill one more time before indulging! Bummer we didn’t make it to the Autry Museum Farmer’s Market but it’s a delicious outdoor option for a future brunch.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The date is set – November 17.

The location is chosen! Let’s ride together through Griffith Park. Meeting at the corner of Crystal Springs Drive and Los Feliz Blvd to start. It’s near the pony rides and Crystal Springs is what Riverside Drive turns into heading into the Park. We’ll go for about an hour, a wee bit of climbing (Garbage Truck Hill) and a lot more downhill, ending at the best destination of all – FOOD! The Autry Museum has a farmers market on Saturdays and have a slew of food tents and food trucks to choose from, a great lawn to enjoy and no doubt good weather with some sun shining above us. Can’t beat that in November!

The map inset is blown up a bit bigger for you to find our start.

RSVP in the comments below or to brakingthelimits//at\\gmail(dot)com. See you there!

Extra special thanks to Nicole for creating the artwork. Check her out at Talisman.

Get ready for the next Bike Brunch, LA. It’s November 17!

Location is a surprise for now, with a possible easy ride to the brunch spot planned.

Let’s cross our fingers for good weather! And please share any ideas you have for future brunches. Find the group on Facebook now

Very excited for the launch of the monthly women and female-identified Bike Brunch! Join the conversation on Saturday October 20th at Home in Silver Lake, on the corner of Fletcher & Riverside at 10am. RSVP to brakingthelimits//at\\gmail//dot\\com.

It’s finally time to bring this amazingly fun monthly event to Los Angeles!

Cities from San Francisco to Nashville host a brunch for ladeez of all kinds to gather and discuss anything bike (or not!) related with each other, away from a computer screen and with delicious food.

Our very first LA Bike Brunch for women/trans/femme (only) will be held on Saturday, October 20^th. We’ll bump it up to 10:00am to avoid the brunch-time rush. We’ll meet at Home Restaurant Silver Lake, 2500 Riverside Drive at Fletcher Drive. Please RSVP in the comments or by email at brakingthelimits//at\\gmail(dot)com. If we get a large enough group, I can call ahead and make a reservation.

LA is a vast expanse of a megalopolis, so I will plan for future brunches to be in neighborhoods all over the city from east to west, but venturing out to a new ‘hood is always an exciting adventure so feel free to combine whatever modes of transport to join in.