Blowhard, Esq. writes:

It was a beautiful day in Southern California yesterday (suck it, East coasters) and thankfully I was able to get away from the office and head down to the Pike to check out the Long Beach Bike Festival. Have a look at my snaps.

Click on the images to enlarge.

There was a valet near at the entrance because, duh, this is California.

This is Shane Flaherty. Starting on June 18th in Portland, Maine, Shane will bike across America covering 3,950 miles in 76 days, ending in Santa Barbara, California. Shane is riding to raise money for affordable housing. What are you doing with your summer, loser?

The Festival was the end of the Tour of Long Beach, a 31- or 62-mile course around LB and surrounding cities, so there were lots of serious cyclists there.

Lots of playful, preening, show-offy hardware around. Gotta admit, that’s some sweet-ass chrome.

There was a vintage bike contest. They were kept in a pen and carefully protected by the Vintage Bike Nazi, so we all had to admire them from afar.

Sweet Jesus, it’s the holy grail of bikes, you guys.

IMDB says 10 to 12 bikes were built for the movie by Pedal Pusher Bike Shop in Newport Beach, CA. Hey, cool, looks like the shop is still around.

The low rider dudez might’ve been from a certain ethnicity or socio-economic class but I don’t notice that stuff, you racist.

Ugh, sexist. Someone alert the writers at Jezebel.

You bet your ass there was plenty of merch for sale.

I don’t think this crowd needs much help when it comes to healthy living, but just in case, there was a woman who was super-excited about organic food and a yoga tent, natch.

But don’t worry, things weren’t too healthy. After a 62-mile ride, a dude/chick has earned the right to relax a little. Lots of people were walking around with these little glasses full of local craft beers. I couldn’t get a very good shot of the beer booths because they were so crowded.

The highlight of the afternoon was the vintage fashion show. What can I say, you can’t top the Bike Babes.

I don’t know what this means but I think it makes a good closing image. Bike Local indeed, my friends.

More

• My first photo essay about bikes in Long Beach is here.
• Paleo Retiree wrote about Berlin’s bike culture here.