The ol’Food.Park Ride:
Every sábado from the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Irvine, the ride departs @ 8:30.

Long Beach notables meet at PCH & Warner (Jack n’Box) and depart at 7:15 to arrive at the Coffee Bean in time for coffee and pastries before the ride starts.  Click the link to the map below; “Point of Interest” A marks the start of the ride and shows the exact location.

A: Start, B: Tesla Climb (Big Ring), C: Newport Coast (Long Beach Crew continues north Home).

This ride has been a Southern California staple for eons of time.  Some say it was started by the same guys responsible for Como Street.

For a detailed map that shows where the ride starts and the route, including directions,  visit JoTMaps.com and search for Food Park or click the link below.

CLick HERE for to open the map and ride details from JoTMaps.com:

http://www.jotmaps.com/jots/show_route.cfm?Route_ID=514

Side Hack Music Machine

Not a single Freddie took me up on the invitation to be a part of this epic bike/music event.  The kids and I packed the bikes, drove to the west side and joined in the event.  The ride started at Media Park in Culver City on Venice Blvd.

TheFmly.com‘s monthly ride was an experience to be remembered! About 200 riders on all sorts of bicycles essentially took control of the city streets from Culver City, through West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Century City and Santa Monica.  At each intersection, 4 to 6 riders would stop and hold traffic back so when the light turned red all the riders could pass through safely.  There was near total acceptance of the riders by Los Angeles motorists on a busy Saturday nite; it was absolutely amazing!    Everyone honked in appreciation, rolled their windows down and cheered!  The route mostly passed on busy main streets: Venice, Fairfax, Beverly Blvd, Santa Monica Blvd, Olympic.  Absolutely Amazing!  2 pop-up music venues and the last stop was a place for everyone to chilax, munch some treats and visit.  The air was thick all evening with the sweet scent of cannabis.

The ride departed at 8:30 and arrived at the final spot at 1:30am.  Not even a single cop was ever to be seen. Amazing!!  The ride covered about 25 miles.

Apparently, Critical Mass rides in Los Angeles have had their effect on motorists; they realize how to share the road and enjoy a parade.

Tortuga 500 2010

Progress proceeds steadily one day at a time.  It can be exhilarating.

Mike’s recovery progress from CaringBridge.org: ( 4-1-11)

What an incredible relief and blessing it is to see Mike’s dramatic awakening over the past 21 hours since having the respirator tube removed !!!!

The Nursing Staff has been delighted to meet Mike now that he’s awake, alert and “Being Funny”. His sedation medications will take a few days to clear his system, so until then Mike is sharing with us his multiple language skills while giving us lot’s to be thankful and laugh about. His humor is shining through the fog of sedation…  When asked, “how are you”, he replies “Better than you, ha ha ” When Addie told him she drove from school to come see him he said “USD!” He told his girls he loves them Other Quips among many… “Im fine” “I wanna get out of here” “I Love You”  “Oh Well” “Don’t worry about it” “I’m good” “I love you Dougie” “Make an offer for a million seven” “relief” when given some water “I don’t like to be sick, get me out of here” Mike has been comfortable with good pain management through the night. We were updated by his Doc yesterday regarding his schedule, which we know is subject to change. Mike will be at UCI burn unit for four to six weeks max. during which time he will have perhaps six or so grafting procedures. Mike will have daily physical therapy either in or out-patient depending on his speed and progress of recovery.  I tell him often about each of you and your wonderful support and well wishes.  Thank you so much

Anticipation: I’m looking forward to talking with the Man.

Tortuga 500 2010

A Mule’s constitution & great medical care is bringing Jensen closer to home.

Mike’s recovery progress from CaringBridge.org:
( 3-31-11 9:50 AM)
SUPER MULE IS GREAT, THE TUBE IS OUT AND OF COURSE HE STARTED TALKING IMMEDIATELY!

Due to the residual sedation medications in his system, he’s groggy and was speaking gibberish right away… a cross between swahili and dutch and he said, ” I’m in the hospital”, and when nurse Tracy cleaned his mouth out he said “Super Nice”….

What a difference. He’s much more comfortable and is visibly happier.

PER DOCTORS ORDERS AND FAMILY WISHES, ABSOLUTE IMMEDIATE FAMILY ONLY WILL BE VISITING MIKE UNTIL HE BEGINS INVITING GUESTS.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers, and well wishes.

With Love and Thanks,

The Jensen Family

Team,

Here is the latest update on Mike…

When I was at the hospital today Mike had just started talking in his pirate like words (and attitude)…he asked us to get him water and when she gave him a tiny dot Diane asked him if he feels better, he looked at her and said: “relief!” then he turned to me and said: I don’t like to be sick. Get me out of here ! J.

His girls painted his toe nails and it was so awesome to see how much progress he’s done. He’s incredible!!!

Diane and I went outside the room to chat and when Mike heard Diane say that she was going to step outside, he lifted his left arm as a salute to  say  Bye. Super cool!

He continues to amaze us on daily basis and though I haven’t been emailing you directly (but been reading all your love and care for Mike), today I feel so happy that I was actually able to talk to him and see him opening his eyes. When I told him I was in the room, he said: “hi,  how are you?”. Yup that’s the Mike we know: loud, engaging and stubborn!!!!

For those of you who don’t know me –I’m PRP’s Controller/CFO.

Nice to “meet” you all.

Abir Alameddine
Controller
PACIFIC RETAIL PARTNERS

You’re gonna see that smile again sooner than you think!

Mike’s recovery progress from CaringBridge.org:
( 3-30-11)

Mike is climbing up the long hill out of sedation and towards recovery. His medical staff are keeping him comfortable yet alert enough to be responsive to simple commands, while balancing the sedation and pain management meds.
He will be in surgery for skin grafting today on his way to becoming an even better, youthful looking trophy husband for Diane !
Everyone is cheering for Mike’s speedy recovery, have a fantastic day !

Mule.Man>Love.

ON THE MOVE: Fmly's Cameron Rath, in chicken costume, organizes the group's monthly bike ride-outdoor concert events. (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

Who’s IN?

Up to 200 riders show up for a ride that traverses multiple pop-up venues where new live music can be heard;  all for free.  Rath organizes a monthly concert series that you can only attend by bicycle.  The route covers 15-20 miles at a pace that leaves no-one behind.  According to, Margaret Wappler, who wrote today’s article in the LATimes, it’s  “… an uninhibited spree around the Westside.”

The next ride in Los Angeles is scheduled for April 2.  Website:  theFmly.com

Visit the L.A. Times to read the full article about Cameron Rath’s musical affair: LATimes

Doug Jenen (Mike’s brother) posts Mike’s recovery progress on CaringBridge.org: ( 3-29-11)

Good Morning ! Mike continues to amaze his medical staff and family with tremendous progress.
I just spent some time with Mike while he had his physical therapy. He’s still sedated yet responds to simple commands to open his eyes, move appendages etc. His pain management seems to be going well and looks better every day. He is breathing on his own, but still has the ventilator tube in his throat to assist with his breathing during up coming surgery procedures; ortho work on his ankle and skin grafting today and tomorrow. The latest update looking forward is as follows, although subject to change, according to Mike’s wonderful team of Docs and nurses: Remove the ventilator tube near the end of this week, so he’ll be much more comfortable . Continue reducing sedation medications while maintaining pain management. Continue daily physical therapy, get him sitting up and out of bed by next week. Mike will be out of the hospital in two to three weeks. Continued physical therapy and skin treatment on out patient basis thereafter. And get back to basics: Love, Family, Friends, Work, Bike, Run, Swim, Hike, Ski, Fish We hope you are all ready, because the way he was looking at me this morning, I’m certain that he’ll be back sooner than you think. Your friendship and caring love has helped Mike and each of his loved ones more than you’ll ever know.   We continue to be grateful for the unanimous outpouring of support and continued confidence that Mike’s business friends/clients have expressed by moving forward with Mike’s professional team at Pacific Retail Partners. Many Thanks, I know Mike looks forward to seeing you as soon as he can.

It’s not bizmis science or macro rocket-o-nomics, but these antics are beyond my comprehension.

Los Angeles: Bicyclist’s Anti-Harassment Ordinance. A new ordinance heading for a vote soon by the Los Angeles City Council would make it easier for cyclists to sue aggressive drivers.

Read the details (in a pdf) about the planned ordinance HERE.

Search Google: You’ll find more to read on the topic than time.

Blah.Blah.Freddie’s Position:  Make the environment on the road safer for bike riding by increasing access: more bike lanes, more sharrows, bike lanes that don’t suddenly disappear and coordinated efforts across municipal boundaries.   It’s the Safety Stupid!

We don’t believe special laws are the solution to the problem.  More sharrows, more bike lanes and a DMV education program (included in the standard driver’s manual)  will help motorists understand city streets are meant to be shared.  The initial approach of bicycle advocacy needs to apply itself primarily to safety and access.  These kind of laws are NOT directly aimed at solving the inherent problems cyclists face on the road everyday.

A brief summary of the ordinance:

Read more »