Cari, Miguel, and John traveled to this year’s LA Invitational, hosted by The Cub House. Read on for John’s love letter to Los Angeles and the people who call it home, along with a gallery jam-packed with the riding, bikes, people, and vibes from the eighth-annual showcase…

Through everything, Los Angeles shines. Through all the challenges the world brings, this city stays vibrant, glowing, and resilient. Through the people, communities are built. Through a love of bikes, friendships are forged.  Through cycling, you can experience the highs and lows, geographically and socially. Los Angeles shines.

Back in 2013, I jokingly coined the #LASucksforCycling hashtag on social media, only to highlight the beauty found in and around Los Angeles by bike. The hidden paths: remnants of Red Car era cycling infrastructure. The cutty singletrack, snaking its way across city parks, heroically perched above highways.

The chunky and primitive singletrack, carved in the side of the Contiguous United States’ fastest-growing and eroding mountain range. The people who pour blood, sweat, and tears into keeping the trails usable for all. The vibrant city fabric is emblazoned with adornments of cultural significance; a patchwork of multiculturalism.

I’ve written a lot about Los Angeles over the past fifteen years since I’ve been riding there, so posts like this are a challenge for me. What is left to say here? LA has the best mountain biking, the best gravel cycling, and road riding, all according to my opinion. The people who call it home are beautiful, diverse, charismatic, and impassioned.

Similar to my writings on San Francisco earlier this spring, there is a thread that binds Los Angeles’s special cycling communities. Shops like The Cub House have helped to fortify these bonds, and events like the LA Invitational are a celebration of that. It’s a weekend celebrating Los Angeles. There’s a non-competitive ride on Saturday with four length options and a block party on Sunday with a bike and car show and swap meet.

Carla, Danny, Sean, and the whole team put on this event from the heart. Adam Masters‘ original concept of a bike plus auto show was realized and is now in its eighth year. The showcase is just as fun as the first and feels ten times the size. The people you see above are what make this event possible; the people in the gallery are what make it my absolute favorite cycling event to attend.

Cari and I drove out from Santa Fe to attend this year’s showcase, to connect with friends, and to document the people, bikes, vibes, and riding the event showcases. Miguel and his family joined in on the fun, and he’ll have a video recap to post on our YouTube shortly.

By the way, please give Miguel a follow on Instagram!

I’ll spare you my ramblings, my musings, my attempt at prose, and let these photos do the talking. If anything, I hope this showcase inspires you to make the trip out for next year’s event. Let your tires touch Los Angeles dirt, browse the vintage autos, enjoy the local food vendors, haggle with the swap meet vendors, and visit one of Los Angeles’ true gems.

Let your stoke polish this stone. Let it show you the unmistakable shine.

Support local shops that help build and foster communities by creating a welcoming environment. Support the Lowelifes, Team Dream Team, Beach Club, Road Toads, and The Cub House.

Please enjoy this gallery; it came from the fuckin’ heart. Thanks to everyone who said hello, chatted, and took the time to make me feel welcome in a city I once called home.

Find all these photos and more for personal use in The Radavist Dropbox.

Tomorrow we’ve got a selection of Beautiful Bicycles for you, so be sure to check back in!