CicLAvia, everyone's favorite bike ride, is returning to the beach this summer, organizers officially announced today.

The event, “Culver City Meets Venice,” happens Aug. 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In a statement, organizers say the closed-to-cars route will be …

 … a six-mile variation of the previous CicLAvia Westside route, allowing participants to explore more of Culver City’s charming neighborhoods, eclectic businesses and delicious restaurants, as well as connect with such Westside treasures as the Mar Vista Farmers Market, Abbot Kinney and Venice Beach.

The folks at CicLAvia have extended this event from five to seven hours compared with the last beach excursion, in 2013.

Perhaps that will help alleviate the two-wheeled traffic jams that some participants complained about. Organizers said the 2013 ride to Venice saw as many as 180,000 participants, possible record attendance at the time. CicLAvia launched its events in 2010.

Motorists also were unhappy with that downtown-to-Venice route, as it shut down some vital east-west routes for a time.

CicLAvia spokesman Robert Gard says part of the problem for bike traffic that year was that participants felt the need to take the ride all the way from downtown to the sea. Only one side of Venice Boulevard was open.

“That, coupled with sewer line and rail construction on Venice, made for a very congested section that went on for more than a mile,” he told us.

This time around the multidirectional ride is local to Venice, Culver City and Mar Vista only, and CicLAvia is taking over both sides of Venice Boulevard. The extension of hours might also thin out the hordes. Gard:

Credit: CicLAvia

Credit: CicLAvia

This route is between Culver City and Venice, which will encourage more multi-direction traffic.

Organizers hope that it will be a laid-back summer day. CicLAvia executive director Aaron Paley:

It’s a comfortable route connecting the great neighborhoods of Venice, Mar Vista, Palms with dynamic Culver City seamlessly and without cars. I’m excited that participants will be able to explore widely diverse neighborhoods, discover new businesses and even enjoy a dip in the Pacific.

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