Thanks to ""—tangentially, at least—a Santa Monica company is bestowing thousands of dollars upon a bicycling coalition.
On Wednesday night, Santa Monica Airlines—a skateboarding company that is located in SM and owned by Skip Engblom—presented the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition with a donation of $7,000 at Tang's Donut in Los Angeles.
The donation was prompted by Wolfpack Hustle, a bicycling group, beating JetBlue Airways in a "Carmageddon"-related race. In light of the airline offering a promotional discount of $4 for flights between Long Beach and Burbank, the bicycling group laid down a challenge: That its bikers could cover the same distance in less time than a JetBlue plane.
On Saturday, Wolfpack Hustle bikers left Burbank for Long Beach at the same time as a designated JetBlue passenger headed out for Burbank Airport. The bikers won the race.
The money is coming courtesy of Santa Monica Airlines employee Anthony Converse selling one of his cars following the race. He became interested in biking following a knee injury he sustained while skateboarding.
The Wolfpack Hustle-versus-JetBlue Airways race, dubbed Flight Vs. Bike, was put together by Santa Monica Patch columnist Gary Kavanagh; his wife, Meghan Kavanagh; and other biking enthusiasts.
Gary Kavanagh also participated in a related challenge in which he and others challenged JetBlue by taking public transportation and walking on foot on Saturday, when the 405 Freeway was closed. He came in second among the participants in that contest, which he orchestrated.
