CINDY, INCIDENTALLY:

Something Huntington Beach might want to consider adding to its city logo is the beach cruiser.

This unauthorized mascot for Surf City is often the preferred mode of transportation for peddling around town. People often tuck a surfboard under one arm while making their way to the surf on a cruiser, or there’s the family of four riding through the side streets as they ride into Main Street for lunch.

Just a few days ago, while having coffee along Beach Boulevard, I saw a woman on a periwinkle blue beach cruiser with her fluffy white pooch calmly seated in a wicker basket loving the ocean air whipping its little face.

Curious about bike culture in this beach town, I met up with Ryan Hartzog, 23, who works at Huntington Beach Easy Rider shop on Main Street. The bike and clothing shop where they sell surf/skate/punk apparel also has its own brand of beach cruisers that come etched with skulls and in shades of neon pink, black, gray, green and purple.

Hartzog, who has admittedly owned up to three beach cruisers at one time, explained that “cruising” is a way of life. At night, when traffic dies down in Main Street, bikers head out for a little bike bar-hopping, and you can see the slew of colorful bikes — ranging from cruisers to pimped out road bikes — locked up in front of bars like Sharkeez or El Ranchito.

I don’t know if it’s due to gas prices, people being more eco-conscious or what, but biking has been blowing up in popularity the last few years. For some it’s a political statement, a way to go car-lite for the environment and a way to tell “The Man” that we can live without gasoline if necessary.

When I lived up north, I volunteered at a nonprofit bike kitchen where we helped restore old bikes and sell them at a low cost so everyone in the community could have a bike in their homes. They taught classes on how to use your bike for grocery shopping, running errands and bike safety.

It was through volunteering that I began to notice that bike culture — underneath its eco-conscious roots — has a fashionable side one can undoubtedly see right here in Surf City.

Some may be into vintage cruisers, others go for a basic, some will spend serious cash to get a cruiser with gears, special wheels, or they’ll drop it and make it a low-rider.

“It’s all about style,” Hartzog said. “It’s your image. It’s like throwing rims on your car.”

Hartzog walked me through the store and showed me all the different ways people are adding personality to their cruisers. There are new seats, different-colored tires, rear-view mirrors, tassels for your grips, bells, lights, baskets and basket liners that turn into great beach bags.

My hands-down favorite add-on has to be the attachable Kroozie, which is an insulated beverage holder for your bike. Pretty brilliant if not slightly questionable, since I had a few bikers tell me their 22-ounce Tall Boy beers fit quite nicely in the Kroozie.

I walked out of there — sans Kroozie, for now — with a bike bell that looks like a hamburger.

I can’t wait to use it and show off my food flair.

CINDY ARORA is a freelance writer. She may be reached at [email protected].