About the publisher: Former Mayor Richard Riordan, who passed away on April 19, has done many great things for the City of Los Angeles. But for many of us, his bike rides were the fondest memory of his tenure.

He would pick a different part of town, map out a route, and hit the road at 7 a.m. on Sunday with 1,000 or more riders. The police will continuously set up blockades so that we have the street to ourselves. T-shirts were handed out. Volunteers handed out drinks and healthy snacks. The bill was paid by sponsors recruited by the mayor’s staff.

People from all over the city met, made new friends and explored parts of LA they had never seen before. And Riordan was in the middle of it, sometimes in front of the group, sometimes at the end, but always talking to everyone and amused.

If heaven exists, I’d imagine Riordan is organizing a bike ride there right now.

Murray Levy, Pacific Palisades

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About the editor: Riordan was a friendly, engaging presence in our Pacific Palisades town.

Long before he took over Mort’s Deli and founded the Village Pantry, he rode his bicycle from his home in Brentwood and braved traffic on Sunset Boulevard to eat breakfast at Mort’s, where he enjoyed meeting people, chatting, and holding meetings. He then smuggled himself home in cycling clothing.

He spent a lot of money renovating Mort’s, but kept the restaurant running in the heart of downtown.

Riordan was always approachable in the Village Pantry, shaking hands with benefactors and making time to talk to people. We really appreciated his sense of community.

Bill Bruns, Pacific Palisades.

About the editor: In the last days of Riordan’s second term, I asked him if he regretted it. He told me this:

“Charter reform. I put limits on the office of mayor. I thought eight years was enough. I didn’t realize how slow the government works.”

Judy Wilson, Pasadena The author is a retired sanitation director for the City of Los Angeles…

About the publisher: Twenty years ago, while manning the bar of a USC-UCLA football tailgate, Riordan wandered around asking about the libation in the blender.

With a sloppy gin fizz in hand, “Dick” kept teasing us about things like college football, Federal Reserve monetary policy, and the latest reading at his book club.

He was the humblest public figure I’d ever met, a true LA original.

Cliff Reston, Hollywood Hills..

About the editor: Riordan performed at our wedding in February 2008. While the words he spoke spoke of the occasion, he also offered a view of the city:

“It is appropriate and appropriate in many ways that Janet and Dennis have chosen to get married in this beautiful backyard in downtown Los Angeles. This city has always been a place for new beginnings, a place where people felt that they could reinvent themselves, live and chase their dreams of happiness.”

He was an authentic Angeleno.

Dennis Signorovitch and Janet Hindler, Los Angeles