SAN MARINO >> Linked by Huntington Drive, neighborhoods in San Marino and El Sereno may be a mere six miles apart and about the same age, but the communities have little else in common.

Differences in education, income levels and ethnic makeup have created a steep divide in places that were once fairly similar and familiar with each other. A 121-page draft bicycle plan now before the San Marino City Council could either widen the divide or bring the disparate citizenry closer.

Much of what happens next depends on two events.

“The community in El Sereno, they’re a blue-collar, working-class community,” resident Carlos Morales said. “In San Marino, I would describe them as a white-collar community. The income level drastically changes.”

On June 16, San Marino staff may bring a draft bicycle and pedestrian plan by Ryan Snyder and Associates back to the Traffic Advisory Commission for review, Assistant City Manager Lucy Garcia said. Staffers plan to re-introduce the proposal in a piecemeal way to allow the commission time to digest it, Garcia said.

Then at 8 a.m. July 5, Morales, founder of the Eastside Bike Club, will host “Riff Raff Ride Into San Marino.” The protest ride’s name originates from ire over the fact that San Marino residents often call outsiders like Morales “riffraff.”

Details of the themed event are still uncertain, but Morales said the route will likely pass by City Hall, the police station and maybe Lacy Park. He expects participants from all over the greater Los Angeles area.

“You’ll see people of all different backgrounds. It’s going to be a diverse ride: blacks, Mexicans, Central Americans, whites, Asians. … I think we’ll see what America should look like on this ride. Again, income level on a bike doesn’t matter.”

El Sereno, incorporated into Los Angeles in 1915, has a median household income of about $45,900, and some 9 percent of its 25 and older residents have a four-year degree.

Incorporated in 1913, San Marino has a median household income of $139,100, and about 74 percent of its residents who are 25 or older have at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

San Marino is about 54 percent Asian and 41 percent white, according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau. On the other hand, El Sereno is 81 percent Latino and 11 percent Asian.

A recent dispute over a farmers’ market illustrates some of San Marino’s reticence to host strangers.

Three weeks ago, some riled San Marino residents argued for the extinction of the city’s first farmers’ market. They complained about lowered property values and not being able to let their kids play in front yards on Friday because of what resident Patrick Mak called an influx of people with “a sketchy background.”

After lengthy testimony from both sides, the council extended the farmers’ market trial period for only two months rather than indefinitely, as staff had advised. It will revisit the issue before July 31.

Soon after that decision, an anonymous person sent out a mailer to marshal troops against a proposed 27-mile bike plan with routes along Huntington Drive, San Marino Avenue, Sierra Madre Boulevard and Lorain Road.

This person alleged that rather than “complement the city’s small town atmosphere by building efforts to improve and enhance the quality of life of its residents,” the proposed bike infrastructure would give outsiders “access to our amenities.”

Morales wants to break down those barriers. He anticipates more than 200 participants in his protest ride. By Thursday morning, 61 people had RSVP’d on Facebook.

“I just found it kind of racist. I found it discriminatory that here we’re in the 21st century and people still think this way,” said Morales, 54. “Our bike rides … it crosses all ethnic barriers as well as financial barriers. We have people who are maybe homeless or students, and we have people who are professionals — they are entrepreneurs.”

Despite popular misconception, there are some in San Marino who support bike infrastructure. It was community members who initially asked the Traffic Advisory Commission to consider putting in bike lanes.

The event is a protest against xenophobia, Morales said. He hopes the event will bring positive bike vibes for everyone involved, he said.

“We want to expose people who have never traveled into San Marino,” Morales said. “We want to expose them to how beautiful the city is.”