(taken from a previous blog, march 2005)
this morning’s 'getting to work adventure' was even more of one since, as i often do, I trekked the 8 miles from my apartment in venice to my office in culver city on my... bicycle (gasp!!).
a bicycle... in el lay? yes my friends, it is so.
don't get me wrong, there are some lovely bike-friendly areas of el lay, especially on the west side where i live. but understand that I am coming from the bicyclist’s dream town of davis…where there often are more bikes than automobiles in the streets, where people stop their cars (with a smile) to let bicyclists roll by, where the city’s logo is, in fact, a highwheeler bicycle!
biking down venice boulevard however, it seeems like esuvees and hummers come equipped with dashboard chalkboards to mark off how many bicyclists they can take out (that is if they disconnect themselves from their cell phones long enough to even notice). I mean, just riding in the bike lane is an obstacle-filled nightmare/adventure… car exhaust blowing in your face, garbage cans and shopping carts strewn about in the worst locations imaginable, cop cars parked across the entire lane, and pot-holes large enough that i could fall inside and build my own mini el lay!!
it is quite an adventure, but a worthy one since you notice things on a bike that you would never notice when driving, i'm exercising (and might i add saving natural resources!) and hey, i'm *always* up for an adventure. so this girl is going to keep on pedaling along...
2 comments:
Vanessa,
Have we met? I only ask because I was at SMCM and we've been biking in the same area for so long. Also you link to BTC Elements, Bring Your Own, and Green LA Girl - associated with my friends Summer, Anna, and Seal (sic?) of Green Drinks. It seems like we would eventually meet if we haven't yet.
Ahh well - I enjoyed your post about the Venice Bl bike path, partly because I know all about the various obstacles (recycling bins - how ironic). Also because from my point of view it is a relatively flat, fast, uninterrupted section of road. I actually like biking there . . . which just goes to show how LA bikers get accustomed to the constant road hazards.
I think you are probably too advanced to need a bike mentor, but perhaps you would find this interesting:
http://www.LetsRollWithIt.org
I'm ecstatic to hear you like SMCM . . . I'll pass on your enthusiasm to the ride founder Zack if you don't mind = he really enjoys it when others like SMCM.
hey alex
were you wearing the fabulous green ensemble at the smcm? cuz if so, katrina introduced us briefly. i was at green drinks this month too...werd!
i checked out the roll with it page...great program! next time we meet, i'd love to hear more about how that is going. and yeah, def. give zack props from me on the cm, it rocked. i was actually hit by a car as a pedestrian a month ago (damn you motorists!) which made the ride a little hard on my body as i'm still healing, but i hope to join you guys again real soon!
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