I came across a story that got me really upset. So in response, I decided to email the source of my agitation. It went a little like this:
To whomever this may concern,
I came across this story online on http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_17766695 which described a 19 year-old woman who was under the influence and swerved onto a group of cyclists on Sunday, April 3rd. The part that really upset me was reading what Lt. Devin Chase had said, “It’s kind of a residential street, so we’re not sure if the bicyclists were staying on their side of the road or taking up more of the road.” First of all, why is this statement targeting the victims of the crime? If they were in anyway not on their side would mean that they were trying to fend for their lives by avoiding a swerving vehicle coming into their lane. Secondly, this type of response from the Torrance Police Department is insensitive to victims of the incident as well as to the entire bicycling community. It would have been more productive to not comment at all or perhaps use this as an example to help detract others from drinking and driving or under age drinking. Instead, the police department seems to go out of their way to blame the bicyclists.
I do not live in Torrance but have traveled into Torrance by way of bicycle. When I do come to Torrance I participate in the local economy by shopping at various restaurants, stores and vendors. Comments like this just shows that riding a bicycle in the City of Torrance is not welcomed. I will have to think twice before rolling into Torrance the next time I am in the area.
Regards,
Johnny Lam
Keep in mind this is my first ever call to action that was initiated without support from anybody else. I received a reply asking for a number to discuss further. Let’s see where this rabbit hole leads to.
I remember last year while perusing through Twitter updates, I found several mentions of the #30daysofbiking event. By the time, I realized what it was, it was in the middle of the month of April. It was too late for me to participate. So this year, by chance, I was perusing Twitter again on April 1st and found the same #30daysofbiking was promoted through-out my part of the Twitterverse (mainly the bicycling part). As a result, I’ve registered myself at the 30 Days of Biking site and making the pledge to ride my bikes for 30 days consecutively in the month of April.
It’s Day 2 now and my latest ride had me cruising through my community of town homes. A pathetic attempt but in the spirit of being on my bike, I had to at least do that. Otherwise, I won’t have the opportunity to do so since I have several events in the evening that will require me to be in a car. The month of April will be a month filled with bicycle related events. The big one being Ciclavia! This will take place on April 10th in which a 7 mile stretch of roads will be opened to bicycle and other human powered activity. The first Ciclavia last October 10th was one of the best times I’ve had on a bike. It brought the city together and made it feel more like a community. This is rare in a city that is dominated by cars where interaction only happens at the start and end of a drive rather than during the trip. I am eager to be riding through the streets of Los Angeles on April 10th.
For now, I need to tend to my stable of bikes. I’d like to include training rides within the next 28 days. There are a pair of brake pads and tires that I need to put on the road bike to begin doing that. Did I tell you I’m doing a charity ride called the Tour de Cure for the American Diabetes Association on May 1st? I signed up for the century ride which starts at the Long Beach Queen Mary. I’ll be riding through bridges that will be opened for cyclist only on this occasion near the Port of LA. The route will go into San Pedro, Palos Verdes, Long Beach, Seal Beach, and Huntington Beach. It’s going to be my first “race” which will be timed. I can’t wait to do this.
I’ll also have to kick off fundraising efforts for the California Coast Classic for the Arthritis Foundation. You’ll notice I’ll have my donation meter up on the right side of the blog for tracking purpose. Please feel free to click on there to support my ride. I need to raise $3000 to participate. Help a brother out!
I finally had a chance to edit a quick video of the beginning of my ride from San Francisco to the first checkpoint in Daly City. The video was shot by my sister’s iPhone and my Canon SD870 IS point and shoot camera (which had the time lapse feature). My original plan was to use this to shoot video of the entire trip but due to the fact that the camera drained so much battery, I opted to stop shooting after the first half day and then a video at the end (which I’ll hopefully get to with a photo montage). I know it’s been months since the ride but I’m finally inspired to put something like this up here and share it with the world. Some highlights of the video include me taking off from the starting line and riding through the beautiful city of San Francisco. I then cross the Golden Gate Bridge. I find myself flying down a few hills that brings me to the south coast of the city and eventually make my way up a street in Daly City. There’s an easter egg there if you watch the video all the way until the end. Enjoy!
Here’s a video of the ride. I can’t wait to take part in this! If you haven’t done so, click on the link to the right to help fight arthritis and guarantee me a spot on the ride. >>>
Believe it or not I participated in my first Critical Mass ride last month on April 30th. I’ve been wanting to take part of this phenomenon every last Friday of the month. So at the end of last month, I was hell bent on making sure it was going to happen.
Initially my sister’s fiancé was going to join but he could not make it. I convinced another co-worker of mine to join. He hasn’t been on a bike for 3 years. I even offered to take his bike in for repairs since I couldn’t figure out how to mount his rear wheels with disc brakes. Here’s a photo of my rig hauling in his.
Luckily he was able to get his ride back on Friday to join me. I was planning on going with or without him. We hopped on the Red line down to Vermont & Wilshire station. From there we got on our bikes and pedaled towards Wilshire & Western. I had a few friends who was meeting for drinks before the ride. Funny thing is the only way these “friends” correspond with me is only through Twitter. I wasn’t able to get an address or even their real phone numbers for that matter. So my co-worker and I made our way to Wilshire / Western where a huge crowd was gathering.
We waited for about 15 minutes at the location while countless numbers of cyclists kept on piling into the northeast corner of the intersection. You can feel the electricity of the crowd who grew more anxious as the minutes ticked down to the 7:30PM departure time. Like clockwork, 7:30 came and the crowd of hundreds of cyclists overtook the intersection and started down the South on Western. That was the last point of reference that I could remember on the ride until we reached about Chinatown later in the evening. I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of bicycles that was on the streets. It kept me from thinking or wondering where the heck I was. I knew in order not to get lost, I had to keep up with the “pack”. I also kept on thinking how drivers were perceiving us. We got lots of supporting honks and woohoo early on the ride but towards the end, I thought there were honks of disdain (it could just be me worrying about what others perceived). I also kept a conscious effort of not being at the end of the pack or at the side. I made sure my buddy knew the same rules of survival.
The route that was taken took us through parts of Los Angeles neighborhoods that I definitely would never find myself riding at that time of night by myself. We were flying through the infamous Skid Row where transients were hooting and hollering at us. We eventually made it through one of those iconic bridges that you see in such films like “Training Day”. Amazingly enough, I bumped into @danceralamode right before the bridge. We chatted while we climbed pass the fixie kids who were struggling up the bridge. We even saw a wedding photo shoot in progress on the bridge. Of all the nights and all the bridges, their photo shoot was interrupted by a Critical Mass ride. The descend down the bridge was brisk and we found ourselves in the city of Boyle Heights. That’s where the events of the night took a negative turn.
Let’s just say a motorist and some cyclists got acquainted. I didn’t get any details of what happened but I made sure I was not anywhere near. Around that time, I run into @jeremy310 and lost @danceralamode in the shuffle. We reconnected just in time before the mass made their way down the street and in a park. From there I lost all my twitter pals and my co-worker. After a few calls I reconnected with my co-worker. We held our position at the park for about 30 minutes before the ride started up again. And just like that, the events from about an hour ago was a thing of the past. The swarm made their way through USC medical center and eventually through Union Station and into Chinatown like I mentioned earlier.
You could tell that some folks were getting tired. The crowd started to thin out as I presumed some people dropped out to rest or go on their own merry way home. We darted through Chinatown into downtown LA. Eventually we made it into Echo Park onto Sunset. On Sunset, we encountered furious head-wind and a tedious uphill climb into Hollywood. From there the group was thinning out. Only the few fixie riders kept up while others slowly paced themselves through the street. Even though I was starved, I kept my pace with the head of the pack. We finally reached Sunset and Western where the ride ended. From there I reconnected with @danceralamode. I waited for my co-worker but got a call from him that he was about 2-3 miles behind and was going to jump on the train home. I completely understood. Being on his first ride in years and have him ride 20+ miles in a night is too much to ask for. We bid farewell.
After a few back-and-forth cellphone conversations, @danceralamode got a hold of her friend. As it turns out, it was @GraphikDeziner who I’ve been following on Twitter but finally got to finally meet her in person for the first time that night. She had a friend join her and the 4 of us made our way to Dennys for some after-ride-grubbing while the remaining massers started on the People’s Ride. I enjoyed the company and meal while I kept an eye on the time to make sure I don’t miss the last train home. We eventually went our separate ways. I was lucky to catch the last Gold Line train home and strolled home with 39 miles of riding that day. I forgot to mentioned I had to rode back from Montrose into work that morning after a doctor’s appointment so I was beat!
It is so refreshing to have these adventures in my life. I wouldn’t want to trade this for anything.
Great video featuring a Critical Mass-like ride through LA. I think bicycling is getting it’s mainstream recognition now! Hopefully this video will get more people to ride.
As of yesterday, I have officially finished my 8 weeks trial period without a car. Through this time I have expressed some displeasure in the process but now it’s finally done! I would be lying if I told you I did not drive my car during this time period. I had to drive it in 3 separate occasions. The first incident was for 2 doctors visit in one day. I would have taken public transportation but even though the appointments were 2 hours apart, I was not going to be able to make it considering I wouldn’t know when I’ll be out after the first appointment. I suppose I could have considered that incident a “rental” incident but I think I can prevent something like that from happening either by scheduling them on different days or scheduling earlier. The second incident was a drive down to Orange County. I was heading down to our friends’ place so that I can leave the car for a weekend trip to San Diego. That would have been considered a legitimate “rental” opportunity. I would have even driven the rental down to SD. The final incident was because I had to bring my car in to get it tuned up and fixed maintenance issues. That actually has nothing to do with needing a car since the reason alone is enough to justify why I needed to drive. It was this last trip where it finally sealed the deal in my decision to give up my car permanently. I am tired of throwing my money away maintaining this proverbial ball and chain.
Here are some highlights of my 2 months experience.
Bought rain gear, but did not bring it when it did drizzle. Still had fun riding in the wet.
Rode 855 miles during this time which included commuting, some group rides, and my Santa Monica excursion.
Realized that LA still has a long way in becoming a bicycle friendly city and there are dedicated individuals who are out there fighting for a better LA as we speak.
Los Angeles have so much things to experience outside of a car.
I could go practically anywhere in LA if I planned it right.
People generally are surprised and doubtful when you tell them that you’re giving up your car. They’re almost sympathetic for the cause and some do offer rides.
Some people don’t think it’s possible to be car-free in LA. Some think it’s social suicide.
Your iPod is your best friend on public transportation.
My friends are realizing that I’m not messing around.
Using the bike rack on a bus is easy.
For the next step, I am going to get my car washed and detailed and will be putting it on Craigslist for sale hopefully by today. It is going to be good to lose this 3,000 lbs from my life. The revolution has begun!
I saw this story floating around Twitter last week and was in complete awe. Here I am complaining on how tired I was on my 55 miles jaunt around LA when Lan Yin Tsai aka Eiko who is 84 years old and rides 150 miles in one day every year for the past 26 years! She’s not dressed in any kind of exercise uniform but rather a dress, tweed jacket, and high heels. When asked why she rides in high heels, she humbly responds that was what she normally rides in. In addition to her dedication, she is doing this for a good cause. The ride benefits MS patients in the New Jersey area. Her persistence is envious and I can only wish I will live that long and still be on a bike. Find a photo of her below. She should be the forth photo in.
Today marks the one year anniversary of when my escrow closed for my home purchase. I remembered how nervous I was. “How am I going to pay this mortgage?”, was what I had thought that day. It was tough at first but here I am 12 payments later. I am able to pay my mortgage without a hitch.
I also knew that I wouldn’t be going out too much but I think I still enjoyed myself this year. Tax benefits certainly made it easier. I know I haven’t been hanging out with friends too much. Not sure why. Perhaps I like staying at home whenever I can. There’s nothing like having no where to go and enjoying whatever is on tv or Hulu.
The place still looks pretty much the same as I had it sine I’ve moved in. I’ve only added a bed, washer, dryer, tv and a tv stand. Everything else was given to me by friends and family. Still using those furniture. Perhaps I’ll get to buy some bedroom furniture and then some living room furniture. Definitely no rush since I don’t need anything at this point. Besides, I’m trying not to add more clutter in my life. I’m trying not to over consume.
To kick off this momentous occasion I decided to do my planned ride to Santa Monica this morning. I rode out around 8:30 am after I made a PBJ sandwich and loaded up with some energy drink and water. It was a chilly morning so I brought a light riding jacket. I rode east on Burbank Blvd to Sepulveda Blvd. A Harley rider pulls up to me on one of the stop and asks if I wanted to race for pinks. I laughed and said my bike don’t have pinks. He smiled and we went our separate ways.
I road the unfamiliar road down Sepulveda until I reached Wilshire. On Wilshire I went Northwest onto San Vicente into Brentwood. Brentwood was a scarier place to ride than any other neighborhood I’ve been today. People don’t know how to react with a bicycle on the road. I was able to signal a car to slow down on a right turn because a man was making his way slowly across the sidewalk. That was my good deed.
I followed San Vicente until it turned into Ocean. That was my destination and I pulled off into the park lined street to catch my breathe and eat my sandwich and rest up. After a few minutes of relaxing, I proceeded home. Going up Arizona. They closed the street on Second for a farmers market. I walked through the market and got back on my bike and road all the way to Barry Ave and turned right. I made my way to end of the street on Ohio and road up until that street ended. It brought me to Thayer and I made a right and ended up on Santa Monica Blvd. From SM Blvd I was on the bike lane until Avenue of the Stars. I then took the ramp down to Olympic Blvd. Took Olympic all the way to Rimpau. Turned left and the right onto 4th St. I took 4th all the way until it ended on Hoover. That was where I got lost. I somehow ended up on Sunset. I overshot where I wanted to be. I then rode back down Sunset towards Hollywood. Looked for Griffith Park Blvd. I was again held up a bit by another farmers market. Walked through that and proceeded to ride up to Los Feliz on GP Blvd. From there I took Los Feliz Blvd till the LA River Bike Path. I was finally at a place I had rode before. Went north on the path until I reached the end at Victory. I decided to take a more scenic path on Riverside Drive. I also decided to take a series of Bike Routes of Burbank. Until I couldn’t go further North. That lead me out to Buena Vista Blvd one block before the railroad track south of Empire Blvd.
All that took about 3 and a half hours and stretched out to about 55 miles. LA streets are pretty bad. Cracks and holes line almost all the streets that jarred the heck out of my poor bike as well as doing a number on my body. I’m a exhausted now but I’m glad I finally did this ride. Planned it for quite some time. Now I know what the journey looks like visually.
Last night I decided to go over to the Bike Oven to see if I could help out with some building up of bikes. Unfortunately, after 45 minutes of waiting, nobody showed up so I decided to ride back home. I cruised through Cypress Park, Eagle Rock, and then Glendale. It was there on Verdugo riding north uphill when a Honda Accord honks at me. The person switches lane and speeds off like many drivers these days would do. Funny part was that I caught up to him on a bike while he was waiting at the light. People are just so impatient when they’re driving. And why would you honk at a bicyclist pedaling along? What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? I have the right to be on the road and I wasn’t going snail pace. Probably a good 18 mph when I looked down at my cyclometer. I guess some people still don’t get it. Why the hell is this bicyclist blocking my right lane? As slow as I was going, folks can still get around me by changing lane. Why can’t you just move over and not honk? What does honking accomplish? In my opinion absolutely nothing!
Unfortunately, I’m not the only one facing this recent rash of semi-road rage. Josef, the owner of The Flying Pigeon LA bicycle shop posted up a scarier story where he was literally run off the road on his bakfiet loaded with a bicycle. He was able to maintain balance but his bicycle on top was knocked off the bakfiet and slid across the road. I’m glad he’s okay but to add insult to injury the passenger flips him off! Another story came from a tweet@ActOut who was riding today and a “sophisticated” business man flips her off while driving off in his SUV. The last example came from @SoapBoxLA who was on a bus while the bus driver honks at a bicyclists and explains that the cyclists shouldn’t be there! What is going on here? Why so much anger from drivers of Los Angeles? Oh well, we live another day to ride.
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