A Bike/Bus Adventure
I'm pooped. I just finished the second longest bicycle ride I've ever done. It was an adventure.
We just finished beautifying our back yard, and my son, Nathan, suggested we do something to attract more birds. He suggested looking at a bird specialty store called Wild Birds Unlimited. Well, the closest one around is in Torrance. So I decided to make an adventure out of the trip.
I rode my bicycle to the store, more than 30 miles. Virtually all of it was on dedicated bike paths, completely out of traffic. The first part of the ride was along the Ballona Creek bikepath. For those of you familiar with LA, it runs through Culver City all the way to the Marina. Very nice. Then I turned left on the bikepath that runs along all the south bay beaches. I was right on the beach on a nice cement bike path. El Segundo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach. Each a little different, all very beautiful. The whole way there are beach houses and apartments on the left, blue ocean on the right, and the Palos Verdes peninsula straight ahead getting closer and closer. Then I turned inland on Pacific Coast Highway and rode it to Crenshaw. Yes, Crenshaw is a very upscale street when you get so close to Palos Verdes. That's where the store is. Total trip time 2:40.
After shopping and eating, I started back. I rode my bike a little over 6 miles to the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. There I caught a Rapid Bus all the way to Rossmore and Beverly, less than 2 miles away from my home. The bike fits snuggly on the bike rack in the front of the bus. Easy on, easy off. Total trip time 2:20. The bus portion of the trip took one hour, the same amount of time I would have left had I been driving there.
I found it very interesting that the time spent traveling there and back was really not all that different. I think the dedicated bike path with no signals, no stop signs, no traffic, really makes a big difference in how fast I can go on my bike. The bus still has to deal with traffic. But it was nice being able to sit and not pedal on the way home. I was tired.
The bus/bike combination really extends the range one has taking alternate transportation in LA.
We just finished beautifying our back yard, and my son, Nathan, suggested we do something to attract more birds. He suggested looking at a bird specialty store called Wild Birds Unlimited. Well, the closest one around is in Torrance. So I decided to make an adventure out of the trip.
I rode my bicycle to the store, more than 30 miles. Virtually all of it was on dedicated bike paths, completely out of traffic. The first part of the ride was along the Ballona Creek bikepath. For those of you familiar with LA, it runs through Culver City all the way to the Marina. Very nice. Then I turned left on the bikepath that runs along all the south bay beaches. I was right on the beach on a nice cement bike path. El Segundo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach. Each a little different, all very beautiful. The whole way there are beach houses and apartments on the left, blue ocean on the right, and the Palos Verdes peninsula straight ahead getting closer and closer. Then I turned inland on Pacific Coast Highway and rode it to Crenshaw. Yes, Crenshaw is a very upscale street when you get so close to Palos Verdes. That's where the store is. Total trip time 2:40.
After shopping and eating, I started back. I rode my bike a little over 6 miles to the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. There I caught a Rapid Bus all the way to Rossmore and Beverly, less than 2 miles away from my home. The bike fits snuggly on the bike rack in the front of the bus. Easy on, easy off. Total trip time 2:20. The bus portion of the trip took one hour, the same amount of time I would have left had I been driving there.
I found it very interesting that the time spent traveling there and back was really not all that different. I think the dedicated bike path with no signals, no stop signs, no traffic, really makes a big difference in how fast I can go on my bike. The bus still has to deal with traffic. But it was nice being able to sit and not pedal on the way home. I was tired.
The bus/bike combination really extends the range one has taking alternate transportation in LA.
posted by Glen Janken at 3:47 PM
4 Comments:
What was the longest bike trip you ever made?
When I was in high school, I rode from Halm to Zuma Beach. I ate lunch, went in the ocean and began the ride back. After a couple of miles, my legs began to cramp, and I hitch hiked back. A VW beetle convertible stopped and picked me and the bike up and gave me a ride. I don't remember where I was dropped off, but it must have been somewhere on Pico.
The longest bike trip I ever took was with Allan (aka Anonymous?) from Los Gatos to Cambria and back. About 60 miles
Oops! The Anonymous comment was my brother, Kenny.
Glen,
I just posted to my site (RideTHISbike.com) a short about car free living in Los Angeles. I mentioned your blog for more information and wanted you to be aware of it.
FYI, I too believe that car culture as we know it is not sustainable and is destroying the planet. To do my small part helping people rethink their lifestyles, I launched RideTHISbike.com in the summer of 2005. My goal is to show that using bicycles for commuting can be practical, healthy and fun.
My site promotes bicycles as an alternate means of transportation and offers info about travel by bikes. I also feature info about about a small number of folding bikes because bikes that fold can be stored and transported more easily than full size bikes.
I hope you have a chance to read my post about you and also consider adding a link on your blog to RideTHISbike.com.
Respectfully,
Larry Lagarde
RideTHISbike.com
Ph: 504-324-2492
Urging bicycling for recreation, commuting, health and a better future.
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