Submitted by Claire Latané
I always wanted to live in California: the mecca of liberalism, bastion of healthy living. When I moved here five years ago for graduate school, I was surprised and thrilled to learn that Los Angeles was, in fact, a diverse collection of unique individuals from every walk of life. So, it wasn’t that I felt pressure to ride my bike to work. I just really wanted to do my part for a healthy city by being one less car in Los Angeles.
I began working for landscape architecture firm, which is close to home. After a year, I took the first baby steps toward bicycling to work. My sons, Jacob and Levi, rode their bikes the half mile to Eagle Rock Elementary, while I doubled with my 12-year-old daughter, Grace. I continued on to the bus stop to take the 780 to Pasadena. I did this once or twice a week. Meanwhile, I dreamed of riding my bike all six miles to work. I thought about it, and talked about it, and after a few months, and with a lot of moral support, I did it.
Once is all it took. I ride two or three days a week on average, sometimes more. I love replacing a 20-minute drive with a 40-minute workout. I love feeling connected to my community. I love that when I started riding, I had to walk my single-speed up five hills on my round-trip commute, and now I walk up only one. Those hills are benchmarks of my progress.
The energy and success I feel with each ride outweigh the frustrations — though those are plentiful too. I’ve had several close calls with cars and one flip over my handle bars. I have learned that leaving by 7:00am means missing the high school drop-off congestion, and that waiting till 8:00am means lighter traffic along California Boulevard in Pasadena. I’ve learned to take the sidewalk between Orange Grove and Fair Oaks Avenues for safety.
Months have now passed. Gas prices have risen by nearly one dollar. SUVs have finally lost their appeal. When I began riding, I saw one or two bicyclists each way. Now I see at least five or six. The more bicycles I see, the safer I feel. The more bicycles there are, the more visible we are. The more drivers see cyclists, the more they will watch for cyclists, yield to cyclists (when required by law), and perhaps even appreciate cyclists.
After all, for each of us who rides a bicycle there’s one less car on the road.
Photo Caption: Bicyclists on a "Get Some Dim Sum" ride in Los Angeles' Chinatown, August 31st, 2008. (Photo Courtesy of ubrayj02 via Flickr)
