I'd been talking to my buddy Eddie S., who's got a much higher enthusiasm level than I do, and he's on a mission to lose some weight over the next few months. Since I'm endeavoring to do that as well, I pulled together a pretty generic Westside route, and we made plans to meet up later.
Before that, I decided to hit Big 5 for some gear, as I keep hearing stories about people getting their bikes taken/being assaulted while riding. While I'm not too concerned, as I'm a large guy on a cheap bike, which isn't a very attractive target, I figured it's better to be safe than sorry. So, the shopping list included pepper spray, a whistle, and a pocket knife that could be opened one-handed. Not that I intend to get into any knife fights mind you, but I'm a guy, and I'll take any excuse to get a new pocket knife. (Should you be buying cutlery, please note that per LAMC 55.10 you cannot carry a knife with a blade of more than 3" in plain view (so make sure it's in your pocket), and per state law, you cannot have a knife with a blade of more than 2.5" on school (K-12) grounds, butterfly knives and switchblades are illegal unless the blade is less than 2", and knives that do not fold are prohibited under a broad ban on "dirks or daggers".) I did not find a pocket knife (although I did find one today at the surplus store at Motor/Venice for $10 (they also have a messenger bag, which they call a "casual briefcase" for $14.95)), but I did find a decent whistle with a lanyard for $2.49, and a canister of combination tear gas / pepper spray for $12.99, which sounds like something that shouldn't be sold that cheaply and/or over the counter (but is perfectly legal as long as you have less than 2.5 oz per canister).
So Eddie showed up, and we rode West on Venice and South on Sawtelle, which due to the traffic and the numerous lights, is pretty sketchy until you get South of Culver, at which point it becomes an awesome low-traffic neighborhood street that should be included on more rides. Then we headed West on Jefferson to Culver, through Playa Vista and the Ballona Wetlands to Playa Del Rey, all of which were covered with this low lying fog that I thought was supercool but Eddie was kind of creeped out by. Then we rode over Mustache Bridge, around the Marina, out to Venice Pier, and up the Boardwalk/Pacific Avenue into Santa Monica. Being EXTRA law abiding while in Santa Monica, we headed up Broadway, which is a pretty cool road with a nice bike lane to Bundy, took Bundy to Olympic to Barrington to Venice, for a total of 17-18 miles, not a bad way to round out the year.
I wish I had had a camera with me, as Eddie was sporting what may be the next incarnation of fixie hipster fashion, namely shorts with soccer socks. While I probably won't adopt this combo, they did look pretty dapper, and are a definite improvement on the women's jeans sported by some.
Of course, between the long shorts, long socks, silly hats, and unusual footwear, it's just a matter of time before the avant garde of the urban cyclist crowd starts shopping at the golf outlets.
Happy New Year Everyone!
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