Reflecting on my Independence Day Weekend.

This last weekend was the most exciting time I've had for a fourth of July ever. It's not usually a holiday I really get into, but I got two days off from work, took an extra day off and had a five day stretch. I ended up participating in a different group bike ride each of those five days, doing in total I think close to 180 - 200 miles.

The first day being on the 4th, was a critical mass gathering of a couple hundred bicyclists, taking over the streets riding from Santa Monica to the Venice side of Marina del Rey for the big fireworks show. Of note was a guy out there with barbecue on the rear rack of his bike, with coolers hanging on each side, and he started cooking food at the after party. The party was a lot of fun, with music, dancing and people lighting fireworks. Some of us also went down to hang out the beach afterward, a few even swimming, as the water is warm enough for that at night now.

The second day I went out to my second Cubcamp, a fast pace group of riders that goes out every Thursday night, and on Tuesday nights they have Cubscouts ride, scouting the route for Cubcamp. They were doing a practice ride for the All City Team Race East to the Beach, an underground street race hosted by the Wolfpack Hustle. This involved going from east Hollywood to Dockweiler beach as fast as possible the whole way, and trying to keep a paceline formation going. I've never riden that fast for such a sustained length of time before, it was certainly grueling, but also exciting.

On friday, was the second anniversary of the monthly Ride-Arc, a group ride hosted by students of SCI-Arc university. Each ride has a theme, and is led through different parts of Los Angeles stopping along the way to discuss architectural trends and history at the architecture being discussed. Bikes are a pretty ideal way to do this as you are able to cruise slow enough to appreciate your soundings,unlike cars, but able to cover far more ground then walking. It was an eye opening experience and I had an amazing time, I'll write more about this ride in a future post accompanied by photos I took from the event.

On saturday I joined the "Pier Pressure" ride because everybody is doing it. It was a more casual paced ride starting at the Santa Monica Pier and cruising toward Venice in search of the 7-11 that had been converted to a Kwik-E-Mart for the Simpsons movie promotion. Was a fun little ride, and I learned some new little routes cutting through Venice. I also got my self a Squishee and a hyperactive pink cartoon style donut, the most junk food I've had in months. I didn't finish the Squishee though, it was pretty overrated I felt. Afterwards a couple of the riders went out to see a gallery opening in Culver City so I joined them for that, and the day became an all day sort bike ride adventure.

On sunday morning I joined the West L.A. Cycling Club, which I've been doing for a couple weeks now, for their up the coast from the Marina area to Palos Verdes ride. They are a friendly group of folks, and the ride is about 35 miles (plus my miles getting to the start and getting home) with a little climbing. For how crazy I've gotten though, this has become my wind down for the week ride, and the route is ideal for a chill pace and chatting part of the way. The coast is always nice, and as usual gorgeous weather.

After that it was off to Disneyland, as my friend Sam had invited me to come with her and her boyfriend. They talked me into getting a season pass, which I agreed to if for no other reason then the photo opportunities. I find Disneyland to be an interesting intersection of American idealism and fantasy, consumerism and excess, technical innovation and imagination, as well as being a mixing pot of various demographics within America, and tourists from around the world. I'll be starting a Flickr set soon, with my Disneyland adventures.

Sunday was also the day the street race mentioned earlier was happening, and I found out the Cubs got third place in spite of a rider taking a nasty fall, causing a couple minutes to be lost. Apparently a car pulled out suddenly forcing one of the riders, Rich, to brake suddenly, and the rider behind him in the paceline, Annie, slammed into Rich's back tire and flew off the bike getting some road rash along the way. She got back up, made sure nothing was broken, and they went on to get third place, with apparently only 30 seconds between them and the first place team. Big props to the Cubs for pulling that off.

Then came Monday, and my weekend that I wished could just keep on going, finally came to an end. I met so many interesting people and had so much fun. This whole experience getting involved in the local bicycle scene, has given me a renewed appreciation for living in Los Angeles and taking advantage of what it has to offer. I look forward to more adventures in this big crazy city.

Most of these rides were found using the following links as resources:
midnightridazz
bikeboom

Veterans for Peace, Santa Monica Demonstration

Back during the memorial day weekend, I took some photos of the crosses put up by the Veterans for Peace. It's been happening on the north side of the Santa Monica pier every Sunday for a while now. My first time seeing it, I ended up helping them out with moving the empty display coffins, as they were looking for volunteers.



It was a surreal experience walking in procession with symbols representing casualties of war. It's also unsettling to not see it for a few weeks and go back and see it has been growing, a reminder that while we are home enjoying life, elsewhere the war continues on.



I took the first few during the afternoon, then went on a bike adventure (posted about earlier), and came back to take photos at night. At night each cross was lit with a candle, guarded from wind by a red plastic cup.



Whether you're for or against America's involvement in Iraq, I think it is an eye opening experience to see a visual representation, rather then the abstraction of listening to a number or reading a statistic.

My first members only night at the Longbeach Aquarium (6-25-07).

A few weeks ago I went on my first members only night at the Aquarium of the Pacific. I decided to become a member since I tend to go at least 5 or 6 times a year, and it only takes two trips for the membership to pay for it self. It was a fairly large turnout, but by comparison to a usual weekend day, it was very chill. It was nice having more time to spend at each tank, and they also had a few special features, such as a diver talking to the crowd from inside the large tank in the main hall, and an open house of the educational area in the back, which they use for kids classes.



I also watched an awful cartoon about a girl and her pet shark. A shark that only she can understand, is quite large, and walks around in the air, and whom becomes addicted to sushi after she takes him out for his birthday. A silly plot for a cartoon doesn't necessarily mean it will be bad, but mediocre animation, poor dialogue, and not so funny jokes abounded. I unintentionally won a drawing for the Cartoon Network dvd of this thing, but declined it so some child too young to care yet could enjoy it. I love sharks, so I was a bit sad to see such a poorly made shark cartoon, but as always the real sharks were fun to watch as they prowl around.



As my number of photos has continued to grow, I've started experimenting with the collections feature, so my flickr sets may be shifting around and their contents reorganized. Hopefully none of my past links are broken by this, and if so I'll try to get those fixed once I settle on my organization scheme.




Aquarium of the Pacific (flickr set)

Aquairum of the Pacific (official website)

Bicycle Block Party

I decided to check out the block party celebration for the closing of the Los Angeles run of the Bicycle Film Festival, and got my first taste of the bike street culture at the heart of downtown. Feeling a little tired from a hard week of riding, I wasn't up to ride out there the whole way, so I took a bus bike combo, not wanting to show up for a celebration of bicycles in a car. I'm also trying to do more trips I would otherwise use a car for by bike, the night before having gone to a birthday bash in La Brea all the way on bike, with a change of clothes in the trunk bag. It took a lot less time then I thought it would, and I ended up there sort of too early.

Back to talking about the bike block party; which was loaded with fun, games, people busting moves, tons of bikes parked everywhere (lots of fixies out there), vegan food and delicious home made lemonade. The little area at the corner of Melrose and Heliotrope where it was held, is a perfect spot for such an event, with Orange 20 Bikes (a shop specializing in urban & commuter bikes) and Bicycle Kitchen across the street (a do it your self bike shop that teaches people how to build their own bikes out of donated parts or make repairs to their own bike). It was a blast being out there, and I look forward to the festivals return to L.A. next year.











Big props to the Bicycle Film Festival (which unfortunately I did not get a chance to see the films, but I'll grab a copy of the dvd when it releases), Orange 20 bikes, who hosted this shindig, and the Los Angeles Country Bicycle Coalition for supporting the L.A. run of the event (an organization of which I am now a card carrying member, and organizer for the L.A. River Ride mentioned a few posts back).

Friday Night Skate - Downtown L.A.

Here's some of the photo's from last week's skate in Downtown, my first time trying to skate and take photos at the same time. Rollerblading at a quick pace in low light holding my 5D was probably not the smartest thing I could be doing, but what's life without a few risks. Most of the photo's came out pretty blurry and grainy, and the jpeg conversion makes that worse, but I was expecting as much in those kinds of conditions. It's a really fun group though, and for any of you in the L.A. area with a knack for skating, and are okay with the occasional car driver who feels compelled to scream at us and honk their horn, come out and give it a try. Music is provided by retro fitted car stereo backpack and iPod. More info at fridaynightskate.org.

Friday Night Skate Photo Set

Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach)

Here's some photos from my last trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Which was also my first trip there since getting the new camera, so I was pretty excited. I love the fishies. I also picked up a membership while I was there so I can go back when ever I want without buying tickets, and every so often they have member only nights. Then you get to see everything minus the crowds of pesky humans in the way of my artistic vision (sarcasm by the way). Though it will be nice to have more time with the animals without the guilt of hogging the glass from little children, with their sad little faces.

Aquatic Realm Photo Set

7th Annual LA River Ride

I completed the 70 mile course of the LA River ride this sunday, however it was probably not the brightest idea to go and do that in spite of being sick. I sniffled and coughed my way to the finish though, still somewhere in the middle. I wasn't about to settle for being at the tail end of things even if I was sick and still at the disadvantage of riding a commuter bike rather then the more serious road bikes most of the 70 milers were on.


Actress Daryl Hannah, more recently known in her role as Elle Driver in the Kill Bill movies, was out at the ride to announce the send off and participate in the ride (though with a partially assisted electric bike). I have new found respect for her though as I found out she is a serious environmentalist. She is NOT one of those pose for the liberal cause on camera, "I own a Prius" therefore I am an environmentalist, gee whiz aren't I swell types.

Daryl has been driving a bio-diesel for years, has a solar powered home, is vegetarian, and regularly lends her time to various environmental and social causes. Probably most dramatically, she has been dragged against her will to jail by LAPD riot police, while trying to stand up for inner city organic farmers losing their property. Daryl Hannah also maintains a video blog, with much of the filming and editing done her self, on various environmental topics, including a short video on bicycle culture (Week 14). Here's the link, it's definitely worth a peek if you have any concern for the world we live in . dh love life.

Sunday was a beautiful day for the ride, and getting from Griffith Park to Long Beach is actually a pretty easy ride going along the LA River path. It's nice having such a long stretch with no cars, no stoplights, or any other usual city obstacles, and some decent scenery too. Nothing super amazing, it is the LA River after all, but pretty enough, and a haven for a number of species of birds (spotted a few bird watchers out there with cameras and binoculars).


The half-way rest stop in Long Beach was held outside the city's Bikestation, the first permanent valet bicycle parking facility in the US, and they also do cleaning and repair services. Safe parking for one's bicycle is always a concern when out on trips or commuting, and cities looking to reduce car traffic are catching on that providing safe bike parking increases willingness for people to ride their bike in place of a car. Santa Monica, which currently does bike valet for the farmers market and some special events, is apparently looking to also build a permanent bike parking facility to house 300 bikes at a time.

The ride back to the finish line was tough, the sickness could be felt more on the slight but steady upward incline back to Griffith Park and toward the end it was bordering on being just too much. I kept going as strong as I could, picking a group of riders a little ahead to help set my pace. One of the women in that group had a mini propeller sticking out of her helmet, a fun decoration but also an indicator of changing wind speed and direction. That cursed wind, well when it's pointed at me anyways, always welcome at the back however. I finally made it though, and settled in the grass while gorging on pasta and listening to some local music.

All in in all it was a fun day, and I'm glad I didn't sit this one out, but it was at the consequence of not getting proper time to recover from being sick, so I missed work today. Instead I've been cleaning up around the house, drinking tea, coughing up the last bits of unpleasantness from my lungs, and eating soup.

My bike, (a Bianchi Bergamo, commuter style bike, for any who inquire further) which is now 700+ going on 800 miles looked and felt like it needed a little love. I needed to clean the components, lube the chain, and make a few minor adjustments to the derailer. I was faced with the dilemma of how to prop up the bike in a stable fashion while allowing pedaling and gear shifting, without yet owning a proper bike repair stand. After a quick mental inventory of my possessions, I came to a perfect budget solution for an artist with a drafting table. Take the drafting chair and raise it to it's maximum height, which can be quite tall. Then slide the lip of the seat through the front triangle of the bike frame, and presto, ghetto art student bike stand.

Santa Monica Photos, Sunday Before Memorial Day

I posted up some of the pictures I took at the Santa Monica Pier on memorial day weekend. I'll post soon some pictures I took of the Veterans for Peace display of crosses for fallen soldiers in Iraq, something that's been going on every Sunday on the sand just north of the pier.

Santa Monica Photo Set

Downtown L.A. Fashion District

I added a set of photo's I took a little while back, in downtown L.A. around the fashion district. My friend Samantha was there to buy some fabric and I thought it would be nice opportunity to poke around with my camera in a part of town I haven't explored. Snapped a number of mannequin shots, a subject that has always creeped me out, while at the same time fascinating me.

Downtown L.A. Photo Set

Memorial Weekend, Sunday Ride Photos

Went out for a more leisurely ride just between Santa Monica and Marina Del Rey, snapping some photos along the way. I also took some more photos around the Santa Monica pier, and I'll be posting those later under my Santa Monica set.

Bike Rides: Photo Set