Updated December 24 (YTD 2769.1717)
01.01.2010 – In the course of compulsively cataloging my bike trips during 2007, 2008, and 2009 I have traveled a total of 16,451.967 across that three-year span… most of it within the greater Los Angeles area. Last year, instead of setting a goal from the outset I just decided to see how far I could get, and I wound up exceeding my 2008 record of 6,608 miles by 133 — a remarkable achievement, but still a drastically narrower margin than the 3,102 I’d traveled beyond the 3,000 miles I’d set out to do in 2008.
For 2010 I’m sticking with keeping things open ended, in part because there might be a drastic change coming soon in which I could be afforded the opportunity to work from home, thus eliminating the 30-plus miles I would typically ride 200 times a year between my home in Silver Lake and my office in Westchester and back. While I look forward to that workplace shift if it happens, it will drastically minimize my commuting miles and force me to increase my recreational riding if I plan to keep up the distance pace I’ve maintained this past two years… which I’m not at all sure I’ll do. Especially since there’s not as much pride in biking for fun. Sure, there’s enjoyment, but going for recreational rides can’t compare to the fulfillment that comes from keeping what amounts to 12,000 miles of gas out of my truck’s tank this past two years. So, let’s see what happens.
Commuting | Recreational |
Jan. 04: Morning Work Commute
14.3871 miles (YTD 14.3871/14.3871)
Notes: Well that didn’t last long. Over the weekend, I decided to attach a wireless odometer to 8Ball, one that’s sat boxed an unused for well more than a year. With its components strapped to the bike’s forks and handlebars via silly zipties, I hated it right way because the parts were relatively bulky, and I knew all it would take to send the thing offline would be even the slightest bump in the road. But still I decided to give the contraption the benefit of the doubt with one test ride. Well, that test lasted all of one block this morning before I looked down and saw it failing to register my speed. With such quick proof that the odometer would be far more trouble than it was worth, I pulled to the curb, got out my knife, cut all the zipties and pitched the thing into my pack. Good riddance and back to Gmaps we go.
Jan. 04: Evening Work Commute
16.7526 miles (YTD 31.1397/31.1397)
Jan. 05: Morning Work Commute
14.5229 miles (YTD 45.6626/45.6626)
Jan. 05: Evening Work Commute
15.7883 (YTD 61.4509/61.4509)
Jan. 06: Morning Work Commute
14.5608 miles (YTD 76.0117/76.0117)
Jan. 06: Evening Work Commute
16.3401 miles (YTD 92.3518/92.3518)
Jan. 07: Morning Work Commute
15.7933 miles (YTD 108.1451/108.1451)
Jan. 07: Evening Work Commute
16.8470 miles (YTD 124.9921/124.9921)
Jan. 08: Morning Work Commute
15.0879 miles (YTD 140.0800/140.0800)
Jan. 08: Evening Work Commute
16.8323 miles (YTD 156.9123/156.9123)
Jan. 11: Roundtrip To LA Traffic Court
10.2797 miles (YTD 167.1920/167.1920)
Jan. 12: Morning Work Commute
14.4707 miles (YTD 181.6627/181.6627)
Jan. 12: Evening Work Commute
16.0886 miles (YTD 197.7513/197.7513)
Jan. 14: Morning Work Commute
14.3996 miles (YTD /212.1509/212.1509)
Jan. 14: Evening Work Commute
16.8160 miles (YTD 228.9669/228.9669)
Jan. 15: Morning Work Commute
14.6194 miles (YTD 243.5863/243.5863)
Jan. 15: Evening Work Commute
16.9596 miles (YTD 260.5459/260.5459)
Jan. 25: Morning Work Commute
12.9807 miles (YTD 273.5266/273.5266)
Jan. 25: Evening Work Commute
16.8403 miles (YTD 290.3669/290.3669)
Jan. 26: Morning Work Commute
14.4120 miles (YTD 304.7789/304.7789)
Jan. 26: Evening Work Commute
16.7957 miles (YTD 321.5386/321.5386)
Jan. 28: Morning Work Commute
14.6107 miles (YTD 336.1493/336.1493)
Jan. 28: Evening Work Commute
16.8326 miles (YTD 352.9819/352.9819)
Jan. 29: Morning Work Commute
14.6090 miles (YTD 367.5909/367.5909)
Jan. 29: Evening Work Commute
16.6438 miles (YTD 384.2347/384.2347)
Notes: Flats Nos. 1, 2 & 3 for the year! The first two, were a very rare simulataneous front/rear pinch flat from a huge storm-created pothole on Centinela west of Sepulveda I managed not to avoid, and the third from a very small thorn picked up in the rear tread (so much for the bullet-proofedness of the Continental Gatorskins) somewhere along the Ballona Creek Bikeway approaching Overland Avenue.
JANUARY TOTAL: 384.2347 miles
Feb. 01: Morning Work Commute
14.7408 miles (YTD 398.9395/398.9395)
Feb. 01: Evening Work Commute
16.8276 miles (YTD 415.7671/415.7671)
Feb. 02: Morning Work Commute
12.9483 miles (YTD 428.7154/428.7154)
Feb. 02: Evening Work Commute
16.8090 miles (YTD 445.5244/445.5244)
Notes: 4th Flat approaching the Duquesne access point of the Ballona Creek Bikeway, determined to be from a glued patch that separated. It’s getting to a frustrating point where I’m just going to forget about repairing punctures and straight-up replace any flat with a fresh tube.
Feb. 03: Morning Work Commute
14.7799 miles (YTD 460.3043/460.3043)
Feb. 03: Evening Work Commute
16.7933 miles (YTD 477.1336/477.1336)
Feb. 04: Morning Work Commute
14.3075 miles (YTD 491.4411/491.4411)
Feb. 04: Evening Work Commute
16.8157 miles (YTD 508.2568/508.2568)
Feb. 08: Morning Work Commute
13.1423 miles (YTD 521.3991/521.3991)
Feb. 08 Evening Work Commute
16.1061 miles (YTD 537.5052/537.5052)
Feb. 10: Morning Work Commute
14.4941 miles (YTD 551.9993/551.9993)
Feb. 10: Evening Work Commute
16.8491 miles (YTD 568.8484/568.8484)
Feb. 11: Morning Work Commute
16.4424 miles (YTD 585.2908/585.2908)
Feb. 11: Evening Work Commute
16.7878 miles (YTD 602.0786/602.0786)
Feb. 12: Morning Work Commute
14.7274 miles (YTD 616.8060/616.8060)
Feb. 12: Evening Work Commute
16.7954 miles (YTD 633.6014/633.6014)
Feb. 13: The 8 Presidents Ride
35.8346 miles (YTD 35.8346/669.4360)
Feb. 15: Morning Work Commute
14.5476 miles (YTD 648.1490/683.9836)
Feb. 15: Evening Work Commute
16.7174 miles (YTD 664.8664/700.7010)
Feb. 16: Morning Work Commute
14.4622 miles (YTD 679.3286/715.1632)
Feb. 16: Evening Work Commute
16.8459 miles (YTD 696.1745/732.0091)
Feb. 17: Morning Work Commute
14.3217 miles (YTD 710.4962/746.3308)
Feb. 17: Evening Work Commute
16.7884 miles (YTD 727.2846/763.1192)
Feb. 18: Morning Work Commute
14.3399 miles (YTD 741.6245/777.4591)
Feb. 18: Evening Work Commute
17.0694 miles (YTD 758.6939/794.5285)
Feb. 22: Morning Work Commute
14.3786 miles (YTD 773.0725/808.9071)
Feb. 22: Evening Work Commute
16.8154 miles (YTD 789.8879/825.7225)
Feb. 23: Morning Work Commute
15.3662 miles (YTD 805.2541/841.0887)
Feb. 23: Evening Work Commute
16.7893 miles (YTD 822.0434/857.8780)
Feb. 24: Ed Magos/City Hall Ride
11.2083 miles (YTD 47.0429/869.0863)
Feb. 25: Morning Work Commute
39.0854 miles (YTD 861.1288/908.1717)
Feb. 25: Evening Work Commute
16.7819 miles (YTD 877.9107/924.9536)
Feb. 26: Morning Work Commute
14.5047 miles (YTD 892.4154/939.4583)
Feb. 26: Evening Work Commute
16.7930 miles (YTD 909.2084/956.2513)
FEBRUARY TOTAL: 572.0166 miles
Mar. 01: Morning Work Commute
14.3210 miles (YTD 923.5294/970.5723)
Mar. 01: Evening Work Commute
16.5924 miles (YTD 940.1218/987.1647)
Mar. 02: Morning Work Commute
14.5647 miles (YTD 954.6865/1001.7294)
Notes: Woo-hoo! With my first 1,000 miles behind me I’m finally in four-digit country!
Mar. 02: Evening Work Commute
16.7830 miles (YTD 971.4695/1018.5124)
Mar. 03: Morning Work Commute
14.6212 miles (YTD 986.0907/1033.1336)
Mar. 03: Evening Work Commute
16.7667 miles (YTD 1002.8574/1049.9003)
Mar. 04: Morning Work Commute
14.5454 miles (YTD 1017.4028/1064.4457)
Mar. 04: Evening Work Commute
16.7828 miles (YTD 1034.1856/1081.2285)
Mar. 05: Morning Work Commute
14.6948 miles (YTD 1048.8804/1095.9233)
Mar. 05: Evening Work Commute
16.7759 miles (YTD 1065.6563/1112.6992)
Mar. 08: Morning Work Commute
14.4076 miles (YTD 1080.0639/1127.1068)
Mar. 08: Evening Work Commute
15.7120 miles (YTD 1095.7759/1142.8188)
Mar. 09: Morning Work Commute
14.5251 (YTD 1110.3010/1157.3439)
Notes: An Otherwise Quiet & Excellent Ride Home Last Night Gets Jacked By The Thug In The Beater
Mar. 09: Evening Work Commute
16.7831 miles (YTD 1127.0841/1174.1270)
Notes: Head-windiest ride of the year coming home. Consistently blowing cold against me from the north and east.
Mar. 10: Morning Work Commute
14.3247 miles (YTD 1141.4088/1188.4517)
Mar. 10: Evening Work Commute
16.7739 miles (YTD 1158.1827/1205.2256)
Mar. 11: Morning Work Commute
14.5461 miels (YTD 1172.7288/1219.7717)
Mar. 11: Evening Work Commute
16.7585 miles (YTD 1189.4873/1236.5302)
Mar. 13: My Grandson’s 1st Birthday Ride, Part I
37.3532 miles (YTD 84.3961/1273.8834)
Notes: Not long after my daughter Katie invited me to my grandson Aiden’s first birthday party, I decided because I’m crazy to get there via the fun and challenge of a somewhat epic ride from Silver Lake out to Chatsworth — made even more epic and challenging by the fact that after 36 relatively flat miles, the last 1.5 featured an elevation gain of some 700 feet to the rocky tops of Chatsworth.
Mar. 13: My Grandson’s 1st Birthday Ride, Part II
23.9399 miles (YTD 108.3360/1297.8233)
Notes: What goes up, must come down and while I rarely bike out anyplace that I’m not willing and able to bike back, I decided while heading back that when I hit North Hollywood I would avail myself of the relative luxury of taking the subway back to East Hollywood rather than pedal the last 14 miles.
Mar. 13: My Grandson’s 1st Birthday Ride, Part III
1.9410 miles (YTD 110.2770/1299.7643)
Notes:Â The last short leg from the subway station at Santa Monica and Vermont to home.
Mar. 15: Morning Work Commute
14.3403 miles (YTD 1203.8276/1314.1406)
Mar. 15: Evening Work Commute
17.2029 miles (YTD 1221.0305/1331.3075)
Mar. 16: Morning Work Commute
14.5146 miles (YTD 1235.5451/1345.8221)
Flat No. 5 for the year discovered just as I was leaving home. Pulled an embedded frag of glass from the tire tread but it didn’t breach. Very slow leak found from small hole discovered at base of stem.
Mar. 16: Evening Work Commute
16.7617 miles (YTD 1252.3068/1362.5838)
Note: What a lovely ride home facing quiet streets with warm breezes at my back.
Mar. 17: Morning Work Commute
14.7521 miles (YTD 1267.0589/1377.3359)
Mar. 17: Evening Work Commute
17.3079 miles (YTD 1284.3668/1394.6438)
Mar. 18: Morning Work Commute
14.3422 miles (YTD 1298.7090/1408.4627)
Mar. 18: Evening Work Commute
16.7846 miles (YTD 1315.4936/1425.7706)
Mar. 19: Morning Work Commute
14.3311 miles (YTD 1329.8247/1440.1017)
Mar. 19: Evening Work Commute
16.8026 miles (YTD 1346.6273/1456.9043)
Mar. 23: Morning Work Commute
14.5017 miles (YTD 1361.1290/1471.4060)
Mar. 23: Evening Work Commute
16.7824 miles (YTD 1377.9114/1488.1884)
Mar. 24: Morning Work Commute
14.4358 miles (YTD 1392.3472/1502.6242)
Mar. 24: Evening Work Commute
16.7850 miles (YTD 1409.1322/1519.4092)
Mar. 25: Morning Work Commute
14.4364 miles (YTD 1423.5686/1533.8456)
Mar. 25: Evening Work Commute
16.7759 miles (YTD 1440.3445/1550.6215)
Mar. 26: Morning Work Commute
14.6081 miles (YTD 1454.9526/1565.2296)
Mar. 26: Evening Work Commute
16.7609 miles (YTD 1471.7135/1581.9905)
Mar. 29: Morning Work Commute
15.5437 miles (YTD 1487.2572/1597.5342)
Mar. 29: Evening Work Commute
15.7312 miles (YTD 1502.9884/1613.2654)
Mar. 30: Morning Work Commute
14.3814 miles (YTD 1517.3698/1627.6468)
Mar. 30: Evening Work Commute
16.0676 miles (YTD 1533.4374/1643.7144)
MARCH TOTAL: 687.4631 miles
Apr. 03: Bad Road To Racetrack Playa Ride
14.1212 miles (YTD 124.3982/1657.8356)
Notes: Well, I didn’t do the whole 26-mile ride as I’d wanted to since 2002, but I did the worst half of it, climbing from 2500 feet up at Ubehebe Crater to 5000 feet over the first 11 miles of sincerely some of the worst road I’d ever want to bike. Beyond the endless washboarding, the road had recently been “graded” in sections by the fill-in addition of loose gravel. So in a nutshell it was really no fun at all because I was forced to stay focused on picking and choosing my way across the road right in front of me and I couldn’t enjoy the amazing scenery and vistas. So when Susan and Nathan in the SUV caught me up 3.5 hours into it at mile No. 14 on the downhill side (and with that came some wicked northbound headwinds), I decided to end the long-delayed journey uncompleted — not because I couldn’t continue down over the second half of the ride to Racetrack Playa, but because I’d conquered its worst part and just didn’t need to conquer any more.
Apr. 06: Morning Work Commute
14.5691 miles (YTD 1548.0065/1672.4047)
Apr. 06: Evening Work Commute
16.7743 miles (YTD 1564.7808/1689.1790)
Notes: Flat No. 6 was ridiculous in that I was forewarned about it and still managed to make it happen. It went down like this: I turn from Rosewood north onto Bronson in Larchmont Village, a few cranks of the pedals and I roll over a level manhole cover and it reminds me NOT to roll over the one a couple hundred yards up the street that I’ve looong known about and is decidedly not level with the roadway. Then I almost immediately go into daydream mode until THUNK PSSSSSSSSH and wouldn’t you know I’ve rolled over the worst possible section of that manhole cover and snakebit my rear tube. I couldn’t have felt more like an attention-deficited idiot as I made repairs.
Apr. 07: Morning Work Commute
14.5140 miles (YTD 1579.2948/1703.6930)
Apr. 07: Evening Work Commute
15.7556 miles (YTD 1595.0504/1719.4486)
Apr. 09: Morning Work Commute
14.5769 miles (YTD 1609.6273/1734.0255)
Apr. 09: Evening Work Commute
16.7680 miles (YTD 1626.3953/1750.7935)
Apr. 17: San Diego Harbor Cruise
19.7269 miles (YTD 144.1251/1770.5204)
Apr. 19: Morning Work Commute
14.5511 miles (YTD 1640.9464/1785.0715)
Apr. 19: Evening Work Commute
15.5792 miles (YTD 1656.5256/1800.6507)
Apr. 22: Morning Work Commute
14.4720 miles (YTD 1670.9976/1815.1227)
Apr. 22: Evening Work Commute
16.7804 miles (YTD 1687.7780/1831.9031)
Apr. 23: Morning Work Commute
15.2016 miles (YTD 1702.9796/1847.1047)
Apr. 23: Evening Work Commute
17.5967 miles (YTD 1720.5763/1864.7014)
Apr. 26: Morning Work Commute
15.2522 miles (YTD 1735.8285/1879.9536)
Apr. 26: Evening Work Commute
16.7859 miles (YTD 1752.6144/1896.7395)
Apr. 27: Morning Work Commute
14.5522 miles YTD 1767.1666/1911.2917)
Apr. 27: Evening Work Commute
16.7821 miles (YTD 1783.9487/1928.0738)
Notes: Flats Nos. 7 & 8. The first happened because I managed to thunk the rear wheel through enough road divots and potholes to finally snake bite the tube in front of Los Angeles City College on Heliotrope in East Hollywood. I replaced it with a multiple-patched spare and it saw me the rest of the way home, but before going to bed I spied it fully deflated and left repairs to it until the next morning.
Apr. 28: Morning Work Commute
15.2570 miles (YTD 1799.2057/1943.3308)
Notes: Oh My Gawd. Seems there’s always one day of the year where the flats seem like they’re never going to end — hopefully this was that day. It started off changing out the flat I’d found last night before going to bed, the result of a leaky patch. Repatching that tube, I rushed the installation of the next spare onto the wheel and succeeded in pinching a hole into it trying to lever the tire onto the rim: Flat No. 9. Patching that I put my last spare — with much care onto the wheel and pumped it up. It held. Yay. When I finally got on the road, though Flat No. 10 happened on 4th Street and Westminster — upon examination I discovered it was caused not by a failed patch, but rather a sliver of picked-up metal had worked its way through the decidedly penetrable tread of the supposedly impenetrable Gatorskin tire enough to breach the tube. But rather than swap it out for the questionable spares in my pack, instead I applied a cheap stick-on patch to the new hole in hopes it would last me to work. It didn’t. Flat No. 11 happened at Venice Boulevard and Hughes and so I rode slowly on it to Palms Cycles on Motor Avenue and loaded up on fresh tubes, opting to change out the leaker with a new one.
Apr. 28: Evening Work Commute
16.7903 miles (1815.9960/1960.1211)
Apr. 29: Morning Work Commute
14.7412 miles (YTD 1830.7372/1974.8623)
Apr. 29: Evening Work Commute
16.7963 miles (YTD 1847.5335/1991.6586)
Apr. 30: Morning Work Commute
14.6717 miles (YTD 1862.2052/2006.3303)
Apr. 30: Evening Work Commute
16.7865Â miles (YTD 1878.9917/2023.1168)
Notes: The end of an era. My days as a dedicated bike commuter come to an end with today’s miles, which coincidentally put me past the 2,000 mile mark for the year. Beginning Monday I begin a new chapter as a telecommuter, and instead of pedaling 15 miles from home to work and then back again, I’ll be working out of the house. It’s both sad and exciting. So from here on out look for my recreational mileage to fill the void left by my new commute from the bed to my desk.
APRIL TOTAL: 379.4024 miles
May 01: The 10 Bridges Ride
20.6098 miles (YTD: 164.7349/2043.7266)
May 03: Morning Work Commute
14.3343 miles (YTD 1893.3260/2058.0609)
May 03: Evening Work Commute
16.7814 miles (YTD 1910.1074/2074.8423)
Notes: So what’s this about, the first day supposedly working from home and instead I bike to the office and back like nothing’s changed. Well, turns out my presence was requested and needed and so I obliged.
May 08: The Watts Happening Ride
32.4734 miles (YTD 197.2083/2107.3157)
May 10: LACBC Sharrows Count Volunteer Meeting
7.3344 miles (YTD 1917.4418/2114.6051)
May 11: LA County Bike Coalition Sharrows Count
10.6654 miles (YTD 1928.1072/2125.3155)
May 14: Roundtrip To The Dentist
14.4913 miles (YTD 1942.5985/2139.8068)
May 15: The Frank Lloyd Wride
18.6236 miles (215.8319/2158.4304)
May 18: Blessing Of The Bikes Ride
9.0335 miles (YTD 224.8654/2167.4639)
May 22: The Two Rivers Ride
70.2254 miles (YTD 295.0908/2237.6893)
May 27: LACBC River Ride Volunteer Meeting
7.8712 miles (YTD 1950.4697/2245.5605)
May 29: Black Dahlia/Historic West Adams Ride
31.5965 miles (YTD 326.6873/2277.1570)
May 31: Memorial Day Ride
20.0508 miles (YTD 346.7381/2297.2078)
MAY TOTAL: 274.0910 miles
June 5: L.A. River Ride Route Marking
19.5391 miles (YTD 366.2772/2316.7469)
Notes: Flat No. 12 for the year at Boyle Avenue and Olympic Boulevard in Boyle Heights.
June 5: West Adams Art/House Tour
3.6126 miles (369.8898/2320.3595)
June 13: Downtown Meander Ride
9.0811 miles (378.9709/2329.4406)
June 14: L.A. River Loop
15.1546 miles (394.1255/2344.5952)
June 23: Morning Work Commute
14.4416 miles (YTD 1964.9113/2359.0368)
June 23: Evening Work Commute
16.8505 miles (YTD 1981.7618/2375.8873)
June 28: Boyle Heights & Back
17.2301 miles (YTD 411.3556/2393.1174)
JUNE TOTAL: 95.9096 miles
July 24: 4th Street Bike Boulevard Ride
13.4592 miles (YTD 424.8148/2406.5766)
JULY TOTAL: 13.4592 miles
August 24: L.A. River Loop
13.9795 miles (YTD 438.7943/2420.5561)
AUGUST TOTAL: 13.9795 miles
September 11: Griffith Park Loop
18.3741 miles (YTD Â 457.1684/2438.9302)
September 12: Ride Back From Katie’s After Delivering Her New Car
27.5377 miles (YTD 484.7061 /2466.4679)
September 23: Morning Work Commute
14.5540 miles (YTD 1996.3158/2481.0218)
September 23: Evening Work Commute
16.7920 miles (YTD 2013.1078/2497.8139)
September 24: Morning Work Commute
14.4969 miles (YTD 2027.6047/2512.3108)
September 24: Evening Work Commute
16.7529 miles (YTD 2044.3576/2529.0637)
September 30: LA River Ride Loop
8.2544 miles (YTD 492.9705/2537.3281)
SEPTEMBER TOTAL: Â 116.7720 miles
October 01: Afternoon Los Feliz Village -River Loop Ride
16.5800 miles (YTD 509.5505/2553.9081)
October 10: CicLAvia
33.45 miles (YTD 543.0005/2587.3581)
October 21: Roundtrip Office Commute
31.53 miles (YTD 2075.8876/2618.8881)
October 22: Roundtrip Office Commute
31.21 miles (YTD 2107.0976/2650.0981)
October 31: Rockin’ Arroyo Ride
26.33 miles (YTD 569.3305/2676.4281)
OCTOBER TOTAL: 139.1 MILES
November 4: San Antonio Bike Tour
14.54 miles (YTD 583.8705/2690.9681)
November 8: Power Outage Ride
13.0472 miles (YTD 2120.1448/2704.0153)
November 25: Thanksgiving Day Ride
19.6538 miles (YTD 603.5243/2723.6691)
NOVEMBER TOTAL: 47.2680
December 10: Midnight Ridazz All-City Toy Ride
27.1954 miles (YTD 630.7197/2750.8645)
December 13: Dentist Appointment Ride
14.7460 miles (YTD 2134.8908/2765.6105)
December 24: Christmas Eve Stocking-Stuffer Shopping Ride
3.5522 miles (YTD 2138.4430/2769.1717)