For me, in order to get it into more heads that a bike can be a practical inter-urban alternative, the rides that need to be recognized aren’t the epic ones so much as the trivial ones — and this is certainly a trivial one: 8.5 miles to Hollywood and back with stops at Amoeba Records, Home Depot, and several places along Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake. The key is it was done far more enjoyably and calmly than if I’d done like most angelenos and used my truck by default. Doing so would have then wasted time, gas, money and my sanity looking/fighting for parking on the urban madness that is the day before the day before Christmas. Instead I was able to relax, get some activity in and enjoy a spectacular Southern California day in late December.
PS. This is also my first time on El Naranja in the two weeks that have passed since I was so heinously ticketed during the All-City Toy Ride, and it proved to be a much-needed reminder of oh what fun it is to ride in my urban version of a one-horse open sleigh.
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