Anyway, I’ve been wondering whether the owners put up bike racks to attract more bike commuting customers, or whether they did it because many of their customers were bikers already.

Which came first? And could anybody build up their business by showing that they’re edgy, forward-looking and ecologically aware by catering more to bike riders?

Does anyone with WordPress skills have tips on the best way to do this?

A few of the main routes I plan to post here:

• How to bike from PCH to Santa Monica without carrying your bicycle up a staircase
• Bicycling from downtown to each of the university campuses and back
• Bike rides around the terminal stops of all the metro lines
• Major east-west and north-south corridors

We’ll see how this goes.

Not to mention an early morning cruise along the beach, then zipping past quiet homes with lush trees and interesting gardens.

It’s good to challenge yourself. It’s good to have these happy reminders of why we do it.

First, if you have the option, you can cut your exposure to pollution by 10-30% just by riding in off-peak hours. The best time is early in the morning, before rush hour. Next best would be midday, or late at night.

If you’re not commuting by bike, and you just like to ride for the fun of it, be a weekend warrior. Ride your bike on the days when there are fewer cars on the road.

If you commute to work, and have to ride your bike during rush hour, you can save your lungs by taking alternate routes.

Almost every busy street has other streets running parallel to it, and the traffic on these other streets can be a lot lower. If you can get just 50 feet away from the heaviest traffic, you can make a dramatic cut in the amount of pollution you breathe in.

In fact, a Danish study found that when you bike on streets with low traffic volume, you can reduce your exposure to pollution by 50% to 60% or even more.

And when you think about it, you’ll have a safer, more quiet ride. Also more scenic. You’re more likely to pass parks and gardens. You won’t have to worry as much about being hit.

If you commute by bike, there might be stretches where you have to be on the busiest roads, but probably not for the entire route. Anything you can do to reduce the time you spend riding in traffic will pay off.

There will be more stop signs, and you might add an extra 10 minutes onto your journey. But you could also add years to your life.

Los Angeles could be a bicycle-friendly city

On his Human Transit blog, Jarret Walker listed the top 50 cities with the highest percentage of car-free households. East L.A. made the list, with 21% of households living without the automobile. Even Los Angeles itself was up there, albeit in 49th place, with a car-free density of 16.53%. We beat Seattle!

The reasons don’t have much to do with ecological awareness. It’s more a combination of poverty, age (Los Angeles was a big city before the riode pf the automobile), and urban density. Still, this just empasizes the opportunity here.

There’s always been a weird misconception that the bicycle is a luxury toy for the well-to-do, or a vehicle for the suburbs and the country. But given that poverty and density are compelling obstacles to owning a car for many people, biking just makes more sense. 

There could be a perfect storm brewing over this. Los Angeles has a strong bike culture already, and a bike plan (even if it has many shortcomings) is in place.

With our relatively flat streets and typically good weather (not counting this week), LA should be one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country. Now there’s some political will to make it happen, and statistics to show that it can be done.

While you’re out there pedaling through Valhalla, breathing free air and attacking the most menacing hills, the mortal masses are growing dull and weak behind electronic screens. Entire generations are hyperinsulated from the real world, and we’re paying the price:

Last year’s economic meltdown was caused by a potent mix of greed and laziness, the mindset that easy money should be a given, the bovine mentality that comfort is the norm and serious effort is unnecessary.

The purely physical aspects of life have become so easy for most of us that it’s easy to get lost in this mindset, easy to lose touch with reality, almost impossible to do anything as our resources and freedoms slip away.

At the same time, the few people who stay active and engaged with the world are beating the trend and thriving. The courageous heroes who squarely face the challenges that life throws at them, or who seek out challenges on their own, these are the people who continue to grow and succeed.

If you’re a regular bike commuter, I suspect you have a distinct advantage in your social and economic life, in addition to better health. And whenever you ride, you’re a beacon to all the wandering souls behind glass panes, a reminder of the independence, resourcefulness, and work ethic that made this country great.

When it’s raining cats and dogs, especially in a place like Los Angeles where it rarely rains very hard for very long, the weather separates the heroes from the common folk. If you ride boldly and blatantly where others fear to tread, you’re forcing the world to wake up and take notice.

You have a choice to make. We’re on the cusp of human evolution, but it’s different this time. We’re not going to be naturally selected by a meteor or some other environmental catastrophe. We’re going to choose our own fate.

So get on your bike, especially when the storms are raging all around you.

You don’t realize it, but your bottom bracket holds the future of America, and maybe of all humanity.

I was out for maybe a hour, and didn’t ride more than a couple of miles, but I took all the side streets and discovered a new park, a bunch of old mansions,  and some gingerbread houses. I was stalked by a giant Ewok in a Porsche (Halloween is near), and I even found a narrow twisty road that smelled like a redwood forest. In L.A.!

If you’re not using your bike to explore the places you think you already know, you’re in for a treat. I bet every city has quirky houses and yards, not to mention those random freak encounters with weird (ahem, interesting) people.

You’ll come away from these discovery rides with a new sense of wonder at the world, quite possibly enhanced by the extra load of oxygen and endorphins.

This is at least as entertaining as any movie you’ll see all year, and it’s free. Not to mention the exercise.

If you’d like to be in on this, let me know!

Bad news, but the reason might not be as grim as you think. Apparently the number of bicycles sold also doubled during the same period of time. If there are twice as many of us out there, and everything else stays the same, then the death rate would also double.

There are more and more people riding bikes. Me and my girlfriend even went to a club on our bikes last night.

Drivers, please be careful.

If you’re interested in getting away from this crazy place and you want to [tag-tec]ride your bike in Italy[/tag-tec], be sure to scroll down for more info.