Yesterday, as the rains began to subside in the late afternoon, my intuition told me if I hiked up to the top of Runyon Canyon, I would have a good chance of seeing something special. I think this was one of the most intense rainbows I've ever seen! Everyone there had a huge smile on their face. Rainbows do that to people.
With a hard rain coming down, I should have assumed that NO ONE would show up to last night's SMCM. 3 other riders did show up, but took off when it was clear the ride wasn't happening. It was a critical mass of sorts, with a 2 person ride from Hollywood 2 SM & back. Megaprops 2 @theJURG 4 coming out in the rain 4 his 1st CM! He's an animal! 25 miles in the rain! We saw many accidents of the auto variety, but most drivers gave us mad respect, with the Cyclists Bill of Rights waving in the rainy night.
The ride was moving quick and somehow I got stuck with a group that lost the main pack. We ended up down La Cienega at 18th Street, while the main group was up on Sunset in Hollywood. After furiously twittering and texting, we made our way back to the main group.
We caught up with the People's Ride and ended up at Echo Park for a pitstop.
Thankfully, I was able to make repairs to my flag pole mount.
Riding through the 6th Street Tunnel. A few kids raced thru the tunnel. Afterwards, one kid went down HARD. Henry, buy a helmet bro! You were out cold for a minute! Not cool. Hope you're feeling better. On we rode, Henry got a ride to the hospital.
Mike G from Planet X! Whatup!?
Then on to a party at TOW, with a DJ spinning music, and a folkish type band playing rowdy tunes for the cyclists.
Michael and I ended the night with last call at The Bounty.
Even though the group got split up a couple times, I consider it one of the best rides so far. I didn't see one cyclist get cited by the police. THANK YOU LAPD! Henry fell hard and got knocked out, but he should make a full recovery. And the party at TOW was a total bonus! I'm guessing we rode 35-40 miles total. Santa Monica should be even bigger next Friday! It's the 5 year anniversary. Be prepared: Santa Monica Police love writing tickets to cyclists. Until then, ride safe!
Yesterday, I attended a live edition of Patt Morrison's Ask The Chief monthly broadcast on KPCC. It was held at the brand spanking new Ronald F. Deaton Community Auditorium, a modern, sleek building seemingly void of bike parking or restrooms. The chief arrived a little before the start, packing heat and rolling 4 deep!
I was a bit disappointed that with at least 6 cyclists in attendance with questions for the chief, only one person was able to get their question asked on air. Afterwards, the chief was available for some additional questions. Que Box & Roadblock:
Though I wish these questions made it on the broadcast, I think it's important the chief is hearing the concerns of cyclists.
Commander Doan, Box and Roadblock
By far, the most interesting and worthwhile part of the event was meeting Commander Doan, who is the newest pointman on bicycle related issues for the LAPD. He seemed genuinely interested in the needs of cyclists and even admitted that rank and file officers need additional training in regards to cyclists' rights and what exactly the laws are concerning cycling. He also talked at length regarding the hit and run incident last week, as well as the need for undercover sting operations on bike paths that have seen criminal acts against cyclists recently. He mentioned that LAPD is looking to do a community outreach program to educate motorists on the rights of cyclists. I left the event cautiously optomistic that the LAPD can improve their record of protecting cyclists.
Yesterday, as the rains began to subside in the late afternoon, my intuition told me if I hiked up to the top of Runyon Canyon, I would have a good chance of seeing something special. I think this was one of the most intense rainbows I've ever seen! Everyone there had a huge smile on their face. Rainbows do that to people.
With a hard rain coming down, I should have assumed that NO ONE would show up to last night's SMCM. 3 other riders did show up, but took off when it was clear the ride wasn't happening. It was a critical mass of sorts, with a 2 person ride from Hollywood 2 SM & back. Megaprops 2 @theJURG 4 coming out in the rain 4 his 1st CM! He's an animal! 25 miles in the rain! We saw many accidents of the auto variety, but most drivers gave us mad respect, with the Cyclists Bill of Rights waving in the rainy night.
Mike G from Planet X! Whatup!?
Commander Doan, Box and Roadblock
