One of my favorite perks of being a dues-paying member of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is the monthly Sunday Funday ride series. The first Sunday of each month, they organize and lead a themed social ride, exploring different parts of the Los Angeles area. So far, I have done the Tour of Historic Street Lights ride, part of a Culver City/West L.A. ride, the Northeast L.A. ride, the Exploring Faith Diversity ride, and just this month, the Street Art Ride. Even when we ride through areas with which I’m quite familiar, I end up discovering delightful new things about my city – treats that were sitting there all along; I just hadn’t known about them.
This ride started from The Crafty Pedal, conveniently only a couple miles from my house. I had no idea this little gem was there, on Valencia, just off of the 7th Street bike lane in the MacArthur Park area. The Crafty Pedal describes itself as “friendly, crafty, cozy and contagious. We are craft, art and pedal pedaler,” and as an “Urbanic” craft boutique that shares an adjacent 1,400 Square foot art gallery where they showcase local emerging artists and host monthly speak easy poetry and comedy nights. I will definitely need to return so I can spend some more time checking this place out.
It’s fun to browse the delightful combination of art pieces and bike gear. The gallery Bikie Girl Jennifer, standing in front of The Crafty Pedal and looking good in the Bike It Or Not Two Piece Dress from Bikie Girl Bloomers Hyeran of LACBC tries to get the riders organized for a group photo before the ride begins.We rode the 7th Street bike lane into downtown, headed northeast on Main, and followed that all the way through Chinatown. We were a good-sized group, and it was fun to ride though downtown L.A. with so many fellow bicyclists.
A few of our motley crew. Rolling towards City Hall. Passing the Chinatown Metro Station.We checked out a wall that depicted “painters painting painters”, a mural near the Spring Street Bridge, that is best described here.
We then worked our way into the Arts District via Little Tokyo, stopping by this recent creation by @colossalmedia:
We then headed into the garment district to check out the building most of us immediately recognized as the American Apparel factory. Although I’ve passed this building many times, I never noticed the artwork on this side:
The American Apparel Factory Sunday Funday riders gawk at the American Apparel Building from across the street.Riding back into downtown, we were treated to the recently-restored “Pope of Broadway” mural at the Victor Clothing Building, as well as more mural action on the building’s other side:
The Pope of Broadway, featuring actor Anthony Quinn The back side of the Victor Clothing BuildingWe then took the Spring Street bike lane back to 7th Street, seemingly headed back to the start. I thought the art show was over, but I was mistaken.
Waiting to cross Wilshire Boulevard, on Carondelet. Note the serious tunes set up in the cargo trailer.We continued to ride on to the west side of MacArthur Park and north a wee bit on Carondelet Street, stopping across the street from Charles White Elementary School. There we were treated to this big mural by Kent Twitchell, a graduate of Otis Art Institute:
And that was the last stop on the mural ride. Another Sunday Funday indeed.
Last year, I took my first stab at the Errandonnee Challenge, a 12-day event during which participants perform 12 errands in at least 7 different categories by bicycle, logging a cumulative total of at least 30 miles. It’s brought to us by Mary of Chasing Mailboxes, the same shero who keeps us pedaling in the Fall with Coffeeneuring. For those of us unlikely to take up randonneuring, it’s a great way to embrace the sport in a manner that easily fits into our everyday lives. No need to train for hundreds of miles, nor to stay awake all night. Precisely because I use my bike for commuting and errands on a regular basis, I seriously underestimated the challenge last year. This time around, I was able to up my game a wee bit, by applying a few lessons learned.
Of course, last year, the Errandonneur-in-Chief had mercifully granted us two weekends within the dates of the challenge. I remember being grateful for that since I was committed to the Seattle Bike Show during the opening weekend and, ironically, being a vendor at that event means I have to use a motorized vehicle to haul my pop up shop supplies to and from the venue, with no free time to sneak off and ride a bicycle. (It has been a sad realization that starting a side business related to my passion for urban cycling has been a major destroyer of opportunities to ride my bicycle.) I also remember that my sons were home for Spring break during the 2016 Errandonnee, and cheerfully tagged along for some of the rides.
Even with the bonus weekend, I ended up scrambling to fill my control card last year. For 2017, I knew better. I was going to be organized!
The announcement of the event dates came a little late this year, perhaps owing to the Errandonneur-in-Chief having a life to live and all that. It appears the scheduling of the event may have been simply a matter of practical considerations. The event was announced on March 15th, with the dates set for March 20th-31st. In other words, just in time to end before the grand international #30daysofbiking, which always runs from April 1st to 30th.
No problem, even with just one weekend in there. Oh, except my darling husband had just very thoughtfully booked a trip for us to Seattle that weekend. That should pose no problem, though. There are bicycles in Seattle! Except the point of the weekend was to visit family and spend some time together while hubby is on Spring break and before he heads off to Cuba (again). Well, it’s only a weekend. I still have plenty of other days during which to complete the challenge, and besides, this year I’m organized!
To make sure I wouldn’t end up in a pickle, I carried a note card with me. On one side of the card, I kept a running list of errands I could think of that needed to be done. As each errand was completed, I added it to a numbered list on the other side, and made a note of the categories under which that errand might fall. I also noted my mileage there, as I’m well aware that most of my errands are quite short in distance. I then looked at my calendar, and figured out which days would work for which errands.
Last year, I got my mileage in with my weekend recreational ride to Griffith Park, but that wasn’t going to be possilbe this year. I decided to use my need for mileage as a motivator to follow through on a maybe-someday-I’ll-check-it-out idea of going to a DraftLA Meet Up scheduled for March 30th at a bike shop in Burbank. The Draft Meet Up are a new series of gatherings organized by People for Bikes to bring cyclists, advocacy groups and bike industry people together in a social setting.
The rules of the Errandonnee (because it wouldn’t be an errandonnee without rules) require no more than two errands in each of the nine categories, and at least seven different categories must be included. There is no minimum mileage for each trip, but the total over the event must be at least 30. For each errand, a photo must be taken to show that the errand was taken by bike. Finally, for each errand, the participant is to share one observation or something that they learned from that outing.
The nine categories can involve overlapping activities. That is, some activities could qualify under more than one category. I find that useful, when my very organized planning starts to go awry. Here are the nine:
Personal Care
Personal Business
You carried WHAT on your bike?!
Arts and Entertainment
Non-Store Errand
Social Call (includes restaurants, coffee, and other social activities)
Work or Volunteering, School
Store
Wild Card
Now, I can’t seem to approach something like this without invoking a theme. This year has been a heavy-hearted one. My mother died suddenly in October, and I am still processing this grief. She was a big fan of my bike adventures, an enthusiastic supporter of my Bikie Girl Bloomers, and loved to follow along as I posted photos and stories on Facebook. She wasn’t a cyclist herself, but encouraged my love of it, and even got me doing my first bike tour, Ride the Rockies, back in 1986. When Mom would call me, she’d always begin the call with, “So where are you now?” She’d say she just couldn’t keep track of my travels and whatever was on my schedule. Since her passing, I have felt her presence with me, and find that I particularly enjoy wearing something of hers as a way to enhance that feeling that she is riding along and enjoying my adventures with me. So I decided that I would include in my report the item of hers I wore each day of the event to honor her memory. Plus, I have to include in my report the bloomers I’m wearing that day, because, that’s my thing.
And, with all that ado, drum roll please, here is my “control card”:
Control No. 1: Commuting to the office
Date: March 20, 2017
Category: Work
Destination: Office
Remembering Mom by wearing: A pretty purple scarf she brought back from India, back when she was Director of Development for a charity hospital in Vellore.
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: Blue Bandana
Mileage: 3.3 (because I took the scenic route through Hancock Park)
Observation/Lesson: Riding through the wide, tree-lined streets, past the grand historic homes of Hancock Park makes me feel like I’m riding through a movie – it’s too idyllic to be real. Surely everyone would bike to work if they could do it this way!
Control No. 2: Mailing a small package
Date: March 20, 2017
Category: Non-Store Errand
Destination: Mailbox
Remembering Mom by wearing: A pretty purple scarf she brought back from India, back when she was Director of Development for a charity hospital in Vellore.
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: Blue Bandana
Mileage: 1
Observation/Lesson: I wasn’t sure if my package would be delivered. Doesn’t the USPS have some rule about requiring packages be left at the counter of the post office or something? I was happy to see confirmation that my package did make it to its destination.
Control No. 3: Attempt to deposit check at the ATM
Date: March 21, 2017
Category: Personal Business
Destination: ATM at Western/Wilshire
Remembering Mom by wearing: Her raincoat. I found this white raincoat in her closet. It looked so pristine, as if it had never been worn. Might she have received it as a gift? Was it new? Now that I know white is a color associated with the suffragette movement, it feels rather special. It’s a nice lightweight coat very suitable for the kind of light rain we get here in Los Angeles (when we’re not in a drought).
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: PinkaDot Black Bloomers
Mileage: 1
Observation/Lesson: Normally, I get mildly annoyed when I receive a check that is for an amount just a nudge above the limit for mobile deposits. This time I was thrilled to find myself tasked with an unexpected errand, just at the right time! The errand resulted in disappointment, however, when I discovered that the ATM was “not accepting deposits at this time”. I get that sometimes an ATM can’t dispense cash, but hadn’t realized that sometimes they can’t accept deposits. So my errand was a fail, but the Errandonneur-in-Chief informed that it still counts. Phew!
Control No. 4: Taking documents to be notarized
Date: March 21, 2017
Category: Non-Store Errand
Destination: Wilshire Shipping Center
Remembering Mom by wearing: Same raincoat.
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: PinkaDot Black Bloomers
Mileage: 0.2 (That’s what Strava says, but most of the distance was getting out of the parking structure; Wilshire Shipping Center is in the building just across the street from my office building!)
Observation/Lesson: Some businesses are so good-natured about letting customers bring their bikes inside. There were no bike racks near the entrance, but they waved me in with my bike!
Control No. 5: Commuting home in the rain
If you look closely enough, you can see raindrops on my glasses.Date: March 21, 2017
Category: Work
Destination: Home
Remembering Mom by wearing: Same raincoat – going for a triple today.
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: PinkaDot Black Bloomers
Mileage: 1
Observation/Lesson: Riding in the rain gives me a small sense of legitimacy in the Errnadonnee. I read about others biking their errands in foul weather, and it makes me feel a tiny bit guilty. We have it so easy with our gentle weather here in Southern California. But it’s only a small sense of legitimacy today, as the rain is quite light and manageable. Just enough to justify the raincoat.
Control No. 6: Second attempt to deposit my check at the ATM
Date: March 23, 2017
Category: Personal Business
Destination: That same ATM
Remembering Mom by wearing: Another scarf from her colorful collection. This one is a pretty batik of jewel tones.
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: Hot Pink Zebra Stripe Bloomers
Mileage: 1.3 (stopping on the way to the office)
Observation/Lesson: Today my deposit was accepted! And I am getting better at managing the challenge of getting my bike inside the ATM cage with its rather heavy door.
Control No. 7: Mammogram
That funky building is the Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center.Date: March 23, 2017
Category: Personal Care
Destination: Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center
Remembering Mom by wearing: Same scarf with the pretty batik of jewel tones.
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: Hot Pink Zebra Stripe Bloomers
Mileage: 5.3
Observation/Lesson: I didn’t know why I had been putting off the mammogram that was more than a year overdue until I saw the announcement of the 2017 Errandonee. I just needed something to make me get excited about taking time away from work to run an errand!
Control No. 8: Materials Delivery
Date: March 23, 2017
Category: Wild Card
Destination: The home/office of my production manager for Bikie Girl Bloomers, where I delivered two spools of quarter-inch elastic and two bags of garment labels (leftover from prior productions) to be used in the new styles of bloomers.
Remembering Mom by wearing: Same day, same scarf with the pretty batik of jewel tones (another triple errand day).
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: Hot Pink Zebra Stripe Bloomers
Mileage: 6.8
Observation/Lesson: I don’t understand what Google Maps thinks is a bikeable street. There were a few stretches on this route where I felt the sidewalk was my only safe place to ride, and I don’t normally think it’s wise to bike on the sidewalks. Fortunately, most of the ride was quite pleasant, as urban cycling goes.
Control No. 9: Grocery Store
Instead of locking my bike to the shopping cart corral near the entrance, I used the bike rack that is inconveniently placed on a narrow sidewalk.Date: March 27, 2017
Category: Store
Destination: Ralph’s
Remembering Mom by wearing: Her red earrings that look great with the beautiful red blouse my sister gave me during our visit to Seattle.
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: Red Hot Aqua Dot
Mileage: 2.1
Observation/Lesson: I was feeling so refreshed from an enjoyable weekend out of town, I was actually excited to plan dinner and run to the store for fresh ingredients. I bought some salmon to bake in parchment paper. If you haven’t tried cooking salmon this way, you are really missing out!
Control No. 10: Dry Cleaning Drop Off
4 jackets, 2 blouses, 1 pair of lacks and a scarf
Balancing the bike against a wall in front of the cleaners
Date: March 29, 2017
Category: You Carried What on Your Bicycle?
Destination: Rutley’s Cleaners
Remembering Mom by wearing: Her fuzzy purple jacket.
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: Groovy Tie Dye Bloomers
Mileage: 1.2 (stopping on the way to the office)
Observation/Lesson: This was another errand that had been put off for months, apparently waiting for Errandonnee season. I don’t have that much clothing that requires dry cleaning, so I tend to let it pile up. This was about six month’s worth: 4 jackets, one pair of slacks, two blouses, and a scarf. I piled them into a bundle, laid them over the rear rack with as much of the bulk in the pannier basket, and bungee cords holding the bundle in place. It was quite a lopsided load, and the bike would easily fall over when parked, but I only had to go 4 blocks. The hard part was taking a picture. I had to lean the front wheel against a building to keep the bike upright.
Control No. 11: Draft Meet-Up with People for Bikes
Date: March 30, 2017
Category: Social Call
Destination: Pure Cycles in Burbank
Remembering Mom by wearing: Her other red earrings.
Bike: Specialized Dolce Comp
Bloomers: Blue Bandana Bloomers
Mileage: 17.7 (biking miles; multi-modal trip – train miles excluded)
Observation/Lesson: Noticed the big, beautiful Centennial Fountain across from the entrance to Griffith Park. I must have ridden past it dozens of times on my way to the park without noticing it. This time I was on the fountain side of the street, waiting to continue straight across toward the river path entrance (instead of turning left into the park).
Control No. 12: Grocery Store
Date: March 31, 2017
Category: Store
Destination: Ralph’s
Remembering Mom by wearing: Her shoes.
Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire
Bloomers: Sapphire, a test sample from the upcoming Jeweltones Collection
Mileage: 1.3 (stopping on the way home from the office)
Observation/Lesson: It’s tough to stick to my carrying capacity when shopping for a party I’m hosting. Thank goodness for bungee cords!
That gives me a total of 8 categories, and 42.2 miles! I have proudly earned my patch!
What’s a bicycling patent attorney to do, but keep returning to our nation’s capital? After all, it’s a great bike city, it’s the home of the United States Patent & Trademark Office, and it’s a beautiful place filled with buildings to gawk at, and more museums than you can visit in a lifetime (or so it seems).
Usually, I visit D.C. in connection with some sort of intellectual property related business, and the biking just gets worked into that. But every March, bicycling enthusiasts from across the country gather in our nation’s capital to attend the National Bike Summit, hosted by the League of American Bicyclists. They aren’t your typical weekend warrior MAMIL* types, either. These are real-honest-to-golly-jeepers transportation cyclists who have an interest in getting more folks turned on to cycling, who see the future of urban planning enhanced by better bicycling infrastructure, who are actual professionals in the realm of bicycle advocacy. In other words, they are saints. And I love them also because they get my product, Bikie Girl Bloomers.
I first heard about the concept of a Bike Summit back in September 2012, just as I was first cooking up my plans for launching Bikie Girl Bloomers. A National Women’s Bicycling Summit was held right here in Southern California, at the Long Beach Convention Center. I didn’t really have any idea what a bike summit was, but knew I had to go to this thing. I loved it. It was so exciting just to be at a place populated with a huge number of other women who loved cycling as much as I do! I met a lot of interesting women, and I was inspired by the speakers, and I knew I just had to really run with my Bikie Girl Bloomers idea.
A few months later, I learned about the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., scheduled for early March 2013, AND that this would be preceded by a one-day Women’s Cycling Forum, AND the Women’s Forum would feature a Women Bike Pop Up Shop. The Pop Up Shop would be an opportunity to showcase women entrepreneurs whose businesses were inspiring and encouraging more women to embrace bicycling. I had already had my test samples made, revised, and finalized (sort of) for the introductory line of Bikie Girl Bloomers. So the Women Bike Pop Up Shop seemed like the perfect opportunity to debut my new line of skirts and shorts designed to make it fun and easy for women to bike to work.
As it turned out, my first production of bloomers and skirts was still in progress when it came time for the Pop Up Shop. I still went, and I did have some samples to show, and promo cards to hand out. I even had a few hundred 3/4 sleeve boat neck tees imprinted with my logo to sell at the Pop Up Shop. That was a heckuva project (both having them made and figuring out how to get them to D.C.), and I didn’t even end up selling a single tee shirt at the event! But my samples, and the bloomers concept, drew a lot of attention. I even successfully processed my first pre-order! It was a grand and exciting learning adventure. But I digress.
The point is, I’ve been going back to D.C. every March since, as I grow my little enterprise on the side. I love being at the Bike Summit with my bloomers, and I love being around so many people who understand and appreciate my product. So, March 2017 marked my 5th annual trek to D.C. to participate in the Women Bike Pop Up Shop. One new and exciting thing about this year’s visit was that the D.C. Cycling Concierge was offering some guided bike rides around the city to Summit attendees. There was even a free introductory ride planned for the Sunday afternoon before the Summit and Pop Up Shop began, which meant I could actually participate. So I did!
I decided to take up the offer to rent a bike from Bikes to Borrow. I had rented a bike from them when I came to D.C. for my first Bike Summit in 2013. That time, I was joining a special ride held on a very, very chilly (as in, so cold, they had to cut it short) Sunday night for women who’d gathered to celebrate the launch of the League’s Women Bike program. I love the way Sega delivered a bike directly to my hotel, and all I had to do when I was finished with it, was lock it up and let him know where I’d left it. Renting a bike doesn’t get any more convenient than that!
The D.C. Cycling Concierge takes people (alone or in groups) on bike rides around D.C. It’s a great way to see the capital, and he can tailor the ride to different themes or the interests of his guests. For this ride, he wanted to give Summit attendees a preview of some of the places they would be visiting during the Summit. That wasn’t necessarily what I was needing, but this was the ride that best fit my schedule, so that’s why I went. Plus, I love the concept of his business, and was curious to see him in action.
Once I had my bike, which was delivered to the meeting hotel, I met up with the group and off we went, first through Chinatown. I was having fun, and trying to snap photos when I could, and visit with other cyclists along the way, so I confess that I missed much of the informative commentary. I still picked up enough to learn things I’d not yet known after many years of visiting D.C.
Looking back at our group, and at the Chinatown Gate in the distance.
It was fun to meet people from all over. I visited for a while with Deana from Montgomery, Alabama, and with Erick from Austin, Texas. There were people from Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, you get the idea!
We rode past Union Station, the Senate Office Buildings, the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and stopped for photos in front of the Capitol Building.
I don’t think I will ever stop feeling a certain exhilaration at biking past these beautiful government buildings. The barricades that went up after 9/11, in my view, say “bikes welcome; cars, not so much.”Dirksen Senate Office BuildingTypical row houses of D.C.Friendly bicycling advocatesForeground: friendly bicycling advocates; background: Folger Shakespeare Library (that I had to photograph for my step-daughter who read all of Shakespeare’s works before age 12).Bike your capital!Library of CongressUnited States Supreme CourtUnited States Botanic GardenThat curvaceous building ahead on the left is the National Museum of the American Indian.It was a nippy afternoon. My peacoat, cable knit tights, and Smokin’ Hot Flame Bloomers kept me warm.
We made a nice loop back to our meeting hotel. All I had to do was leave my rental bike locked up and text Sega the location so he could pick it up. Easy schmeasy!
Our 4.7 mile routeMy trusty rental bike from Bikes to Borrow.
The next two days, I was busy with at the Women Bike Pop Up Shop. Although I had to mind the store, I was able to catch part of the Storytelling program put together by Melissa Balmer of Pedal Love. She brought together several women from the Pedal Love Culture & Lifestyle Council, each of whom shared their own story of their bike style. We heard from women of different ages, races, and parts of the country (Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Cedarburg, Wisconsin, Seattle, and New York). It was inspiring to hear such different perspectives, each woman pointing to how they came to love and live their bike lives in their own way, and in their own city. The program was a great example of the power of authentic storytelling.
It was also fun to set up my Pop Up Shop, meet women from all over who stopped by, and get a chance to visit with the other vendors. I especially loved it when a woman would bring a friend over to my garment rack, telling her that she bought some of these bloomers last year and loves them — yeah!! I also love it when men come to my booth, shopping for a wife or girlfriend back home. It’s so sweet!
The Bikie Girl Bloomers Pop Up Shop at the National Bike Summit
I still had an extra day in D.C. after the Pop Up Shop. Andrea of the local Women & Bicycles group had thoughtfully organized a special meet up of the Coffee Club for that Wednesday morning, so that Maria of New York-based Po Campo and I could join in while we were in town. We met at the nearby Buttercream Bake Shop.
Buttercream Bake Shop on 9th Street NW
Holy cakes alive: that place is loaded with sweetness! I was overwhelmed on my arrival at the splendid array of tempting delectables to choose from. I succumbed to the call of the cinnascone and paired it with a cinnamon toffee latte, both of which were divine!
Sinfully delicious Cinnascone and Cinnamon Toffee LatteMaria to my left; Andrea to my rightBetsy, Shira, and Andrea
One by one, the others arrived, and five of us enjoyed visiting over coffee and pastries. Afterwards, I walked to the nearest bike share dock to get me a bike for my next adventure. There was just one bike remaining at the dock, but I was unable to get my bike share key to work. I thought at first it was the bike or the dock that wasn’t working, but after walking to two other docks and having the same problem, it finally occurred to me that my key might not be working because the credit card linked to my account had been changed recently due to fraudulent activity. I called Capital Bikeshare and learned that, yes, that is precisely what was preventing my key from working. I was able to log into my account from my phone and update the credit card info, and, voila! My key worked.
Then I noticed the time, and realized I had better get hopping so as not to be late for my reserved entry time to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. I was less than a mile away, so it was doable. I was so excited to have been able to land tickets for the recently-opened museum, as I knew that they were hard to come by. To reserve them in advance, you have to book many months in advance, or you can get tickets for the same day by checking the website at 6:30 a.m. I logged on at 6:30 that morning and was able to land a ticket for 11:00 a.m.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The museum is very well-designed. There is more than you can see in one day, but to maximize the first visit, I followed the recommendation to begin at the bottom. An elevator takes visitors down to the bottom, and you work your way up through over 500 years of history, starting with the slave ships, the Colonial era, the Antebellum South, the Civil War, various contributions over the years, such as the Tuskegee Airmen, moving through the Jim Crow era, the civil rights movement, and on into the present-day Black Lives Matter movement. There is an interactive display set up as the Woolworth’s lunch counter, where visitors can choose how they would respond to a given scenario, and then see the consequence of that choice. Along the way, figures from politics, sports, and entertainment are profiled. Throughout the exhibits, it is apparent that care was taken to tell the stories in ways that include both ugly truths and beautiful moments throughout our nation’s history. The upper levels of the museum are devoted to thematic exhibits focused on athletics, military, music, film, theater and television. I skimmed through those sections, but took a longer pause at the extraordinary view from the upper levels.
Looking out over the National Mall from one of the upper levels.Getting back on bikeshare just south of the Museum, near the Washington Monument. I wore a red shirt in honor of International Women’s Day. I also saw people returning from a rally near the White House on my ride back to Chinatown.Returning my bike to the dock across from this gorgeous church on 8th Street NW
Today’s riding did not add up to more than a couple of miles, but they were quality miles, due to sunny weather and unbeatable urban scenery. I was so glad I had this extra day to see the city before returning home!
For my final ride, on the final day of the coffeeneuring challenge, I was determined to check out a place in Los Feliz, a rather hip and pleasantly funky neighborhood north of mine that I don’t visit often enough. Los Feliz is also a neighborhood I pass through on a frequent Sunday morning route, when I ride up to Griffith Park. That ride gives me a nice 22-mile or so loop, with my choice of moderate or intense hill climbing (the latter complete with a fantastic view of Los Angeles from the Griffith Observatory) that I can complete in 2-1/2 hours or less. This means I can still make it to church at 11:00, or have time for other activities. But that was not going to happen on this particular Sunday in November 2016. It was wet and drizzly out, and I don’t do Griffith Park when it’s wet.
So, I did my advance work, and I Googled for coffee shops worth checking out in Los Feliz. Despite a distracting array of enticing options from which to choose, I settled on Bru Coffeebar. It wasn’t too tricky to map out my route, and yet, I still didn’t quite do it right on the first try. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. First, I snapped my style shot, so I wouldn’t forget to document the Bloomers of the Day like I forgot last time.
Keeping it colorful with Red Hot Aqua Dot Bloomers under a Fruit Punch Nuu-Muu dress (and my orange bike socks!)I rode up Edgemont, one of my favorite bike lane equipped streets. I often take it on my return from Griffith Park, so today I thought it might be fun to try it out on my northbound leg.
The Edgemont bike lane. Griffith Observatory is the big white building on the hillside.Sometimes I get my “F” streets messed up, and I guess that’s where I goofed this time. I turned right onto Fountain and headed over to Vermont, expecting to find Bru Coffeebar near the intersection, but no. I rode south on Vermont a bit, and then realized I must’ve jumped the gun when turning off of Edgemont. So, I checked my directions, circled back to Edgement, and continued farther north this time, to Franklin, that other “F” street. Sure enough, that did the trick, and although Bru Coffeebar is easy to miss, thanks to its stealth signage, I finally saw it right in front of my face, and found a place to lock up the bike.
Bru Coffeebar in Los Feliz. Can you see their sign?It’s a nice, contemporary space, with high beamed ceiling and a cool-looking loft area. I ordered a ginger latte and some kind of syrupy, croissantish pastry that appealed to my sweet tooth. The presentation was lovely, perfect for Instagram, and both the ginger latte and the sweet pastry were delicious. After filling up, I returned to my bike, and was glad to find the saddle on a bit wet. If you’re going to bike in the rain, this is the kind of light rain you can easily manage.
Not wanting to return the same way I’d arrived, I decided to try taking Virgil back. Virgil is often one of the suggested streets when using Google Maps in bike mode, but I’ve been skeptical. Sunday morning is always a good time to take a first try at biking on a street that might be too heavily-trafficked an arterial. It turned out to be quite fun, even if a bit more trafficky than I would like at times. Part of the way, I did have a bike lane, and the slight decline made for a fun and fast ride.
I worked my way back to familiar parts of Koreatown, and enjoyed seeing some of my favorite architectural gems along the way.
The Bullocks Wilshire, one of L.A.’s coolest art deco buildings. Originally a fancy department store, it now houses Southwestern School of Law.Not a bad way to spend a dreary, drizzly Sunday morning.
Yeah, I’m gonna share my loop within the loop.Total mileage: 12.4
Bike: Specialized Dolce Comp
Destination: Bru Coffeebar, Los Feliz, Los Angeles
I was getting down to the wire. It was the final weekend of the Coffeeneuring Challenge. I had two days to get in my two final outings. Much to my delight, I had a bicycle-loving house guest who was happy to join me that Saturday morning. I thought it would be fun to show her some of the local architectural and culinary goodies. Besides, charming Larchmont village is just a couple miles from my home, and yet it has more coffee shops than I have yet visited, so something really must be done about that.
My guest for this ride, Judi, is big on bike touring and seeing the world. On a recent trip, Judi spent several months seeing Hawaii, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and New Zealand. You can see her pics from that trip and others on her Flickr page. We met when I saw her post to the Los Angeles Women & Bicycles Facebook page, asking when the next coffee meetup was planned. When I asked what part of town she was in, she replied that she was looking for a place to stay for the next few weeks while visiting. And with our kids out of the house leaving empty bedrooms behind, I figured it was a perfect chance to practice our bed & breakfast services. It was so fun to have a bicyclista staying at our home.
Judi and I rode north into Hancock Park to the northernmost end of Larchmont to check out Coffee + Food, a place on Melrose I’d found in my online research for coffeeneuring destinations. Bike parking was easy to find close to the front of the shop. We went inside and made our selections. I had a flat white coffee with caramel, just because I had never had a “flat white” before, and got some kind of sweet cinnamon thing to go with it. Judi went for a drip coffee and a breakfast burrito.
If, like me, you need a tutorial on what the heck a “flat white” is, here’s the low down. The quick answer: it’s like a latte, but with less milk and less frothy.
We wandered through Koreatown on our way back, stopping by Alexandria House. Just the night before, we’d been at a neighbor’s house for a fundraising party in support of this shelter that provides transitional housing and other resources for women and children. We stopped inside for a bit, and saw a group of women and teens getting makeovers. It’s a gorgeous house, and it was filled with warm and wonderful people.
We completed a loop back towards home, turning our short ride into a respectable 9.1 mile route.
The short dip along the southern edge of our loop (between Wilton Place & Crenshaw) is where I just had to show Judi my favorite mansion in Country Club Park, that has apparently been seen in a show called American Horror Story. The short dip near the northeast part of our loop is where we stopped to check out Alexandria House.
Total mileage: 9.1
Bike: Specialized Dolce Comp
Destination: Coffee + Food, Larchmont Village, Los Angeles
We then worked our way into the Arts District via Little Tokyo, stopping by this recent creation by @colossalmedia:
Date: March 20, 2017
Bloomers: Blue Bandana
Date: March 20, 2017
Date: March 21, 2017
Bloomers: PinkaDot Black Bloomers
Date: March 21, 2017
Date: March 23, 2017
Bloomers: Hot Pink Zebra Stripe Bloomers
Date: March 23, 2017
Bloomers: Red Hot Aqua Dot
Bloomers: Groovy Tie Dye Bloomers
Date: March 30, 2017
Bloomers: Blue Bandana Bloomers
Observation/Lesson: Noticed the big, beautiful Centennial Fountain across from the entrance to Griffith Park. I must have ridden past it dozens of times on my way to the park without noticing it. This time I was on the fountain side of the street, waiting to continue straight across toward the river path entrance (instead of turning left into the park).
Date: March 31, 2017
Bloomers: Sapphire, a test sample from the upcoming Jeweltones Collection
WeLove2Bike! 