My last post on No Whip!

Today the book I've worked on for the previous year, Appetite For Reduction, is officially out and I'm ending this blog and starting a new site called True Love Health.



Well, it has been an amazing four years of regular posting here. In December of 2006, while spending a month in New Zealand, I decided to take all of my adventure writing and put it in one place. I spent many many hours finding and organizing my stories and photos; all the way back to my reflections on my 2001 cross-country bike tour. Many stories never got finished as I was too quickly accumulating new ones to write about old ones! What a fortunate problem to have.

The name of this of this blog was chosen without much thought, based on a dumb joke. I never thought ahead that I'd be promoting it or that strangers would actually be reading it. It was just a place to record what I was up to for my friends to see.

What's that joke? Slang for car is whip, but it's also short for whip cream, two things I philosophically try to avoid. One day at a coffee shop I ordered a fancy drink and the barista said, 'Whip?' and I responded, 'No, I rode here.' She stared at me blankly the same way people do when I explain the blog name....

So I'm moving on. I don't talk about it often, but I'm a Registered Dietitian, i.e. a professional nutritionist. My expertise is in Public Health (I teach community college) and Vegetarian Nutrition (duh). I've always struggled to keep my professional life and personal life separate, but it's obvious that they are one and the same. My professional life is dictated by my personal ethics and it's not only dumb, but a pain in the ass to try and hide my tattoos from my colleagues.

I got into nutrition because of veganism and always thought I'd have my own practice immediately. But now seven years on from graduate school (!!) I'm making the time for it and my new site, True Love Health will reflect both adventure and my 'professional' life. An example of my writing is on No Meat Athlete, Protein- A Primer For Vegetarians.

How about some FAQ?

Where did the name True Love Health come from?
In 2007 I was working on a new design for the stage race I put on, Feel My Legs, I'm A Racer. I had wanted a new bike related tattoo and decided I'd use the design for the 2007 race as my tattoo. It represents my feeling about riding bikes and doing races: I just really love the process. The action of doing. We don't race up 10 of the hardest hills in LA just to get to the top, but for the process of riding something so different. A metaphor for life, if you will.
And this way I already have my brand tattooed on me. Easy decision.

Is the new site only about vegan nutrition?
-No, definitely not. My philosophy on health, nutrition and exercise is that they have to be fun and lifestyle oriented. I hate treadmills. I love to cook. Sometimes I eat vegan donuts. Health is about the big picture and having fun and the new site will reflect this.

Will you constantly be trying to sell your services?
-No!

How can I pay you for your services?
-Please get in touch through my email which is MattRuscigno on gmail.

What new stuff will the site have?
-More regular posts with more details on training, eating and racing plus guest posts from people who I think are ruling at life. And other more in-depth projects! It's going to be an all-around resource for people being stoked on eating and doing stuff!

Will you still post stupid photos you take in the street with your phone?
-Fuck yeah!

Is it going to be all nice and professional or will you still swear and be kinda inappropriate?
-See above.

How can I stay in the loop?
About 500 people subscribe to this blog via a service like Google Reader. You need to add Truelovehealth.com to your reader and follow on twitter.com/truelovehealth. Also, if you link to me from your site please update your link!

Lastly, thank you everyone who has been supportive by reading and being a part of these adventures. This is what life is about! I wouldn't do all this if it wasn't motivating people to be good in the world. What we eat, how we get around and how we spend our free time is as political as anything! It affects everyone. But this doesn't mean it cannot be fun. Looking forward to many more years of adventures!!

Nutrition and transitioning

I spent last weekend and early this week at the American Dietetic Association's annual conference in Boston where I facilitated a workshop on vegetarian nutrition. I usually don't talk about my professional world here, but I'm in the process of transitioning to a new blog that combines both. Links for that coming soon, but I've already started using this: twitter.com/truelovehealth. One of my tweets included this photo of dietitians in line for free soda at the expo:

Yes, you read that correctly. Dietitians getting free soda at a nutrition conference. This is the world I work in. We have a long way to go. Fortunately my 'Corporate influence = huge problem" post was picked up and re-tweeted by a number of people who feel similarly. The photo has been viewed nearly 600 times.

This is the sort of topic that makes me nervous professionally. Will this affect my work with the ADA? At the end of the conference they posted a thank you to all of the twitter users at the conference and my name was not listed....

Anyway. If you don't stay true to your own ethics what are you left with?

Start following me on twitter for more.

fuck Ironman

World Triathlon Corporation, who put on Ironman(tm), the events I refuse to go to because they are insanely expensive- $550 for a one-day race- and pride themselves on exclusivity just started a program to get early entry in races that costs $1000 a year. A thousand dollars just to register early. Some have called it the Country Club program.

Is anyone surprised? I'm not. This is capitalism at it's ugliest- exploiting those with more resources to line your own pockets- at the expense of those with less. And because they are so big it makes it harder for smaller race organizers to put on events. If they kept doing what they do- taking money from rich people to make themselves richer I wouldn't care as much. I still wouldn't go to their fucking races, but I wouldn't be as mad about it. But it affects any of us who want to do a long-course swim, bike, run because there are fewer and fewer alternatives. And those of us without thousands of extra dollars.

I put off doing an 'iron-distance' because of the association with Ironman-trademark and I'm wondering if I ever want to do one again. There need to be more events like Vineman .

This video nails it. Thanks Treystone!

still funny

Ciclavia 10-10-10

Death and Dancing

My Google Reader is poppin this morning. First this post with a chart outlining that the number one killer of children is motor vehicles. Number one. Think about that. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tells us that in 2007 over 41,000 total people were killed by automobiles. What makes it all the more tragic is that we take this as 'normal'. Well, life is dangerous and we have to drive, right? No, we don't have to. We've just spent the previous 60 years giving space and priority to moving automobiles as fast as possible. This has to change. And it is. Slowly.

Folks do what they can. For some in Oakland it's this dance for their friend who was killed in a car at this corner.



Here's a little news story about it and the Turf website.

What's your dance? Get out there and do it.

Books!

Recently I was in Powell's 'City of Books' in Portland and while perusing the Food/Sustainability section I finally got to see in person, my good friend Temra Costa's book about women in the sustainable food movement. Temra rules. We met, obviously enough, at a conference on food justice. She lived in Davis at the time I was traveling for work to Sacramento every few months or so and we'd hang out. She's a super hard worker and very busy, so that often meant I was tagging along in what she was already doing- like scavengering the city for figs. Have you ever ate a fresh fig straight from the tree? She'd climb the tree, pick one and eat it, pass one down, which I would eat and then every third one would actually make it into the bike basket.


Also in this section was my friend Erik Knutzen's book that he co-wrote with his wife, The Urban Homestead.


I ran into him last at the Echo Park Farmers Market (duh, right?) and they are working on a new book right now. I've been on a tour of his house during the 2009 Big Parade Staircase Walk and it is super amazing. A small farm right in the city!

Now any of you vegans out there know that the sustainable food movement not only includes animal products, but actively promotes them and are often anti-vegetarian. It's very frustrating. Sustainability aside, it is still an ethical issue. As if eating local makes a difference to the animals raised and killed! I don't want to be the militant vegan that no doubt has fueled the fire for localvores, in fact, I want to do the opposite. Vegans need to be more in touch with these folks and understand this movement, because it is a very important part of the puzzle.

The book I was looking for was On A Dollar A Day. I knew about the blog and hadn't realized it was a book until a friend in Portland recommended it. Turns out that the authors are not only vegan, but old hardcore kids! (Out of context 'hardcore' kids sounds funny, it's a sub-genre of punk rock that was very influential to me as a youth, and today).


Can someone eat on a dollar a day? What about on Food Stamp allocations? I love books where the authors are actively figuring something out as they write. You feel their struggle in trying to not only create meals from the resources they are limited to, but also to vegan-ize them. I'm most of the way through it and I highly recommend it.

The next day I was in the Powell's that's in the airport (Portland, I love you!) and what do I see? My friend Kalee Thompson's book Deadliest Sea. Full circle, as she's the partner of the guy who organizes the Big Parade Staircase Walk! On last year's walk I had just started the book I am working on and I bugged her with a million questions about the process. I haven't read this yet, but she's a former editor of National Geographic Adventure (RIP!) and an awesome person so I know it'll be good.




So stoked on my friends! And I can't write a post about books and not mention Born To Run. I could not put this book down, except to go running. It's about more than running and ultra-running, it's anthropological in his look at the Tarahumara, but also about us, Western Culture. The author looks at the shoe industry and is not afraid to name names. It all comes together when a mysterious desert dweller organizes an ultra-run in Copper Canyon. So rad.


This book takes running out of the athletic realm. I see it now like back-packing or bike touring. We are born to run and to move, so get out and do it. I can't wait to run an ultra-marathon, which I guess is obvious to anyone who knows me...

LAPD poster parody

Sarcasm is such a great political tool. This poster mocks the one put out by the LAPD after they invited themselves to Critical Mass. There is some background here.


You can see the video of LAPD kicking and assaulting cyclists on last month's Critical Mass. The double standard is amazing.

If any cyclists break the law = cyclists break laws.
If the police beat people = it was an isolated incident.

Not enough hours this weekend to do it all

Well, It's not quite officially summer, but there are a number of summer-like events this weekend. It's overwhelming, almost. The price of being involved in so much. Let's see if I can get it covered.

Saturday I was planning on racing the second edition of the 12 hours of Temecula series. I raced the first one back in January and actually got around to writing about it. But, along came tangible proof of the existence of a mystical ride called the Santa Monica 100, a ride linking up 100 miles of mostly single track in the Santa Monica mountains. So drive over an hour, pay $85 and ride in circles or do a free, DIY, local event? Duh. Since there isn't much info on the site here's their page on everyone's favorite vegan-owned social networking site: facebook. I think I've ridden most of these independently, linking them up should rule. Anyone else on single-speed? Will Dave Zabriskie be there again? I heard about this ride last year, but missed it and I just kept hearing about Zabriskie riding it on a 29er with drop bars. And since I know very little about professional road racing I used this lone fact to root for him for the Tour of California.

Burritos on a roof in San Diego back in April.

If you aren't coming mountain biking with me, you should be walking stairs as Saturday and Sunday is the second edition of the Big Parade, a 2-day, 35-mile walk covering over 100 stairways from downtown LA to the Hollywood sign including urban camping. You can do all of it, which I did last year and it was a blast, or pop in and out and do sections that interest you. It's a slice of LA most people have no idea exists. Get out to this! The website is a wealth of info. You can follow on twitter to catch them.

If deep down you feel that walking and clothing are inhibiting, you can skip out and head over to the World Naked Bike Ride. Seriously. The LA ride leaves around 4pm from Echo Park after a popular sporting event ends. Social network with fellow naked cyclists here.


Los Angeles' first bicycle cooperative the Bicycle Kitchen is having their closing fundraiser party at a spot on 'the block'. Check out their blog for the details.

Also Saturday night vegan MMA fighter Mac Danzig has a fight and some friends are organizing a vegan potluck to view it. Why not?


While all this is happening here, I'll be thinking about my friend Aidan who was on my support crew in Norway when I raced Norseman, possibly the only triathlon that requires a crew, because he's on a race that explicitly does not allow a crew or any outside help at all- the Tour Divide. Starts today at noon in Banff and ends 2745 miles later at the Mexican border. One stage, no entry fee, no prizes. My kind of race! I wish I was there, actually. I wrote about the race a bit in 2008, including info from when I rode the Canada to (almost) Mexico section in 2006. Aidan is racing single-speed, but I've confidence in anyone who has finished the Alaska Iditarod Invitational. Crush it Aidan!


Lastly, I've a half dozen unfinished posts from previous events I'd like to get up soon. Too busy doing to write about the past! This is my public commitment to get them up!

From this year:
Cool 24 hour mountain bike race
Mt. Laguna Bicycle Classic
LA County Bicycle Coalition LA River century

Last year:
Boggs 24hr mountain bike race
To/from Mt. Whitney Summit from Los Angeles via public transit (seriously!).


Have fun in the world this weekend.

Walking in LA

I've been following this series at Good magazine, Walking in LA, by Ryan Bradley. It's terrific. From there Sasha found a link to a story about our friend Dan Koeppel's The Big Parade called Walking for Walking in Los Angeles. On the top photo our Swarm! socks make a center stage appearance. Anyway, in the most recent post he discusses parking and how it affects the 'feel' and layout of downtown:

If you took all of the parking spaces in Los Angeles's central business district and spread them horizontally in a surface lot, they would cover 81 percent of downtown. I know this because of a paper called "People, Parking, and Cities" by Michael Manville and Donald Shoup at UCLA's Department of Urban Planning [pdf here]. This “parking coverage rate,” they write, is "higher in downtown L.A. than in any other downtown on earth. In San Francisco, for instance, the coverage rate is 31 percent, and in New York it is only 18 percent." Their paper goes on to show how this glut of parking keeps downtown from having a vibrant city center, because downtowns in general "thrive on high density ... the prime advantage they offer over other parts of a metropolitan area is proximity—the immediate availability of a wide variety of activities.... So long as its zoning assumes that almost every new person will also bring a car—and requires parking for that car," they conclude "[downtown Los Angeles] will never develop the sort of vital core we associate with older urban centers."

I read it this like this: You can't have both. Either give up your car and work toward compacting DTLA or keep your car and your parking and don't complain! But it's never quite that simple. As I say over and over, most people cannot or will not believe that their individual actions matter and can change the environment and culture we live in. Oh, but they do!

You Can't Be Neutral

Dropping serious knowledge. Watch this and send to 24 people.

Instead of preparing for my 24 hour mountain bike race this weekend, I'm writing about veganism and getting worked up over bike/pedestrian policy here in Los Angeles and nationwide. Six and seven years ago when I first got involved in bike advocacy in Los Angeles the bar was low, as were my expectations. Any improvement or mere mention of bikes outside of our circles was reason for excitement. Fast forward to 2010 and I'm almost overwhelmed with the progress. Almost. We are making gains, but now I want more. It makes so much sense in our unique position today with the economy, environmental concern and a renewed interest in urbanity to shift resources to promote bicycling and walking. But then LA Dept of Transportation General Manager Rita Robinson says stuff like I wish we were New York and could magically make things happen. Argh.

It's up to us to show her it is not magic. To start here is a post by the US Dept of Transportation in support: What we know about bike infrastructure: people want it. This is the freakin US DOT!! I never could imagine seeing this just a few years ago. And here we are. But, and this is a big but, too many people are not seeing this. Or understanding it if they are. Too few people get this:

from here: www.johnnyandstacie.com

As anarchist academic and hero-to-many Howard Zinn says, 'You can't be neutral on a moving train.' Everything is political. Your actions do matter. If you ride a bike, exclusively or occasionally, it's up to you to share the statement above. AND its political importance. Bicycle infrastructure is good for everyone. Fewer people in fewer cars has social, environmental, health and personal benefits. So study up and share with others. We cannot wait for policy change to come from people like Rita Robinson. We need to change ourselves and to share these benefits with our circles.

Sites like
www.la.streetsblog.org
www.streetfilms.org
www.howwedrive.com
Donald Shoup's page at UCLA
are a good start.

Here's a challenge. While I am riding my single-speed mountain bike for 24 hours this weekend, can you send one of the links above to 24 people?

1897 Newspaper article

From http://www.bicyclephilosophy.com/

Vegan bake sales

I love the way this photo turned out with all those skulls leaping out of the basket. Yes, those are deep fried cupcakes, no I didn't eat one (ate plenty of other stuff though). Was part of the vegan bake sale for Haiti event happening in multiple cities today organized via Post Punk Kitchen: http://theppk.com/blog/2010/01/25/portland-vegan-bake-sale-for-haiti-and-some-thoughts/

This was at Locali.

[updated] More food porn here

Los Angeles Anarchist Bookfair

(click for larger)
From CrimethInc.

Anarchism is a very loaded word that conjures specific images in peoples' minds. It's difficult to overcome these stereotypes and honestly I don't discuss it often. We can't even get Universal Healthcare in this country, how can we expect communalism, mutual aid and consensus-based decision making? I'm a poor anarchist in that I'm not very active politically. I try to live and act in manners that reduce oppression and hierarchy as this is what anarchism means to me and, like veganism, I try to live my life as an example (easier said than done!). This past weekend was the Second Annual Anarchist Bookfair and it was one of the best events like this I've been to in a long time. The location could not of been better: Barnsdall Art Park. It's near bus and train lines and easily accessible from Hollywood or downtown. Most importantly it's freakin beautiful. Trees and open space on the top of a hill with beautiful views in every direction.

Looking East. Silver Lake in the foreground and snow-capped Baldy behind

I gave a workshop on veganism that addressed concerns about veganism/animal rights being an issue for only white affluent folks and otherwise unattainable. My argument is simple: You have to separate the issue from who does it. Animals are caged and killed for human use and this is an issue of oppression. I care about living beings and want to reduce suffering therefore I don't eat or wear animal products. Do you have to eat at Whole Foods to be vegan? No. In my household rice and beans (dry beans!) is a common meal, as is stir-fry with whatever veggies are in-season and low-cost at the farmers market or local grocer. There are barriers to veganism, but they are overcome with a few resources. This is the focus of my presentation. It was well-received and some good discussions developed.

I spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with friends and activists. Hung out with the people at Earth First! and Little Black Cart. Hundreds of people attended and the vibe was great. I credit the hard work of the organizers in reaching a diverse set of folks and not having any punk bands play. The space we occupy and communicate in influences how that communication happens and this space only improved it. Bike parking would have been nice, but you know, we can't have everything.

Impromptu yoga during sunset watching. Cliches aplenty.

The next event is the Anarchist Cafe on Sunday February 28th at 1pm in DTLA. I'm hosting a workshop specifically on vegan nutrition in the early afternoon. See you there.

Bike Far Eliminate the Car

Wanted to let everyone know that bikeswarm.org is being updated regularly by a handful of authors. Can't wait for the photos from tandem cyclocross!

My friend Enci just wrote mini-dissertation called The Case Against Bike Paths. Wow. I use them regularly, but only when riding 'road' when I'm heading to the coast. For commuter purposes they are not very useful, at least here in Los Angeles. Incidentally I came across this post while on the Twitter page for the first time. I said I drew the line just before Twitter, but a more tech savy Swarm! member set up the Swarm! Twitter account. Follow us?

Next up the ubiquitous Stephen Box lays out what exactly a good bike plan should be: LA's 'Best' Bike Plan Bringing Home the Bacon. Thank you both for making the city a better place for us all.

2009 Bike activism in LA

While I do a variety of things that do not include updating my blog, Stephen Box over at soapboxla.blogspot.com wrote a terrific article called 2009: The Year of the Bike that anyone interested in bike advocacy in Los Angeles should read. We have an uphill battle, but the energy and effort by people like Stephen is paying off. He's part of the Bike Writers Collective who organized the LA Bike Working Group (I wrote about it here) in response to the City of Los Angeles 'Bike Plan' that reduces the number of bike lanes from earlier plans.

Stephen ends the article with this:

The year 2009 closed with LA's Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa using the word bicycle in a sentence. He said, in an interview with KPCC's Patt Morrison, "In the area of bicycling I've gotta do a better job and the city's gotta do a better job."

To those of you in any number of major US cities this is not a big deal. Your mayor probably rides a freakin bike, but Villaraigosa had never even muttered the word 'bicycle'. I'm not getting my hopes up because he talks way (way) more than he does, but it is a step in the right direction. Come on Los Angeles, we are so close. Let's step it up in 2010.

Bike Plan, Ongoing

Since my Let's Get Down to Business post I've been thinking about why the Bike Plan is important. Five years ago I would not of cared nor thought it worth spending time on. You know what has changed? Us. Those who pedal in this city. We've come a long way. We have numbers and energy that I didn't imagine possible in 2004, yet those outside of our circles don't see it. They need to see us, hear from us and know what we are about.

Yes, I know the city doesn't give a fuck about us. Special interests run government and we're irrelevant to them. But you know what? We are motivated, passionate, loud and our cause is just. This is exceptional. The 2009 Bike Plan is actually less useful/relevant to cyclists than the 1996 one, but their cogs keep turning and doing what they do - nothing. If we don't cause a ruckus and spell out why this is so fucking important to people - not just cyclists - those cogs will just continue spinning into oblivion and uselessness. Let's put a wrench in it!



Joe Linton wrote that LA's Bike Plan is a Step Backward on Bike Lanes from the 1996 plan. If you have not made a comment regarding the Bike Plan, what are you waiting for? Here is the real site and then a fun, mirrored one with a little more umph (where your comments still get submitted to the city): www.labikeplan.com. Alex Thompson gives a more thorough critique related to the Council District Transportation Advisory Committee with some great talking points. Enci discusses why non-cyclists should care about the Bike Plan.

Also LA'S BEST BIKE PLAN - BWG WORKSHOP:
Meeting at Santa Monica/Vermont Red Line Station at noon on Saturday the 31st and heading Downtown for the 1pm workshop. On facebook also.

Meet @ The Exchange at 1pm: 114 W. 5th St., Downtown LA, CA 90013


A new city meeting has been added in Northeast LA:
Wednesday, Nov 4
Ramona Hall
4580 N Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90042
6-8pm

The Yes Men Fix the World screening

The Yes Men, those political pranksters responsible for the 'News We'd Like to See' fake New York Times have a new movie out called the The Yes Men Fix the World. I was fortunate to attend the west coast premiere last night at the Hammer Museum in Westwood with my friend Lisa (link to her and her awesome sweaters!), amongst others. The last time I went to the Hammer was for Bike Night, where aforementioned Lisa organized a screening of Breaking Away and a fully-catered vegan dinner.


The Yes Men, if you are not familiar, pose as the representatives of the companies that are responsible for social and environmental destruction and make presentations with ridiculous topics to get the audience to question the legitimacy and power these companies have. As the film progresses, they struggle with just how much bullshit people are willing to accept if it makes them money ('We were hoping to offend them and they only asked for our business cards!' one of them says).


Especially worthwhile is how the Yes Men deal with the discomfort they feel when pulling these pranks. The film begins by showing Andy's live interview on BBC on the anniversary of the Bhopal chemical disaster, posing as a spokesperson for DOW Chemical. He speaks directly to 300 million people. Seeing his nervousness and what he is pulling off makes you think these guys are just like you and me! I'd be nervous too, but maybe I could do something like that.




I think normal protest tactics trigger automatic responses in people. Often the issue at hand is not even discussed. I'm a big fan of political pranks because they:

1) challenge accepted norms of behavior and the status quo.
2) make people uncomfortable! Being out of your comfort zone inspires new ideas, thoughts and perceptions (see how this can relate to ultra-cycling?)
3) get media.
4) inspire others.
5) do not cost much money, require a board of directors or official non-profit status.


Lastly, I admire that they have an anti-capitalist stance and encourage active participation. During the Q&A they mentioned Tim DeChristopher, the Utah enviro activist being charged with federal offenses for making false bids at a BLM auction and a site advocating civil disobedience called Beyond Talk. They don't just want companies just to be a little nicer they question if these huge, wealthy, powerful companies should even exist. Are they good for the majority of people? I believe the answer is no.

Most recently they posed as the Chamber of Commerce, which was also covered on this great site, Art of the Prank. See the film, get stoked and see what you are capable of...

Los Angeles: Let's get down to business

I've been involved with Los Angeles cycling 'culture' since 2003 and the growth, energy and spirit of it has been unexpected, lively and insanely motivating. Since back then we have C.I.C.L.E, the Bicycle Kitchen, the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition; all of which have been working diligently to put people on bikes in this city. And my how we have grown. Midnight Ridazz has ballooned by epic proportions and now the splinter rides of splinter rides have their own rides. There are a whopping four community bike spaces, not including the bike shops opened by active members of those spaces. There once was a time when I knew every cyclist I'd pass on Sunset Blvd. I'm delighted that this is no longer the case and bike riders abound like never before. And in the city where everyone said it was impossible...

But in a way, very little has changed. The Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) is virtually unknown to those who use two wheels as transportation, our 'inside' person with the Dept of Transportation since 1994, Michelle Mowery, acts as if it is still the mid-nineties and bicycling as transportation is a totally unachievable pipe-dream in this city of cars. Advocacy appears to be dominated by the triumvirate of Alex Thompson-Stephen Box-Joseph Brayj attending meetings, blogging and opining.



And now the 2009 Bicycle Plan has been released. Our city hired a Portland-based consulting firm to create the plan, but it lacks the energy, direction or vision of Portland. To quote Stephen Box on StreetsblogLA,

"Portland is currently going through the same Bike Plan update process as Los Angeles and they have eleven working groups, one steering committee and one technical advisory committee, all working together to ensure that the Bike Plan is a robust document that represents the desires of the cycling community."

I understand that we are not Portland, but the point of a bicycle plan is a vision of what could be. I've spent time in Portland; the weather sucks, the roads are narrow and the city is spread out. Yet they are considered a bike mecca with only 6% of trips made by bicycle. We could have 6% of trips here in Los Angeles if our city took our concerns seriously and built bicycle infrastructure. New York, for example, tripled the number of bicycle commuters in three years by making the cost-effective, smart, safe changes that cyclists were demanding. Our city could not even organize a Bike Plan meeting within 5 miles of the East Hollywood 'hub' of cycling. We need to demand more from our elected officials.

It's a big city. We should dream big.

So what do we do?

As the number of social rides and fast rides has increased, the number of advocates/activists has not. When we have such few rebel-rousing, noise makers, the city believes that we are a minority fringe with only a few people who care about this issue. Michelle Mowery went as far to say that it is not a bike issue, that it is only about 'them'. This is detrimental to the future of bicycling in our city. We simply need more voices, more action and more pressure. We know that cycling is great for us, but we need to represent beyond our own interests: more urban bicyclists is better for the health and social well-being of everyone. Fewer cars means less pollution, safer streets and a more democratic and engaged citizenry. But it is up to us to make this case and up until now we have done a mediocre job.


Urban cycling is not swimming or golfing. It's gritty. Every day we are harassed and forced to fight for our space on the road. We are a tough bunch, used to taking shit from people and giving it right back. We fight to survive on our own streets. We need to harness this grit and anger and change our situation for the better.


Where from here?

Come to the LA Bike Working Group meeting this Saturday at 1pm in the LA City College Faculty Lounge* as we work to improve the plan. 1000 come to a social ride, but we're lucky to get 10 to a meeting. You can do both and you can influence how policy is written in our city. More info here and facebook is here.

Write a comment about the 2009 Bike Plan here: Los Angeles 2009 Bicycle Plan. Yes, they do read and note them. Imagine if we generated 10,000 responses demanding more bicycle infrastructure and actual implementation! You should review it and form your own opinions, but the most popular arguments are: lack of vision, no real plan for implementation and cyclists' concerns are secondary. If you only read one article, read L.A.’s Draft Bikeway Plan: Non-Committal, Sloppy and Perhaps Illegal by Joe Linton.

Get involved with a campaign. There's C.I.C.L.E, the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition, and even Midnight Ridazz has some advocacy plans. And don't forget that the Department of DIY always has open positions (DIY bike lanes, DIY park).

Read. Seriously. We need substance beyond rhetoric and need to be educated on the case for bicycles.

Speak with cyclists, friends, activists. These ideas and events need to be given life. No one is going to do it for us. Tell others about what is going on.

Donate money. My least favorite of the actions. We need money for all that we do, but we'd prefer you and your energy. Donating money creates the mentality that others will do it for you, but those most invested in this have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars of their own money because of their passion. Buy an activist a burrito!

More on the bike plan
Call for open revolt (about the draft, but relevant)
LA's Bike Plan: Return to Sender
Bicycle Advisory Committee unanimously recommends deadline extension

Other sites
completestreets.org
carfreeusa.blogspot.com
worldcarfree.net
copenhagenize.com

Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will."
- Frederick Douglass

Get to work.


*Update: The LA Bike Working Group meeting has changed time and venue. The new location and time is Saturday, 2pm, at the Hollywood Adventist Church, 1711 N. Van Ness Ave., Hollywood, CA 90028. We’ll be in the Fellowship Hall on the NW side of the parking lot.

Park[ing] and Race[ing]

Yo social weekend here in Los Angeles! Friday was Park[ing] Day, a day-long event where communities transform parking spaces into parks. It's brilliant because of all the problems of automobile dependency, often overlooked is the amount of space it requires to not only move them, but to park them. In Los Angeles the bike community is especially involved, which included a 40-mile bike tour of the parks with the editor from LA Streetsblog. Photos, including the one below, stats and reports here. Dan Koeppel also covered a Dept of DIY Park[ing] Day event.

I can't think of a better use of a trailer than 100's of vegan cupcakes

I spent the day using the 'parks' as meeting spots with friends between work and other obligations. In Heliotrope Village the neighborhood council took over 5 spots and had a dj and a swimming pool. That evening I met up with some friends at Echo Park where the Echo Park Film Center was screening Les Triplettes de Belleville.

Saturday, this was worth my time:

A 3-lap race in Griffith Park, up and down climbs I've done hundreds of times, only 2 miles from my house. How could I not? I rolled over with my housemate and of the 50 people hanging about, I knew two: the organizer and his sister. Is old man status fully achieved?

photo from Dev204's photo set on flickr

Had to represent Feel My Legs (photo from Kelly's Flckr)

It was fixed gear only so it definitely attracted a lot of the LAfixed.com crowd, but I was surprised at the half dozen or so kids in kits.

40+ of us did a rolling start through the parking lot before hitting the top section of the two-mile climb up Fern Dell Dr/Western Canyon. There was some talk re gearing on the message board the week before and kids were talking running 47-16.....which seems way too big for me for the city, let alone a hill race. I palped my city gearing: 44x16 which worked well. Of course, I was totally spun out down Vermont Canyon, but wasn't everyone?

photo from Dev204. I love Griffith Park!!

Anyway, there was this guy way off in front that I just couldn't catch. Sean did a terrific job organizing this, but in his excitement he (and everyone hanging out at the start/finish apparently) lost count of our laps. So the two of us went out for a fourth lap before they figured out how to count. Hilarious. Ends up the dude who beat me is a Cat-1 roadie. Equally hilarious. At least he rode his bike to the race, unlike a bunch of the racers (only in LA people would drive to an alleycat?).

Sean hooked up an after party and I got so many prizes I couldn't carry them home. Gave lots of stuff away, but not the front light, which I happened to need. Score! Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen and who braved a tough climb three (or four) times.