Bike tour in the city of cars

Yesterday I did a small bike tour. I rode through Jumilla Ave to Plummer St until De Soto Ave. Plummer St is interrupted there by the LA River (you might remember it from Terminator 2) and the railroad, so I headed De Soto Ave south to Nordhoff St and rode on this one west again until Chatsworth reservoir. On Google Maps this looks like a huge sea, but it’s just a huge dry area. Wikipedia says: “A distinctive feature in the Chatsworth Area is the mostly empty Chatsworth Reservoir. The property belongs to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power”. There was a fence around the area, so I even couldn’t enter it. From there I rode the Topanga Canyon Blvd north until the other part of the Plummer St. I rode there through some “smaller” streets until I found Lassen St, which I rembered from our breakfast at Delis. I ride the Lassen St back to east until Corbin Ave and from there it was just stone’s throw back to Superior St. You can check my route out at Google Maps.

Of course, LA isn’t the best place to ride a bike. On Plummer St. there is at least a bike lane, but only until Winnetka Ave. There is a sign asking the car drivers “Share the road”. I wasn’t in the mood to try out if they listen to the sign. From this point I rode my tiny, cute bicycle on the sidewalk, which is in a bad condition. The branches of the trees hang down, so I must duck from time to time to continue my way. Sometimes panels of the sidewalk soar, so I must ride around it to prevent the tires from damage. On some intersections the sidewalk wasn’t lowered and they are much higher here then in Europe (maybe up to 18cm high). But if I wasn’t on one of the main streets, there wasn’t much traffic and I had the street for me (on most of the smaller streets there isn’t a sidewalk).

It was the first time since ages I had a sunburn again. I put sunscreen on, but at the Chatsworth reservoir it was so hot I washed my face with water. Tada, no sunscreen on my face anymore. By chance I wasn’t heading west from this point anymore. Hot and water reminds me two other anecdotes: I was riding the bike only for 15 minutes and the water I took with me was really warm (maybe 20 degrees Celsius). And when I stopped at the reservoir and stand up from the saddle for two minutes to take pictures the saddle was very hot when I sat down again. The sun here is really … effective.

In California the cars are allowed turn right even when the traffic light is red. Of course, they must take care not to hit another car or person. But riding a bike here you must take much more care then at home. They didn’t expect pedestrians or cyclists. On one sidewalk there were three guys on my way. My bike doesn’t have a bell and I just said sorry and one of them saw me answered “Execuse me, bud”. I love this friendly language. I know it’s superficial, but it has it affects anyway. I prefer it instead a grumble.

After nearly one and a half hour I was back at home. And what is the best thing after a sweaty bike tour? Right, jumping in to the swimming pool.

Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Santa Monica

Yesterday I was the most time with Manijeh, the wife of my Uncle Iraj. I begged Sepi and Manijeh as well to go from Chatsworth to Studio City (where my uncle lives) with the bus. Of course, both would be ready to bring me resp. to pick me up. But I wanted to test LA Metro and so Sepideh and Kevin took me to Ventura Blvd/Reseda Blvd where the bus stop is. First I wait at the wrong one for the metro local buses, but when the metro rapid No. 750 arrived I saw it and ran to the correct one. The bus had air condition and wasn’t full or even late. It was a bit less comfortable then in Germany, but still OK. The bus didn’t have a stop button (if you want exit next station), but a line (like a laundry line) at the window which you pull instead. The announcements was very silent and I couldn’t recognize a pattern why they mentioned some stations and others not. Also they haven’t any information about departure times or bus routes at the bus stops. But you can pick a plan inside the bus or visit metro.net. On the other hand they have a bike rack in front of the bus, so you can take your bike with you on the bus every time. After a smooth ride on the Ventura Blvd I arrived at Laurel Canyon and from there I called Manijeh. I bought a Los Angeles Times and wait for her. Unbelievable how boring the LA Times is. I couldn’t find the articles between the ads. And also I missed a structure like I know from newspapers in Europe.

Manijeh found me easily and we drove to their house up in the hills. We was sitting outside. On the chairs still was some ashes from the Los Angeles wildfire. A hummingbird surrounded us and tried to pick up fruits from the tree (there were lemon trees, too). She took me after a coffee to West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Bel Air. We drove through Sunset Blvd, Maple Drive and other famous places. The rich and their houses, you know. After this we drove via Brentwood to Pacific Palisades and (next to?) Malibu. Please check out the recent uploaded pictures in Picasa. We had lunch at Gladstones which was nice. We had our table on the balcony overlooking the ocean. When we left the restaurant a homeless asked me, if I would sell my leftovers to him for a dollar. I just gave it to him.

After Gladstones we head south to Santa Monica. We parked the car and walked down the 3rd street promenade. This was the first pedestrian area I saw. It was Wednesday, so there was Farmers Market at Arizona Ave/2nd Street. Manijeh bought grapes and wanted to buy eggplants, but the seller said he isn’t allowed to sell after half past one. From Arizona Ave it was only a hop to the Santa Monica beach. We walked aside the beach up to Santa Monica Pier. Maybe you know this pier from some movies. Their is a Ferris feel, the Pacific Park and much more just on this small pier. The view is beautiful and the wind is fresh.

We just was walking more then a hour, so we went back to the car and drove home. This was the first time I had the pleasure to meet LA traffic (jam), but after a while we was back save in Home, Sweet Home Studio City. I watched a bit TV until my uncle came back from work. Again another first time see. I saw Manijeh this day first time in my life and think I saw uncle Iraj over 20 years ago in Germany. I can’t remember him, but his gift. It was a police car (or KITT, who knows) with flashing lights. I went to the bathroom (without windows) and turned the lights of to could enjoy the lights. I also remember I broke this amazing gift in just one day…

I took a picture of him, too. But the cam is so poorly, you must wait until I got the pictures from Amu Irajs camera.