I used my key copy and let myself into my sister Carolyn's apartment. She and Nate (her boyfriend and my riding partner) were returning from their dog-walking responsibilities, and I still had to organize my pack.
With the front door open and sun pouring in, I began to make a pile on the carpet near my bag (NAU Fluent Brief.) I had: Emergen-C Electrolyte Sports Mix and Blue fizzy drink mix packets, dried pineapples, 2 buttered bagel sandwiches I'd made earlier (Spicy Black Bean Hummus from the Culver City farmer's market, lots of butter, and leftover honey-glazed easter ham slices on "Everything" bagels from Brooklyn Bagel,) a Clif Builder's Peanut Butter bar and Clif Mojo Peanut Butter Pretzel bar, a cashew cookie Larabar, regular American Spirits and a lighter, a handful of quarters, dimes, and nickels, a sports stop watch, Black Diamond Spot headlamp, Icebreaker Chase 200 l/s crew shirt, IB's Superfine 200 hoody, and IB's Bodyfit 200 3/4 leggings (for the end of the ride should I need the warmth,) All Good Lips balm, SPF 55 sunscreen, a Park Tools bike multitool and a Gerber multitool, Nikon CoolPix camera and Victorinox media case, 3 New Belgium Mighty Arrow pale ales, bike lock key with Palms Neighborhood Council bottle opener and keychain, a pen, a notepad, and a borrowed paperback copy of Dan Millman's Body Mind Mastery.
I was wearing North Face Sentinel trail shoes, Icebreaker micro bike socks, NAU Trajectory 3/4 pants (80% recycled polyester, 20% organic cotton,) Icebreaker Beast v-neck shirt, reflective ankle straps, black leather fingerless Hatch gloves (that I've had since I was 12!,) my one of a kind all-weather wool half-a-hat, and Ray Ban aviators.
So now you've got an idea of what I was working with. Enough of the list(s).
Nate arrived, threw his pack together, and after employing my sister to snap some photos for posterity... we were off on our ride traversing the under construction Exposition Light Rail Line.
From my sister's apartment we rode past the old Masonic Temple and the Hare Krishna Community Center on Watseka. We passed the Museum of Jurassic Technology just across the street from the Farmer's Market which was already bustling with buyers at 1:15 pm.
We slipped past In-N-Out across from Bar Carbon (it's 5 o'clock somewhere...) and pulled into Media Park (Crank Mob hub) for a quick stretch. Nate biked off to Del Taco for a quick nosh, and I caterpillar walked and conducted various eastern stretching exercises while a supine derelict relived (with fists and elbows slapping palms) some past argument that (either) did or did not go in his favor beneath a massive tree nearby. After some quick handstand walking, we mounted our bikes again and officially began the ride.
Not far east of Media Park is Venice and Robertson. This is where Expo line Phase 1 ends and Phase 2 begins... eventually. For now, Phase 1 concludes at a grande aerial terminal that, no doubt, commands a magnificent view of the 10 freeway, West LA and the Baldwin Hills, Downtown, and anything in between.
Crossing Washington, Nate and I found ourselves beneath the line and privy to the first of Expo's innumerable majesties of form. An open construction fence beckoned me while bi-peds, fellow bicyclists, and motorists passed along the sidewalk or down the boulevard, and I snapped a few shots of the parallel tracks overhead before continuing on down National Blvd. towards Jefferson.
Back on our bikes, we negotiated a sidewalk under construction and watched a spotter direct a forklift driver maneuvering k-rails as autos on National were stopped by a construction worker with a handheld sign. We zipped by the Bluebird Cafe and soon approached the more than impressive architectural landmark that is the Hayden (Avenue) Industrial Tract and business park. Since it's creation I have dreamed of working for one of the companies that occupy these striking buildings, simply because they are incredible structures. For a spell I was fortunate enough to visit these compelling and brightly lit spaces as a catering delivery driver.
Next we came upon Ballona Creek-- one of my favorite aspects of West Los Angeles. The creek begins near Cochran and Venice and terminates in the Pacific Ocean south of Marina Del Rey. One of the city's finest bike paths runs alongside the creek, and connects in the Marina with bike paths that feed northward to Venice/Santa Monica and to the esplanades of Manhattan & Redondo Beaches/Palos Verdes southward. From the Ballona Creek bridge at National and Jefferson we paused to gaze at the many small figures climbing the staircase incline of Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook Park. This staircase begins at something near 75 ft. altitude and concludes at the overlook platform atop the park at more than 500 ft. above sea level (Suck it Santa Monica stairs!)
Through the chainlink on the bridge above Ballona Creek I stared up at the platform, and on such a clear Tuesday afternoon I could imagine the sight those small figures were taking in-- a sweeping beach to downtown and the mountains beyond view rarely visible in the Santa Monica or San Gabriel Mountains.
On a more pragmatic note, Nate was feeling low on air, and so I directed us towards a Chevron station on La Cienega north of Jefferson. I watched a hummingbird swoop blossoms on the branches of a nearby tree, and gazed at the Hollywood sign over white box-trucks in a parking lot across the street.
...this ever-expanding adventure (which, admittedly, is taking faaaar longer to blog about than I'd originally envisioned) will continue on down the road in Kids & Trains Mixed Well [PART 3]...
¡Join me there!
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