<![CDATA[Life Without Wheels: Chronicle of a Car-Free Lifestyle - Blog Homepage]]>Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:52:02 +0700Weebly<![CDATA[The Inaugural Nonride to Nowhere and How I Learned My Bicycle is an Agent of Death...]]>Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:57:53 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/02/the-inaugural-nonride-to-nowhere-and-how-i-learned-my-bicycle-is-an-agent-of-death.htmlI just don’t know where to start. The strangeness that occurred tonight is still turning over in my head, and I’m trying to replay the events of the night and all the details, but here goes.

About a week ago, my friend Rachel and I decided that we wanted to ride around Friday night then find a place for a beer. We didn’t want to ride LA Critical Mass (although we generally enjoy riding with them) because we had both heard and seen a lot of LAPD targeting, and we just didn’t have the energy for the big group. We decided we would meet up at LACMA, where I work, take in some art, ride around a bit, and then find some food and beer. She invited her boyfriend, and I invited some other cyclist buddies to join this “nonride.” Once I tweeted about it, others chimed in that had we planned earlier, they would be interested, so I will do another, but onto tonight’s “carnage.”

After we met up at LACMA, we started off on the 8-10 mile route I had plotted. Now, even though we weren’t riding LA Critical Mass, I had plotted the route in honor of them, meaning we were taking main arterial roads, obeying traffic code, and taking the lane. I hadn’t originally planned it this way, but I got into my head that it would be really fun to take the four of us onto arterial roads, ride legally, and make the cars deal with us. The other three cyclists were all fairly seasoned vehicular cyclists, so they weren’t squeamish on the arteries, so we set off.

We headed East on Wilshire, and as we reached La Brea and pulled into the left turn lane, I was rather surprised that not one motorist honked at us or even came remotely close to buzzing us. We headed up La Brea and entered the left turn lane onto 3rd Street, and still no problems. We headed down 3rd, taking up the right hand lane entirely, went through the Grove, came out on Fairfax, and turned onto Beverly. At some point when we were on Beverly, apparently a police officer followed me as I took the lane for a minute (I never saw him, this is according to my friends who were following me), but apparently he determined I wasn’t doing anything wrong as he went on his way.

Here’s the incident of note for the night.

We were on Beverly, nearing the Larchmont area, and we had taken the lane, but riding single file. We were approaching a light, and I noticed that a car had squeezed between me and John, and the car, a black luxury sedan, was following me rather closely, even though there was no one in the left hand lane, and they had room to pass. I pass under the light, realizing as I do so, that it had just changed and my friends were stuck at the light. I turn my head to the left to see if they made it and to check on the car that is following me. At this point, the driver lays on his horn, and I mean LAYS on his horn. It blasts for a good 6 or 7 seconds. At this point I’m slowing down to pull over and wait for my friends, but as there are cars parked along Beverly, I have to go up another block. So before I can pull over the car changes lanes, still driving slowly, pulls up next to me, and some rich woman in her late 40s/early 50s with white hair screws up her face, making her meanest Wicked Witch of the West/Evil Stepmother face, and SCREAMS at the top of her lungs “YOU’RE GOING TO KILL US ALL!!!!!”

Apparently, to this woman, my bicycle is a death machine, and my riding it in the street is like me pointing a loaded gun at her. Seriously, she yelled it like I was shooting off a shotgun into a crowded nursery.

So I’m sure many people have wonderful retorts for Mrs. I’m Afraid of Bikes. I knew it wasn’t worth it from the moment Mr. I’m Afraid of Bikes (the driver) laid on his horn. I looked at her and immediately burst into hysterical laughter. HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER. I mean, was I supposed to take her seriously? An old woman leaning out of her car window to scream about how I’m going to kill her with my bicycle? Seriously? 

I considered it a victory that I didn't give this woman what she wanted, which was to fluster me, to engage and provoke me into yelling and screaming across traffic lanes, and ultimately to push me off the road. You can scream all you want, Mrs. I'm Afraid of Bikes. I'm the 10 Speed Avenger, and tonight I won. 

Aside from one other honker, the rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. We took Vine up to Hollywood, rode through Hollywood (taking the lane the whole way), then cut down to Santa Monica Blvd. and Barney’s Beanery, where we all laughed heartily over Mrs. I’m Afraid of Bikes.

So I’ve named the nonride, the Nonride to Nowhere. It’s inspired by District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan who ruled that if a group of more than 50 cyclists ride in New York City, then they need a parade permit (or something to that effect). My biggest question was what if you have 50 cyclists who all just happen to be riding in the same direction? Every night more than 50 cars parade through NYC to cause rush hour traffic, and those motorists don’t need permits. So it’s not a ride. We just all happen to be heading to the same place. The goal is to meet somewhere with a small group then take an 8 to 10 mile route of major arterial roads (and take the lane!) to the main meet up location where we eat, drink, and be merry. Ride completely legal, be traffic, and TAKE THE LANE. Ideally, we’d have 4-5 groups of 4-5 people each heading to the same area. 

Follow me on twitter as danceralamode to stay tuned for details on the next Nonride to Nowhere, which will occur in a few weeks. 

Addition!
Whoops! I meant to add that right after the incident with Mrs. I'm Afraid of Bikes, I hoped and prayed aloud that she and her gentleman, as they were heading East, would run into our friends in LA Critical Mass, whom we were pretty sure were circling downtown then heading to Hollywood. I hope they did run into LACM. And I hope it was at the Circle of Death. Thanks LACM!]]><![CDATA[Reaching new heights]]>Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:54:22 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/02/reaching-new-heights.htmlSo...on December 25, 2009 I rode my first century. On January 14th I pushed to about 115 miles, then followed that up with 75 miles on January 15th (the next day!). 


This weekend I'm going to attempt to roll 150 miles in approximately 12.5 hours. I will be tweeting along the way...I'll be following up with post about the ride later. 


Below is my rather ambitious schedule...


Entering LA River Route at 6am, complete the 30 mile stretch to Long Beach by 8am, and the 15 miles from the LBC to Huntington Beach by 9am. Then I get a 15 minute break to cry, eat, drink water, then cry a little more. By 1015am I will be entering Laguna Hell, I'm hoping by 1115am I will have conquered the 8.8 miles of rolling hills. Based on past experience, I should be able to handle it. By Noon I will be entering San Onofre State Beach territory, and at that point I will find a park bench, vomit, cry, eat, vomit, cry, and drink some gatorade...not necessarily in that order. I will be out of San Onofre and entering Pendleton at 130pm (maybe I'll stop to vomit on the base) in Oceanside by 215, going through Solano Beach by 315 and hitting the hills in La Jolla by 415...ish. I expect to be at the train station around 6...although it all depends on how many times I have to stop and cry. (I'm only sort of joking about the crying thing. The last Century was so rough I almost did cry out of sheer exhaustion.) 


So I'll see you on the other side of 150 miles...the San Diego side. ]]><![CDATA[Keeping tabs]]>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:18:08 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/01/keeping-tabs.htmlOkay, despite my late night writing session, I am still working on my letter to MTA. In the meantime, I'm going to attempt to post every day for the next seven days and chronicle all my car-free errands, etc. Getting back to my roots...]]><![CDATA[And we have normalacy!]]>Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:15:03 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/01/and-we-have-normalacy.htmlThe sun is out, the road is relatively dry, and people are driving more or less like sane creatures again. Thank you, weather gods! ]]><![CDATA[Stepping into a little activism]]>Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:46:48 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/01/stepping-into-a-little-activism.htmlOne of my favorite bicycling blogs is Ted Rogers' Biking in LA. His viewpoint on cycling issues and policies empathizes with the cyclist while being realistic about the world we live in--one dominated by cars. It's not uncommon for me to engage in the discourse in the blog's comments section, as I did with his post "Two-wheeled second class citizens on LA's Metro rails."  

Below is my comment:
"danceralamode Says:
January 22, 2010 at 3:03 pm | Reply

I quite frequently take the Red, Purple, Green, and Blue lines with my bicycle. Regarding the limitations during rush hour, I’ve never seen any bus driver or train driver enforce them, and I’ve never worried about it. Regarding this two per train car rule…I’ve been on the train with people crammed up against me and my bike and there are three other bikes in that car. I have never seen any enforcement of these rules.

So if they aren’t enforced, why are they even rules? What really irks me is the bike racks on buses that have only two spaces. I can’t count how many times I’ve had to let two or three buses pass me because there was no room for me, including on New Year’s Eve, at 4am. The bus driver politely stopped and opened her door and just stared at me. She asked me if I was getting on, and I said “Well, I can’t get on with my bike, can I? And your rack is full.” And she just stared at me like I was just going to leave my bike on the sidewalk. So at 4am on New Year’s Eve I had to brave the streets with speeding drunk drivers (people-including PD-doing over 60mph on Wilshire Blvd according to the speed scanner posted there).

I’ve been meaning to write Metro a letter. I feel very strongly that they put me in a precarious situation (and yes I know I had options, but the option of lock my bike on the street in Santa Monica until I can come and get it, when I live on the other side of LA is not really an option)."
Ted suggested I write a letter, and he would post it. Therefore, I am up at 3:40am, because words have been floating through my head, writing a letter to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The only other time I have written a letter to an elected official (aside from form petitions online) is when I wrote to Senators Feinstein and Boxer as well as former President Bush regarding ratifying a document that solidified the US's stance against equal rights for women throughout the world. I had read a story about a woman in a 3rd world, civil war ripped country who had to undergo unspeakable horrors, and I felt that our country could take a definitive stance towards this kind of treatment of women. Without going into details, the woman's story infuriated me to the point where I dropped everything and started writing my representatives. 


This situation is different: this actually happened to me. And the more I think about it, the more angry I should be. I was put in very real danger. How many stories have we read recently about cyclists being mowed down by drunk drivers? And here I am, basically forced to brave the streets of LA on New Year's Eve. I guess it's time to stop talking and stand up and actually SAY something. So here's to telling your story!
]]><![CDATA[Bicycle-less Commute ]]>Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:35:55 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/01/bicycle-less-commute.htmlSo on Thursday I bit the bullet and enjoyed the hospitality of Metro Line #16. The bus was strangely empty. (I assumed with the rain that all of us who walk or ride would be cramming on with all the bus-riding regulars.) I have to walk five or six blocks from the bus stop to work (and the reverse in the evening), and on the way back to the bus stop, amidst the thunder and rain, my umbrella stopped protecting my head and became a side fender. Fairfax was so flooded that every car that passed me inadvertently (or advertently) sent a wave of rain water at me. (Thank goodness I have a huge rain/cold weather coat that my mother bought me many years ago and that I didn't throw out!)

Today I saw blue sky and decided to chance the ride...Part of me desperately wants to write about the guy who failed to yield the right of way to me (I was able to stop in time, so I wasn't in danger) because it's so absolutely frustrating and irritating, but I also feel like it's just a repeat of the same old story. Negligent driver, moving vehicle violation, me mad...Sigh...

I've decided I'm going to purchase some sort of loud horn to get these jerks' attention when they make these infractions. I think the most irritating part is that no matter how much I wave my arms, etc., THEY NEVER EVEN LOOK AROUND OR SEE ME! It's one thing to make a mistake and recognize that, "WOW! I could've hit that person, I should be more careful." (I can clearly recall a few moments like that from my past life as a motorist.) It's an entirely different thing to be totally oblivious to anything else on the road. We all have a responsibility to watch out for ALL other road users. (Oh crap, here I am, preaching to the choir.)

On another note, for about 3 blocks a woman in an older white Camry or Accord waited patiently to pass me. I was very consciously taking the lane (somewhat to prevent her from right-hooking me), and she was patient, and the second I had the chance, I coasted to the right and waved her around me. Sadly, I noticed she was talking into her phone like a walkie-talkie. At least she was driving slowly? I wanted to say, "Yea! There are considerate drivers out there!" And then I saw her on the phone...Now I'm torn. ]]><![CDATA[To ride or not to ride, that is the question!]]>Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:30:21 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/01/to-ride-or-not-to-ride-that-is-the-question.htmlRegardless of the torrential rainstorms plundering Los Angeles this week, I have ridden to work both on Tuesday and today. Tuesday was no problem. I managed to get into work and home during huge windows in the rain. I didn't notice any particularly unusual negligent driving from motorists, just the usual stuff, right hooks, illegal passes, failure to yield the right of way, etc., but all these infractions I was able to predict. Even on the ride into work on Wednesday, I felt pretty safe. 


Then the storm hit.
After I got into work on Wednesday the third storm hit, and it was massive. I don't think I've ever seen rain like that in California. When I lived in Florida it was like that all the time, but here in the Golden State? This was certainly a first for me.


Around 5:15pm there was a break in the rain, and with my boss's blessing, I made a run for it. Now, the whole way home I barely had a few sprinkles hit my face. It was no different than riding in the morning...except all the motorists became completely insane maniacs. 


After the third driver failed to yield the right of way (in fact didn't even stop and look both ways at a four way stop) I began to wonder if they had all been instructed to wear blindfolds while they drive. I'm used to seeing traffic infractions, but this was downright ridiculous. You would think people would be MORE careful when driving in less than perfect conditions, not so. People were speeding down residential roads, speeding up and slamming on their brakes for stop signs, running stop signs as if they had never heard of one, driving without their lights on, etc. Okay, so this is all normal stuff, but the thing is, even when people don't see me, when I start screaming and shouting at them, it registers on their brains that I'm there. These people didn't see me as I slammed on my brakes, two inches from their driver side window and waved my arms at them. Didn't even look me way or notice me! 


So I checked my lights, and they were functioning. Did I become invisible? Should someone come over to my apartment and see if I still exist?


Here's my dilemma, while the rain isn't driving me off the road, the scary drivers are. But I also don't want to not ride simply because there are people out there who make the roads unsafe. Isn't this the argument that we make all the time? I don't know. I want to ride, but I was seriously nervous this evening. 


Thoughts anyone?
Picture
On another note, this little guy was hanging out by my front door. He was soaked through. Guess he just needed a place to ride out the inclimate weather. 
]]><![CDATA[Been out living life, not writing about it!]]>Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:04:03 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/01/been-out-living-life-not-writing-about-it.htmlI promise, I promise, I promise! I will catch up to everything soon! I have video to post, route updates, plus I need to work on my Grand Canyon route! I did my first overnighter this weekend (190 miles total), and I want to write about that too! I just need to set aside a short block of time each day to get this stuff done, but oh so busy! 


Did I mention I had a bike date too? And it actually lead to a second date (tonight actually)?! New post tomorrow on car-free life, I promise!]]><![CDATA[Storm the Bastille, Facebook-Style?]]>Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:36:49 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/01/storm-the-bastille-facebook-style.htmlOkay, I'll make this quick. Over the past couple of weeks, an anti-cyclist Facebook page has been passed around the internet via Twitter, forums, blogs, etc. to try and get as many people as possible to report it and have it taken down. According to Streetsblog, this is Facebook's response:

"We take our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities very seriously and react quickly to remove reported content that violates our policies. Specifically, we're sensitive to content that includes hate speech and/or actionable threats of violence. The goal of these policies is to strike a very delicate balance between giving Facebook users the freedom to express their opinions and beliefs, even controversial ones, and maintaining a safe and trusted environment.

We've reviewed this group and determined that it doesn't violate our policies.  We encourage users to report anything they feel does violate these policies using the report links located throughout the site. Thanks."

Many people have joined HELP REMOVE this HATE GROUP against cyclists! in protest. Here's my solution: IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM!

Let's all join the anti-cyclist Facebook page and FLOOD it with positive cycling stories and stories about those who have been prosecuted and convicted of crimes against cyclists. @Area45, @jeremy211, @jonthelam, @dudeonabike, etc., all have plenty of positive stories on their blogs that we can flood this vindictive little Facebook page with. If anything, positive stories of interactions with cyclists and motorists will show these people that we're human and that we don't all have chips on our shoulders (not that they don't!), and, hopefully, we can start educating each other, bring awareness to the streets, and promote safe cycling and driving. 

Who's with me? I'll log on when I get off from work tonight and start the revolution!


 ]]><![CDATA[Dear Right Quad, Please heal quickly, I want to ride my bike...]]>Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:28:36 +0700http://www.lifewithoutwheels.com/1/post/2010/01/dear-right-quad-plz-heal-quickly-i-want-to-ride-my-bike.htmlSo much has happened since the holidays, and I haven't kept up with posting very well. I still have to do an update about my successful Century Ride, I have a post on hold about the benefits of cross-training dance and cycling, and I need to post the video from a work-in-progress showing from my performance at Max 10 this past Monday. Speaking of...

Unfortunately in preparation for that performance and the performance itself (and the ride home) I fully strained my right quad and my left quad to a lesser extend--in the area of Oh-My-Goodness-I-Can't-Walk Land. My left quad is pretty much healed, and I think by tomorrow the right one will be ready to ride as well. Hence, I have only been on my bike ONE FREAKING DAY in 2010, logging approximately 25 miles that day. It's very upsetting. After the Wolfpack debacle, I had a lot of inquiries and offers to ride with some different women's groups and just other women who want to ride, which was extremely encouraging. Unfortunately, AGAIN, I haven't been able to take up anyone on those offers due to, first, preparing for a last minute performance, and, now, recovering from said performance.

I hope to be back on my bike tomorrow. See you all out there!]]>