Car-Free to Los Angeles
by Micah Posner
Earlier this summer, People Power sent me to a bicycle advocacy training session in Los Angeles, put on by the Thunderhead Alliance. The conference brought valuable insight but the most inspiring part was riding around with the car-free crowd in L.A.
Though I didn't have time to ride the entire way to the conference, I did come up with a good plan on how to get there. (Flying to a bicycle advocacy seminar is not the coolest way to make an entrance.) I borrowed a "Bike Friday" folding bike from my friend Jim, and rode 50 miles to the Salinas Amtrak Station by 8:45AM, after leaving home bright and early at 5:15AM). At the Amtrak station, I folded up the bike and put it onto a feeder bus to Santa Barbara, where I caught a train that got me to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles at 4:55PM. Taking the lane in busy LA traffic, I was greeted with a "right on" by a smiling panhandler. Eight minutes later I rode into the reception for the seminar, invigorated and ready to begin.
The Bike Friday was a bit squirrelly with full panniers but plenty fast—in fact, it took me only a little longer to get to Salinas than it usually does on my touring bike. The folding bike allowed me to travel without worrying about the requirements for bikes on Amtrak trains and buses.
If you're interested in purchasing a folding bike, Ecology Action administers a county-wide program that can give you a rebate of up to $200 on one. For more information about the progam and a list of particpating bike stores, contact Bonnie at 423-9569, x128, or visit their website.