Wiser persons would probably thought me rash (or obsessed) - wanting to rent bicycles and explore Los Angeles tooling around the city on two wheels. Lynn and Mike were very tentative; Stacey, ambivalent and I, well, persistent. So a compromise was proposed: we would drive over to Hollywood Boulevard and visit the bike shop, Hollywood Pro Bikes. We would interview the manager to see what routes he would recommend and then we would make our final decision.
Of course, we were persuaded (did you doubt it?) We selected our bikes, put on our helmets and started off to an area that Chris, the store manager, promised us few tourists ever get to see: a quiet residential section, south of the Boulevard, lined with beautiful old palm trees, spectacular mansions and views of the Hollywood Hills in the distance.. The problem, however, was getting there. We had to ride down some busy thoroughfares with traffic zooming past us. Fortunately, we're urban cyclists, having cut our wheels on the tough streets of New York City.
The neighborhood we biked to was lined with gorgeous houses and manicured gardens, Palms stretched gracefully to the sky. The streets were devoid of cars and suddenly we were in a peaceful and quiet atmosphere, far removed from the hectic scene of Hollywood Boulevard.
The bike shop was on Hollywood Boulevard. This guy's star was out front.
Riding along 5th Street in Hollywood.
Looking up Windsor Street to the Hollywod sign. Persistent smog obscures the view.
Beautiful (and large) houses in the Arden neighborhood of Hollywood.
The huge concentration of wealth in L.A. is very obvious. And right alongside the wealth is immense poverty. Palatial mansions outdo each other in an ostenatious display of fortune. Just a few miles east in Downtown, the homeless crowd the streets.
Interestingly, our trip coincided with a mayoral campaign whose culmination is tomorrow, March 8th. From watching the commercials of most of the candidates, you'd never know there were any problems whatsoever but high taxes and raging crime. No homelessness, no poverty, no jobless, no broken down schools. Just casually observing a few commercials here and there on the boob tube, I did notice that one candidate, Antonio Villaraigosa, stood out because he seemed to be the only one actually discussing issues. His ads called for smaller class sizes and, discussing him with my friend Matty, who keeps himself involved in local issues, this candidate, despite weaknesses, comes from the trade union movement, has a progressive approach to most issues and is far superior to the others running. Even if he wins tomorrow, he'll still face a runoff with the runner-up in May.
Big mansions, beautiful lawns, quiet streets. Los Angeles - a tale of two cities.
Tall palms stretch up to blue skies.
Next stop on our bike ride was the fun and famous Farmer's Market at Fairfax and Third. A long-standing L.A. institution, this outdoor market set up in the 30's by farmers selling their produce is today more of an outdoor/indoor food court with all kinds of places to eat at from sushi to tacos to barbecue and beyond. We locked our bikes and walked around the maze of food shops and stalls looking for something good to eat.
Hot pepper sauce at the Farmer's Market.
Desperately searching for something to eat.
Lynn -- should I eat sushi? Or maybe crepes? So many choices.
Let's have crepes, Suzette!
Kitschy sign at the Farmers Market.
Mike and Lynn, after the bike ride.
We walked around The Grove, a lovely but very commercial mall that's attached to the market. But isn't it always the same stores at every one of these places? Then back to our bikes and the last few miles back to the bike shop and then in our car and back downtown. Tired. But another great L.A. experience.
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