Cookin the Bikes

Parking at work is insane. Most days, the immense parking lot is packed by 9:30 in the morning and I'm forced to park on the street. An area where several of my co-workers have had their cars broken into. And not to mention the price of oil. Lets not even go there for the moment.

So, in an attempt to be part of the solution in some minor way, I've taken to biking to work a few days a week. I'll admit, its been slow going. Two days one week, a day another, maybe 3 one. Regardless, I'm attempting to make the effort and enjoying it when i do.

But my interest in going back to the bike, is certainly not a unique one. Los Angeles' bicycle culture has been thriving recently. I've been noticing many hipsters riding bikes around SL these days. The popular breed at the moment seems to be the Fixed Gear or Single Speed bike, whether it be a rebuilt Peugeot or a brand new high-class italian model. Single speed means just that, clean and simple, no derailers and usually just one brake. Fixed Speed is a bit more hard-core. The cranks only move forward, and when you're in motion they don't stop, which allows the momentum you create to be better maintained. But when it comes to taking a steap hill, these puppies can be tricky.

Critical Mass and Midnight bike rallies are now institutions in the area.

An organization called the Bicycle Kitchen is at the forfront of Bicycle culture and politics. The Kitchen is a communal bike shop that help people work on and build bikes by renting out their space and tools to anyone who needs them. Don't know what to do with the tools? They have several people who will assist you in figuring out the parts and process'. These guys are serious about manifesting change through cycle culture. No car, no gass, no blood on your hands. Those aren't their words, their mine.

I had read (as may you) a few articles on the place and in pairing my new found interest in biking with my curiosity for the place I signed up for one of their Basic Maintenance courses that spanned 3 saturdays for three hours each. The course had us completely take apart our bicycles and rebuild them. In the end, the bicycles actually did run better. We learned how to tweek our breaks and gears, change a flat, and also clean and replace parts housed in the interior of the frame among other things. On the third session I actually started rebuilding an old bike that I thought might be doomed for the parts bin. Ben, the teacher was very helpful and I had a blast.

Will biking be yet another good intention expired after the novelty wares off? I hope not, we'll see. I biked to the Farmers Market this morning...that's somethin aint it?