the urban jungle beckons

[rapid cycler]

I've been moaning and whining long enough about how inconvenient and commuter-unfriendly my workplace is. I want to make bike-commuting work, dammit! So I decided to try a bike/subway combo commute. (Yes, indeedy, Los Angeles does have a subway, though its scope is painfully limited.) The cycling portion is just 10 miles each way, but there are other issues, some of which I discovered on my mock commute Sunday.

1) The subway excludes bicycles during rush hour—Dear City of Los Angeles, this is stupidly antithetical to the alternative-transportation mission!—so I can't physically put my bike in a car before 8:30 a.m. By the time I ride my stops and bike from the subway station to work, I'll be 30 minutes late every day I commute. (The evening rush hour is no problem.)
Finally, a reason to feel good about being late!

2) As my spine will now attest, the broken-up, potholed boulevard that lies between the closest station and my workplace is Paris-Roubaix-esque.
There's more than one way to get from point A to point B—unless you're a crow, who as a species MUST follow the shortest route possible. They're apparently rigid that way.

3) I've been on both ends of L.A. road rage. It's kind of super intense.
Riding in the thick of it will allow me to get in touch with my urban-warrior self.

4) The possible routes are not without notable inclines.
I will get to know and appreciate my small chain ring.

5) The IT dude who works in the office opposite mine and commutes via mountain bike is rather vocal about roadies being "pussies."
I think it's time we reclaim and empower that particular epithet. Are you with me, pussies?!

[redrhodie]

Hey RC, I also rode a mock commute Sunday. Think I've talked myself out of it on a regular basis (unlike you!!!). I have to get over 2 no-cycling bridges, which means I still have to drive most of the way, and pay a toll. Figured out a 15 mile long bike route once I get across, so that parts good, but having to drive so much of the way kind of defeats the purpose. I'll probably do it once in a while just for fun.

Meow! Who's he callin' a *****? Has he never seen the TDF?