Just a quick reminder why we live in Southern California

A cycling surfer relaxes on Surfrider Beach in Malibu.

I hate to rub it in.

Really, I do.

I know winter riding in colder climes can be invigorating. And at times, breathtaking. I even did it myself when I lived in Denver, unwilling to give up a single day of riding that didn’t call for strapping on x-country skis, instead.

But seriously. Weekends like this just serve as a reminder how lucky we are to be here.

L.A. may have a long way to go to catch up with bike-friendly cities like Copenhagen or Portland. Or even Long Beach, for that matter.

But times like this, it ain’t bad.

……….

Streetsblog announces the Bike and Transit Stories of the Year, along with the Livable Streets Person of the Year — who should come as no surprise — as well as the worst stories of the year. Five great places for CA cyclists, including a misnamed South Bay Bicycle Trail. Bike-friendly Boulder, CO works to improve bicycle parking. A Louisville, KY writer says that cars vs. bikes may be an unsolvable problem. A tragic death in South Carolina reminds local cities why they need to make their streets safer for cyclists. Bikers irk motorists in the country’s most dangerous state for cyclists. Even Gulf Coast Alabama adopts a Complete Streets policy. Washington cyclists are forced off the road by an erratic driver. Infrastructurist names the rise of cycling #7 on the top 10 stories of the decade. A 34-year old Bicycling editor could find himself competing as a domestique in this year’s Le Tour. Tour undiscovered Paris by bike; no, not the one in Texas. Finally, a Charleston cyclist becomes last year’s 11th murder victim — 10 years after he was attacked while riding.

6 comments

  1. dottie says:

    Beautiful picture. Sometimes I wonder why I don’t move to California 🙂

  2. disgruntled says:

    Grrr. Admit it, you love rubbing it in

  3. Digital Dame says:

    Hmmm. Envision me giving you my most sour look possible. 😛

  4. TheTricksterNZ says:

    Pfft…. our local territory owns your local territory. Not many places in the world you can sit at the top of a climb and look at an ocean and a sea seperated by 1000km of land (Ok, maybe the Darien Gap, but its not exactly conductive terrain to riding a bike) while also surrounded by sub-tropical rainforest and then 20mins later be at a black sand beach (as seen in the movie The Piano) and within an hour and a half can be at the opposite coast at a white sand beach.

    *Cue finishing bragging about living in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.*

  5. bikinginla says:

    Dottie, sometimes I look at your posts, and wonder why I don’t live in Chicago.

    Disgruntled, only a little.

    Dame, at least you’ve got a real bike plan up there in Portland.

    And Trickster, I’ve got to hand it to you. We may live in one of the most beautiful states, but from everything I’ve heard, New Zealand is amazing. One of these days, I hope to find out for myself.

  6. TheTricksterNZ says:

    Well I guess what brought it home for me a few months back was I played tour guide for the day to some friends of family friends from Maryland. They were gasping and aww-ing at stuff I just go “meh” at every day. Hahaha.

    In saying that, I know you won’t believe me, but if you think American drivers are bad, they don’t have a patch on our nutters, and our roads aren’t built to handle them either, and yeah, even from way down here, we hold Portland up as a mecca both in cycling and transport planning.

    Anyway, if you do get over, I’ll take you out for a days bike tour or something… go out for 60-80miles will cover a fair bit of ground around the countryside just outside the city.

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