Today’s submission takes us further south than usual for a ride with Mike Wilkinson along the San Gabriel River Bike Trail and two nearby parks.
Mike says he’s been riding with enthusiasm since he was a kid. Now he and his wife ride their tandem bike all over Southern California, and he rides his road bike for “10 mile exercise blasts” during the week. His biking motto: “I’m not slow and I’m not fast… I’m half fast!”. Mike is a freelance website designer, and he runs the TandemClassifieds.com website.*
……..
If you’d like to share your ride with us, just send it to the email address on the About BikinginLA page. It can be a rant, rave or anything in between, from a few sentences to a detailed description. Or any other format you think tells the story best, however and wherever you ride.
Let’s keep the conversation going.
……..
*Special thanks to Mike for doing all the work for me, including writing his own introduction. Especially after I insulted him by misspelling the name of his Alma Mater in today’s Morning Links headline. And yes, I fixed it after he pointed it out.
You were riding in the door zone. What if somebody opened a door? Would you have stopped in time? If you’re going faster than 5 mph, probably not. Then, to avoid, you would have swerved left, maybe into the path of a speeding car. Or get doored, ouch! Getting doored, cyclist usually fall to the left, maybe into the path of a car. Bike safety classes teach to ride in the center of the lane away from the door zone. Just get there in plenty of time before the car. Get a mirror to give you confidence to see what is behind. Looking at every car you pass is no fun way to ride. What if they high up in an SUV and they are short? Can you see them then? What if a car was pulling out? Riding in the center of the lane gives them more time to see you, more reaction time. Take a bike safety class with the LAB and Cycling Savvy. Google this.