It was a recent goal to ride to the Laverne United Methodist Church that was used in the movie The Graduate. I plotted out a route on Google Maps and I took off. Following the Los Angeles River east as I rode through Compton, Glendora, San Dimas, Azusa, Covina, San Gabriel, Pasadena, El Sereno, Los Angeles and Carson.
It was great to look at the snow capped San Gabriel Mountains. The Rio Hondo Bike Path is great. It’s not so easy with a strong head wind but it allows you to keep a good pace. It gives you a possible glimpse of what a past Los Angeles might have looked like, less developed until you leave that vast ness and approach more urban landscapes. I saw men on horseback and another man riding his bicycle in the river. The rains washed sediment near the Whittier Narrows section but I made it through.
The path I was desperately trying to stay on it. The monsoon like rainstorm that descended upon Los Angeles put a cramp in my riding Maybe it was the break I needed. Pretty much most of what I do is ride my bike with a few exceptions. Filtering through all the crap on Instagram are gems of inspiration and art and more. Getting inspired by Groggins I have to, “stay hard,” though I have been so soft. Yet it gets me motivated and so I go outside and ride, even if I start late. It’s just important to do it and have a good time.
So, crossing all of those landscapes was a great feeling of freedom from all of the misinformation, commercialism, oppression and euphoria of modern life to somehow stay in touch with myself as much as possible. At home I realized that I had cracked my right foot, road cycling shoes. Those Shoes were the first cycling shoes I bought. It meant something but I just wasn’t sure what, but I knew that I had reached an important stage.