Day 36
In terms of mileage and geography, today was a first. We had our shortest day of the trip yet, (about 5 and a half miles), and we actually ended up farther North than we started. It just so happened that I have another friend from school (also named Sam...) who is from the city and has moved here and there around town, but is currently at his parent's place in-- wait for it... Beverly Hills. Yes, indeed, we two crusty mariscos have really made it.
It was a groggy morning to be honest. Lluc whisked together some left over corn from the party last night with an avocado from the festival a few days ago, and I warned up some tortillas I had in my bag. We packed what little we had brought in off the bikes and just before we were ready to roll I woke up Sam and Jeff for some goodbyes. We all have an intricate spider's web of connections in the world, and it takes some effort to keep it, but times like these make doing so a pleasure. Thanks fellas.
We rode out the driveway and were greeted by the Hollywood sign high on the distant hillside. To Hollywood, and beyond!!
Navigating in a flat city with a somewhat regular grid should be easy, but we still managed to get a little turned around. Or perhaps we weren't truly lost, but rather were never quite sure of our path. But in a half hour or so, the neighborhood had changed dramatically from the trodden strip of Mid City to the elegant boulevards of Beverly Hills. Though both Lluc and I had to wonder, "where's the hills?" Indeed it was all flat, though I noticed the streets all had the same gentle curve to them. Nice touch.
We found the address and both laughed at how absurd it was that we were here. These were some nice digs.
Sam (the second) met us and we soon caught up. We had met on a outdoor leadership course 6 years ago, gone to school together for a year, and hung out for a week in Salt Lake City, but that was 3 years ago, so there were some gaps to fill in. Unfortunately the man had been seriously wrecked by a surfboard the day before, so he was taking it easy at home and Lluc and I went to go enjoy the city independently.
Presented with the spectre of a large city and the better part of the day awaiting me, and armed with the only equipment at my disposal, I proceeded to do the obvious and bike around as much of the city as I could. It was an epic ride. Wthout all the gear, I felt truly weightless. I rode first to Sunset Boulevard past some remarkable palaces (indeed, monuments to affluence), down to the Sunset Strip, where I spied some notable establishments like the Roxy Theater and the Whiskey-a-go-go. I wasn't so impressed with the strip, though I'm not sure what I expected. I hear it's better at night...
I took a left on Laurel Canyon and rode it up and up, following its snaking path into the hills. These houses were equally nice, but somewhat more reserved, even reclusive. It was fun to imagine what kinds of creative folk had been up and down this road before. I even came across Amor Road, which was close enough to 'Love Street' for me to stop and wonder.
Soon, I was at the top and I turned onto Mulholland drive, which took me along the ridge overlooking the San Fernando valley around this curve, and the Los Angeles valley around the other. It was stunning. The city extended to the visible horizon, and even past what I was able to concieve in my mind's map...
I spotted the Hollywood Bowl from the road. There were so many landmarks and simply names I recognized on the map, from so many movies, shows, albums, and other pop culture references, it was beyond belief how they were all sprinkled through the city. So many of them had existed in the nebula of my memory, to see them all arranged all in this area was fascinating.
At the bottom of Mulholland, I crossed the 101 and got onto Forest Lawn drive, from which I picked out those famous warehouses that could only be Warmer Brothers studios.
I biked through Griffith park and the old LA zoo until I found a bike path on the LA river, which was so pleasant, I rode it all the way past Glendale, nearly to Silver Lake (described to me as the Brooklyn of LA). The river itself was surprising. Clearly at one time it had been a desert arroyo, then replaced by a brutal concrete culvert, it now had sandy walls in the shape of a culvert, and trees and grasses planted in the course of the river, replicating some of the natural ecosystem. It made for some vivid juxtaposition.
I went through Silver Lake and Echo Park, which both seemed like tenable parts of town with interesting storefronts and such, before I decided I should probably head back. On the way home, I made a straight shot through central LA on 3rd street. Another 9 or 10 miles of neighborhoods back to back to back, each one like the downtown to another city, somehow sutured into the confusing quilt of this metropolis. The divide between them felt edgy, without the usual flow and gradient I'm used to seeing in a city. There was upscale residential neighborhoods 2 blocks from cheap shopping plazas next to industrial and office space next to full on shopping malls. Every block was a surprise.
Another surprise: the La Brea tar pits. Wudduya know. Bubbling goo in the middle of town.
I got back around 5, by which time I think I had done 25 miles. Not much of a rest day, but heck, how often do you have a day to blow in LA? Met Lluc there only to discover he had gotten another tatoo. Had a friend in town whose work he liked. He said I'll see it when I help him clean it the next couple days.
For dinner, we brainstormed somewhere unique to check out that we won't have from here on south. Sam suggested an LA right of passage: Roscoe's chicken and waffles. Soul food it is.
Fat and sugar and salt. My brain and tastebuds were in exaltation. It just so happens that Sam's favorite taco truck was around the corner, and they were cheap, so we went all in and got tacos for desert. A double whammy. We considered it a down payment on hunger in the future.
Back at home we shared some stories around the table, but all had heavy eyes, so we hit the hay. That was a fine, fine day. Just as I imagined it and better. I don't think any city can be 'done' in a day, but we did our darnedest.
It was a groggy morning to be honest. Lluc whisked together some left over corn from the party last night with an avocado from the festival a few days ago, and I warned up some tortillas I had in my bag. We packed what little we had brought in off the bikes and just before we were ready to roll I woke up Sam and Jeff for some goodbyes. We all have an intricate spider's web of connections in the world, and it takes some effort to keep it, but times like these make doing so a pleasure. Thanks fellas.
We rode out the driveway and were greeted by the Hollywood sign high on the distant hillside. To Hollywood, and beyond!!
Navigating in a flat city with a somewhat regular grid should be easy, but we still managed to get a little turned around. Or perhaps we weren't truly lost, but rather were never quite sure of our path. But in a half hour or so, the neighborhood had changed dramatically from the trodden strip of Mid City to the elegant boulevards of Beverly Hills. Though both Lluc and I had to wonder, "where's the hills?" Indeed it was all flat, though I noticed the streets all had the same gentle curve to them. Nice touch.
We found the address and both laughed at how absurd it was that we were here. These were some nice digs.
Sam (the second) met us and we soon caught up. We had met on a outdoor leadership course 6 years ago, gone to school together for a year, and hung out for a week in Salt Lake City, but that was 3 years ago, so there were some gaps to fill in. Unfortunately the man had been seriously wrecked by a surfboard the day before, so he was taking it easy at home and Lluc and I went to go enjoy the city independently.
Presented with the spectre of a large city and the better part of the day awaiting me, and armed with the only equipment at my disposal, I proceeded to do the obvious and bike around as much of the city as I could. It was an epic ride. Wthout all the gear, I felt truly weightless. I rode first to Sunset Boulevard past some remarkable palaces (indeed, monuments to affluence), down to the Sunset Strip, where I spied some notable establishments like the Roxy Theater and the Whiskey-a-go-go. I wasn't so impressed with the strip, though I'm not sure what I expected. I hear it's better at night...
I took a left on Laurel Canyon and rode it up and up, following its snaking path into the hills. These houses were equally nice, but somewhat more reserved, even reclusive. It was fun to imagine what kinds of creative folk had been up and down this road before. I even came across Amor Road, which was close enough to 'Love Street' for me to stop and wonder.
Soon, I was at the top and I turned onto Mulholland drive, which took me along the ridge overlooking the San Fernando valley around this curve, and the Los Angeles valley around the other. It was stunning. The city extended to the visible horizon, and even past what I was able to concieve in my mind's map...
I spotted the Hollywood Bowl from the road. There were so many landmarks and simply names I recognized on the map, from so many movies, shows, albums, and other pop culture references, it was beyond belief how they were all sprinkled through the city. So many of them had existed in the nebula of my memory, to see them all arranged all in this area was fascinating.
At the bottom of Mulholland, I crossed the 101 and got onto Forest Lawn drive, from which I picked out those famous warehouses that could only be Warmer Brothers studios.
I biked through Griffith park and the old LA zoo until I found a bike path on the LA river, which was so pleasant, I rode it all the way past Glendale, nearly to Silver Lake (described to me as the Brooklyn of LA). The river itself was surprising. Clearly at one time it had been a desert arroyo, then replaced by a brutal concrete culvert, it now had sandy walls in the shape of a culvert, and trees and grasses planted in the course of the river, replicating some of the natural ecosystem. It made for some vivid juxtaposition.
I went through Silver Lake and Echo Park, which both seemed like tenable parts of town with interesting storefronts and such, before I decided I should probably head back. On the way home, I made a straight shot through central LA on 3rd street. Another 9 or 10 miles of neighborhoods back to back to back, each one like the downtown to another city, somehow sutured into the confusing quilt of this metropolis. The divide between them felt edgy, without the usual flow and gradient I'm used to seeing in a city. There was upscale residential neighborhoods 2 blocks from cheap shopping plazas next to industrial and office space next to full on shopping malls. Every block was a surprise.
Another surprise: the La Brea tar pits. Wudduya know. Bubbling goo in the middle of town.
I got back around 5, by which time I think I had done 25 miles. Not much of a rest day, but heck, how often do you have a day to blow in LA? Met Lluc there only to discover he had gotten another tatoo. Had a friend in town whose work he liked. He said I'll see it when I help him clean it the next couple days.
For dinner, we brainstormed somewhere unique to check out that we won't have from here on south. Sam suggested an LA right of passage: Roscoe's chicken and waffles. Soul food it is.
Fat and sugar and salt. My brain and tastebuds were in exaltation. It just so happens that Sam's favorite taco truck was around the corner, and they were cheap, so we went all in and got tacos for desert. A double whammy. We considered it a down payment on hunger in the future.
Back at home we shared some stories around the table, but all had heavy eyes, so we hit the hay. That was a fine, fine day. Just as I imagined it and better. I don't think any city can be 'done' in a day, but we did our darnedest.
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