The Elusive Bicyclist

I’ve seen one! 

I’ve actually seen one of the bicyclists for which we created the La Crescenta Avenue bike lane.

I know that seeing bicyclists traveling east to west or west to east along Honolulu Avenue is no big deal – they can usually be seen biking on Saturday and Sunday mornings. But to see an actual bicyclist on La Crescenta Avenue is a big deal – I mean we destroyed an entire traffic lane for these bicyclists not to mention the parking spaces we sacrificed. 

I have to share that when I was a kid growing up in Sun Valley – a flat land to be sure – having a bicycle was important. I would drive my bike to elementary and secondary (middle) school. I would drive it to the local store to get candy. I would drive it to the bowling alley (Starlite Lanes) on Lankershim Boulevard. I would pretend it was a horse and ride it. I would ride with no hands. My bike was everything!

Imagine my surprise when my boys didn’t care if they got a bike. That was unheard of! But then I gave it some thought – it’s hilly here in the foothills. To ride a bike in the foothills was more of a chore than a joy. So it ended up making sense that they didn’t want a bike.

I remember that after I drove a Segway (a “self balancing personal transporter” that was propelled forward by leaning into it) I wanted one of those. Unfortunately, I don’t think it would make it up the hill (we live way north of Foothill Boulevard), so I gave up that idea. 

Of course, nowadays there are bikes with motors on them – much to the chagrin of deputies, officers and pedestrians who have to keep clear of them or risk getting run over by one! But I digress.

Yup, having that bike lane on La Crescenta Avenue makes a lot of sense – to someone.