take public transportation

on the news they say that ridership is up, with gas prices. experientially this seems to be so. 8 out of 10 rides I’ve taken in the past week have been standing room only. didn’t used to be like this on the red and purple lines.

yesterday on the bus: a lively conversation with a woman from south africa and a couple (who had just watched a nat’l geographic special on what happens to the earth after humans are gone and were eager to share) about bikes, nuclear waste and neighborliness.

meanwhile an older man was creating amazing pencil art by holding two pencils, one in each hand, over the pad of paper on his lap and letting the bumps and vibrations of the bus direct the lines.

on the bus and missed my stop coming home. the unexpected benefit – ended up getting off 2 stops later right in front of a 2 weeks new soul food restaurant which I’d never seen before.

greens, mac n cheese and salmon croquette for dinner (and lunch the next day). plus a long vigorous walk home – to help burn off said dinner.

biked/commuter bussed to work last week. summertime makes this kind of leisurely commute possible. on the way there, me and the bus driver were all alone. giving the driver the opportunity to tell me a lot. about her weekend ahead, her husband and son, plans for an upcoming vacation, a terrible kidney stone experience, and we still had time to speculate about a couple of recent news stories on tragic and inexplicable family violence. reverse commuting is informative.

spotted on the way home from the bus window: a motorcade passed us going the other direction, CHiPs on motorcycles, three big coaches, more CHiPs. I caught a glimpse of a UCLA band sign and some athletic types, as they took the entrance ramp from Sunset to the 405 heading south.

I’m kind of dim on my college hoops this year, but I think I may have witnessed a bit of March madness action. Top-seeded team on the way to Phoenix to play a little b-ball?

finally had a low key enough day planned, that I got the chance to take it, and I’ll be back for more. Since I reverse commute, on the way there it was just me + two regulars on the vast, plush long distance-type bus. these ladies and the bus driver clearly love and enjoy each aLOT. So it was kind of like intruding on their carpool. But their car was so big. (On the way home, there were four of us.)

caught the uphill bound bus (in the nick of time) to my meeting and rode my bike downhill home. no more than 20 min. door to door each way + no parking headache!

took my new bike on the bus to Santa Monica. by the time I got off, there were two wheelchairs, a wheeled shopping basket, a piece of luggage on wheels and two bikes, including mine, on the bus. apparently, like me, other people need wheels in order to get to the bus. such is life in LA.

to Disney Hall, almost. Walked awhile instead of making the mysterious transfer. And in the garden, the Carolina Chocolate Drops were great – hilarious – boisterous, charming, with skills and heart. Old time lives!

And the finale – during which a dozen tiny kids spilled onto the floor dancing their butts off – was DElightful.

is a straight shot from home to Leimert Park where Esowon Books will be hosting Bill Cosby on Wednesday. I won’t be there, but it’s handy to know that it’s a 20-25 min. no transfer ride. If Barack makes it back – I’ll definitely be there with bells. Bus goes all off the beaten path once it hits 43rd, so I was a little vague about where to catch the return one, but with a little walking around, it worked great.

I was conducting another transit experiment – figuring out how long it takes to get to the Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens via public transit (with a little folding bike assist). This turned out surprisingly speedy and not too effortful – just about an hour. Mix in cheerful conversation with busriders and I was feeling pretty happy with the results when I arrived 45 min before opening time at the gates of the Huntington.

Turns out it was too early for them to let me through, so I went riding down the street to grab a morning beverage. Parked and locked the bike out back of a coffee/smoothie joint, sipped my bev and read the paper for no more than 15 min and returned to the parking lot to discover… my bike lock snipped clean through and no bike to be seen.

argh.

Found that the Huntington is a good place to go recover (at least partially) from your recent bike theft. At least I could experience both a satisfying array of cacti and a Gutenberg Bible

(The friends I was meeting up with gave me a ride home.)