Respice Adspice Prospice

Quentin and I have lived in Los Angeles for about a year and a half without a car. When we met in Chicago, neither of us had ever owned a car. We certainly didn't need one there, or in Seoul where we lived after that, or in Claremont, CA, where we lived with Q's folks for about a year and a half after that. In Claremont, I took the Metrolink train to work in downtown Los Angeles, and borrowed the in-laws' car for weekend outings. When I got a job in Westchester (near LAX), Q and I moved to Venice Beach and decided, given it had always been our MO, not to get a car then either. We thought we would give it a go for a few months, a year, two years, and see how it treated us. It's been about a year and a half, and so far so good.

I start with this brief history by way of saying that this was never some radical "we WILL NOT own a car" stance for us, but rather a lazy-in-its-own-way resistance to having to think about and pay for "car shit." We are not road warriors. We are not staunch anti-car-ites. We just seem to like to live this way: moving our bodies a lot more than we would otherwise to get to where we need to be, daily. And living in a slightly more resourceful, creative, and worn out physical state than I believe we would otherwise. I think it comes down to this: nothing is more of a soul kill than sitting in traffic. NOTHING. I'll take a sore butt and legs any day.

Here, a few tidbits about how we do it/when we do it/where we do it:

THE BIKES & GEAR
My bike is a piece of crap. It probably retails for about $120. It is a hybrid Schwinn - a bike Quentin's Mom bought a few years ago and gave to me when we moved to West LA. It is heavy as hell, but it is sturdy, shock resistant, and utterly unattractive to bike thieves. Q's bike is a tad bit higher end, a hybrid too with a lighter frame - and the second bike he's ridden in LA because his first was stolen out of our gated courtyard about a year ago. Other than the bikes, we have little gear. We always wear helmets. I wear gloves. We use lights after dark.

THE COMMUTE
I bike to work 2-3 days a week on average, and bike home from work most days. The trek to work includes a short but steep climb at the end, as Loyola Marymount University where I work is situated on a bluff near the Pacific. So on mornings I don't want to face the climb and arrive at work drenched in sweat, I'll bike about a mile to Pacific Coast Highway and stick my bike on the bus there. Some days I leave the bike behind entirely and take the bus all the way, but there is a transfer involved and it takes about twice as long. I usually just haul my work clothes in my backpack and grab a "sink shower" and change in the bathroom at work. My coworkers seemed kind of weirded out by this at first, but they've adjusted. On days where I need to be a bit more presentable, I'll bike to the University gym and shower and change there. Very occasionally I'll run to or from work. It's about a 4.75 mile journey, longer if one takes the scenic route along the Pacific.

ZIPCAR
We have access to the car sharing service ZipCar at LMU, and we rent a car every couple of weeks for a few hours, or sometimes for a full 24 hour period. It's handy for things like appointments, grocery runs, or special occasion outings.

VISITING THE IN-LAWS
Getting out to Claremont involves biking to the new Expo Line Metro stop in Culver City (super exciting that the line now extends so far west - it's supposed to reach Santa Monica by 2016) or all the way downtown to Union Station and then putting our bikes on the Metrolink train.

THE CART
There are supermarkets along my commute route, so almost daily on the way to and/or from work I will stop to pick up a few items for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. However, for large-ish grocery runs without a car, I use a SERIOUSLY DORKY little cart that I bought at Ross for about $15. It's meant for carrying drinks and gear to the beach. True to the Venice vibe, it's got, like, multi-colored peace signs painted all over it. Quentin is horribly embarrassed by it, so he has yet to join me when I get groceries by this method. It takes about 15-20 minutes to walk up to the nearest supermarket, where I can cram a surprising amount of food in the thing. Inevitably I get a "are you going to fit it all in THAT?" look from the cashier, but I take to self-bagging and usually get it all in. I've never been one to give a shit about looking like a dork, so that's one chore that I am willing to take on solo. :)

PARTY TIME
So this is all sounding well and good for the day to day, you say, but what about when one wants to go further afield and enjoy other parts of the city? Well, that's when things start to get a bit more, um, hardcore. James Brasuell, whom most of you probably remember from MAPH, is one of our dearest friends in Los Angeles. Often his girlfriend hosts parties at her place in Silver Lake - and often we bike. The parties can be fairly drawn out in themselves, but when you throw on an hour and a half bike ride each way - and consider that the ride home usually starts at about 3:00 in the morning, after about 8 beers - Silver Lake party evenings take on an even more epic character. We are known in James' circle as "those people who biked here from Venice." Other fun destinations we'll often bike over an hour to reach include the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax, downtown Los Angeles, and Manhattan Beach. When Melissa visited Los Angeles, we biked to meet her in Beverly Hills. Fun spots closer to home include Santa Monica (super close, tons of movie theatres) and Playa del Rey (funky little beach community, great for happy hour beers on a Friday afternoon).

The real point of this post is: no need to rent a car to come visit us in Los Angeles! You're all welcome anytime - although we can't put you up because we sleep on the floor of our studio apartment. Maybe I'll blog on that life choice next time. ;) Until then, happy trails.