You Don't Need a Weatherman....

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10/02/2010: "You Don't Need a Weatherman...."

Bob Dylan once sang that "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows," and the winds of change are certainly blowing through Los Angeles, especially on the streets (and all too often the sidewalks), where bicycles are taking over more and more of what transpo geeks call "mode share."

Even in the last three days, when thunderstorms have ringed the city, brewing a profound and thick, damp heat.... Gina took the photo two days ago, and right afterwards we got on the bikes and rode through the sprinkle to the turtle pond to watch the last of sunset. We were not alone; in a city notoriously wimpy in the face of even the mildest little rain, there were other riders rolling happily about. Not just people who had to ride, either.

Yesterday I was pretty busy and my rides were short and local, getting things done, but I had plenty of fellows out there on two wheels also getting things done...and today--still hot, still muggy--cyclists everywhere, bikes parked everywhere, by stores and shops and offices, rolling up to the bank, cruising across the bleak streets of Hollywood.

It's not really so much that bikes are "taking over mode share," as I said above--doesn't that sound aggressive? It's that people who need to get around are simply choosing bicycles even when they have other choices and when the weather isn't the best.

Because when you do you casual calculation in the back of your mind, you realize, what the hell, better to sweat a bit on a bike saddle and be free, than to sweat strapped into a tin can in a traffic jam.

When you ride your bike, you make you own sweet winds of change, with every pedal stroke.