LA goes EVERYWHERE on wheels. Due to the sprawling nature of the city and the lack of a viable public transportation system, most everyone needs a car or some other alternative way to get around besides their own two legs. But people seem to take it to a whole new level out here...
My neighbor regularly carries his groceries home via skateboard, and last week I passed a girl riding a unicycle...with a backpack on...while listening to an iPod. I watched a guy strap two wheels onto each of his sneaker-covered feet with what appeared to be rubber bands and navigate the busy sidewalks of Main Street, Santa Monica with graceful control on a Sunday afternoon- no small endeavor considering hundreds of people flock to the town's local farmers market every weekend. There are long board skateboards, both motorized and foot-powered (speaking from experience, the motorized version is a hoot with speeds that reach 30 mph), adult-sized tricycles, beach cruisers (of which I am the proud owner of a powder blue Raleigh) both with surfboard racks and without, hundreds of road bikes supporting riders in head to toe racing attire who traverse the streets and the strand from daybreak to sunset, roller blades for those still living in the 90's, skateboards that claim their own skate parks every few hundred yards, motorcycles of all sizes, mopeds, VESPAS (I really want one!), Segways- otherwise known as People Movers- which are very popular among the outdoor mall security crowd and- based on the photo above- with a handful of hipsters on Abbot Kinney, those small cars without doors that look like supped-up golf carts (name anyone?), and of course my arch nemesis...the SMART car, which I consider more akin to the golf cart than an actual highway vehicle, contrary to what you will see- or not see- on The 10.
Granted I spend the majority of my time in Santa Monica and Venice, and it is here that I have spotted most of the wheels listed above. But in a city where the car is king, it's kinda cool that so many people find such innovative ways to get around. Albeit the unicycle is pretty out there, lady. This ain't the circus, no matter who or what you might see on the Venice boardwalk. Might I dare go so far as to say that New York City, despite its ever-growing crowds, might benefit by taking its cue from Los Angeles on the WHEELS issue. It seems my loyalties might be shifting after all...
*the photo above was taken on Abbot Kinney in Venice and excerpted from the LA Times Fashion section*
If anybody has other interesting/funny photos of people on WHEELS in LA, send them to me at likebutterontoast@gmail.com and I'll post them!
Hi. I still use my rollerblades when I play hockey and intend to use them if I get a job at a tv station in the Brooklyn navy yard. Good post. So many ways to get around over there! You are a good writer! NYC isn't up on these ways of getting around but there are new bike lanes. Lots of people bike now!
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