Anyways, none of the bike paths in SP can compare to what is happening over in some parts of Long Beach (just across the bridge from SP).  Check out the Stupidest Bike Lane in Long Beach post over at Long Beach Cyclists.

I laughed so hard I started crying.  Folks, this is the state of biking round the LA Port area.  But you know what – I see more and more folks out on their bikes every time I go out (including more women, hurray!) proving that stupid bike lanes be damned.  We like riding our bikes too much.

Before I continue on, though, I have to take a little detour into the land of “riding while female” in San Pedro (though I am sure that many other female riders will have had similar experiences elsewhere).  For the first part of the ride we get the inane comments –  like people mimicking my bell ring and screaming at us to say “hi” to them to more harassing ones like “pedal harder,” “hot bitch,” and crude sexual suggestions.  The most disturbing thing that has happened to me so far was when I was pulling up to a red light next to a stopped truck.  The passenger in the truck had already taken notice of me earlier and said some crude stuff but then proceeded to pull himself halfway out the car window.  As I rode up, I saw he was going to try and pull me off the bike and I made a quick swerve away from him.  He swung his arms and missed, but continued to say vulgar things at me.  Very scary.  I’ve at this point thrown down plenty of hissed curses that those guys will be impotent for a few years coming.

Now I write this because this is unfortunately an all too common experience for me and my girl riding around here.  I am, however, deeply invested in making bike culture accessible and attractive to communities (like San Pedro) that could really benefit from it, even if it means battling harassment.  I also am looking for allies and resources in the cause of making bicycling and bicycling environments friendlier for women (hiya friends out there in the blogosphere!).  In future posts I will write more about bicyculture and feminism, but lets continue with my bike journey, because there are some redeeming qualities to biking in San Pedro. 

So my girl and I make it to our destination (library, grocery store, $.99 store, Mishi’s Strudel cafe) and then take a slightly different path home.  We sometimes run into more kids on these streets, packs of them riding their bikes.  Now when I ring my bell other bike bells ring back in greeting.  On the way back we have to bike up the hill we glided down before, but our legs are getting stronger and more importantly we take it easy.  It’s about journey, not getting to the top of the hill, right?  We slip into the corner store to pick up some sparkling apple cider and then flip on our lights at this point because it’s getting dark as we make our way home.  Some folks have begun to recognize us, a few other bikers smile at us (and we smile back, even if they’re in lycra), and soon we’re home.

Yep.  That’s a pretty average ride.  And even though the harassment sucks, some days it is better than others and to be honest, not much could keep me off my bike right now.  Soon I’ll post some pictures of some pretty outrageous ends to the bike lanes around here, as well as to other bikers cruising around, and maybe some dolphins.  That’s right, we got dolphins, too.  Slow dolphin movement, for real.

Ride easy. ♥

I currently reside in a place where the ghetto meets the sea: San Pedro, CA.  I was born here and recently moved back for an indeterminate amount of time after being a way for a few years.  I returned with my girlfriend and new perspective on Pedro culture.  We have a little wanna-be-homestead where we grow stuff, make stuff, and make magick.  Currently, we are trying to bike as much as possible, use the bus when that’s not feasible, and the car on rarer occasions.  Deciding to dive into bicyculture in L.A. has its drawbacks and rewards.  Drawbacks included a infamously poor public transportation infra-what-the-hell-structure, regular news reports tellin’ folks to stay inside ‘cuz the stuff in the air will kill ya, and sprawl, intersected with canyons, hills, barbed wire, and Republicans.  The benefits, you ask?  A bike culture that is not dominated by one way of riding, the beach, laid-back attitudes, San Pedro, and a sense that bike culture is a pride that everyone can take part in not just a few high-speed individuals (speed is great but dictatorship of speed is not).

I’m a Witch and Pagan.  I’m active in the local South Bay Pagan community and I’ve got ties to Witchen kin around the globe.  Why do Pagans make the best friends?  Because we worship the ground you walk upon.  I love learning new Pagan chants.  If we ever meet and I find out you’re Pagan, I’ll probably ask you what chants or folk songs you know, and teach you a few that I’m familiar with.  Then we can go bicycling and sing chants!  I have started to sing to myself as I ride in certain areas – I sang in the car – why not on my bike?  Granted, I don’t belt the tunes out quite as loud as I did in my enclosed car but loud enough so those I ride by might think “Is she biking and singing?  Hey, nice bike…”

Being a Witch and bicyclists, you’re probably going to find spells, rituals, and webwork centered around bicyculture and opinions, pictures, tangents centered around Witchcraft.  Yet there are many more weblines to follow between all the worlds and I enjoy finding the intersections (like feminism, bicyculture, and hexes) and good stoppin’ places where different folks connect.

And maybe I’ll just post corny Pagan jokes.  You never know. ♥

Welcome to Peddling Spells!  Just created, but soon to be updated!