5.22.04--BIKE PRIDE!

Sorry for the lack of updates. I was gone as you know for a week in the Bay Area doing my show in Cupertino (more on that later), then performed at the Highways birthday party, then had a show at the swanky REDCAT theater down here in LA. Then I started my new job in Koreatown this week. On top of trying to litterbox train my new cat (I've officially taken custody of Oliver because my neighbors are moving). So I've been so busy!

But I don't want to recap all of that, I want to tell everyone what has made me happier than a clam this past week.

I brought my bike down from San Francisco and I have a new lease on life!

Gosh! Bikes are so empowering! I have never rode a bike down here in Los Angeles. For the obvious reasons that most people don't ride a bike down here. But I was so tired of driving and spending so much on gas. And I was also sick of these lame emails people have been sending around about "gas out day" where you don't buy gas on a certain day to prove to the gas companies that you won't stand for their hikes. Whatever. It doesn't work. The only thing that works is figuring out how to not use your car.

MYTHS ABOUT BIKE RIDING IN LOS ANGELES DEMYSTIFIED!

MYTH #1: IT'S TOO DANGEROUS

Yes, and so is driving a car. I have found out the best place to bike in LA is on the sidewalk! Nobody here seems to use them, so I just glide right along all the cars and I am just fine. I find it so sad and ironic than on a bike ride home from Santa Monica, I will pass only six pedestrians, but maybe 150 cars. As long as you practice standard precautions and wear a helmet, you'll be fine.

As a bicyclist, I have noticed how completely stupid drivers are in this town:

HELLO LOS ANGELES DRIVERS! GET OFF YOUR PHONE AND LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE YOU TURN! DON'T STOP IN THE CROSSWALK AT A STOP SIGN! DON'T TURN AT A RED LIGHT UNTIL YOU LET ME PASS ON MY GREEN!

Aside from that, biking at night hasn't been too scary. If you have these flashing lights attached to your bike, you tend to scare off a lot of pedestrians, and the homeless people tend to not notice you.

MYTH #2: NOBODY BIKES IN LA

Just the opposite. Now that I am bicyclist, I've noticed lots of fellow bikers around and about. I really feel like I am part of a community. When I see a bicyclist go by I want to scream "BIKE POWER!" to them. Sometimes other bicyclists nod to me with that knowing nod that says, "Hey, bike power my sister, bike power."

I even begin to feel sorry for people driving by themselves in big SUV's waiting in traffic. I wish they could see the city the way I do. It's amazing.

MYTH #3: IT TAKES TOO LONG TO GET AROUND

Not really. Have you seen traffic in LA? At certain times of the day, I am moving faster than the cars. And I don't feel so discouraged from going out and trying to find places to park, because I can just lock up my bike to anything. Since I am turning my bike into my exercise and because I like looking at the world from a bike (it's amazing to see streets up close and personal that I have only seen before from a car), it's been worth the little bit of extra time to get around.

MYTH #4: YOU GET ALL TIRED AND SWEATY AFTERWARDS

I only get sweaty if I wear too many layers. The air keeps me cool, but I don't feel tired from biking around, instead I feel energized and totally at peace with the world again. I feel so happy that I can actually "enjoy the journey." I love life in Los Angeles in a way I have never loved it before.

And I plan to quit my gym membership. I hate the gym anyway. It take so long to get out there and the whole time I am staring at the clock waiting for my time to be up.

MYTH #5: ONLY NERDS BIKE

Screw that! I like biking with my helmet and I plan to make it look cool. I totally went to my local bike shop and got my bike all tricked out. I put on lights, fake flowers, a sumo wrestler bike horn, mardi gras beads, and I plan to make my bike look so fresh. And I convinced Miles to buy a bike the other day (he says that I am the informercial for bikes) because I kept talking about how happy I am now that I am seeing LA from a bike and how bikes have helped me bring "a little piece of San Francisco into Los Angeles". So we've been biking around West LA and screaming in the street and turning bike riding into our own personal gang for cool people.

MYTH #6: IT WILL COST TOO MUCH TO FIX UP MY BIKE OR BUY ONE

It will cost you more to drive around and park your car. You don't have to give up your car, but if you do local trips by bike, you'll save so much money. I spent about $150 to get my bike tuned up, re-tired, and accessorized, but Miles bought his new bike for only $99 at KMART and only spent $30 to get lights for it. (and he biked it 5 miles home). So, it's not that expensive considering. You don't need a fancy bike to get around, those will get jacked. Your just need something simple that works. You can find a lot of good deals on craigslist.

Here are my favorite new websites:

metro.net-- the MTA has bike racks on the bus, and on their site you can figure out the route to take about town so you can half bike, half bus. They have a commuter bus that only stops once in each district and is really fast. I plan to bike/bus to my new job.

bikemetro.com-- this site helps you figure out the best route to take anywhere via bike, you can even see a bike/bus combo you can take to get around.

labikecoalition.com-- this group does bike advocacy and fights to make LA a better place for people to bike ride.

bikeout.org-- Bike Out promotes health and fosters self confidence in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth and their straight supporters through mountain bike expeditions.

To celebrate this momentous step for me as a Los Angeles resident, I will post my favorite pics with me and a bike from past updates. As I have said in the past, bike riding makes me feel powerful and sexy.

Here I am at Burningman with my bike!

Here I am in front of Mother's Restaurant in New Orleans!

Here I am along the Mississippi River!

I hope that I can inspire other people to ride their bikes about town. Me and Miles rode our bikes in West LA around midnight the other day. It seems like it would be scary, but it's actually quite liberating. I, of course, took my helmet off just for the block of Sawtelle, and Miles made sure to bike right by Cafe Muse, so that we could be seen. Then of course we slowed down right by the Giant Robot store, to symbollically show off how cool we were. It's unbelievably easy to bike in West LA. All the streets are flat.

Yesterday I biked to Venice with my friend Bernice and then we ate breakfast by the beach. I was happy and smiling the whole time saying, "This is how I pictured my life in LA would be when I moved here so long ago, and now I am finally living it."

Love you all, I'm off to bike some more!

KRISTINA