Urban Serenity: The Los Angeles River Bike Path

The Militant finally had an opportunity to ride the new section of the Los Angeles River Bike Path through Elysian Valley this week, which opened to huge fanfare two months ago. The Militant really wanted to check out the opening festivities, but he was tied up with some Militant community activities that day, not to mention that he may or may not have been easily spotted there.

But although the opening was blogged about many times, The Militant has always been about showing you a different angle. So during his recent ride, he was able to enjoy the bike path, not with politicians and crowds, but the way it was meant to be experienced.

After riding south through Atwater Village, he finally broke on through to the new section past Fletcher Avenue, marked by asphalt paving so smooth and dark, it almost looks like it was still wet from this past weekend's rains.

After passing the 2 Freeway overpass, the harsh white-noise roar of cars rushing above soon transitioned into the soothing rush of water and the intermittent quacking of ducks. Ducks? Yes, ducks! Lest you forget, the entire section of Los Angeles River, from Griffith Park to Elysian Valley, lies close to the underground water table, and was therefore never fully paved. The result is a glimpse of the what the River used to be -- and what many hope it will once again become -- replete with islands boasting California Bay Laurel trees protruding from the riverbed, and both native and migratory fauna walking, swimming or flying throughout. There are even mini-rapids where water rushes through rocks in the riverbed, forming calming sounds which soothe the senses. Aromatherapy, anyone?

It is in this section you can witness the Los Angeles River in pure serenity, with only the occasional whoosh and horn blare of a passing Metrolink train across the river interrupting the unexpectedly pastoral setting in the middle of this bustling metropolis.

Once in a while, you'll get a view like this, which just blows away most people's (predictably negative) perceptions of The River:
It was also a unique glimpse into the Elysian Valley (a.k.a. Frogtown) neighborhood - a tiny nook of 8,000 working-class residents living in the shadow of Chavez Ravine. A handful of pocket parks line the route, and the backyards of several houses face the river, some of which have roosters, dogs and California native plant gardens. Interesting to note, that the opposite side of Elysian Valley -- Riverside Drive -- is also a popular bicycling corridor, which The Militant has rolled through many times.

There was a time when the Los Angeles River Bike Path was just a boring, tiny little strip that ran 3.2 miles along the east end of Griffith Park. Whoopty-doo. But now it's grown to a decent 7.2-mile ride (that's 14.4 miles round trip - without worrying about cars); and even a one-way ride through its entire length will take you a while. Now all we need is a link south past Downtown to link to the rest of the River Path and north to the Valley! Let's do this!

More picturetude!

Cleaning crews were here today to maintain the Path.

FROGTOWN REPRESENT!

Frogtown? A couple of locals beg to differ.

The Militant wasn't the only one taking pictures of The River today.

The Real Dodgertown: Casey Blake, Blake DeWitt

Continuing the Militant's on-going series on "The Real Dodgertown," where he attempts to amuse his readers with Los Angeles street signs whose names are the same as those of current Dodger players, the Militant is going 2-for-1 today.

In baseball, that doesn't make any sense, but you will get two players for the (free) price of one with this post.

The Militant roams around this City far and wide to do these kinds of things for y'all, so here it is:


Today's "Real Dodgertown" players are third basemen Casey Blake and Blake DeWitt!

Blake, as we all know, is the team's primary third-baseman, the first everyday hot corner occupant since that Adrian Beltre guy some five years ago. Acquired just before last year's trade deadline, the bearded former American League veteran has been one of the team's offensive and defensive constants this season.

The Militant took the picture of the "Casey Pl" sign off of Westmont Drive in northern San Pedro, and the "Blake Av" sign by Pirtle Avenue in Elysian Valley (a.k.a. Frogtown), just down the hill from The Stadium.

The team's other "Blake" 3rd baseman - Blake DeWitt (Incidentally, both of them sport a number "3" on their jerseys - Blake being #23; DeWitt being #33) , was best known as the minor leaguer, who, in 2008, got the call to be on the Dodgers' Opening Day roster, after Tony Abreu, Andy LaRoche and the brittle-boned Nomar Garciaparra were all on the disabled list.

In his first MLB at-bat, he got his first big league hit, and just weeks later got his first home-run. The phrase, "Is There Anything Blake DeWitt Can't Do?" was popular at the start of the 2008 season, with his first grand-slam projected for July, brokering Mid-East peace by October and curing cancer by December.

This season, he's racked up the most frequent-flyer miles of any Dodger in history as he spent most of this season being called-up (and re-called) to and from the minor leagues multiple times.

The Militant snapped the "De Witt Dr" (Okay, there's a space, but who's counting?) sign in the Cahuenga Pass area, off of Barham Blvd.

A Deflated Change in Plans

The Militant has plans. Future plans. Urban plans. Master plans. The Death Star Plans. Plans for his Militant revolution. A Man A Plan A Canal Panama Plans. One can say the Militant is a planning freak (the Militant is not much of a party planner though). But as life runs its course, plans have to change.

Wow, that all sounds real heavy. No the Militant isn't hanging up his combat boots (the Militant has only just begun!), but he had to change some minor plans today.

It all started after the Militant had a nice hour-long talk with the head of a local non-profit arts group in his community, having a nice chat about the community, and sharing with each other our own plans (see? There you go!) for it. The Militant had to ride on over to the AWV for an appointment. When it was done, after, snapping pics of the River (pictured above), the Militant had planned to bike on over to Little Tokyo via Frogtown, Lincoln Heights and Chinatown to do more research for Part 3 of his Ethnic Iced Dessert Quest, and maybe check out a little bi-monthly talent show there as well.

Well something happened after the Militant crossed the bridge over the Los Angeles River where Riverside Drive suddenly becomes Figueroa: The Militant's rear bicycle wheel felt suddenly uneven and he dismounted immediately. There it was.

A flat.

Not just a flat, a "Your inner tube has less air than the vacuum of space and your rear tire is literally falling off the wheel" kind of flat. And that can only mean one thing:

Sabotage.

The Militant knows he is being under attack. The East Coast media powers are out to stop him, at all costs, and have sent their expatriate minions "out here" to stop the Militant. So they scored a microscopic victory against me by finding a way to deflate my rear tire, perhaps via the use of some laser device. There was absolutely no evidence of debris or sharp objects stuck in my tire, as there normally is when the Militant hits a flat (as Will Campbell knows, the Militant is phobic of riding on the Los Angeles River Bike Path for fear of getting puncture weeds stuck in his tires). The Militant was lucky, as this happened just after he had crossed the Los Angeles River, which meant that he had entered The Real Eastside, and that he knows that those who want to stop the Militant never venture into The Real Eastside, so that is probably what saved his front tire from destruction.

The Militant called roadside assistance at around 6:30 p.m., who informed him there was a bicycle shop further north on Figueroa by York in the Highland Park/Eagle Rock/Garvanza area but the Militant didn't want to take the chance of arriving at a place that was closed for the day. So he lifted the rear wheel off the ground and manually walked his wounded chariot a few blocks where the (M) Gold Line Avenue 26 station (pictured left) stood. Pure gold. The Militant rode the train to Union Station where he transfered to the (M) Red Line and on to the Vermont/Beverly Station. While on the train, the badly-flattened tire was an easy conversation starter from fellow passengers, though the Militant had his eyes fixes on a real hot looking Angelena sitting in the middle of the subway car (Damn, she was hot...). After alighting the train and hopping onto the elevator, a quiet, unassuming , but still cute Angelena asked him questions about his bike and bicycles in general. The conversation continued on the mezzanine level and on the second elevator to the street. The Militant didn't hesitate to give her his contact info, you know, just in case, she had more questions about bikes. She may or may not call him back, but hey...the interesting things that can happen outside the confines of a car.

After schlepping his bike on the sleek articulated 204 bus, he brought it to his mechanic where he not only replaced the tube, but got new road wheels, also bumping unexpectedly into a few of his operatives, of all people.

You know the city well enough, and it becomes a small town.

So changing one's plans isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can pave the way for good or better things. The only thing that really matter in the end is...that the Militant still came away with something to wrote for his blog entry for the day.