BtW Day and the LA Bike Tour

Today was Bike to Work Day for LA County, so in the spirit of saving the earth and all that Chad and I rode up to my building together this morning. A mere 3.8 miles each way, easily biked in less than a half hour, but it has always seemed so much more impossible than the 14+ roundtrip ride I used to make in Seattle, rain or shine. The route is not as safe (no bike lanes, lots of traffic, not many other bikers), the ride home in 90degree heat is unappealing (okay, only a problem in the summer), and there are no shower/changing facilities at work (I do not wish to ride up 20 floors in the elevator wearing spandex and bike cleats).

But today I did it! And rather ingeniously too. We rode slow so I wouldn't be all gross and sweaty when we got there, and once we pulled into the parking structure I slipped on my nice shoes, threw a skirt on over my bike shorts and a blouse over a tank top. Tada! Brave Bike Commuter Lindsay becomes Mild-Mannered Development Assistant Lindsay in a matter of seconds. :)

Of course one of the best parts of Bike to Work Day is the free stuff, and we took home a good cache of schwag, if not a king's ransom. I must say that BtW day LA is no where near what it could be, especially compared to Seattle's, but due to the small number of people participating we did get special attention - they practically shoved Clif Bars in our bags, saying they had way too many. We also finally got our coveted LA Bike Map, which I've been trying to track down since we moved here. Why do they make it so hard??

Anyway, it was good to get out on our bikes, since we have the LA Bike Tour coming up in less than two weeks! Chad and I have been raising money as we participate in this ride for an organization called ThinkCure, which funds accelarated cancer research projects through Children's Hospital Los Angeles and City of Hope. Our wonderful Aunt Paula was diagnosed with cancer this year, and as we can't be with her physically right now while she's going through such intense, difficult treatment we thought this could be one small way that we could support her from afar.

So we have raised over $400 to date (exceeding our goal!) and we hope to raise even more by race day, May 25th!! If you'd like to contribute you can visit either of our ThinkCure pages! I'll do a race report after the big day with pictures and all that, so stay tuned!