[cosmo105]

Man I wish biking in LA wasn't so completely terrifying. I used to ride all the time when I lived in a quieter neighborhood and now I live near much busier streets and no one knows how to drive around cyclists. There are a few dedicated lanes and even a path or two but getting to them is pretty gnarly.

I recently took the retractable rear wire baskets off the back of my old-ass Trek and though I do love how much lighter my bike is I miss having sweet baskets when I needed them for groceries and books and stuff. They looked so damned cool.

Oh, also, on the most recent CicLAvia I rode the subway next to a guy who had the most amazingly beautiful tricked-out bike I'd ever seen. Deep wood paneling everywhere, plaid cloth padding, a wooden 6-pack holder with the LA symbol worked into the metal frame, and a fucking flask holder in place of a water bottle holder. It was glorious. He beamed when I told him how nice it was and said it was "a lot of fun to put together."

Bikes!