This Sunday I decided to check out CicLavia and explore a part of LA I have never seen before on bike; glad I did. Cars in Los Angeles; cars in general; really stress me out so a chance to bike around the city without them is glorious.
CicLavia is an occasional weekend event where they shut down streets in Los Angeles to motorized traffic. It is inspired by Bogota Columbia's weekly Ciclovía that began in 1974 and has been slowly spreading throughout the world. I wish they could have in every weekend; but that would probably be tough in Los Angeles.
I started near Grand Park on 1rst Street; one of the major hubs. There was all kinds of festivities there; not sure it was all related to CicLavia; Grand Park on a weekend always has something going on.
There were booths everywhere selling everything from food to crafts to politicians; I checked out this fascinating exhibition of architecture before biking off.
I took a quick breather in Little Tokyo; which was rolling out the welcome wagon for cyclists on the route.
I need to spend more time in Little Tokyo; it is a fun place to hang out. There are great restaurants and shops and this wonderful Japanese bookstore that I haven't been to in ages; a must for Manga fans.
It also features a beautiful Japanese village complete with paper lanterns and old-style architecture.
I took a detour into the Arts District.
I have blogged about this area several times and it remains one of my favorite places in Los Angeles. I often attend a figure drawing workshop there at Artshare LA.
Hauser and Wirth is an enormous high-quality gallery in the Arts District and a wonderful place to take a quick breather.
I had a short picnic near the chicken coup then checked out their Charles Gaines and Philip Guston exhibits.
After I washed and rested I biked out to join the CicLavia Route across the 4th Street LA River Bridge.
It got a little hot; so I walked a bit to admire the bridge.
I was going to stop at a gallery I had been wanting to visit in Boyle Heights; but unfortunately it was closed. I figured it would be an adventure for another day and made my way to Mariachi Plaza.
It was quite the fun hub of activity; I need to return on a quieter day; I imagine it feels a bit like old LA.
Thank you for reading; if people like this I will share more of my adventures; until another day:) Dania