Sarah Ritter (senior, UEP)

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Many of us don’t really consider bicycling a serious form of transportation after elementary school. However, recently, bikes have been making a comeback for people of all ages. Over the summer when gas prices were at record highs, bikes began to emerge from years in storage. Global warming has also guilt-tripped some back onto their bikes in an attempt to reduce their carbon footprint. But whether it is economically or environmentally motivated, bikes are growing in numbers on our car-dominated L.A. roads.

Slowly, Occidental is getting in the bike loop; one of the first projects of the Sustainability Fund was to buy more bike racks, and the new Cycling Club has been successful in their racing endeavors. However, it is still surprising how little biking has caught on here. Living in Eagle Rock, we are in a prime location to explore L.A. on bike – the Gold Line is about a ten minute ride from campus, while the epicenter of biking in L.A., the Bike District, is about 6 miles away in Silver Lake.

p>Besides being cheaper and more environmentally friendly than driving, biking provides a new and exciting way to see L.A. Some argue that they don’t know how to navigate the roads on bike and that it’s too dangerous or that they feel disconnected from ‘bike culture.’ However, there are opportunities aplenty to help remedy those problems.

You can start by attending the L.A. Bike Summit March 7th at Trade Tech College downtown that’s being hosted by UEPI, with speakers from Mexico City, New York, and Portland. The summit also includes various workshops such as basic bicycle safety and skills, fix-it tips, building a campus bicycle movement, and “Instigating Bicycle Fun.” The full list of events and the free registration is all on labikesummit.org.

If you have ever had the desire to ditch the four wheels for two, or if you are already an avid cyclist and are looking to join the revolution, the L.A. Bike Summit is a can’t-miss event!

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