Ciclavia April 2013

Iris passed up a chance to ride between Venice Beach and downtown Los Angeles on the back of the tandem. She stayed home to do whatever it is teenagers do at home. Bad Dad and I rode Ciclavia to the Sea on our own. I practiced stoker photography.

It was pretty thrilling to ride city boulevards without worrying about dodging cars and trucks.

Crossing California 101.

Crossing Interstate 110, the Harbor Freeway.

We saw about a dozen of these double decker bikes.  They show incredible skill getting on and off these elevated bikes at intersections.  You'd be even more impressed if you knew how crowded the event was on the west side.  (Follow that link for physics professor Clifford V. Johnson's photos of overcrowding and thoughts on how to make the next Ciclavia better.)

Bad Dad refused to pack any ride snacks, preferring to forage off the land. In Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles, Jonathan Gold wrote, "There may be as many as 500 Salvadoran restaurants in central Los Angeles, and at least half of them are pretty good."  The route along Venice Boulevard gave us a chance to sample the odds.

We are happy to report, we struck pupusa gold at Con Sabor!  We picked it because it looked like it could be a good place, didn't have a line out the door, and had bike parking.

Neither of us ordered stuffed pupusas, but they brought hot, fresh plain ones with our entrees.  I ate shrimp in garlic sauce with plantains and Salvadoran rice.  Yum.  I was also impressed that they offered about 30 different pupusa choices, half of them vegetarian.

We are going back. But, just like the reviews in Yelp warns, the food is good, but the service is slow. They cook it to order so bring a good book or conversationalist while you await your food.  We ate so much, we negated all the calories we burned and then some.

The next Ciclavia follows Wilshire Boulevard, between Downtown and the Miracle Mile (aka Museum Row aka Midtown) Los Angeles on June 23, 2013.  If you see a family with a silver Tandem, do say hello.  Contact us in advance and we can meet up for Ethiopian food in little Ethiopia in Midtown.