I think the festival was stronger than ever this year for Los Angeles, both in attendance and in the programs screened. There were lots of great films this year including a 1956 Japanese feature called “Keirin Queen” subbed by BFF staff and brought to the U.S. for the first time. A French film, “Le Dernier Voyage of Maryse de Lucas”, a story of two friends riding out to the countryside to spread on of the friend’s mother’s ashes, had Bronwyn literally in tears. And a redubbed parody of “Midnight Ride”, a Banana Republic and Vanity Fair produced short that takes place during a Midnight Ridazz ride, got uproarious cheers from the crowd. “Midnight Ride” has recently been taken down, I’m guessing because of the negative response it was getting throughout the bike community. How’s that for viral marketing gone wrong? The parody was on YouTube, but was removed because of copyright violations.

Other great things that went on were an opening night concert with Deerhunter, a bicycle art show, goldsprints, and a Sunday block party in the Bicycle District.

Here are the photos I posted on my flickr.

Be sure to check the festival out if it’s coming to a town near you.

Timelapse – Los Angeles Wildfire from Dan B. on Vimeo.

Which bike has an acceptable level of manliness? These are tricky questions. As the parade of 10-speeds, mountain bikes and, more recently, fixed-gear designs knocked the upright, old-school bicycle off the road, accouterments like fenders and chain guards came to be seen — by men, at least — as eccentric. If a guy is going to get on a bike, he wants to imagine he’s Lance Armstrong, not Pee-wee Herman.

The article does go on to list a Dutch bike’s disadvantages, particularly its large weight (around 50lbs) and sluggishness that makes it difficult to manage carrying up stairs or navigating through traffic. BikeSnobNYC notes:

the Dutch city bike invasion is yet another example of fashion disguised as practicality. More accurately, it’s fashion backlash disguised as practicality. What happens when people start wearing baggier and baggier pants? Tight pants make a sudden comeback. What happens when ratty trucker caps become all the rage? Clean, flat-brim fitted caps supplant them. What happens when microbrews take over the country? There’s a renewed interest in PBR. And so forth. So what happens when impractically minimalist bikes become fashionable? Impractically practical bikes suddenly seem a lot more attractive.
…
And that’s what’s so annoying about the fixed-gear fad and the fixed-gear backlash. They both seem to subscribe to a notion that there’s no middle ground, and they only define themselves in terms of the other. Hate track bikes? Ride a tank! Don’t like sluggish bikes? Ride a track bike!

One of my bike friends from back in L.A., John Vu, had a great rant on the iBOB list. (Emphasis is mine.)

I love Dutch bikes, but they just aren’t very suited to places like L.A. They are great if your radius is like five flat miles, preferably with good bike infrastructure, but here a lightweight with 28mm tires, fenders, a saddlebag, and a generator light is much more useful.

On any given day in L.A. I can be at work near the beach in Santa Monica and out exploring the hills of Eagle Rock with friends, assisted by the train or bus. I just can’t imagine doing all that on a Dutch bike, sorry. If you don’t believe me try schlepping one up stairs or just onto a bus rack.

And it’s folly to suggest that you need a certain kind of bike to wear non-bikey clothes. My friends and I ride those kind of bikes all over the city, almost always in “regular clothes.”

While I’m ranting: I’m a bit tired of the attitudes embodied by the Copenhagen Cycling Chic and similar blogs. They’ve said what needed to be said: Look, people around the world ride bikes for transport in regular clothes. But what needs to be said now is that we aren’t all so lucky to live in a bike-friendly city and if we are to make progress we have to just start riding and not worry that we don’t have ideal bike situations. Perfect is the enemy of good.

I think we can humanize cycling without Dutch-style town bikes and separated bike lanes and such. Also, I’m a bit put off by how they look down on people who do anything remotely recreational or sporty on a bike or bike enthusiasts. Aim your rod brakes elsewhere.

Another unintended effect is that the nonrider who doesn’t live in a bike-friendly city will read these blogs and see the images of idyllic city bike culture and contrast it with what their car-centric cities, giving them another excuse to not ride. I have this conversation several times a week, the “L.A. is too dangerous to ride in, unlike Portland/Davis/Amsterdam/San Francisco” talk, and I wish I didn’t have to. The idea is to agitate for better bike infrastructure, but now is that going to happen if everyone is afraid to get on a bike in the first place?

He brings up a lot of great points – the reality that bikes can belong to everyone without resorting to the “impractically practical” or snubbing those who have sporty enthusiasm for cycling, and that circumstances are different for every area and pining for a cycling utopia can hurt the cause of bike advocacy.

Case in point of the impractically practical: Back in L.A., Bronwyn had two bikes. One was a lovely, restored, electro-forged Schwinn. The other (and the one she brought to Japan) is a late 90′s GT road bike. Both are really cool bikes, but the Schwinn probably had a good 20 pounds on the GT. Between our apartment and the Saturday morning farmer’s market was a big hill. Guess which bike got taken out on those Saturday mornings more often. Hint: it wasn’t the one with the basket.

Of course Japan has its own form of the Dutch bike – the mamachari.

While it shares many of the same attributes as the Dutch bikes – chainguard, fenders, rack, and lights – it lacks a few notable things. Namely, the fashionista condescension and the $1000 price tag (mamacharis sell for around $150 at department and hardware stores). They carry the same cultural cool as I’m sure Dutch bikes do in the Netherlands – which is to say none. As the NYT writes, “riding a bicycle to work in a suit and tie is as notable an act as drinking a cup of coffee, there is no bike culture — all culture includes the bike.” Though there certainly is a bike culture in Japan, as I’m sure there is one in the Netherlands.

Like John, I do actually like Dutch bikes and mamacharis. I’d never own one because they’re too limited for the kind of riding I do, but I appreciate their place as an everyday practical tool that is useful for and accessible to many. They’re certainly better than the boat-anchor “mountain” bikes available in Wal-Marts throughout the States on which you’d be a fool to actually take off-road (about which an interesting discussion worth reading was coincidentally started on the bikepirates livejournal community today). It’s the fetishization of European cityscapes, and the divisive one-or-the-otherness between the trop pratique and the trop sportif that I find so distressing. It is one of the primary problems in the perception of cycling in the United States. Bikes can be a part of culture, not just bike culture, but Dutch bikes aren’t the only magical keys that can do it.

ADDENDUM: As another coincidence, Bronwyn forwarded the same NYT article to me while I was composing this post. Looks like it’s getting around. While I have my disagreements with the article, I’m at least happy to see increased visibility of bike topics.

I took the quiz at careertest.net which determines your personality using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and gives you a list of recommended careers that match your personality. I hadn’t taken it for a while. I used to come up as an INFP or ENFP (with my results sitting about 50/50 for the Introversion and Extroversion scale). Taking the test now I’ve found that because of having experience in a work environment and in life in general I understand myself a better that before. Naturally my answers have changed. Now I am pegged as an ENTP. Reading the temperament’s description from careertest.net and other sources I’d say it’s pretty spot on, more so than the descriptions for either INFPs or ENFPs. For outside verification, I showed Bronwyn and she pretty heartily agreed it was a match.

ENTP’s value their ability to use imagination and innovation to deal with problems. Trusting in their ingenuity to get them out of trouble, they often neglect to prepare sufficiently for any given situation. This characteristic, combined with their tendency to underestimate the time needed to complete a project, may cause the ENTP to become over-extended, and to work frequently beyond expected time limits. Complicating this situation is their predisposition to experiment with new solutions. This makes them eager to move on to the next challenge when things get boring. ENTP’s become stressed when their improvisational abilities are ineffective and they will avoid circumstances where they might fail.

If stress continues, ENTP’s become distracted and their “can do” attitude is threatened. Feelings of incompetence, ineptness, and inadequacy take over. They need to escape situations that are associated with anxiety is more prominent for the ENTP than for any other personality type. Doubtful of whether they will have what it takes to accomplish a task, they displace their fears onto situations they can elude. Panic, fear, and anxiety then block the expression of their creativity. Defensive phobic reactions cause the ENTP to circumvent achievement in other areas and prevent the success they strive on.

The careers they list for this personality type include:
systems designer, venture capitalist, actor, journalist, investment broker, real estate agent, real estate developer, strategic planner, political manager, politician, special projects developer, literary agent, restaurant/bar owner, technical trainer, diversity manager, art director, personnel systems developer, computer analyst, logistics consultant, outplacement consultant, advertising creative director, radio/TV talk show host

I find the mention of venture capitalist, investment broker, and real estate agent or developer rather amusing not because they’re fields in which I’m interested but because they would seem like very unfortunate choices given the economic climate.

Actor, journalist, politician, even radio host were actually the jobs I had in mind back in middle school and high school in response to the classic question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I did tons of theater in high school and a bit in college and loved it. The industry side of acting and the irregularity of work is what turned me off from that path, though I do do a bit of acting-for-profit here in Japan (but that’s a story for another post). Radio host would also be a difficult industry to get in to, plus I don’t think I’d have the chops for it. Politican? There are far more qualified people than me out there, plus I’m probably too much of a lush to win public office anyways. Journalist? Maybe. Not sure why I ever discounted that as an option. I did write for a newspaper back in college but found that it was difficult to come up with quality writing on a regular basis with deadlines looming.

The positions of creative director and art director do appeal to me, as does a position as an information architect (which I guess is kind of like a systems designer?). As a web and graphic designer, I enjoy coming up with creative solutions to design problems, but I also find that I enjoy researching, brainstorming, and building concepts and themes more than executing the design itself. At my old job, we had a new person come on in our department as a Production Artist. He was assigned to work with me. While my position was Designer, I would communicate design concepts to the P.A. and he would come up with the designs themselves, then we’d split the actual production work. It was very effective and I enjoyed working in that role, but that dynamic is more like what would happen between an Art Director and a Designer. At any rate, these results tell me that perhaps I’m already in the right career path, just not on the right rung on the ladder.

The other jobs on the list don’t interest me so much, except for restaurant/bar owner. I lit up at the mention of that. Visions of my ideal pub instantly sprang to mind. A dozen beers on tap, special emphasis on local microbrews. A simple wine list, all Southern Californian. Simple and fresh yet hardy grub. The menu would be short, even seasonal – we wouldn’t make a wide variety of food but what we’d make we’d make well. Exposed brick, lots of dark wood, shelves and shelves of my CDs and vinyl (side benefit being that it gets OUT of my apartment). In fact, now that I think about it, my own restaurant wouldn’t be a half bad idea. I do find that when I go into restaurants I mentally tick off things that I like or I would do differently. And after going to Hiroshima and going crazy for their okonomiyaki, I was convinced that a real-deal okonomiyaki joint open late would be wildly successful in L.A. Still am. It’d be the next big thing in post-bar gnoshing. Don’t you go stealing my idea.

Of course the small-business entrepreneurial spirit extends past a restaurant. I’ll admit that I’ve often fantasized of opening up my own bike shop, as I’m sure many bike enthusiasts have. We’d focus on practical commuting and touring bikes, clothing and accessories. Featured bike brands would be Jamis, Raleigh, Masi, Kona, and Swobo. Maybe that’s too many. Maybe drop Jamis since Hollywood Pro Bicycles Topanga Creek Bicycles has them covered. Of course we’d also be able to get in Soma and Surly for buildups (we’d specialize in Big Dummies). Proper fenders – metal and plastic, racks from Blackburn, Tubus and Nitto, lights galore – dynamo and battery powered, practical clothing that can be worn on the bike or in the office, bags from Carradice, Ortlieb, and Jandd. No carbon fiber to speak of unless you wanted a special order, and I’d spend my slow hours hunting down deals or donations on solid, reliable vintage and used parts that we could turn around and sell. Think Recycled Cycles in Seattle with a bigger BOBish flair, or Velo-Orange in brick-and-mortar form. Oh, and to top it off I’d learn how to build my own frames and sell those as a custom option as well. Yeah, now I’m really fantasizing.

The reality of the difficulties of a small-business owner are discouraging and the risks of failure daunting (there’s that ENTP trait talking). Still, it’s something to consider. First I need to think about finish off paying all the student loan debt I already have before taking on more debt from starting a business.

Finally, one other career path I’ve been toying with that isn’t on that list is Urban Planning. It’d probably involve me heading to UCLA for a Masters, but I think the field is something that’s important and timely, especially considering our new administration’s commitment to such things as environmental protection and sustainability, and investment in technology and infrastructure. It’d be a way to affect things like alternative transportation and livable streets on an institutional level. I suppose the question is would I enjoy the work. I certainly feel passionate about the subject, but perhaps an internship somewhere would help me determine if the job itself would be right for me. I’ve also got a couple of fellow Pomona alums who did the program at UCLA. How convenient that the reunion is coming up.

Coming to Japan after the wedding was highly symbolic in that it was a fresh beginning. But I think that, more accurately, Japan itself isn’t the beginning; it’s been the intermission. It’s allowed me to break away from the routine I had fallen in to in L.A. and given me time to consider the next step. It’s obviously a source of anxiety, but at the same time it’s exciting.

The biggest change first: I got married. I had been dating Bronwyn for four years and living with her for much of that time, and while marriage didn’t necessarily change our day-to-day living dynanmic, there is something quite charming and comforting to know that I have a “wife” and that I am her “husband.” We’ve passed our six-month anniversary mark and still the words seem strange and delightful as they roll off the tongue: “This is my wife, Bronwyn.” It’s even strange to write that. It has at least been a bit easier to assume the roles of Jon and Bronwyn, husband and wife, while introducing ourselves to folks in Japan. We don’t have as much of a history with friends here. They didn’t know us as single entities – the pre-Jonwyn days if you will.

This brings us to the second biggest change – moving to Japan. No real surprises in this list, eh? If there’s anything that marked the marriage as a change, it’s moving across the globe and literally starting a new life together. Japan has certainly had its ups and downs and I can’t say I won’t be happy whenever it is we decide to return to L.A., but I’m very fortunate to have made good friends with folks here and to have had so many wonderful experiences.

Speaking of experiences, travel was huge this year. There were weekend trips like Santa Barbara wine country in February, and Vegas for my Bachelor’s party in May. Then there were epic adventures like Greece for our Honeymoon, and Korea and the Philippines. My passport is certainly looking spiffier thanks to 2008. There are also all the places we’ve been to around Japan, like Misasa, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Tokyo, and all the places I’ve seen in-between via bicycle.

Bronwyn calls my 2008 the year of the bicycle and I can’t say she’s wrong there. It was the year I tried randonneuring and touring for the first time. I did a 200km and 300km brevet, totally shattering my previous ideas of what I was capable of physically. I wanted to finish the series with the 400km and 600km rides, but the wedding kept me busy. My bike tours in Japan have been a great way for me to not only get to know the country, but also foster some independence, especially since I had defaulted to letting Bronwyn take the reins of Japanese life since she’s the one who speaks the language. I also can’t forget to mention that 2008 was the year I got my dream bicycle – my Rivendell Rambouillet Starbuck – on which I’ve been able to have my touring adventures.

I’ve given up making resolutions for the New Year as I’m pretty bad at following through on them. Honestly, I doubt any year is going to top 2008 for me for a long while. It’ll probably take something on the magnitude of a birth of a child to top the events of this year, and that’s not something we’re planning on doing for yeeeeaaarrrssss now. So let’s just say I’ll be content to take my adventures as they come and seek them out where there are none. Here’s to a great 2009!

At any rate being a daily bicycle commuter already, riding my bike for one special month or week or day of the year isn’t really a big deal. Instead, I do have two fairly minor goals. The first is to actually ride my bike to work for the entire month. I don’t own a car, but I do have a Vespa that I ride into work maybe one or two days a month. So yeah, two days tops of changing my gas-sipping habits isn’t that big of a deal, but it’s something.

The bigger challenge, actually, is my second goal, which is to be more of a plain-clothes cyclist. I don’t wear lycra bike shorts and jerseys in to work. I don’t even own a pair of lycra shorts (though I do have one pair of wool bike shorts for any kind of special event). What I tend to wear is normal shorts or knickers from Swrve or REI with a wicking wool shirt. That actually look pretty non-bike geeky and would be fine in a bar. But at work, even though it’s jeans and t-shirt casual, the thought of wearing knickers or shorts doesn’t sit right with me. I normally pack a change of clothes in my messenger bag that I bring with me everyday. The irony is that the messenger bag ends up making my back and shirt extra sweaty. Even if it’s a nice looking, wicking, stink-free merino wool t-shirt, I’d rather not wear it around the office waiting for the sweat marks to evaporate. This week, I’ve been rediscovering riding around in normal old pants, be they khakis or even *gasp* jeans, which I had sworn off doing back when I started commuting because they were extremely uncomfortable. I’m finding now that jeans aren’t so bad – the difference being the underwear.

Sorry to speak so candidly of my undergarments, but wicking underwear is absolutely key! Cotton boxers simply will not do. Patagonia active briefs are pretty good, but even better are these Icebreaker merino wool boxer briefs. They are the ultimate shiznit. Kind of pricey, but so very, very worth it.

At any rate, now that I no longer need to pack an extra pair of pants, I’m able to use my saddle bag for my commute luggage, relieving my sweaty back and even allowing me to wear the same shirt I rode to work in around the office. Hurray for simplification!

I still wear dorky bike shoes, though. I can’t get over how much I like clipless pedals. However, I picked up a pair of Keen cycling sandals at REI recently with my member dividend, and they have been treating me very well – still dorky, but not as much as my Sidis.

Yes, it’s illegal to ride your bike on most freeways, including the stretches of the 405 and the 101 these folks are riding, but what a fine piece of subversion this is. And truth be told, when traffic is that thick, what they’re doing is safer than riding surface streets.. Intersections are where the vast majority of accidents occur with any vehicles. With bicycles, the most common collisions involve a car turning right or left into a rider’s path. Freeways remove that problem and, considering that traffic is at a virtual standstill, problems from differences in speed are also negated.

A bicycle “freeway” could be just the thing the city needs to make bike commuting a viable alternative for many – and I don’t mean bike paths and trails that meander through parks and beaches or hug the Los Angeles river with casual riders ambling along at 10 miles per hour, but something that actually moves commuters quickly and safely to useful destinations. Someone cycling from Santa Monica to downtown could probably shorten their ride by a good half hour if they rode on the 101 and didn’t have to contend with stop lights and intersections. In rush hour I can assure you they’d do it faster than a car making the same trip.

At the start of the 20th century, Los Angeles had the right idea with the beginnings of an elevated wooden bikeway from downtown to Pasadena. Unfortunately that was scrapped as the automobile rapidly gained in popularity, but imagine how things would have been different if cars had come along a bit later, and a bikeway infrastructure was already in place and proven to be a viable method of transportation. How many people would opt for the car then?

I’m not saying cars don’t have their place, but would we really still need to build 8-lane freeways? Just imagine how many thousands of acres of land could be used for things other than asphalt. This photo from Germany is a pretty good illustration of that. It shows the amount of space required to move the same number of people by car, bus, and bicycle.

Tomorrow is Earth Day, and in honor of that, a portion of Wilshire Boulevard between Western and Harvard is declaring itself car-free for the day. While that doesn’t affect my usual commute at all (I work on Wilshire but ride on Melrose), I’ll be swinging by during my lunch break to check it out and support the gesture as it’s a really great thing to see this kind of support coming from the city.