Flats

After I stopped cursing my third flat in the past week—and I've barely been riding—I realized it had been awhile since my last bicycle-themed blog post. So, here's what it looked like when I found the microscopic hole in my tube. For those of you who haven't shared in this fun experience, you remove the tube from the tire, reinflate the tube, and then submerge it in water. The bubbles help you locate the hole, which you patch with a stinky toxic glue and, well, a patch.

A Lot of Windows to Wash

On these Century City landmarks. Speaking of CC landmarks, check this.

I've Been Tired

Salvaged Kale

This bunch of kale took part in yesterday morning's pre-heatwave garden exodus. We didn't get a chance to harvest our red leaf lettuce before the record hot day. Though we've watered our lettuce almost daily lately, the thin lettuce leaves actually burned and dried up by midday. I guess we'll have lettuce again in November.

Crimson Sweet

Watermelon.

Heatwave Harvest

It was 92 degrees in L.A. yesterday, and it's supposed to be a couple of degrees hotter today. Leafy greens like this kind of heat less than I do—which is not at all. So I pulled most of the chard, kale, lettuce and arugula from the garden this morning, and it's all chilling safely in the fridge.

Expectations Exceeded

I want to live here.

Hannah Carter Japanese Garden

The kid and I are about to head there for our first visit in a year. As it's been a good spring for growing things, I think we're in for a good day.

Happy Monday

Golden Chard Update

These plants have been providing us a lot of leafy greens this year.

Side Shoots

This lovely specimen from our garden was just steamed and quickly eaten by the entire family (the kid, now three, loves her veggies) before it could make its way to the dinner table. We're still new to the broccoli game, but understood that after the main head is harvested, the side shoots will provide more, if smaller, harvests for a while longer, before the plant has run its course. This side shoot was noteworthy not just for its deliciousness, but because when we sliced it off of the plant an hour ago, it was nearly six inches across, slightly larger than the main head that we enjoyed in January.

Etsy and Me

The moment you've been anticipating with bated breath and manic impatience has arrived. I have an Etsy shop. I'm selling B&W prints of a series I shot, and am continuing to shoot, of ficus trees around Culver City and L.A. The pictures examine the trees in terms of volume and mass and their urban setting.
Tell a friend.
In case you missed it before, here it is again:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7014350
Thank you, Sharon.

My Polling Place

Surface and Structure

Thornton Ladd and John Kelsey designed the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, which opened in 1969. I was there doing some work last year, and took some photos for myself. I'm fond of the form of this building, and love the way the Heath tiles catch light. It can be difficult to observe when you visit the museum because the landscaping overshadows the architecture, but there are some beautiful moments.

President Obama and Our Earthquake Plan

President Obama is in town. A half hour before I was to drive to pick up the kid from school, I got an e-mail from a fellow parent with listings of street closures near the school, due to the president's visit. According to the LADOT website pretty much every main thoroughfare around school was to be shut down for a four-hour period.
So, our earthquake plan kicked in: ditch the car and use the bicycle and child trailer. When streets are closed or heavily congested, a bicycle works brilliantly. It would be my prefered method of daily transport, if I weren't concerned about driver aggression or indifference. L.A. has come a long way in terms of bicycle acceptance, culture, advocacy—but this isn't Davis.
For the trip home I rode on sidewalks to be extra cautious with my precious cargo. It wasn't quick, but it worked perfectly.

Ortlieb Panniers (pan-yers)

Until the Xtracycle is up and running again, here's my grocery getter.

L.A. Bike Summit 2009, Biketopia

This is James Rojas. Among the many things he does are these magnificent candy-colored re-imaginings of our urban landscape, often excluding cars. The roads in his whimsical (yet serious) models, are intended for pedestrians and cyclists; public transport, too. Of the many reasons I enjoy his work, foremost is that it makes me not take for granted that the way things are in our built environment is the way they must be.
You can read about another project of his here. He had an installation titled "Biketopia" at this past weekend's Bike Summit. I also saw his refashioned downtown on Park(ing) Day last year.

Trade Tech, Again

L.A. Trade Tech is a good place to go with a camera if you like the sorts of things I like.

L.A. Bike Summit 2009

The first L.A. Bike Summit took place today at L.A. Trade Tech south of downtown today. It was quite inspiring to see the large crowd of cyclists involved. Speakers from New York, Portland and Mexico City shared wisdom from the bicycle advocacy movements in those cities. As is common at bike-related events these days, there was bicycle valet parking. The valet parking at today's event was in a large meeting room.