Even though Bike to Work Week officially ended on Friday, May 15, the bicycle activities continued through Saturday the 16th. My wife had read about the first annual City of El Monte Bike Rally in the Metrolink Matters newsletter. It actually went by other names. The registration form called it the Tour of Two Rivers. The route ran north along the Rio Hondo, cut east across El Monte, ran south along the San Gabriel River and then went through Whittier Narrows park. Most of it is made up by a network of interconnected trails, parks, and green spaces surrounding El Monte and known as The Emerald Necklace.
I registered for the bike rally through active.com. It cost $5.00 plus a $3.25 service charge. The proceeds from the rally supported the American Diabetes Association. The purpose was to encourage people to be more active and improve their physical health. El Monte is a working class community that has a high rate of child and adult obesity like many cities in the San Gabriel Valley (SGV) including Azusa. They marketed the rally as an opportunity for families to come out and participate together.
This wouldn’t be the first bike rally in which I’d participated. Back in late April or early May of 2006 I rode in the City of Angels Fun Ride. It began at the LAPD academy in Elysian Park near Dodger Stadium. There were many bicyclists in the ride, probably the most I’d ever seen in person. I remember all of us assembling and a sound system playing the song “Bicycle Race” by Queen. The route went through the Echo Park neighborhood, Downtown L.A., past the Music Center to Staples Center, down past USC, north again through the Central City East district into Little Tokyo, past Union Station, through Chinatown, Echo Park again, Silverlake, down Hollywood Boulevard, up the Cahuenga Pass and through the Lake Hollywood neighborhood. There was a large staging area for a break at the Ford Amphitheater. We then rode past Forest Lawn and finally through Griffith Park and back to the start in Elysian Park. Overall, the ride was 34.1 miles long. I enjoyed very much the ride through all the neighborhoods, seeing the famous and historic buildings. While riding down Vernon Avenue, an edgier neighborhood, some residents came outside and looked us over curiously. It was thrilling and a little scary going down the steep hill on Grand Avenue. The latter part of the ride through Lake Hollywood and Griffith Park wasn’t as interesting, but the hills provided a good workout.
The Take of Two Rivers would differ. It was only 16 miles long, mostly followed narrow bike paths rather than neighborhood streets, and had far fewer participants. But that didn’t make it any less interesting. My preparations for the ride began on Thursday, May 14 after I had returned home by bike from the train station. I had actually observed Bike to Work Day for the driving part of my regular commute (see earlier blog entry). When I got home I folded up the back seats of my car and put my bike in the back so it would be ready for Saturday.
On Saturday I got up at 7 am, had a light breakfast, dressed for the ride and put on suncream. The website said that check-in began at 8 am and the ride would start at 9 am. I left home not long after 8 am, drove west on the 10 and exited at Santa Anita Avenue. This is the same place we exit when Mom and Dad (my in-laws) drop us off at the El Monte train station after having dinner at their house on weekdays. However, exiting from the east is a bit trickier. I had to stop at a stop sign and then cut across three lanes to turn right (north) on Santa Anita Avenue. Pioneer Park, the starting point for the ride is on the left side of Santa Anita Avenue going north. It’s after Ramona but before Valley Mall and Valley Boulevard. I learned that we pass it when Mom and Dad drive us to the El Monte Metrolink station. I turned left into the parking lot south of the park. There were lots of cars from which people were unloading bikes, but there were no available parking spaces. I tried the smaller parking lot north of the park and still had no luck. After racking my brain I went to the only public parking lot I knew of in El Monte: the Metrolink station. It’s only a mile away from the park so I figured I could just bike from there. Parking at the El Monte station does not require a permit.
I parked at the station, biked west on Valley Boulevard and turned left on Santa Anita Avenue. It was around 8:40 am and not long before the ride started. Pioneer Park is not very big. They had booths set up under shades. One of them was the check-in booth for the ride. I checked in and they gave me a number: 468 out of what I later learned would be a total of 500 riders. They also gave me a 1 Bag At a Time brand reusable grocery bag containing a T-shirt, water bottle, and course map. I stashed these in my backpack and walked my bike over to where riders were assembled for the start. There were far fewer riders for this ride than for the City of Angels ride. Similar to that ride they wore helmets and many wore cycling jerseys. They had mountain bikes, road bikes, and hybrids. A few had those retro-looking bikes with big handlebars. I didn’t see any recumbent bikes. It seemed like there were more families with children than at the City of Angels ride and more Asians and Latinos than Caucasians.
The entrance to the course was at the northwest end of the park underneath the Metrolink track. Getting onto the course required the mayor of El Monte, Ernest Gutierrez, to cut a red ribbon with an enlarged pair of scissors. Before cutting the ribbon, the mayor and a few other dignitaries gave speeches. The mayor mentioned that they’ve tried many things to improve people’s health in El Monte, some effective and others not so much. He mentioned that the healthiest city in the U.S. is in Colorado. Assemblyman Mike Eng (husband of current Congresswoman Judy Chu) spoke about how he gained 14 pounds during his first week in the assembly from eating junk food. His doctor told him he was a candidate for diabetes. Either he or the mayor said they would do the ride but their bike had a flat tire. Another speaker mentioned that El Monte just got a new Sam’s Club and encouraged us to stop by there during the ride and spend some money. He also mentioned that there would be rest stops along the way with fruit and cookies from Von’s and students from the El Monte School District would distribute them. Next the mayor cut the ribbon to shouts of “You can do it!” from the riders. They then let the riders onto the course in groups of 10-12, asking that the faster riders go first. I left with the 4th or 5th group. It was 9:00 am or not long after.
At the beginning the course ran north along the Rio Hondo on a narrow concrete path with a dotted yellow line. I rode fast, trying to keep up with or even pass others in the group. It was nice weather for riding: warm enough that the air didn’t feel cold, but not hot enough to induce sweat. They had forecasted a warm day but it was still morning. At the start the Rio Hondo didn’t have much water in it but that would change after passing what looked like a dam further up. To my right was the El Monte Airport. Each mile of the course was marked with a large sign stating the number of miles and a sponsor such as Mayor Gutierrez, the City Council, the El Monte Police Department, or in memory of someone. The course was flat except at points where the road crossed the river and the path would slope down under the road and then back up. One street we rode under along the Rio Hondo was Lower Azusa Road.
The first rest stop was at the 3-mile marker and also where the course turned east away from the Rio Hondo. It looked like they were still setting up the rest stop so I kept going. We then rode through the streets of a decent-looking El Monte neighborhood of one and two story homes with well-kept yards. Volunteers would sometimes stop us to let cars cross the street and then have us ride through. We rode about a mile through the neighborhood streets and eventually rode on Lower Azusa Road into a small corner of the city of Arcadia. Here we made a sharp right to ride south along the west side of the San Gabriel River.
The San Gabriel River seemed to have less concrete and more vegetation than the Rio Hondo. It also didn’t have much water, at least at the section north of the 10 freeway, and looked more like a wetlands than a river. The ride south along the San Gabriel was the longest continuous leg of the course at nearly five miles. With a headwind and several stronger riders passing me, it was grueling, but very scenic. I lost a lot of steam. It seemed like there were many riders going in the opposite direction. They must be the usual recreational riders on the trail, separate from the bike rally. I passed three schools: a high school with soccer fields and two games of youth soccer going on, an empty grass field behind Twin Lakes School (that reminded me of Twin Lakes park in Juneau), and another high school south of the 10 with “Home of the Vikings” painted across its outer walls. There was a baseball game going on in its fields and along the chain-link fence were homemade signs saying things like “Go Bike Riders” and “Now Entering Vikings Territory”.
Before riding under the 10 I passed the cow and horse pens that I normally see from the Metrolink train on my route to work. I smelled the pens before I saw them. I passed a police officer on horseback. Further down near the 60 I passed another set of cow, horse, and pony pens. These were at the same level as the bike path. There was another rest stop nearby, but I kept riding to get out of range of the farm animal scent. Before the 10 I approached the Metrolink train track elevated over the bike path. A train passed over it and I waved. I ride that same train route to and from work every weekday. Further down the San Gabriel River more water was visible. Indeed, the river seemed quite full and the water level high. From what looked like an island or perhaps the opposite shore a couple of campers (possible homeless) gave us friendly cheers and waves. Further down I saw someone fishing on my side of the river.
I stopped to drink from my water bottle right before the 60 freeway. About a half mile after passing under the 60 the course turned right away from the San Gabriel River, into a wooded park, Pico Rivera Centennial Park, I believe, part of the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. It was still on a concrete bike path. Now there was bush vegetation on either side along with some old and now unused power line towers. The course crossed a busy street manned by cops to ensure us cyclists could cross. It was still Whittier Narrows and another turn led into El Bosque del Rio Hondo, but not before another drink of water. This part was even more wooded though I could see some large recreation fields beyond the trees. At another rest stop a city worker handed me a bottle of San Gabriel Metropolitan Water District brand water. I kept riding to a part of the course covered by a chain-linked canopy. On my right was what liked like a rifle or possible an archery range, though it seemed like people were using it to fly model airplanes.
At about mile 14 the course left Whittier Narrows and it was back to the neighborhood houses on my right and the Rio Hondo on my left. I heard a rooster crow just like across the street back home. Further down I passed some outdoor exercise equipment similar to the equipment along the Cedar River in Renton or at Savikko Park (Sandy Beach) in Juneau. In the El Monte park I also saw some men who looked like immigrant day laborers sitting down and watching us ride by. There was only a mile or two left and I rode fast to make up time, passing a few people. I could have passed one person right before the finish line, but I let her go ahead. In all, it took me an hour to finish the course.
Not very many other riders had finished the course at that point, but they kept coming in. I parked my bike on an elevated rail set up for that purpose. While doing so I saw a guy from my Indoor Cycling class who said “hi” and remarked that there was no need for spinning today. I agreed. I walked around the booths. There was one for the nature in Whittier Narrows that had a live owl on a perch, a live tarantula in a cage, and several other animals. Another booth measured people’s body mass index (BMI). I didn’t try it because they had one of those portable electronic devices that measured body fat. The last time I tried one of those it said I had too much body fat. There was also a table for the Emerald Necklace chain of parks with maps and photos that were taken along the course. The El Monte Police Department and El Monte School District had tables with the latter giving away bags of apple slices. I had some.
I spent some time talking to Carlos V. at the booth for the U.S. Census. They’re starting to conduct the 2010 Census by hiring lots of temporary workers and sending out questionnaires. The counts will be used to determine the number of congressional districts and federal funding for schools and other services. Carlos said that the Census has a permanent office in Van Nuys and temporary offices all around the region. They hire statisticians on a temporary and permanent basis. He asked me about the ride and described how he was trained as a teacher and currently works in public relations for the census and does some real estate work on the side. I have the same first name as his son.
I learned that my registration fee also covered lunch provided by Von’s Federal Credit Union. There was a lunch ticket attached to my number and I used to get into the enclosed pavilion where they had tables serving roast beef, turkey, and ham sandwiches, bags and chips, and cookies. I chose a ham sandwich and fritos and a cookie for my wife. On the way out I got some cold bottles of SGV Metropolitan Water District drinking water from a cooler and had lunch. That was nice of Von’s to provide lunch. While eating I heard from an announcer that they sold out of all 500 numbers and had to turn people away. They’ll have more numbers next year. There were still people, mostly kids, finishing the ride an hour after I finished. I saw a rather heavyset man with a number describing how he rode the entire course. Another guy joked that he did it twice. There was a stereo playing music. I didn’t hear “Bicycle Race” this time but I did hear “Give a Little Bit” by Supertramp.
After finishing lunch I retrieved my bike and practiced putting it on a bus rack with the El Monte Transit bus they had on display. A bus driver gave me some pointers. It was after 11 am and I felt like I had done everything. They were going to raffle off various items and my number came with a free raffle ticket but I felt like I had done enough and it was starting to get warm. I rode back to the El Monte Metrolink station, stowed my bike in my car, and drove home.
I registered for the bike rally through active.com. It cost $5.00 plus a $3.25 service charge. The proceeds from the rally supported the American Diabetes Association. The purpose was to encourage people to be more active and improve their physical health. El Monte is a working class community that has a high rate of child and adult obesity like many cities in the San Gabriel Valley (SGV) including Azusa. They marketed the rally as an opportunity for families to come out and participate together.
This wouldn’t be the first bike rally in which I’d participated. Back in late April or early May of 2006 I rode in the City of Angels Fun Ride. It began at the LAPD academy in Elysian Park near Dodger Stadium. There were many bicyclists in the ride, probably the most I’d ever seen in person. I remember all of us assembling and a sound system playing the song “Bicycle Race” by Queen. The route went through the Echo Park neighborhood, Downtown L.A., past the Music Center to Staples Center, down past USC, north again through the Central City East district into Little Tokyo, past Union Station, through Chinatown, Echo Park again, Silverlake, down Hollywood Boulevard, up the Cahuenga Pass and through the Lake Hollywood neighborhood. There was a large staging area for a break at the Ford Amphitheater. We then rode past Forest Lawn and finally through Griffith Park and back to the start in Elysian Park. Overall, the ride was 34.1 miles long. I enjoyed very much the ride through all the neighborhoods, seeing the famous and historic buildings. While riding down Vernon Avenue, an edgier neighborhood, some residents came outside and looked us over curiously. It was thrilling and a little scary going down the steep hill on Grand Avenue. The latter part of the ride through Lake Hollywood and Griffith Park wasn’t as interesting, but the hills provided a good workout.
The Take of Two Rivers would differ. It was only 16 miles long, mostly followed narrow bike paths rather than neighborhood streets, and had far fewer participants. But that didn’t make it any less interesting. My preparations for the ride began on Thursday, May 14 after I had returned home by bike from the train station. I had actually observed Bike to Work Day for the driving part of my regular commute (see earlier blog entry). When I got home I folded up the back seats of my car and put my bike in the back so it would be ready for Saturday.
On Saturday I got up at 7 am, had a light breakfast, dressed for the ride and put on suncream. The website said that check-in began at 8 am and the ride would start at 9 am. I left home not long after 8 am, drove west on the 10 and exited at Santa Anita Avenue. This is the same place we exit when Mom and Dad (my in-laws) drop us off at the El Monte train station after having dinner at their house on weekdays. However, exiting from the east is a bit trickier. I had to stop at a stop sign and then cut across three lanes to turn right (north) on Santa Anita Avenue. Pioneer Park, the starting point for the ride is on the left side of Santa Anita Avenue going north. It’s after Ramona but before Valley Mall and Valley Boulevard. I learned that we pass it when Mom and Dad drive us to the El Monte Metrolink station. I turned left into the parking lot south of the park. There were lots of cars from which people were unloading bikes, but there were no available parking spaces. I tried the smaller parking lot north of the park and still had no luck. After racking my brain I went to the only public parking lot I knew of in El Monte: the Metrolink station. It’s only a mile away from the park so I figured I could just bike from there. Parking at the El Monte station does not require a permit.
I parked at the station, biked west on Valley Boulevard and turned left on Santa Anita Avenue. It was around 8:40 am and not long before the ride started. Pioneer Park is not very big. They had booths set up under shades. One of them was the check-in booth for the ride. I checked in and they gave me a number: 468 out of what I later learned would be a total of 500 riders. They also gave me a 1 Bag At a Time brand reusable grocery bag containing a T-shirt, water bottle, and course map. I stashed these in my backpack and walked my bike over to where riders were assembled for the start. There were far fewer riders for this ride than for the City of Angels ride. Similar to that ride they wore helmets and many wore cycling jerseys. They had mountain bikes, road bikes, and hybrids. A few had those retro-looking bikes with big handlebars. I didn’t see any recumbent bikes. It seemed like there were more families with children than at the City of Angels ride and more Asians and Latinos than Caucasians.
The entrance to the course was at the northwest end of the park underneath the Metrolink track. Getting onto the course required the mayor of El Monte, Ernest Gutierrez, to cut a red ribbon with an enlarged pair of scissors. Before cutting the ribbon, the mayor and a few other dignitaries gave speeches. The mayor mentioned that they’ve tried many things to improve people’s health in El Monte, some effective and others not so much. He mentioned that the healthiest city in the U.S. is in Colorado. Assemblyman Mike Eng (husband of current Congresswoman Judy Chu) spoke about how he gained 14 pounds during his first week in the assembly from eating junk food. His doctor told him he was a candidate for diabetes. Either he or the mayor said they would do the ride but their bike had a flat tire. Another speaker mentioned that El Monte just got a new Sam’s Club and encouraged us to stop by there during the ride and spend some money. He also mentioned that there would be rest stops along the way with fruit and cookies from Von’s and students from the El Monte School District would distribute them. Next the mayor cut the ribbon to shouts of “You can do it!” from the riders. They then let the riders onto the course in groups of 10-12, asking that the faster riders go first. I left with the 4th or 5th group. It was 9:00 am or not long after.
At the beginning the course ran north along the Rio Hondo on a narrow concrete path with a dotted yellow line. I rode fast, trying to keep up with or even pass others in the group. It was nice weather for riding: warm enough that the air didn’t feel cold, but not hot enough to induce sweat. They had forecasted a warm day but it was still morning. At the start the Rio Hondo didn’t have much water in it but that would change after passing what looked like a dam further up. To my right was the El Monte Airport. Each mile of the course was marked with a large sign stating the number of miles and a sponsor such as Mayor Gutierrez, the City Council, the El Monte Police Department, or in memory of someone. The course was flat except at points where the road crossed the river and the path would slope down under the road and then back up. One street we rode under along the Rio Hondo was Lower Azusa Road.
The first rest stop was at the 3-mile marker and also where the course turned east away from the Rio Hondo. It looked like they were still setting up the rest stop so I kept going. We then rode through the streets of a decent-looking El Monte neighborhood of one and two story homes with well-kept yards. Volunteers would sometimes stop us to let cars cross the street and then have us ride through. We rode about a mile through the neighborhood streets and eventually rode on Lower Azusa Road into a small corner of the city of Arcadia. Here we made a sharp right to ride south along the west side of the San Gabriel River.
The San Gabriel River seemed to have less concrete and more vegetation than the Rio Hondo. It also didn’t have much water, at least at the section north of the 10 freeway, and looked more like a wetlands than a river. The ride south along the San Gabriel was the longest continuous leg of the course at nearly five miles. With a headwind and several stronger riders passing me, it was grueling, but very scenic. I lost a lot of steam. It seemed like there were many riders going in the opposite direction. They must be the usual recreational riders on the trail, separate from the bike rally. I passed three schools: a high school with soccer fields and two games of youth soccer going on, an empty grass field behind Twin Lakes School (that reminded me of Twin Lakes park in Juneau), and another high school south of the 10 with “Home of the Vikings” painted across its outer walls. There was a baseball game going on in its fields and along the chain-link fence were homemade signs saying things like “Go Bike Riders” and “Now Entering Vikings Territory”.
Before riding under the 10 I passed the cow and horse pens that I normally see from the Metrolink train on my route to work. I smelled the pens before I saw them. I passed a police officer on horseback. Further down near the 60 I passed another set of cow, horse, and pony pens. These were at the same level as the bike path. There was another rest stop nearby, but I kept riding to get out of range of the farm animal scent. Before the 10 I approached the Metrolink train track elevated over the bike path. A train passed over it and I waved. I ride that same train route to and from work every weekday. Further down the San Gabriel River more water was visible. Indeed, the river seemed quite full and the water level high. From what looked like an island or perhaps the opposite shore a couple of campers (possible homeless) gave us friendly cheers and waves. Further down I saw someone fishing on my side of the river.
I stopped to drink from my water bottle right before the 60 freeway. About a half mile after passing under the 60 the course turned right away from the San Gabriel River, into a wooded park, Pico Rivera Centennial Park, I believe, part of the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. It was still on a concrete bike path. Now there was bush vegetation on either side along with some old and now unused power line towers. The course crossed a busy street manned by cops to ensure us cyclists could cross. It was still Whittier Narrows and another turn led into El Bosque del Rio Hondo, but not before another drink of water. This part was even more wooded though I could see some large recreation fields beyond the trees. At another rest stop a city worker handed me a bottle of San Gabriel Metropolitan Water District brand water. I kept riding to a part of the course covered by a chain-linked canopy. On my right was what liked like a rifle or possible an archery range, though it seemed like people were using it to fly model airplanes.
At about mile 14 the course left Whittier Narrows and it was back to the neighborhood houses on my right and the Rio Hondo on my left. I heard a rooster crow just like across the street back home. Further down I passed some outdoor exercise equipment similar to the equipment along the Cedar River in Renton or at Savikko Park (Sandy Beach) in Juneau. In the El Monte park I also saw some men who looked like immigrant day laborers sitting down and watching us ride by. There was only a mile or two left and I rode fast to make up time, passing a few people. I could have passed one person right before the finish line, but I let her go ahead. In all, it took me an hour to finish the course.
Not very many other riders had finished the course at that point, but they kept coming in. I parked my bike on an elevated rail set up for that purpose. While doing so I saw a guy from my Indoor Cycling class who said “hi” and remarked that there was no need for spinning today. I agreed. I walked around the booths. There was one for the nature in Whittier Narrows that had a live owl on a perch, a live tarantula in a cage, and several other animals. Another booth measured people’s body mass index (BMI). I didn’t try it because they had one of those portable electronic devices that measured body fat. The last time I tried one of those it said I had too much body fat. There was also a table for the Emerald Necklace chain of parks with maps and photos that were taken along the course. The El Monte Police Department and El Monte School District had tables with the latter giving away bags of apple slices. I had some.
I spent some time talking to Carlos V. at the booth for the U.S. Census. They’re starting to conduct the 2010 Census by hiring lots of temporary workers and sending out questionnaires. The counts will be used to determine the number of congressional districts and federal funding for schools and other services. Carlos said that the Census has a permanent office in Van Nuys and temporary offices all around the region. They hire statisticians on a temporary and permanent basis. He asked me about the ride and described how he was trained as a teacher and currently works in public relations for the census and does some real estate work on the side. I have the same first name as his son.
I learned that my registration fee also covered lunch provided by Von’s Federal Credit Union. There was a lunch ticket attached to my number and I used to get into the enclosed pavilion where they had tables serving roast beef, turkey, and ham sandwiches, bags and chips, and cookies. I chose a ham sandwich and fritos and a cookie for my wife. On the way out I got some cold bottles of SGV Metropolitan Water District drinking water from a cooler and had lunch. That was nice of Von’s to provide lunch. While eating I heard from an announcer that they sold out of all 500 numbers and had to turn people away. They’ll have more numbers next year. There were still people, mostly kids, finishing the ride an hour after I finished. I saw a rather heavyset man with a number describing how he rode the entire course. Another guy joked that he did it twice. There was a stereo playing music. I didn’t hear “Bicycle Race” this time but I did hear “Give a Little Bit” by Supertramp.
After finishing lunch I retrieved my bike and practiced putting it on a bus rack with the El Monte Transit bus they had on display. A bus driver gave me some pointers. It was after 11 am and I felt like I had done everything. They were going to raffle off various items and my number came with a free raffle ticket but I felt like I had done enough and it was starting to get warm. I rode back to the El Monte Metrolink station, stowed my bike in my car, and drove home.
RSS Feed