Now Playing: Paradise Cove - Getting Around LA Without a Car
It's strange to wake up one morning at anchor on the island, with it's low noise level, very few cars and slow pace and find yourself the next morning on the 30th floor of the St. Regis Hotel in Century City working on a TV press junket with Billy Bob Thornton.
To get there, I unlock and straighten the handlebars of my electric bike that I keep on board the boat strapped to the mast for going to sea. I screw back on the left pedal, removed so I don't bang my shins on it going forward. I haul it up on deck and onto the dock, install the 9 lb. battery and scoot off under electric power that assists my pedalling up to 15 miles per hour for about 18 miles.
Work usually is up in Beverly Hills or Century within a ten mile radius of Marina Del Rey. If I'm tired or have back or knee problems, or I'm just plain lazy, there are buses I can take.
I throw the bike onto the bus' front rack. Often they are late or MIA. So, I just end up cranking like a mad man up through Culver City and through the nice neighboorhoods of Beverlywood and Beverly Hills.
I run every red light I can in Culver City. I received a $360. automated photo red light ticket there in my former car for being in the intersection for 1.2 seconds. It's such a racket. The city makes $400,00. a year off this system. By law, city employees are supposed to run this system. Instead! It is run by Austrailian company, Redflex who installs and oerates the system for free and revenue-shares with the city.
A class action lawsuit is in order for many California cities that operate these systems illegally. A radio host in San Diego was responsible for a win for about 400 ticketed red light offenders. The court ruled that the city was not following the law in their operation of the systems. City personnel did not operate the systems.
Even the ticket and court summons are issued by a RedFlex affiliate. The traffic officer's signature on the Certificate of Mailing required for being served a court summons is a photo copy. There's a case for perjury on the statement associated with the signature that says that the Traffic officer deposited them in the mail. The tickets are generated at a data center in Flagstaff, Arizona. Most likely the statement on the ticket by the Redflex person affirming his submission and deposit of the ticket in a specific mailbox in Culver City is perjurous as well.
That ticket was one of the reasons for me giving up on driving a few months ago. With payments, insurance and the high cost of gas, it just didn't seem worth the $600 a month to have a car. Plus, I didn't know where I could park it in LA without paying a hundred a month.
Now, I run the red lights at most of the stops when it's safe. The Redflex cams won't go off unless you are driving over 19 miles per hour.
I use the sidewalks early in the morning, moving to the street only for pedestrians. My only hazards are people making fast right hand turns into the crosswalk, drivers with cell phones to their ears, dogs on long leashes, cars backing out of driveways, darting out of alleyways. It's a real sport, a bit of BMX and with the poor state of the roads in LA, a bit of mountain biking. In the nicer neighborhoods, squirrel-dodging adds to the obstacle course.
I smell an international array of breakfasts cooking, meet many dogs being walked and run a guantlet of morning lawn sprinklers in my hour of biking up Beverwill, Bagley, and Dohny n eighborhoods.
I pull into some of the nicer hotels' parking structures and lock up. At the ritzy hotels like the St. Regis that don't allow acess to the parking area, I check the bike at valet parking along with the Lambouginis and Mercedes and they'll lock it up for me.
I charge the battery up in one of our shooting rooms while I'm working and then get to ride home free courtesy of the Four Seasons Beverly Hills or The Regeant Bevery Wilshire.
If I'm tired after work, I'll ride to a bus stop on Robertson Blvd. that's in front of a French Cafe and get a cup of coffee while waiting for the bus.
I ride home with the busboys and maids, most likely from the same hotels. I practice my Spanish listening for future days in South America.
The bus is moving very slowly through traffic. A blonde woman sitting on a seat reserved for the eldery and handicapped, her feet up on seat in front of her, looked out of place and very unhappy about having to ride the bus. It was obviously beneath her, but some emergency left her with this last mode of transport.
By her nice apparel, she Looked like she might have been involuntarily separated from her BMW or Camry. "Can't this thing go any faster", she complained haughtily and out loud to no one in particulalr.
I wanted to tell her to get out and walk or to get a cab. No one answered her. We all ignored her. Regular bus riders are well-practiced at ignoring wierdos on the bus.
Most people in LA would go through an identity crisis with the loss of their car. For me, it gives me an opportunity to answer my email on my Blackberry. Before I'm finished, I'm back at the boat.
Noel Diotte
coverunner@tmo.blackberry.net
310 376-7057
Coverunner Radio - Ocean/Island Music
Listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/coverunner
Site: www.coverunner.com
Sent wirelessly from the sailboat, "Shearwater" off the Southern California coast.
Posted by coverunner
at 12:01 AM PDT
