Checking in with the Big Donut
This Sunday’s bike club ride was a visit to the Donut Hole in La Puente. Along with the Idle Hour cafe, the giant tamale, and other odd sights we’ve gone to see over the years, it’s a prime example of programmatic architecture. And we haven’t been to see the donut in a while.
On the way there, we stopped by the new Metro Rail station under construction in Arcadia. It looks like it’s almost done, and they’re having an official dedication for it in two weeks. A little farther south, we noticed one intersection that had big, round skid marks right in the middle. Apparently, we were not the only ones thinking of big donuts recently. We went by the replica of the original In-N-Out Burger in Baldwin Park. And then we got to the big donut. There was a line of cars back out to the street. This is they busiest we’ve ever seen them on a Sunday morning. Maybe this means the economy is picking up or something. It’s never been that busy when we visited before.
Continuing on, we made a big loop through West Covina and back to Irwindale. We passed the Huy Fong Foods hot sauce factory there. We rode into Santa Fe Dam and up the bike path to Duarte, and then back on Royal Oaks to Monrovia. We found Merengue, and it has finally reopened in their new location. The last time we looked in on them, they weren’t quite ready to open yet. I got an empanada, Carla got a Refugee, and all was right with the world.
When we got ready to leave Merengue, I discovered that I’d gotten a flat. It’s been a while since I got into the Flat Tire Gallery.
Even with the flat tire, it was a good ride.
43 miles.