Ciclavia Watts
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Today was the first Ciclavia – Southeast Cities event. This marks the first time they have put on an event like this in that area. I had a look at the route, and I saw that one of the end points was right by the Watts Towers, so that was our destination for today. We’ve been to see the towers before, but this is the first time in several years.
It was cool and overcast, with a hint of maybe-it-might-rain-but-probably-not. Because it was going to be a little bit longer ride than we usually do, I made the route as direct as possible. We headed directly south through San Gabriel, all the way to the Rio Hondo bike path. Then we rode that all the way to where it meets the Los Angeles River. There, we crossed over and got on the L.A. River bike path going north. After a short distance, we came to where the Ciclavia route met up with the bike path. We got off there, and joined the party.
Because this was the first such event held in the area, it seemed less crowded than other ones we’ve been to. There were still a lot of people, but it wasn’t the 405-at-rush-hour experience that the ride back from Venice was. We rode the route all the way to the end at the Watts Towers, where we played tourist for a few minutes. At that point, we had a quick huddle and decided to just take the direct route back across Lynwood to get back to the bike path for the trip home.
We stopped at a little Mexican bakery in Lynwood for snacks. Then we got back on the bike path and headed home. And we had a tailwind all the way home, which was a nice treat.
52 miles.
