Still biked to and from work as usual. Luckily (sort of), my extreme over time lately has meant I’ve been coming home after most of the heavy rains were finished each day. I put a clip on fender on the bike and wear a rain jacket, gloves, water proof sock covers, and have extra shoes at work. I also wear a longer brimmed cycling cap under my helmet to keep the rain off my glasses. It is easier for me to manage since my commuting distance is rather short and Santa Monica is less crazy to bike in than some parts of LA. If I wasn’t so short of time lately I’d probably take the bus and use an umbrella.

I biked a couple miles yesterday to get to the credit union ATM to deposit a check… braving a deluge… and then when my destination was in sight… the power failed in that neighborhood, so the ATM was out of order. Grrrr.

Not much different here – I’ve managed to avoid the heavy rains during my normal commute times. When I exited the Red Line station today it was barely raining and halfway home (~.5 mile walk total), I got hit by hail and legs were completely soaked in the rain because it started blowing in at an extreme angle. Luckily I was home fairly soon where dry clothes were available.

I did walk through a decent amount of rain during lunches this week though, but it wasn’t that big of a deal outside of the oddly placed drains around Pasadena. I don’t know if this is common, but many of the downspouts (exit spout? not sure what it’s called) drain from the building roofs directly onto the sidewalks. This means that pedestrians get to hop over or through little rivers flowing from the buildings to the street curbs on the sidewalk.
like on the 3rd pole from the left

I spun out on I-5 and rammed into a family of school children, killing everybody. Luckily I stopped and rendered aid so it did not matter that I was doing 110 MPH and practicing my drifting skillzzzzzz in the rain.

Before heading out for my usual commute by bicycle I decided to walk across the street at Cahuenga Blvd and Riverside Dr. in North Hollywood to the 7-11 store. I decided to dodge traffic by crossing at the bus shelter rather than wading through water cresting the curb and about eight feet across that continued west down Riverside Dr. An employee at the 7-11 said, “Are you going to ride your bike today?’, ‘Yes’, I said, “Look for that idiot with the bright yellow jacket on to pass by in just a few minutes.” In LA’s last big rain a few years back I rode through water that covered my bottom bracket and I remember a driver giving me the traditional rotating finger sign around his ear that designated me as a person less than mentally all there.

I started my commute riding west on the far left section of the right lane on Riverside Dr. trying to avoid the deep water. Having speeding cars in the next lane did not thrill me and so I decided to try the sidewalk. That was fine until I had to cross each intersection like a watercraft with water flowing over every curb. Trying to see if I am about to hit a crevice or pothole through water this deep is not easy and kind of scary.

Lankershim Blvd traditionally floods from about Vineland Ave south until Riverside Dr and this was no exception with water flowing onto the sidewalk. Of course Lankershim Blvd past Vineland Ave is where I was headed on my way to the Orange bus line.

The fire department had a truck parked in the middle of Lankershim Blvd at the Vineland ave/Camarillo St intersection due to the flooding. Seeing how I would need pontoons on my bike to get onto the street I turned right and continued on the sidewalk crossing Camarillo St. and headed back towards Lankershim Blvd. I pushed the pedestrian crosswalk button while a curious fireman stared my way. When I got the walk light I pushed through the water and turned right onto Lankershim Blvd with no further problems.

Tuesday had worse flooding with Yellow caution tape put up at the Lankershim Blvd/Vineland Ave/Camarillo St. corner to prevent pedestrians from using the crosswalks. I had a little trouble ducking under this on my bike with the tape catching onto my backpack. Hanging television cable wires was not about to stop me.

“Usually, I strap the baby onto my chest and we walk to do our errands, but I don’t want to expose him to too much bad weather and don’t want to get sick myself. In the old days, pre-baby, I just biked through the rain and loved it. Now-a-days, I try to keep dry because if I get a cold…”

Sorry Damien, but I have to comment on this. You can’t get sick from cold or rainy weather.

I don’t commute per se, but switched modes for a few trips I’d normally hop on a bike for… used the bus instead. Lost an umbrella walking to a meeting Downtown. Really hard to believe that transit/walkable cities like London/New York have to deal with this stuff all the time. Hammers home the point that L.A. could really be the ideal place for a transit/walkable city. Oh well.

Nice to read all the comments about how folks commuted in the rain. I had a meeting the other day in Santa Monica and decided to ride in the downpour. First off, I didn’t think of it as a commute, I thought of it as an expedition into wild nature – I loved every second of it! It rained constantly the entire ride and in some spots, was a total downpour. I really enjoyed the sound of the rain, marvelled at the streams of water flowing everywhere and just loved experiencing a radically different reality on the streets of LA. I layered up with several waterproof layers, but by the end of the ride which took an hour or so, I was completely soaked (but managed to stay warm because I was generating enough heat). In one of my panniers, I brought a complete set of new clothes and shoes, wrapped in two plastic bags. Arriving dripping wet, I changed into my new set of clothes and was as good as new! After my meeting, I appreciated having an MTA Rapid bus stop near by, which I took almost all the way back home. Happy riding everyone!

That sucks Ed. I’m so sorry to hear that. Sending you good vibes of finding something better.

Browne