Trashed Again (Still)

 You know, some places actually regard their bikeways as showcases - they keep them well maintained, they light them, they clean them, pick up trash, they add amenities. Some places know that residents use these bikeways for recreation and transportation, they know that other people come from further away, tourists passing through, and know that the bikeways offer a unique view, a reflection of the broader environment, whether urban or rural, through which the path passes. How a bikeway appears says much about how local, regional, state governments value such spaces, as well as the people who use them.

What, therefore, are we to make of the San Gabriel River Trail? 

Nothing has improved, and much has become worse since I first wrote Trash, and Trashed, six years ago. Heaps of garbage decorate the verge, pave the riverbed; tents, hovels, cluster and crowd the confined spaces below freeway overpasses. A woman, topless but for the meager covering of a bra crouches, with only her own despair for companionship. We. We ride through the dystopia on thousands of dollars worth of bicycle, while hundreds of dollars worth of kit and gear cover our indifference and failure. In fear we ride away from the problem, knowing full well we leave it unresolved, the festering wound for the generation of our children to cure. Is this the best we can do? I've got mine, let them eat cake is not just a sentiment infecting the ultra-wealthy. It is as dangerous as any pandemic.

cactus 'n buckwheat

Ooh, heavy dark clouds - I like the change

this right here is the problem with riding with the spouse - when a little group comes by you can't jump on their wheel

just a couple guys fishing, oh, and a trash speckled shore

next time I splurge and get the #3, and with the fragrance, definitely the fragrance. I'm not so sure I want to know what the interior dressing is though

Chalan Rest Stop - Hola Omar!

and then there were four

I was glad for the opportunity to visit with Omar today, to talk with other cyclists at Pico Rivera, to run into Dagmar and Brian, and share the last bit of the ride with them. Unfortunately there are other, less-pleasant images that will linger in my mind this afternoon.