Shell on 2 wheels: Los Angeles

The Election

I arrived in LA on election day

Californians voting for Hillary

Herbie and Shannon kindly invited me to their apartment in LA to watch the election results come in. What started as a lovely gathering of friends gradually turned to a silent room of disbelief. I felt so sorry for them. They were all really devastated by the result. I guess I had expected the result. Having lived through Brexit where I didn't known any person who knew any person who voted for 'out'. It was kind of the same here. None of the 18 Warm Showers houses I stayed in since leaving Vancouver were Trump voters. None of the hundreds of cyclists who I camped with and chatted to all the way down the coast were voting for Trump and yet somewhere everyone was voting for Trump.

Herbie, Shannon and friends are pretty distraught watching the
results come in election night

Cycling through LA
It seems like anything goes in California. People are relaxed, the sun shines every day. You can drive any type of car, wear any type of clothes and noone bats an eyelid. Venice beach sums it all up. Miles and miles of ocean enjoyed by surfers, skaters, bikers, hippies, tourist, homeless, outdoor gym junkies.

Venice Beach skateboard park. Skating with earphones the norm.

I was delighted when my random bike route through LA passed through the suburb of Compton. I don't know if it sounds familiar but it's where the Williams sisters (tennis players) grew up. It's a poor, mainly black suburb. I was watching out but didn't see any future tennis stars.

Compton - a pretty tough neighbourhood in LA

Ken's house in Long Beach

I had met Len from LA somewhere in North California and had cycled together for a couple of days. He is the guy who likes putting chili on his apples. Len put me in touch with his friend Ken who lives in Long Beach just south of LA. Ken is one of the original Warm Showers hosts and does a heap of voluntary work for the community as a board member. He hosts multiple cyclists on any given day or week. His partner Kenny is a great cook and just loves having people to cook for. Hungry cyclists make grateful recipients.