=== Part 1 ===
This year marks the Year of Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar. To celebrate this occasion, I attended on Thursday (2/11) with my hiking buddies a dinner party, organized by a food connoisseur Judy Chao. The next day (Friday) I went to Inglewood to join other Citicorp/TTI alumni in a luncheon celebration, organized by the ever-energetic Simon Ma. On Saturday (2/13) everyone in my family (sans Corey and Daphne) went to Universal City Hilton for a dinner buffet, paid for by my dear and generous sister Ruth. After three consecutive days of indulgence in bountiful feasts and eating like a tiger with abandon, I needed to work off the calories. What’s a better way to celebrate Chinese New Year and cut down weight at the same time than riding my bike to LA Chinatown?
At around 10 AM on Monday (2/15) I started my ride from my house at Northridge and took various bike paths and bike lanes to get to Chinatown. On my trip home, I took the Red Line subway and the Orange Line bus.
Four doors down from my house at the corner is this house of intrigue. Before the new owner’s complete remodeling, it was shrouded behind a tall wall and thick hedges and was once owned by a well-connected South Korean movie star in late 60’s and early 70’s. When the then military strongman and the president of South Korea, Park Chung-Hee (朴正熙) came to visit LA in 70’s, he stayed in this house. Prior to his visit, there had been many assassination attempts on Park, so when he visited here the security was so tight even the local residents had to show identification before they were allowed into the neighborhood. Koreans in LA generally regard Northridge as a desirable area and I wonder if it is due to Park’s once stay in Northridge and it being reported in Korean news media. Park and his wife were later separately assassinated in Korea, and the movie star was kidnapped by the North Korean spy in South America.
Less than 1000 feet away down the road is this house once owned by the late comedian Richard Pryor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor). His infamous free-basing incident, in which he almost burned himself to death, allegedly occurred in this house. When I first immigrated to this country I used to watch him learn how to curse like a native. Some of you may be able to attest that he had been a good teacher to me.
Three-blocks away is Balboa Blvd, a major thoroughfare in San Fernando Valley. Beyond buildings on the left is an industrial park where RCA used to have a facility. After RCA closed down the plant, many RCA engineers went to work at Citicorp/TTI. Later I joined the company and became their coworker. One of the RCA engineers was the late Mr. Hal Hite, VP of hardware engineering. Hal used to live in a house not too far from mine and we van pooled to work many times. He was talkative and affable. It is sad that he passed away not too many years ago.
This is the intersection of Balboa and Victory, where an Orange Line station is located. Orange Line is an LA mass transit bus running on a dedicated busway, built on the old Southern Pacific Railroad. Orange Line runs in the middle of San Fernando Valley for 14 miles, starting from North Hollywood on the east and ending at Woodland Hills on the west. On my returning trip from Chinatown on an Orange Line bus, I got off at this station.
A dedicated bike path runs alongside the Orange Line busway. I took this bike path to get to North Hollywood. It is very safe and easy to ride on this bike path with occasional close encounters with roller skaters. This is a view of the bike path at Balboa and Victory. A recumbent biker is riding on the bike path.
Another view of the bike path. On the left is the Victory Blvd. On the right is the northern edge of Balboa Park. There are many miles of bike paths inside Balboa Park. My hiking buddy, Kurt, used to ride his bike there when he was in better shape.
The bike path runs underneath Freeway I-405.
Another view of the bike path after Freeway I-405. On the left side of the bike path is the soundproofing wall. On the right side is a driveway leading to a parking lot for Orange Line passengers. The busway is further to the right behind the divider.
Bike path meets Sepulveda Blvd. An Orange Line bus is a two-section big bus.
Bike path meets Van Nuys Blvd, a major thoroughfare in San Fernando Valley. Many passengers are waiting at the Orange Line station on the right.
The Van Nuys courthouse. Many notorious and well-known cases happened in there. For example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Van_Nuys_Courthouse_Shooting
The bike path meets Woodman Ave. Notice how a bicycle is being carried in the front of the bus. My bike would be carried the same way on my returning trip.
A view of an Orange Line bus station. There are platforms on both sides of the busway. The bike path is on the far left against the soundproofing wall.
A very quiet bike path is separated from the busway by a fence. The bike path and the busway are flanked by tall soundproofing walls on both sides.
The dedicated bike path ends at near Coldwater Canyon Blvd. Bikes can continue on Chandler Blvd on a bike lane. Riding on a bike lane is very safe also. You just need to watch out for any parked car opening its door.
North Hollywood High School. It has a highly gifted magnet program to accommodate the smartest public school kids in San Fernando Valley.
The bike lane runs underneath Freeway 170.
After 1 hour and 20 minutes, I arrived at the intersection of Chandler Blvd and Lankershim Blvd. This is where both Orange Line and Red Line started. Red Line is the subway connecting North Hollywood with LA downtown.
I took a 30 minutes break at the Panera Bread store in NoHo. A Half-and-Half (French Onion soup and turkey sandwich) and a cup of Americano were my lunch.
Me (with safety helmet removed) in front of Panera Bread. The Red Line subway station is across the street.
A dedicated bike path continues from North Hollywood going east toward Burbank.
The bike path runs through a part of North Hollywood Art District. Many industrial buildings have beautiful and colorful murals on the wall. Here is one sample.
The bike path is well maintained in Burbank. The post on the right has bags for dog owners to pick up the dog waste.
Bronze statues along the bike path in Burbank.
The dedicated bike path turns into a bike lane along Victory Blvd in Burbank. In a busy street, if the sidewalk is wide I’ll ride on the sidewalk.
Riding on the sidewalk in a commercial area makes you slow down to appreciate the scenery.
A bike lane appears on the Main Street, instead of Victory Blvd.
At the end of Main Street is the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.
After the Equestrian Center, the bike lane continues on Riverside Drive.
Entering the City of Glendale.
A horse renting facility near the Equestrian Center.
I’m not a fan of horseback riding. When my son Corey was very little, I took him on a month-long riding lesson. We needed to arrive at a horse ranch at 6:30 AM and spent the next half an hour cleaning the horse. Corey then got to ride the horse for another half an hour. He was little and was not comfortable to be bouncing up and down on a horseback. When it came time to renew the lesson, I was relieved that Corey didn’t want to continue.
Riverside Drive meets Victory Blvd. Turn right and continue on Riverside Drive to reach the bike path along the LA River.
Underneath this bridge is the LA River and Freeway I-5. The entrance to the bike path is on the left side of the bridge. At the end of this bridge is Zoo Drive leading to LA Zoo.
== TO BE CONTINUED ==
