Two articles on biking in Los Angeles appeared in MSN Slate Magazine today. Linkies:

The Bicycle Diaries: Is It Possible To Live In America Without A Car? Uh, Sort of. (http://www.slate.com/id/2131049/)

Nobody Bikes In LA: But They'd Be A Lot Happier If They Did (http://www.slate.com/id/2130978/)

Andy Bowers, in the second article, writes that "...Los Angeles is an almost pathologically bike-unfriendly city. It has pathetically few marked bike lanes, and those it has often peter out for no reason and at the worst possible place. Its drivers go ballistic when a cyclist slows them down, even for a few seconds. And of course, it's so sprawling that some commutes would simply be impossible by bike..."

Although an LA biker myself, who goes a total of ten miles daily, I don't see LA like that. Sure, there are lots of cars, but that means they drive slower, which is a blessing. I've only ever had one person yell at me in two years of riding here. Overall my experience in the City of Angels has been good, except for the bike theft-- and that's another topic. :(

The first author, while claiming to be an 'avid bicyclist,' sounds like a completely inept idiot.
I'm picturing editors all over have got 'bike commuter' pieces on the editorial calendar, and are asking the writers to 'make them kind of funny, but emphasise how difficult biking is.'

Actually, Bill Gifford wrote this: "I'm what the newspapers call an 'avid' cyclist—rhymes with 'rabid,' " so you can take that to mean what you want. I believe he was writing ironically, since he is talking about how other people see and react to him when they know that he is a cyclist. In fact, I remember my first time seeing full-geared cyclists with the cleats. I had no idea what they were, and I didn't know why they made a funny sound when they were walking.

My personal take on Gifford's account is that he's trying too hard to be an "avid cyclist." He doesn't need all that gear if he's going to use his bike for functional transport. Sure, he tried, but he needs to adapt a little more.