“We go through North Long Beach, the little ways, on the little side streets, and then jump on the L.A. path,” Alfredo said. “Every serious guy in L.A. rides on the path. You’ve got to stay on the pedals. Then we’ll pass through Vernon, which is industrial, and then through South L.A. on the little streets to hop over to Griffith. When we are over there, there are some views of the city and we go through some of what I think people think of as more L.A.-type L.A. We go to this overlook, and from there you can see the whole city, the Hollywood sign.”
The L.A. that Alfredo knows and loves best isn’t the city of movie clichés, though. He tells his friends to go explore the city’s neighborhoods. Spinning from block to block can feel like traveling the globe.
“L.A. County is a field of dreams,” Alfredo said. “There are so many different possibilities. You just think of everywhere you can go in Southern California and it’s like going to different countries. The adrenaline is great. Sometimes you have got to do some maneuvers and sometimes you have just got to stop, stomp, and go, but that is what makes it great. Back during my wheelie-bike days, we would take the train or bus everywhere. Now, I’ll ride through some of those spots, and it will all come back to me like, ‘Wait, how did I end up here? I know where I am. There is no way I rode here from home now.’ That’s so cool.”
That is what road bikes let you do.
Join Alfredo Bueono, beyond your universe, in Los Angeles, California.