A guidebook for the bike rider who wants a bit of adventure, Mike Wells' Cycling London to Paris: The classic Dover/Calais route and the Avenue Verte (Cicerone Cycling Guides) leads you around Paris and
London and the country roads linking the two great cities by two cycle routes: the 490km/304mile 'classic' from the Tower of London to the Eiffel Tower and the 387km/240mile Avenue Verte from the London Eye to Notre Dame. Passing through rolling countryside, charming market towns and medieval walled villages, suburban streets and country roads take you past historical landmarks, museums and iconic monuments. The daily sections -- 25 to 40 miles -- should be within the capabilities of moderately fit riders, and one direction should take less than a week, according to the publisher, meaning that a round trip, including a few days sightseeing in Paris, can easily be accomplished in a fortnight. Itineraries include directions, points of interest, elevations, and abundant maps. "A comprehensive introduction covers all the practicalities, such as Channel crossings, accommodation and what to take, and also offers a fascinating historical overview of southern England and northern France. A summary of facilities, useful contacts and an English-French glossary can be found in the appendices." Mike Wells is the author of six biking guides, including treks along the Danube, the Rhine and the Rhone.

Bikes in Los Angeles' Griffith Park cost only $1 for an hour of use, compared for example to the walk-up fee for the Metro or Santa Monica bike-share systems, which each charge about $7 to use a bike for an hour.

Rental bikes now available in Griffith Park — and they're a steal by Meghan McCarty Carino (KPCC)

(photo: John Gabree)

In most parts of the industrialized world, the streets have been surrendered to motorized vehicles. Many municipalities in the United States make half-hearted efforts to support bicycles as transportation by providing bike lanes to nowhere and hanging signs admonishing the SUVs to "Share the Road" and a few -- downtown San Francisco; Boulder -- do considerably more, but nowhere have they gone as far as Flanders and the Netherlands at integrating pedestrians and non-powered vehicles into the traffic mix. The Dutch even have a name for it: A woonerf is a street that is not closed to cars and buses but one where pedestrians and cyclists have legal priority over motorists.
Here's how urban streets used to look:


As these wonderful movies show (the San Francisco trolley ride is from 1906), when automobiles first arrived on the scene they joined pedestrians, bicycles, horses, buggies and wagons, trolleys and buses in the busy streets. Not only was this mix of uses more pleasant, there is evidence (visit Linda Baker's Salon article for background) that it was also safer than the current surrender of the streets to motorized carnage.

Further reading: Why don't we do it in the road? A new school of traffic design says we should get rid of stop signs and red lights and let cars, bikes and people mingle together. It sounds insane, but it works by Linda Baker (Salon 2004-06-20)

...the National Park Service (NPS) [has] a public shuttle service called parkLink: alternative transit designed to connect visitors to beaches, parks and trailheads through the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA).

Eco-conscious NPS is moving forward with the vision in order to improve air quality, protect the environment and reduce vehicle impact. "We want to bring more people into the parks while limiting the number of cars driving through the canyons," says Jean Bray, Public Affairs Officer with SMMNRA.

On weekends and holidays, park for FREE at an NPS site along the route and catch one of the shuttles departing every 30 minutes. With nine stops on the agenda, consider lunching in chic Malibu, surfing at Zuma or picnicking with the peacocks at Peter Strauss Ranch. The clean-diesel shuttles have space for all your gear: trip bike racks, storage for coolers and surfboards, wheelchair lifts and room for 20.

The multi-agency partnership, which includes NPS, California State Parks, Santa Monica Mountains conservancy and LA County Beaches and Harbors has high hopes for the parkLink project. "Together we can contribute to the greening of American by using the shuttle," effuses Bray. You'll also spare yourself the repetitive motion of hitting the brake pedal all the way down PCH."

Visit <NPS shuttle> for scheduled stops and complete info on how to use parkLink.