To sidewalk or not to sidewalk? That is the question. But not really.

I biked to work last week. Aside from the initial hill, the route is an easy 3.3 mile, relatively straight path. The word path, in actuality, is probably the most ineffectual word. Path implies a curving country road with nicely trimmed hedges; Beach Blvd. is a monster that could eat a country road with a single gulp, with its roaring 6 lane highway that my measly teenage-esque purple street bike cowers by while tinkering on by the sidelines. The only thing missing are handle bar streamers, I swear. I had bought it to replace my stolen aqua one when I was 10.

You would think that at 6:30am, there would be no promising signs of life in this sedated suburbia I call home, but that simply isn't true-- as proven by my newest fellow commuters who also jump on the saddle at an early hour: emo boy #1 in black who waits for emo boy #2 (also in black), crazy Indian man who screams obscenities (and I thought I left this scene behind at Berkeley), and Jesus-haired white man. Together, while I'm sure we share somewhat different life stories, we share a commonality: a no shame attitude toward biking...on.. *gasp*...the sidewalk. That's right, you heard me.

Let the runners hate and the morning walkers hate even more; I'm not relinquishing my title as a sidewalk biker anytime soon. It doesn't take long for a total newb in the world of spokes and padded-spandex in southern California to figure out The definitive divider between the initiated and the timid neophyte in this peculiar sport/mode of transportation. The sidewalk is a raised pedestal, a pledge pin so to speak, for those getting their feet wet in this activity. Perhaps this differs in other regions, but remember Beach Blvd equals monstrous path gobbler; the sidewalk is the playpen in the middle of an urban jungle, the coral reef of a vast ocean, where all the little fishies get to play.

I'm not sure which factor is the catalyst or the factor effecting change, but there is a definite correlation between the amount of spandex pieces one wears and whether one is expected to bike on the road versus the sidewalk; namely, the more pieces of spandex, the higher the likelihood of abandoning the sidewalk. Apparently, higher wear-age of spandex attire empowers the wearer with the right to give knowing "you'll get there someday" glances to the sidewalk young'uns as they whiz by on their speedy thin-tired road bikes on...you guessed it, the road. Having played volleyball in high school, I have my fair share of spandex stored in the closet; but I will happily stick to jeans and my multi colored scarf for now.