If you live in Downtown, you know the normal sounds of the city, so waking up and drinking my morning coffee yesterday with no sirens, buses and usual car noises was an unexpected bonus cicLAvia gave to me. Once I got out of my loft and started walking around, I couldn't believe how cool it was. Just to see the major streets closed to cars and taken over by bikes, skateboards, runners, walkers, skates and even scooters mixed with the sound of live music was really amazing. I didn't walk the whole 7.5 miles, but I did walk around Downtown to check out the scene. I ate lunch at a food truck parked at city hall where there was also a protest against coal in Los Angeles and a few fun activities for people that wanted to break, have a bite to eat and relax a bit in the shade. There were even dogs on the route, some in baskets on the front of bikes, others trotting along side their owner's bike. I really enjoyed the creative bikes I saw, a few were probably 7 feet tall, a few others were decorated like a float and then there were double bikes, and a bike that had what looked like a wheel barrel attached to the front of it.
Overall, I would say it was a great day. I really enjoyed this event and there is talk of it happening more often.
