Oh, man.  I had all these plans to leave the Westside to meet a few folks and try out CorkBar’s Test Kitchen Tuesdays special (tonight’s $2 test kitchen plate: braised oxtail with parsley risotto) and then I came across this.  The LA Times helpfully warns us that the convergence of normal rush hour traffic, the Lakers’ season opener at Staples Center, and the premiere of the Michael Jackson movie This Is It at LA Live likely will result in a nightmare for anyone headed in the general vicinity of downtown tonight.  Shucks.  To CorkBar, I’ll have to say what I’ve been saying to people more and more often lately: maybe next week.  Maybe.

Walgrove Ave. near Venice Blvd.

Driving around the West Side today was a thrill. I’m used to seeing the streets of big cities, such as New York and Washington, DC, empty on New Year’s Day morning. But the West Side streets were also empty as late as 4 o’clock this afternoon, which, along with the light fog, made for an eerie sensation. I assume it was a combo of (1) hangovers; (2) brunches; (3) vacation absenteeism; (4) Tournament of Roses parade watching; and, especially, (5) USC Rose Bowl watching. Whatever the reason, the empty streets reminded me that Los Angeles would be especially pleasurable with fewer people and fewer cars. I tip my hat to the bicycle commuters out there. As for the rest of us who live here and drive around town, I guess we can’t complain too much, since we’re part of the problem.  But at least we can enjoy one day of decreased stress.

Los Angeles ghost town, after the jump

So the last couple of my bike commutes I’ve been goofing around with the timelapse capabilities of my handlebar-mounted digicam and the results have been interesting… to me, at least.

There’s no envelope being pushed here, just your standard low-res, potentially motion-sickness-inducing timelapse that condensed my 60-minute 14-mile crosstown journey into four stopmotion-filled minutes. Contrary to what we’ve lately been finding in the media, the trip wasn’t a death-defiant one. I didn’t get doored or get cursed at, or get drenched in flung beverage, or get a ticket, or get shot, stabbed, run over or run off the road. I just get on my bike and get to work — but not on any freeway. Instead I traverse thoroughfares far more frightening than a gridlocked 405: Fairfax Avenue and the boulevards of Venice and Sepulveda. Anyway, I hope you come along for the ride below and enjoy it. My philosophy is that any day I can ride a bike is automatically a better day.