Summer Goals

One of my goals this summer was to get to know Southern California's light rail system which consists of two subway lines (Red and Purple) and four light rail lines (Blue, Green, Gold and Expo).  At first, I thought it was confusing with all those colors going in all directions, but now that I have a better handle on the commuter rail system (Metrolink) consisting of seven lines (91, AV, IE-OC, OC, R'side, SB, and VC) I think I can handle branching out (pun intended).

The difference between Metro and Metrolink is confusing when you first hear about it.  Remember that Metro is the bus and light rail system while Metrolink is the commuter rail.  Amtrak is the interstate rail system.  If you have a Metrolink monthly pass, you can ride Metro (light) rail and buses for free any time.  You can also ride some Amtrak trains.  This is how we roll.

Our first ride on Metro rail was the subway between Union Station and Wilshire/Western on the Purple line.  We were going to the Grove, a big mall in Los Angeles, and we didn't want to be stuck in weeknight traffic.  It was awesome because we just tapped our monthly pass and rolled our bikes through the handicapped turnstile.  There were escalators and stairs, but we could have taken an elevator if we didn't want to lift our bikes.

The Metro was fast and trains appear often.  It was good we had our own bungee to tie the bikes to a hand-rail once we were on the train.  The abrupt starting and stopping made the bikes roll a bit so we stood there and held them.  We reached our destination so quickly that it was no big deal to stand for the trip.

I get motion-sickness and the underground rail was not so fun in that regard, but it was over fast.  I'm looking forward to taking some of the other above-ground lines.  When I first started taking Metrolink, I thought I might get sick every day, but as long as I keep my eyes on a window, I feel fine.  In fact, I feel so much better than being stuck in a car.

The next CicLAvia (Sunday, August 9, 2015) would be a great time to take the Metro Expo line, but I'll be out of town.  I hope lots of people take the opportunity to experience our light rail system.  There's also a suite of free concerts in Pasadena, which might be a great way to take the Metro Gold line (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun) to Memorial Park.  Last but not least, I'd like to take the Blue line down to the Long Beach Aquarium.  We got some $5 off passes in our goodie bags from the LA River Ride and I think they expire August 31st.

I'm kind of inspired right now by an event going on this Friday, July 24th at LA Union Station called PUBLISH! Your Journey.  It's part of the #MetroRail25 event series.  The event is an interactive writing activity where people's journeys will be pinned on a map and later posted online to visualize a composite portrait of commuters’ personal narratives.  Maybe we'll see you there!