Riding to the West Side

Wednesday, May 03, 2006, at 08:45AM

By Eric Richardson

I rode my bike the 0.55 miles into work this morning. That always feels a bit odd to do. But the bike wasn't for that trip, it was for the one I'll be making this afternoon when I ride from Downtown to Loyola Marymount (GMap Pedometer, or for Google Earth).

It's roughly a 15 mile ride, so even in my out-of-shape state I think I can make it there in an hour or less. And it's a good thing, too, since if I were to decide to take public transit the quickest the Trip Planner thinks it could get me there is in an hour and a half. It wouldn't help me figure out how long it would take going Blue to Green to a bus, so that could possibly be a little quicker.

The best part of all? I get to ride there but not ride back. I swear, if you send me on a 15 mile ride with 15 miles back I'll be a lot slower than if I just set out to ride 30 miles one way. Something about coming back and I just don't get along.