Shifting Gears

As more Angelenos ditch their cars, the city is opening bike lanes, companies are holding cycling seminars and federal officials are pushing for tax incentives.

WHEN Robert Petersen bought his bike a few months back, he hadn’t ridden for two decades and didn’t know if he would be able to stay upright. He was so nervous about falling that he lowered his seat.

“I never even considered the bike as a method of transportation,” says the 29-year-old, third-generation Southern Californian. But he was sick of forking out $6 to $20 per day in parking fees for a lot in downtown L.A. near his work. Plus he’d been gym-less since graduating from UCLA Law School last spring and figured pedaling to work from his home in Angelino Heights would force him to exercise regularly.

LA Times