ALONG FOR THE RIDE FORMER MAYOR RICHARD RIORDAN SETS A BRISK PACE (ABOARD A BICYCLE, NOT AFOOT) DURING L.A. MARATHON.Byline: BILL BECHER Ever get the urge to run hundreds of red lights on your bicycle? I joined 12,000 other cyclists who got to do that with a police escort early Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
The bike-patrol police escort was actually for former Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. , who has ridden all of the eight premarathon bike events. Riordan set a brisk 23-mile per hour tempo at the start of the mostly flat 20-mile ride. For logistical reasons, the course was a bit shorter than the marathon that started later that morning. Joining Riordan was Dan Rowan Daniel Hale "Dan" Rowan (July 22, 1922 – September 22, 1987) was an American comedian. He was featured in the television show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, where he played straight man to Dick Martin. of the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Fire Department, who lost 10 of his fellow firefighters from Ladder Co. 9 on September 11th. Rowan, said, ``I'm doing it for them.'' Rowan is riding his bike around the country to say thanks to all the Americans who have donated money in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. The ride, which cost $25 if you registered early, assembled in the pre- dawn cold to allow the course to be cleared in time for the runners. The riders joked and shuffled to keep warm before the start of the ride. Frank Abelar, who only has one leg, was in his second LA Marathon ride. ``It's a beautiful ride. And you get to go through the red lights,'' he said. Kevin Jobst of Pomona was hoping the crowd would help his speed on a unicycle. He'd only managed eight miles per hour in practice, and the organizers demanded nine miles Nine Miles is a reggae "band" started by Yoshiaki Manabe (真鍋吉明) of The Pillows. The name Nine Miles comes from the name of the town in which Bob Marley grew up in Jamaica.
Many along the route waved and cheered the riders on. I chatted with the mayor, who is known to be a cycling enthusiast. He said he rides about 50 miles a week, mostly on weekends. Not bad for a 71-year-old in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of a tight political campaign. Riordan says he's ridden several centuries and his personal best distance is 120 miles. Beside the thrill of running red lights, the ride is a minitour of L.A.'s cultural variety. The course, flattened for the marathoners this year, swept by Koreatown, the old-money manicured lawns of Hancock Park, and finished at the USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. campus, where all the participants got gold medals, with no judging controversy to mar the sense of accomplishment. Then some really hard-core athletes, including Rowan, put on their running shoes and completed the marathon. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan, foreground, bicycles during Sunday's L.A. Marathon. Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News |
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