David Byrne himself gave a really thoughtful speech – he talked a little bit about the freedom after he discovered cycling in an urban environment. He was living in Manhattan, and he found himself tired of relying on taxis or the train schedule. He found that when he rode his bike, he could easily hop from art gallery to a concert to a restaurant in much less time (and expense) than any other means of transportation. His presentation was particularly notable for the number of photos of different cities – both of urban spaces that worked with cycling (most notably in Europe and Asia) as well as places that weren’t conducive for bicycles – including a snapshot of an Austin road.

Donald Shoup added a more academic tone to the discussion; his book, The High Cost of Free Parking, details the amount of money (and time) spent looking for curbside parking spots in urban locales. A biking enthusiast himself, he also introduced the idea of the Bicycle Boulevard as a cheap way to encourage biking within Los Angeles. I’m a neophyte when it comes to new urban planning ideas, so I was particularly fascinated by his engaging presentation. Honestly, it makes me want to take his class at UCLA!

The bureaucrat, Michelle Mowery, was the real star of the show, though. Articulate and passionate, she obviously loves her job… and the world of cycling. Every Monday, she rides from Long Beach to her downtown Los Angeles office via the LA River Bikeway. Her presentation was on the shorter side, but almost every single question in the Q&A section was addressed to her. And boy, was she able to answer them. She was one of the architects of the new Los Angeles Bike plan, and she was able to refer to specific chapter and page numbers that dealt with the complaints of the attendees. She said that the plan was incomplete, but her office was really working hard to gather more funding and more importantly, more awareness for the issues at hand. Mowery was also able to outline clear and feasible ways to practically implement almost every single suggestion from the biking community. I came away from the presentation extremely impressed that cycling had such an advocate in the city government.

The final presenter, Jimmy Lizama, offered a grassroots perspective on cycling in Los Angeles. I liked his presentation style; instead of using a traditional PowerPoint, he used a series of photographs to illustrate a story about his girlfriend’s daily bike trip to the local elementary school with her son. Jimmy was able to illustrate both the joys and struggles of a typical Angeleno cyclist. And during the Q&A, he was able to offer more personal recollections to expand on theories presented by the other speakers.

I love the idea of using books as the basis for lectures such as these. Honestly, I have no real connection to the biking community here. I haven’t owned a bicycle since my father sold mine in a garage sale during my high school years. But I really enjoyed the community that the library brought together through this book-based discussion. I’ve added a couple of items to my growing to-read pile, plus I gained some insight into my neighborhood. Sometimes, reading can seem like an insular activity, but events like these can be found at local libraries all over the country… and they’re worth the trek. Or the bike ride.