Bicycles

The undulating asphalt gave way to a sea of potholes and the bicycle shuddered with each curve and dip. Ahead, the Brooklyn Bridge rose in a long incline toward the camera-ready skyline of Manhattan. But the cinematic quality of the city was lost on an approaching bicyclist, who saw only a tight grid of streets with thin slices of available roadway -- spaces that momentarily widen, then narrow, in the anarchy of Manhattan traffic.

The travel, the adventure, the fitness. Bike touring, currently enjoying a renaissance, is the same body-and-mind journey of discovery it's been since the Jack Kerouac era, with one exception: The gear's a lot better. The top-of-the-line cargo carriers here -- heavy-duty, waterproof, huge -- let you lug along all the creature comforts you can't live without . . . for decades. They even do the job if you're not into touring any farther than the end of your neighborhood.

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti has introduced a motion calling for the city to explore using "sharrows" on roadways to improve relations between cyclists and vehicles. What are those? They're markings on the pavement that show the best place for cyclists to ride on roads. And they're increasingly popping up in other cities -- Denver; Portland, Ore., Paris; New York and San Francisco, to name some.

In an era of global sourcing and computer-aided design, Gregory Townsend builds custom steel bicycle frames in his Monrovia garage. The 50-year-old British expatriate, who learned metal crafting in a high school shop class, is part of a small but growing number of craftspeople in California catering to bicycle enthusiasts who eschew the super-light carbon fiber cycles of the Tour de France for hand-built frames with meticulous fittings and elaborate paint jobs.

It scares her to ride her bicycle to work. A vague prickle of apprehension follows her along Sunset Boulevard and down Spring Street on her way into the teeming core of the city. But she rides anyway. Her faith in the future of the bicycle overpowers her dread of the cars that rule these impatient streets. Indeed, it's Monica Howe's job to argue the case for the bicycle as everyday transportation in Los Angeles. The bicycle is central to her social life in the city, her romantic life too.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA roads are full of them -- cyclists shrink-wrapped in colorful Lycra, pedaling custom bicycles that cost more than their first cars. And their numbers are increasing by the day. People who've only ridden an old Schwinn cruiser on a bike path at the beach can find it hard to fathom riders' willingness to happily drop $8,000 or more on rolling titanium and carbon fiber sculptures.

SWEAT glistens on 24-year-old triathlete Lauren Robertson's forehead as she pedals a bicycle hooked up to a computer measuring her power output. As Ashton Johnson, co-owner of Sundance Cycles in Agoura Hills, adjusts the seat and handlebar height on Robertson's bike, the computer gives direct feedback on how changes affect pedaling power.

THIS story begins with a crime. Under normal circumstances, there is no reason anyone would want to steal my bike. It's a basic get-around-town model that cost $150. It was the biggest bicycle a Japanese department store carried and it's still too small for me. The chain grinds on every rotation, although that may have to do with the fact that I leave it out in the rain and the bike is now covered in rust.

Participants in tonight's Critical Mass bicycle ride are expecting arrests if police enforce new regulations requiring a permit for rides of more than 50 cyclists. The monthly gatherings routinely draw hundreds of riders, and tonight's will be the first under the new rules. "I'm afraid we are going to see a return to the police actions of 2004 and 2005," said Marilyn Horan, who has been participating in Critical Mass rides for a decade.

Police Chief William J. Bratton said Monday he planned to expand the Police Department's bike patrols, which have up to 250 officers on bicycles each day. Citing the efficiency of patrolling on two wheels, Bratton made the comments during a Citywide Bicycle Officer Inspection at Elysian Park Academy Field. Afterward, the officers took a "pride ride" to downtown LAPD headquarters and returned to the Police Academy for a day of races and competition.