After having spent 3 whole years as a resident of the Los Angeles metropolis, and as I come up on my final quarter here as a student at UCLA, I realized that there is so much about this beautiful city that I have left to learn about. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done my standard trips to the Getty, explored the Hollywood Sign and it’s adjourning hills, but I had yet to really delve into the unknown beauty that is LA.

Taking LA by storm on bus is a bit unheard of. The metro? No, I don’t think so. Even a car can make the LA tour a bit dreadful as it is sure to be met with traffic and air pollution. This revelation made for the most wonderful days I’ve had in my time in the city of angels.

A bike tour! But of course!! The city itself isn’t unmanageably large, people ride their bikes every day in LA, why couldn’t I? So, with that thought on my mind, I roused a bunch of my friends together for an au natural bike tour of LA. We found a wonderful group out of West Hollywood that does fun and adventurous bike tours that go from about 9am to 4pm. Sounded like a pretty long adventure, but we were up for the challenge.

Our day started out in the Hollywood Hills seeing celebrity homes and hearing the history of the cinema. We ventured on to Santa Monica, Brentwood, Culver Studios, Marina del Rey, Venice canals, UCLA, and the Los Angeles River to name a few. Our tour guides were fun and energetic and their enthusiasm was easily catchable.

It was a beautiful LA day and the perfect way to see the city where I’ve spent these past years in an eco-friendly way without leaving much of a carbon footprint.

That being said, I encourage each and everyone of you to take a day off, and explore LA, the way it was meant to be explored: with the wind in your face, the sun on your back, and a group of your friends to keep you company!

Maddy Grubman