So Cal…Here we come!
On June 20th a band of merry cyclist met at the Santa Monica Pier to begin a 70-mile ride. First stop for bagels and coffee was at the Ballona Institute. We met Nick Karno, Deputy City Attorney for Los Angeles, who spoke about the issue of plastic debris in the Ballona Wetlands and Los Angeles communities.
Our ride continued to Redondo Beach where we met up with a couple dozen cyclists and our friend and professional cyclist, Tony Cruz. The pack headed uphill through Rancho Palos Verdes, descending into Long Beach to celebrate International Surf Day in Marine Park. There we were greeted by Brett Beck and 3rd District Councilman Gary DeLong.
Anna spoke briefly about the issue of plastics and handed Councilman DeLong a sample of the plastic soup from the North Pacific Gyre. We hung around for an hour talking with many wonderful people, including staff and volunteers of our organization, the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Many familiar faces were present to welcome us home.
Though we’re not done yet. By 1:00pm we were back on our bicycles heading south. There are 116 miles between Long Beach and the border of Mexico.