If you live or play anywhere near Mid City, do yourself a solid and abandon your car this weekend.  Giant portions of major throughways throughout Los Angeles will be shut down for special events.  This means massive headaches for drivers.  Expect delays that make you with the President was in town.

Saturday, the Hollywood Half Marathon will cause road closures from the starting line at Hollywood Blvd and La Brea to Santa Monica Blvd. and Vermont in East Hollywood.  Several on/off ramps for the 101 in Hollywood will also be on lock down.

Sunday is the first CicLAVia of 2014.  This is one of my favorite events, but one of the most loathed by those who don’t bike.  Sunday’s event is the Iconic Wilshire Boulevard route, stretching from Miracle Mile to the Financial District in Downtown.  Breaks in the bicycle route for cars only exist at La Brea, Western, Vermont, and Alvarado.

Click to access map_040614-6065.pdf

These are events that make driving a car a complete nightmare.  But it doesn’t have to be.  Why not turn into the skid and embrace these community events ?

The red line has stops all throughout the half marathon route.  If you live in the area and need to run errands, do yourself a solid and invest $5 for a metro day pass.  Doing your shopping and meeting up for brunch is much easier than you may initially realize when you do it by train.  If you are new to the metro, you will learn to love it.  It is actually a fun a rewarding experience!  If you can ride out the closures until the afternoon, why not stay in the neighborhood and cheer on the racers?

CicLAVia has been getting more and more support every event, with turnout in the hundreds of thousands.  If you must drive anywhere near Wilshire Blvd. on Sunday, don’t even expect easy passage by the breaking points.  Of course, I encourage everyone to grab a bike and participate.  For anyone who has errands to run, the purple line runs throughout much of the length of the CicLAVia route

Citizens of Los Angeles, I propose a challenge: Ditch your cars this weekend.  Become more intimate with your neighborhood.  Get to know the people who live and play near you.  Enjoy some fresh air and exercise.  Embrace these events as a positive asset to your community.  If you don’t, I assure you will have a miserable commute around town.