Rider

Dan Gutierrez


From Long Beach California


Commutes 25 Miles Oneway for 37 years and 11 months
Two or less days a week, I am a bike commuter Year Round

I commute from East Long Beach, Near PaloVerde & Atherton to El Segundo, near El Segundo and Douglas. My route varies but I have two main options that I employ: 1)Palo Verde>Woodruff>Artesia>Central>135th>Douglas 2)Atherton>Clark>Spring>Lakewood>Rosecrans>Aviation>135th>Douglas Both Routes are biased toward large high speed urban arterials and the trip takes 1:35 - 1:45 on average. My best time was 1:25 (tailwind + caught lights)

I've been a bicycle commuter since I as 10 years old. I was married at 19 and got my driver's license at age 20! I have been involved in bicycle advocacy since the early '90s. I have founded a number of cycling organizations and BACs. I am currently working with SCAG, the LA County MTA and select local cities to improve bicycle planning and education. I like to ride long day rides, climbing centuries +, such as the "Ride Around the Bear", "Angeles Crest Century" and the "Death Ride". I also ride mountain bikes. I work as a Satellite Engineer at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo. I "fix" broken Air Force communications satellites and help design new systems.

1) I once executed a "crossed bars" two wheel slide in traffic on my way to work. I was riding north on Prairie Ave. at about 6:30 am one morning approaching the intersection with Crenshaw Blvd. As I approached the intersection I made eye contact with a woman in a Toyota Celica who was facing me in the left turn pocket on the opposite side of the road. As I started to enter the intersection she made a left turn right in front of me and took a wide slow arc making a "quick turn" problematic (I would have crashed into parked cars on the right or ended up in front of her). I hit the brakes hard and veered left (in my mirror I had already noted that there was no rearward traffic to my left). I was still going to hit her rear end so I leaned the bike and crossed the bars while locking both brakes putting the bike in a two wheel slide that kicked my path a little more leftward. Her car just passed in front of me (phew) and I thought for sure I would fall. But I had an inspiration. Since I was going to fall anyway I tried something "cute". I jumped upward and pulled both wheels off of the ground (aren't pedal bindings great!) and uncrossed the bars and came down smoothly on both wheels!! A perfect "bunny hop" As I rode away a kid on the sidewalk who saw the incident made a "wow" face. And I smiled looking to all the world as if to say "I meant to do that!!" In reality I probably couldn't execute that maneuver again if I wanted to and only pulled it off because I used to do some dirt riding and had gymnastics training as a kid and because I tend not to panic in a crisis. I now am far less trusting of drivers when we make eye contact!! 2) I once drafted a scooter and traveled over 4 miles at 35mph because we caught nearly all of the lights on Prairie Avenue between 190th and 135th!! I wish I had a scooter to motor pace on a regular basis. The speed work really helps my high cadence spinning in big gears. I drafted the same scooter a few other times but only for shorter stretches. That was some of the most fun I've ever had commuting!!

This website could be the nucleus for a bicycle advocacy organization of bicycle commuters. I've always dreamed of creating a large scale organization of bicycle commuters with local branches, like the AAA that would work to increase state and local government's responsiveness to the education roadway and end-of-trip facilities needs of bicycle commuters. Is anyone on this site especially the organizers interested?

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