Recently, LA.B member Joyce Tam wrote about one of the most under appreciated transportation service to the climbing gym.
Sometimes I’m positive I’m the only person that rides the train because most of the time folks are shocked to hear there is a train in LA. But yes, I speak the truth when I say there is a train in LA, sometimes it even goes below ground (subway, if you’re fancy). And no, I have not been the victim of unspeakable crimes aboard the train.
I take the train and a bus to the LA.B and you can too. Sometimes I look outside the window and chuckle to myself at all the suckers I witness in a parking lot on the road. Don’t be a sucker. Fare is a measly $1.50, which compared to most of the other major metropolitan areas in America is a drop in the bucket. It’s fairly easy to access any of the train lines from most parts of LA and all the train lines feed into downtown.
I understand coming from the West side can be a big deterrent, nobody wants to waste their life fighting traffic. There isn’t really a winner on that front. But most train stops have a parking lot you can leave your car, while you hop onto the train for a blissful period of leisure. What you do with your time here is up to you. I won’t ask questions if you don’t. Once you emerge from the little known underbelly of downtown Los Angeles, you have the option of doing lots of things that I won’t get into because that is a story for another day.
There are any number of buses departing from downtown that go up, down, around the Lab. The 18, 53, 62, or 720 will take you where you want to go, in addition to a few others. Pay the fare with your tap card ($1.50) and hop aboard. I’ll warn you now, don’t make eye contact. It can get a little seedy as you pass below Skid Row, but there are plenty of working class individuals dozing on here as well. The trip I take is usually a little less than an hour, which is just enough time to make good headway on a book.
The bus deposits you probably closer to the LA.B than if you were to hunt for parking in the vicinity. If you’re familiar with the establishment next door and their tow policy, you’ll be glad you don’t have your car today. I have this impression of rock climbers as a more adventurous lot than the typical citizen. I have the utmost confidence in your public transit abilities and look forward to seeing you on the train.
