Coasting along 
with
Allan Rogers 
",I was getting used to the easy casual way of the American’s on the west coast and beginning to understand what having a ‘sunny disposition’ was all about. Everyone who passed gave a wave or a friendly greeting. 

I had just been overtaken by the girl with the long hair and the golden tan. She was commuting home from her office, in the city of Long Beach in California
 It was slightly different from the traffic back home as she was on roller blades and I was gently pedalling along the board walk getting used to the 9 gears on the bike I had hired. It was wonderful feeling the warmth of the sun on my back. Everything was so bright and the reflected light from the miles of sandy beach had already topped up my tan to the extent that I could have easily passed for an Arab.

I was getting used to the easy casual way of the American’s on the west coast and beginning to understand what having a ‘sunny disposition’ was all about. Everyone who passed gave a wave or a friendly greeting. I made my first stop at Belmont village at a beach side cafe and took in the view of San Pedro Bay and the Long Beach Skyline. The three bright red funnels of the majestic liner the Queen Mary were an unmistakable Scottish built ‘landmark’. I watched the busy shipping heading out towards the Pacific Ocean and the whale watching cruises returning. The latter are most professional and even use a spotter plane to locate the elusive mammals.

I pedalled inland from the boardwalk past a sheltered sandy inlet adorned by the bodies of the bronzed and the beautiful Yachts and power boats rested at their moorings outside houses of Mediterranean and Italian design. Herons posed nonchalantly as they waited  for their lunch to swim by. They would certainly not go hungry, I chucked some bread in and the water became a thrashing mass of sizable fish.

I explored little streets lined by white picket fences where manicured lawns led to patios. This was barbecue land and wind chimes tinkled at open windows as a man unloaded massive bottles of drinking water from the cooler delivery truck.

I turned into Second street where friendly Ernie in the barber shop neatly clipped and trimmed my beard while he gave me all the local colour and reminisced about his World War Two service in the South Pacific. Then I wandered up a few blocks to Legends the sports bar, where giant TV screens showing soccer, golf, basketball and rodeo all competed with a cool beer for my attention. Local lads with sneakers and baseball caps newly in from skate boarding, sat at adjacent booths to business men in crisp white shirts.

I cycled around the coastal communities. like Seal Island where, in the brilliant sun, shops, painted blue pastel shades that were kind on the eye. Every second shop seemed to be offering nails and pedicure or sail, surfing and bikinis. Beauty, pampering, fitness and the pursuit of eternal youth appear to be all important. 

Suitably exercised but a long way off the bronzed athletic form that was the norm locally, I returned the bike to the ‘Commuter Bike Station,’ in downtown Long Beach.

It was  the first of it’s kind in America. The scheme is funded by the Mass Transit Authority (who also provide free shuttle buses) and is used by and tourists alike

It seemed a good way of getting the feel of the area. Pedalling along, I was surprised to see Venetian style gondolas, moored to a pier. Come the evening these are used to give cruises through the canals that run through the affluent neighbourhood of Naples Island. The air of romance is aided by the gondoliers who serenade you, as the authentic boats glide under the bridges.

The gondola rides (then,) cost £35 per couple and includes a basket of bread, cheese, salami and wine glasses. You supply the beverage of your choice, be it Californian Cabernet Sauvignon. or beer (Tel 310 433 9595) Be it romance or peering into some really up market waterside real estate, it makes for an interesting evening

One of the major attractions of Long Beach is the great liner the Queen Mary, which is permanently parked there as a unique and up market hotel. Most people go aboard to enjoy a guided tour that is spiced up a bit by the addition of ghost stories. It also has an excellent restaurant called Sir Winston’s and The Observation Bar where you can look out across the water and enjoy the lights of the city. The old lady is still quite graceful and a visit brings alive the atmosphere of graceful travel in the 30’s and 40’s. 

California Tourism (UK)  0891 200278 (Premium Rate)

Long Beach CVB     001 310 436 3645

Flights to Los Angeles from  London with Virgin Atlantic 
01293 747 747