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Ride Like a Cop - The 2015 Urban Adventure LA From Aether Apparel and RawHyde Adventures
Although I arrived on time, Aether Apparel was already packed with more BMW GS’s than I’d ever seen in one place. Each one was individualized and had differing shades of dirt worn like badges of honor. While the GS was the majority, there were all kinds of bikes: old and new, sport and touring. We were there for a day of urban riding and learning with Aether Apparel, RawHyde Adventure, and LAPD instructors with the Urban Adventure LA ride.
Calais Kowal and Viki Meykey Chan, Aether Apparel Flagship Store, Urban Adventure LA Ride 2015
We met early Sunday morning at the Aether Apparel flagship store in the center of Los Angeles, which is located on a block dedicated to high end fashionable clothing and furniture. The front entrance was welcoming like a ship with its gangway lowered, and surrounded by a crowd of people who were all ready for, "a day of urban motorcycle riding and technical skill training."
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This was the second year Aether Apparel, who has made a name for itself with its technical and sophisticated designed gear for extreme adventures (motorcycling being just one) and RawHyde Adventures, which is famous for their adventure tours and technical off-road training, have teamed up for the Urban Adventure. Together they planned a day that had the promise of being educational, well conceived, and most importantly fun.
The Urban Adventure Ride
The anticipation grew as Jim Hyde, the founder of RawHyde Adventures, led the pre-ride briefing with his natural, confident and charismatic style. He explained that the day was to be divided into three sections: a morning ride designed by Michael van Vliet of Aether Apparel, police cone drills with motorcycle trainer Officer Kerry Schilf from the Los Angeles Police Department and RawHyde Adventure’s top secret Urban Adventure “debris field” obstacle course competition with RawHyde’s staff of trained riders. Once the morning briefing was complete, nearly 100 riders quickly returned to their bikes, geared up, and took to the streets. The morning ride explored “some of the best riding roads of the city,” which were new for most riders.
Jeff Camacho and Sharif Massoud departing Aether Apparel Flagship Store, Urban Adventure LA Ride 2015
Most of the devised route was dotted with fluorescent yellow sheets of paper with arrows, so I only lost my way a couple times. Part of the fun of a group ride is getting lost and finding your way again, and the detailed cheat sheet along with my familiarity of the area made it easy get back on course.
Michael van Vliet of Aether Apparel and Joe Abramo of RawHyde Adventures lead the Urban Adventure LA Ride 2015
As we weaved through the tucked away neighborhoods of Silver Lake, Glendale, Pasadena, Mount Washington, and Highland Park, I was reminded of how lucky I am to live in a city nestled into such beautiful vistas. There were sections where if you widened your view from the narrow and twisting roads, you could be transported to remote roads in the middle of a picturesque European village rather than Los Angeles just a few miles from home in the varied landscapes, vegetation, and views as the morning sun cast a beautiful glow on the still city.
Sarah Lahalih, Urban Adventure LA Ride 2015
How to Ride Like a Cop
As we made our way over the 6th Street Bridge, the ride culminated with the dramatic northern view of Downtown LA’s skyline against the San Gabriel Mountains. We turned into an adjacent parking lot where two revitalized brick warehouses stood. The Aether Airstream—a pop-up shop—greeted us, decked out with comfortable places to sit and cold refreshments. Bikes filed in and lined up neatly, leaving a large empty space where Officer Kerry aranged cones for his motorcycle police training drills.
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