Independence is being on a bike

Had one heck of a 4th of July at my aunt & uncle's place in Manhattan Beach, CA. Uncle Pat is the most patriotic person I've ever met, so it's always special to be with them on July 4th.

After a cruise in my uncle's Vietnam Army-tribute truck, the "GroundPounder" (no joke)

my cousin, her boyfriend, and our friend set out to visit my (deep breath) cousin's-boyfriend's-sister's birthday party, so we donned our best red-white-and-blues, including recently-gifted PBR hats, and piled on low-riding cruisers and set out for the 3.5 mile (each way!) voyage.

And voyage we did, past all those streets you hear about in rap songs: Crenshaw, Hawthorn, heading to Gardena. I was told we would not be staying there until it got dark.

We made it back safe though, dodging fireworks, cars, and the darkness. It may have only been 7 miles, but it was a damn fun 7 miles, and I've been told I can count miles that aren't part of "serious" bike riding, so I'm gonna!