CicLAvia Founder Aaron Paley

Living the (Childhood) Dream

Aaron Paley is co-founder and executive director of the CicLAvia bike festival in Los Angeles. Before participating in a panel on whether L.A. is mobile enough to be a global city, he sat down in the Zócalo green room to talk about his favorite part of the L.A. River, living his childhood dream, and hoarding old newspaper clippings.

Q:

What surprises you most about your life right now?


A:

[Laughs.] The fact that I’m living my childhood dream.


Q:

What’s your favorite under-the-radar L.A. spot?


A:

That’s hard, because the ones like Grand Central Market that were under the radar are no longer under the radar. I’d say the L.A. River. I’d say the river’s still under the radar, especially Glendale Narrows, that part of the river.


Q:

What’s the last song that got stuck in your head?


A:

This is embarrassing: Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York.”


Q:

Hot, medium, or mild?


A:

Hot.


Q:

If you didn’t live in L.A., where would you be?


A:

I wouldn’t be anywhere else. I would be here. But if I didn’t live in L.A., I wouldn’t know. I can only live here in this lifetime.


Q:

What’s your greatest vice?


A:

Chocolate.


Q:

What are you keeping in your garage that you should have thrown out already?


A:

A whole box of old newspaper clippings.


Q:

What’s your favorite street to ride a bicycle on in Los Angeles?


A:

Any street in L.A.


Q:

What’s hanging on your living room walls?


A:

Right now, my wife’s sentimental Santa mantle, and it’s great.


Q:

How do you like your eggs?


A:

Four minutes, soft-boiled.