Work up Your Thanksgiving Appetite by Joining the Mar Vista Turkey Ride

Four years ago Mar Vista resident Lew Roth decided he had to earn his turkey meal on Thanksgiving, so he decided to ride for his supper.

“I always felt too fat,” Roth told Patch. “So I decided to do the exercise before sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner.”

And so, the Mar Vista Turkey Ride was born. Roth, together with friends in the neighborhood will once again saddle up their bikes at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and take a 45-minute spin around the neighborhood.

This year, Roth has designed two separate stages of the ride. The first will be a completely flat ride in the Westdale/Trousdale area. Stage 2 will tackle the tough Mar Vista hills, but that route has been cut by 50 percent from previous years, too. (see attached PDF flier)

“[The ride] used to be all hills,” Roth said. “But it really killed a lot of people. If you own a beach cruiser you’re not going to be able to get up all those hills. I hope the new stage will enable more families to join and enjoy the ride.”

In an email to friends about this year’s ride, Roth noted how beautiful the foliage is in the Trousdale area, “and we can point out important Mar Vista landmarks as we ride by.”

All are invited to join the ride and this intrepid Patch editor will be saddling up as well, although she’ll only be taking part in Stage 1. (Physical therapist orders forbid hilly bike rides at least for now).

Be sure to pass the information along to anyone who is interested and Roth is promising a turkey hat to anyone who can prove they invited Councilman Bill Rosendahl and managed to get him to participate.

So, Councilman Rosendahl. Patch is officially throwing out the challenge. Will you join us during next Thursday morning’s ride?

The ride starts promptly at 10 a.m., Thurs. Nov. 24. Meet at 3270 Stoner Ave. See attached maps for route details. For more information, contact Lew Roth at lew@lewroth.com or telephone 310-962-4501.

Editor’s note: There is a mention of 2009 on the flier. Roth assures us it’s just a typo and the ride is indeed taking place in 2011!