Airport security procedures so convoluted that biking to your destination might be faster

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: airport security, biking, health news

(NaturalNews) A group of bikers from the Los Angeles, Calif. area recently proved that using a bicycle to travel can actually be faster than taking an airplane, at least when the destination is regional. According to a recent CBS Los Angeles report, the biking group "Wolfpack Hustle", recently traveled from Burbank, Calif. to Long Beach, Calif. in about one and one-half hours, while it took another traveler on a flight to and from the same locations an extra hour to travel by airplane.

In response to the recent major Interstate 405 closure in Southern California that many had dubbed "Carmageddon," airliner Jet Blue offered local travelers a special $4 fare to travel from Burbank to Long Beach, or vice versa, representing a distance of about 38 miles. Since travelers could not use their cars to travel a portion of the popular thoroughfare, their only other option was to take a plane -- or so they thought.

"You can get anywhere you need to be in Los Angeles by bike," said Joe Anthony, a member of Wolfpack Hustle, to the Los Angeles Times. "It's far easier than you can imagine.

The team reportedly traveled along the Los Angeles River trail for most of their trip, and also took advantage of bike lanes along various roads. In the end, the group arrived at their destination in Long Beach before the plane traveling to the same location at the same time even had a chance to take off.

"We've got to hand it to you for beating our flight today," announced Jet Blue to the Wolfpack Hustle in a tweet on Twitter. The popular airline company also congratulated the group for successfully raising $7,000 for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LABC) as part of their challenge.

Sources for this story include:

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/07/16/cy...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/0...