If you have ever participated in Sunday Funday ride or one of LACBC’s other neighborhood rides, there is a good chance that you’ve run into Melba and Aubrey Provost. Not only do they seem to ride everywhere, but they always do it with a smile.
Over the years, their love for each other and for bicycles has taken them on many adventures and they’ve never been shy about taking pictures. Valentine’s Day is coming up and of course, theirs will be spent on their bikes.
On top of all of their bicycling exploits, Aubrey also serves as Los Angeles Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson’s appointee on the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee.
We were able to catch the cycling couple off their bikes for a moment to share some of their favorites moments and memories with us.
How did you two meet?
It was fate, at Los Angeles High School in 1955. We married in 1959 and began cycling (tandem). See photo below.
What is your most memorable date on a bike?
Going to a movie in Beverly Hills and lunching at Fat Burger when they were on La Cienega Blvd. Also, we really enjoyed the 2003 ride on the Pasadena Freeway, when Congressmember Adam Schiff shut it down for bicycles and pedestrians from Downtown L.A. to the end of the freeway [Arroyo Fest].
What is your favorite place to bike in L.A.?
La Ballona Creek bike path, north to the end in the Palisades. We also like to stop for lunch at Jody Maroni’s for sausage sandwiches while the entire world passes by.
What are some of your favorite vacations that you’ve taken your bikes on?
A train ride to Santa Barbara with our bikes and touring Maria Ygnacio Trail and the homes of Montecito, including Oprah’s. We’d love to have lunch with Oprah some day. We’re still hoping!
How is cycling in Los Angeles today different from when you two first met in the ’50s?
More rules, more safety, more routes, more riders, and same results.
What neighborhoods have surprised you when exploring them by bike?
Downtown and the L.A. River routes.
What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in Los Angeles over the years?
More farmers’ markets all over the place, more out-of-state license plates.
What will you be doing for Valentine’s Day this year?
Staying close to one another, a fancy meal in DTLA, and ice cream at Peddler’s Creamery on Main Street.