I found bicycling paradise this summer in, of all places, Los Angeles County.

I was on a cruise to Mexico when we stopped for a day at Catalina Island, about 22 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. With several hours to explore with my son, we decided to rent a bike with an attachment for kids.

We explored every inch of road on the island that the bike shop allowed. I heard about some pretty good hills outside of Avalon, but the folks at Brown’s Bikes wouldn’t let us take any tandem rentals up there.

As Alexander and I pedaled around the island, stopping at the famous casino, the beach and the Wrigley Botanical Gardens I noticed several interesting things about our experience.

1. Alex wasn’t pulling his weight on the hills. He said it was easier for me to all the pedaling. I disagree.

2. The weather and ocean views were awesome.

3. There were no cars.

No cars. That’s a cyclist’s dream. The guy at the bike shop explained that you have to apply for the right to own a car on the island and that there is quite a waiting list. He said he’d been waiting 10 years.

Most of the residents get about on bikes or golf carts. Golf carts are much less imposing than cars. In fact at one point, Alex and I passed a moving golf cart on the left as we zipped down a hill back toward Avalon. The gold cart was going the speed limit. We weren’t.

I was thinking I wished we had something like this back home. Then I realized we do – Point Defiance on Saturday mornings.

Before 1 p.m. each Saturday Point Defiance’s Five Mile Drive is closed to motorists so cyclists, joggers, walkers and others can enjoy the drive without worrying about traffic.

In July and August, Metro Parks tried a pilot program that extended the car-free hours to include Sunday’s before 1 p.m. The program was a big hit according to parks spokeswoman Nancy Johnson, but the park board has yet to determine if the Sunday car-free times will remain permanent.

Johnson said the decision won’t be made until after Sept. 15, when voting closes in a poll on the park website, metroparkstacoma.org. (Look for the link to the survey in the lower left-hand corner.)

Regardless of how you’d like to see Five Mile Drive used on Sunday mornings, Johnson suggests voting now to make sure you opinion is heard.