COUNTYWIDE : Mono Lake Bike Tour Ready to Roll

Mark Coolidge is so bothered by the condition of Mono Lake, one of the Southland’s water sources, that he’s willing to ride his bike across the desert and up a mountain to show his concern.

Coolidge, 44, of Laguna Hills leaves Los Angeles on Monday morning with 150 other bike riders bound for Mono Lake.

“I don’t normally ride my bicycle,” he said. “It’s mostly the cause I ride for.”

The six-day, 350-mile ride that winds through the Mojave Desert and the Sierra Nevada is an annual event to raise money for the Mono Lake Committee. The nonprofit organization has been battling for 15 years with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which has caused the lake to shrink by taking water.

Coolidge, who owns a license plate manufacturing firm, said this will be his third Mono Lake ride. This year he has raised $2,400 from friends and business acquaintances who support his effort.

The 14th annual Mono Lake Bike-A-Thon begins in downtown Los Angeles after an 8:30 a.m. press conference. Cyclists collect vials of water, strap them to their bikes and depart for their first night’s destination in Palmdale.

The ride roughly follows the route of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which has been bringing water out of the Mono Basin for 50 years. When the riders reach their destination, they empty the water vials into the lake in a symbolic “rehydration” ceremony.

Coolidge said he first became concerned about the lake four years ago. After driving by it for many years on his way to Mammoth Lakes for skiing, he finally stopped and learned about its environmental problems at a local visitor center.

Since then he has been supporting the Mono Lake efforts and has become more conscientious about his water use. So much so that his home’s drought-tolerant landscaping won last year’s Orange County Water Efficient Landscape Contest.

“I work for the lake, and I practice what I preach,” he said.