nice rides in LA

Can anyone recommend any nice 25-40 mile rides in LA area. I know theres
tons of traffic but I would like a ride where theres not too many cars. I'm
renting a bike so it could be an off road trail or whatever. Thanks.

v-man wrote:
Can anyone recommend any nice 25-40 mile rides in LA area. I know theres
tons of traffic but I would like a ride where theres not too many cars. I'm
renting a bike so it could be an off road trail or whatever. Thanks.


Hi,
Used to live there and loved the ride from Valencia, up San
Fransiquito?? and back down Bouquet Canyon. There was another ride from
Northridge University that went over the mountains to malibu, but can't
remember the exact route. Also had friends that mountain biked down the
reservoir from Palmdale to the beach

On Mon, 7 Feb 2005 14:10:37 -0500, "v-man"
wrote:

Can anyone recommend any nice 25-40 mile rides in LA area. I know theres
tons of traffic but I would like a ride where theres not too many cars. I'm
renting a bike so it could be an off road trail or whatever. Thanks.


The LA area is very large and encompasses almost any terrain you'd
imagine. You may be satisfied by renting a bike in Santa Monic and
riding to Marina Del Rey and return. That's largely on the beach path
and picturesque.

"v-man" wrote in
:

Can anyone recommend any nice 25-40 mile rides in LA area. I know
theres tons of traffic but I would like a ride where theres not too
many cars. I'm renting a bike so it could be an off road trail or
whatever. Thanks.

When I moved from the Bay Area to LA I was worried about the cycling,
since the image of LA (which is true!) is that the traffic is terrible.
However what I found is that although there are a lot of cars, there are
also a lot of roads, and they aren't all crowded! Unfortunately there's
little good info on the web about cycling in LA--I should put something
on my own web page if I ever find the time.

The best routes are along the beach (as has been mentioned there is an
excellent bike path, although it can also be crowded with other bikes,
rollerbladers and walkers--best to go in the early morning) and in the
nearby mountains. There are many roads through the canyons of the Santa
Monica Mountains, some with little traffic.

I live in Westwood (West LA) and so start and end all my trips there,
but you can adjust as needed. Some of my favorite routes are as
follows. I've left out details and you should bring along a detailed
map in any case.

* Ohio Ave to Federal to San Vincente (though downtown Brentwood and
Santa Monica), pick up the South Bay bike trail along the beach, go
south to Marina Del Rey, pick up the Ballona Creek bike trail up to
Culver City, get off on Duquesne, take Motor into Century City, Ave of
the Stars to Santa Monica Blvd, and then back streets through Westwood
to home. 26 miles. A longer variation involves taking the beach trail
all the way to the end at Palos Verdes Peninsula, doing a half-loop
around the peninsula and then back up the beach trail, which makes a 66
mile semi-loop.

* Take the above route to the ocean, and then the Pacific Coast Highway
north from Santa Monica as far as you like, and then go back. A very
nice route although lots of traffic.

* Go to the ocean as above, take the PCH north to Las Flores Canyon,
which is a fantastic and steep climb (12-20% in the steepest sections)
with little traffic, connect to Stunt Road for a beautiful descent, then
take Mulholland Highway to Topanga Canyon to Ventura Blvd. Ventura is a
fairly busy road but it's wide with a bike lane for most of it and so
not bad. Take Sepulveda back over the mountains (it is next to the 405
freeway and thus a surprisingly good cycling road except during rush
hour). 47 miles.

* Take Olympic Blvd into Beverly Hills, connect through (I like cycling
along Rodeo Drive in the early morning) to Beverly Blvd, and head up
past impressive houses into the mountains. Connect to Franklyn Canyon,
a road with almost no traffic on it. Take Mulholland Drive to Sepulveda
and back down. 20 miles.

Those are just a few favorites; there are plenty more. Enjoy!


--
John Leo
http://www.halfaya.org/leo/

Thanks alot for the info. I'm going to try one of these.

"John Leo" wrote in message
. ..
"v-man" wrote in
:

Can anyone recommend any nice 25-40 mile rides in LA area. I know
theres tons of traffic but I would like a ride where theres not too
many cars. I'm renting a bike so it could be an off road trail or
whatever. Thanks.

When I moved from the Bay Area to LA I was worried about the cycling,
since the image of LA (which is true!) is that the traffic is terrible.
However what I found is that although there are a lot of cars, there are
also a lot of roads, and they aren't all crowded! Unfortunately there's
little good info on the web about cycling in LA--I should put something
on my own web page if I ever find the time.

The best routes are along the beach (as has been mentioned there is an
excellent bike path, although it can also be crowded with other bikes,
rollerbladers and walkers--best to go in the early morning) and in the
nearby mountains. There are many roads through the canyons of the Santa
Monica Mountains, some with little traffic.

I live in Westwood (West LA) and so start and end all my trips there,
but you can adjust as needed. Some of my favorite routes are as
follows. I've left out details and you should bring along a detailed
map in any case.

* Ohio Ave to Federal to San Vincente (though downtown Brentwood and
Santa Monica), pick up the South Bay bike trail along the beach, go
south to Marina Del Rey, pick up the Ballona Creek bike trail up to
Culver City, get off on Duquesne, take Motor into Century City, Ave of
the Stars to Santa Monica Blvd, and then back streets through Westwood
to home. 26 miles. A longer variation involves taking the beach trail
all the way to the end at Palos Verdes Peninsula, doing a half-loop
around the peninsula and then back up the beach trail, which makes a 66
mile semi-loop.

* Take the above route to the ocean, and then the Pacific Coast Highway
north from Santa Monica as far as you like, and then go back. A very
nice route although lots of traffic.

* Go to the ocean as above, take the PCH north to Las Flores Canyon,
which is a fantastic and steep climb (12-20% in the steepest sections)
with little traffic, connect to Stunt Road for a beautiful descent, then
take Mulholland Highway to Topanga Canyon to Ventura Blvd. Ventura is a
fairly busy road but it's wide with a bike lane for most of it and so
not bad. Take Sepulveda back over the mountains (it is next to the 405
freeway and thus a surprisingly good cycling road except during rush
hour). 47 miles.

* Take Olympic Blvd into Beverly Hills, connect through (I like cycling
along Rodeo Drive in the early morning) to Beverly Blvd, and head up
past impressive houses into the mountains. Connect to Franklyn Canyon,
a road with almost no traffic on it. Take Mulholland Drive to Sepulveda
and back down. 20 miles.

Those are just a few favorites; there are plenty more. Enjoy!


--
John Leo
http://www.halfaya.org/leo/

v-man wrote:

Can anyone recommend any nice 25-40 mile rides in LA area. I know
theres tons of traffic but I would like a ride where theres not too
many cars. I'm renting a bike so it could be an off road trail or
whatever. Thanks.

It depends on where in LA! It's a big place...

Most people will recommend the beach areas, but this time of year the best
riding is inland toward the mountains. If you're near downtown, you can do some
great loops out through EagleRock/Glendale/Pasadena/LaCanada. There are a
jillion possibilities -- grab a Thomas Guide and start plotting. Out this way,
traffic is quieter by LA standards, with a little more elbow room on wider
roads.

Enjoy it while the weather is amenable. The smog and heat become oppressive in
summer.

As far as the beach goes, I find it quite boring after the first few times.
Malibu is nice, once you get past that initial scary bit right out of Pacific
Palisades.

Honestly, I think the best biking in southern CA is off road -- which is superb.
This is why I was mostly a mountain biker out there.

Matt O.

Matt O'Toole wrote:
Honestly, I think the best biking in southern CA is off road -- which
is superb.
This is why I was mostly a mountain biker out there.

Matt O.

The best biking in southern CA is in San Diego County.

Tom

"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
...

Most people will recommend the beach areas, but this time of year the best
riding is inland toward the mountains. If you're near downtown, you can
do some
great loops out through EagleRock/Glendale/Pasadena/LaCanada.

My old stomping grounds. How often did I do various loops through Eagle
Rock, out to Chinatown, Highland Park, East LA? How many rides across and up
and down the arroyo? I had the perfect commute: uphill in the morning,
before the smog would rise; downhill for the way home. My husband (then
boyfriend) and I did a little mountain biking up in the San Gabriels, too,
in those days.

The scariest incident in all my biking in that region: I was chased by a
feral dog one time in East LA. It was a mean-looking SOB -- that's what life
in the streets of the barrio will do to you. That varmit scared the hell out
of me, but I eventually out ran him. I don't ever recall any bad incidents
with automobiles.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

wrote:

Matt O'Toole wrote:

Honestly, I think the best biking in southern CA is off road --
which is superb. This is why I was mostly a mountain biker out there.

The best biking in southern CA is in San Diego County.

That's probably true, but even with all the good road riding in SD I still think
the off road is better.

The best road riding in southern CA is comparable to the worst around here
(southwest VA). CA is better for off road though -- the riding areas tend to be
larger, with longer, more interesting trails, and better views.

Matt O.

For longer, hillier rides I really enjoy Mulholland Highway from
Calabasas toward Malibu (cutting over to PCH via Stunt Road or Malibu
Canyon), then back through Santa Monica and over Sepulveda. That's
around 45 - 50 mile round trip, depending on your exact route. The
traffic is light and the climbs are a good workout.

For only minimal street riding:

For shorter, more casual rides, the beach path from Santa Monica to
Redondo is nice (35 mile round trip). Even shorter and more casual is
the LA River bikeway from Burbank through Glendale and back.