Moving to LA. What do I need to know?

[GOTHBROOKS]

the 805 is NOT COOL because everyone loves it.

[Mike V]

“The”

[wyatt_]

This is all great intel to start with. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

One thing I can't seem to get a clear read on - are bikes allowed on dirt in Griffith Park? Seems like there are some trails with no bikes allowed, but I also see people talking about riding there, so maybe some trails are okay, too?

Any ideas?

[IJWS]

Originally Posted by GOTHBROOKS

los angeles is cool because everyone hates it.

Fact.

This is a great city to ride in. You're headed to a nice area. There's lots of cool places to ride both paved and dirt.

As far as I know, Griffith Park is officially no bikes on the trails but I might just be out of the gravel-loop on that one. Still one of my favorite places to ride.

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by wyatt_

One thing I can't seem to get a clear read on - are bikes allowed on dirt in Griffith Park? Seems like there are some trails with no bikes allowed, but I also see people talking about riding there, so maybe some trails are okay, too?

Any ideas?

I think @IJWS is right -- no bikes on the trails, but there are paved roads inaccessible to cars (other than service vehicles). Regular early morning Wednesday "Ponies" ride there. The paved roads through GP have pretty generous shoulders and the cars are going slowly as a rule because they're sight-seeing or looking for parking (which has its own dangers).

And to the bad mouthers -- good, stay away there's a reason for the hashtag #lasucksforcycling

[jkbrwn]

Take cgolvin up on his offer of ride suggestions. Route planner extraordinaire!

The riding in Los Angeles is incredible. I miss it every time I get on my bike because the riding where I live is nowhere near as good, despite being a very remote area.

Santa Monica Mountains incredible. Some of the San Gabriel's incredible. Foothills in and around Pasadena incredible. 10/10. You won't find better riding this close to a major metro anywhere in the world.

[Rabaja]

Originally Posted by PurpleBikeChick

A bit to your east, but a great group if you want to join a club.

For me, less fit than many, I find the road cycling side very accepting if you’re self sufficient. Has much to offer everyone between A & D level riders.

The endurance group has rides both in the San Gabriel mountains, Griffith park-ish, surrounding cities, and Santa Monica’s but less frequently. A great way to learn about the area. There’s also a monthly club supported ride. My mountain pictures come from these group rides.

I don’t know about the dirt side, but it exists.

A really good bunch. Worth the drive from the Beach cities. (It’s always disappointing how long it takes to drive anywhere in LA)

Seconding @PurpleBikeChick. I moved to LA a few weeks ago, joined PAA, and think it is one of the best bike clubs I’ve ridden with. Really nice folks and a great way to get to know the area. I can’t give you any recommendations since I just got here. But imho the riding in LA is outstanding. Big mountains, dry air, and lots of choices.

[Ken Robb]

If I were moving back to LA and needed to drive to work (or for work) 5 days a week I would give more weight to how that would be considering time/stress/expense than how near my home would be for bike rides. I would rather drive to a ride on a weekend at a time when traffic is probably lighter than face a grueling slog both ways in rush hour.

If a person could work from home or live very near his place of employment that was also near some great riding that would be a cyclist's dream! OTOH my job entailed a sales territory that included LA, Santa Barbara, Bakersfield, San Bernardino, and Riverside from my office in El Monte. That was a cyclist's nightmare! I envied pals who lived and worked in Pasadena.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

If I were moving back to LA and needed to drive to work (or for work) 5 days a week I would give more weight to how that would be considering time/stress/expense than how near my home would be for bike rides. I would rather drive to a ride on a weekend at a time when traffic is probably lighter than face a grueling slog both ways in rush hour.

If a person could work from home or live very near his place of employment that was also near some great riding that would be a cyclist's dream! OTOH my job entailed a sales territory that included LA, Santa Barbara, Bakersfield, San Bernardino, and Riverside from my office in El Monte. That was a cyclist's nightmare! I envied pals who lived and worked in Pasadena.

I've got 2 words for you: lane sharing

Best thing ever for getting around SoCal

M

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by Gummee

I've got 2 words for you: lane sharing

Best thing ever for getting around SoCal

M

Do you mean "lane splitting" on a motorcycle? Or do I have the terminology wrong?

[jdp211]

Originally Posted by Gummee

there's dirt near LA but last I checked, you're going to have to drive to get there.


M

This is patently false. You may have to ride 5-10 miles (depending on which dirt you're trying to ride), but there's dirt EVERYWHERE (Santa Monicas and Verdugos are most easily accessible, but Elysian Park and Mount Washington have a bunch of cutty singletrack, if that's your game) and its really really accessible.

To the OP, get ready to learn just how bad at climbing you really are. Took me like 6 months of riding here to start to figure it out, but as the adage goes "it doesn't get easier, you just go faster." The climbing here is generally long, lots of elevation gain, and often very exposed to the sun. Don't underestimate how much sunscreen you need. Regardless of how much you wear, you WILL get tan (and also burnt).

[jkbrwn]

Originally Posted by jdp211

Regardless of how much you wear, you WILL get tan (and also burnt).

I have very recently started wearing sun sleeves (I'm in arguably a place with worse UV than LA nowadays) and its been a real game changer for me. My arms stay so much cooler and I don't feel like I'm being cooked alive. Give 'em a go if you haven't already. I just got some cheap white ones from Amazon and they've been great.

[d_douglas]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

LA is so large, so diverse, and so complex that if your only statement is "I hate LA", I guarantee that you're missing out on something cool.

That is the truth. Any large, diverse city will have alot of awesome things and a few bad things to contend with - most people tend to focus on the negative.

If it was me, I would freak over the traffic. I live in sleepy lil Victoria BC, and when I go to Vancouver (like this coming weekend) I cannot imagine living with all that traffoc, now that I am used to a small city. And I lived in Vancouver for a decade before moving to Europe and then to Victoria!

[Turkle]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

If a person could work from home or live very near his place of employment that was also near some great riding that would be a cyclist's dream!

When we started seriously considering leaving NYC, I had only 3 criteria:

1) Make sure my wife's commute is under 10 minutes (I work from home)
2) Make sure I can ride a bicycle right out my front door and have a great time
3) Make sure we know some people so we have a social network from day one

I chose the specific neighborhood, and even the block I live on, based on the above. And it's been one of the best damned decisions I've ever made.

Of course, Richmond is nowhere near on the same scale as LA. But the above criteria have made life amazing here, and when we move again (maybe 1-2 years?) I will be absolutely 100% insistent on having the above 3 things in place!

If I were moving to a place like LA, I would do whatever I had to do to make sure that I had a "short" commute and that I could ride right out the door. Hard to do, I'm sure! But I can't imagine otherwise.

[wyatt_]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

If a person could work from home or live very near his place of employment that was also near some great riding that would be a cyclist's dream!

That's the dream, man. We'll see how it works in practice, but I'm hoping it goes like that.

The Verdugos do seem like my best bet from what people are saying. Found this route which looks cool:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1580626980

If anyone has other and/or better Verdugos routes, would love to see them.

To the OP, get ready to learn just how bad at climbing you really are. Took me like 6 months of riding here to start to figure it out, but as the adage goes "it doesn't get easier, you just go faster." The climbing here is generally long, lots of elevation gain, and often very exposed to the sun. Don't underestimate how much sunscreen you need. Regardless of how much you wear, you WILL get tan (and also burnt).

This is great advice. Thinking going to a smaller chainring right off the bat and reevaluating after a few months. Thanks.