Cycling in LA - Part 2

[JasonF]

As a follow-up to this awesome thread:
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showth...86#post1885086

We're getting closer to a move to Los Angeles in the next year or so and have begun to narrow down neighborhoods.

Here's the catch: it must be within the LA Unifed School District, which according to various attorneys, parents and consultants, has resources to help educate our autistic son. Santa Monica is out, so is BH, Culver City, Palos Verdes, Pasadena, Manhattan Beach, La Canada…you get the idea. It must be in the City of Los Angeles and part of the LAUSD.

Can the locals chime in on the following neighborhoods for riding, or getting to rides?

- Sherman Oaks/Studio City/Encino
- Rancho Park (Westside in general)
- Hancock Park/Larchmont Village
- Beverly Grove

Any other areas? We're not "edgy" so Echo Park/Arts District isn't really our scene.

Deep in the SFV is out (too darn hot) as is Shadow Hills (daughter is on USC equestrian team where they train and I've been there enough to resolve to never live in that area). Woodland Hills is also too darn hot.

I'll work from home so commuting is not an issue. Finally, I'm a solo rider so a hammerfest group ride isn't really my thing. Many moons ago I put myself through undergrad as a bike messenger in DC, so I'm no stranger to urban riding. But it's been a long time.

Thanks!!

[SoCalSteve]

I know something about LAUSD. My wife is in house counsel for them. She travels to many of their schools and administration buildings all over Los Angeles. When I say all over, I mean it! It's a really big school district. Second largest in the country.

Anyway, depending on what you are looking for in a " hood " will determine where you would want to live here. It's a big, diverse city with ever changing neighborhoods. My suggestion would be the Westside. You mention Rancho Park, that's not really the Westside. More west ( ish ) mid city. The Westside is really west of the 405. So, if Santa Monica and the South Bay cities are out, that leaves you with Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, West LA 90025, the Marina, Mar Vista and then you start heading south west towards San Pedro, etc.

I don't suggest anywhere in the valley, it truly does get too hot to ride a few months a year. The closer you are to the beach, the better the weather will be year round.

If you'd like, we can PM or chat on the phone. I've lived and worked here all my life and have a pretty good idea of what LA has to offer. I grew up in the valley, then lived in the Beverly Hills/Rancho Park area for well over 20 years and now I live at the beach...so, a pretty well rounded knowledge of LA.

Happy to help!

[beeatnik]

But, if you want to save half a mil to a mil, Jason, these communities are all in the City of Los Angeles

Mt. Washington
Eagle Rock
Hills of Garvanza aka "Garvanza in Highland Park"
Atwater Village below Glendale Blvd (bordered by 2 bridges and Glendale Blvd and Fletcher)
Glassell Park adjacent to Adams Hill (Glendale) - Look up the street Shasta Circle
Tiny Melrose Hill
Collis Avenue in El Sereno: suburban, tree lined, runs into the Monterey Hills of South Pasadena at a 30-35% discount ($800K instead of 1.2 plus).

Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Encino: The Ventura Blvd Corridor aka The Other Side of the Hollywood Hills. Very nice in all areas. Couple of hot days yearly but there's enough tree cover/vegetation.

Oh, Larchmont is the best of the best. Except for riding. You've got Ktown on the South, The Industry on the North, Start of the Westside on the West and Old Poor LA on the East. The streets used to be atrocious (worst potholes in LA on Wilshire, Santa Monica and Melrose). Traffic is Third World. However, 4th Street does have a sharrows. And you'll be close to California Donuts where the Passage Ride sails off. Short story long, not the best hub for riding.

[Ken Robb]

Does your wife need to be in LA for work?

[JasonF]

Thanks guys,

Wifey does not work. She actually likes the heat (unlike me) so we'll have to negotiate. Hiking/horse trails around Griffith Park is interesting to her although I'd prefer to live on the Westside. Happy wife = happy life so we may have to compromise her way

Is Sherman Oaks inaccessible to decent riding? We had kind of narrowed our search to that area and Hancock Park/Larchmont Village but things are always in flux.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by beeatnik

But, if you want to save half a mil to a mil, Jason, these communities are all in the City of Los Angeles

Mt. Washington
Eagle Rock
Hills of Garvanza aka "Garvanza in Highland Park"
Atwater Village below Glendale Blvd (bordered by 2 bridges and Glendale Blvd and Fletcher)
Glassell Park adjacent to Adams Hill (Glendale) - Look up the street Shasta Circle
Tiny Melrose Hill
Collis Avenue in El Sereno: suburban, tree lined, runs into the Monterey Hills of South Pasadena at a 30-35% discount ($800K instead of 1.2 plus).

Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Encino: The Ventura Blvd Corridor aka The Other Side of the Hollywood Hills. Very nice in all areas. Couple of hot days yearly but there's enough tree cover/vegetation.

Oh, Larchmont is the best of the best. Except for riding. You've got Ktown on the South, The Industry on the North, Start of the Westside on the West and Old Poor LA on the East. The streets used to be atrocious (worst potholes in LA on Wilshire, Santa Monica and Melrose). Traffic is Third World. However, 4th Street does have a sharrows. And you'll be close to California Donuts where the Passage Ride sails off. Short story long, not the best hub for riding.

I guess you'd have to decide what " hot " is...https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/91436:4:US

Average 88-93 for 4 months of the year.

Maybe I'm just spoiled: https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/90292:4:US

Average 70-70 for the same 4 months.

[Hombre]

There's no escaping the heat in SFV. I've lived here my entire life and it's always "too darn hot". But with that being said, if the valley does become an option:

Burbank (north of Griffith Park)
North Hollywood (not all of it is nice)
Valley Village/ Valley Glen
Toluca Lake (occasional sightings of Phil Gaimon)
As you mentioned, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino

LAUSD does encompass an extremely large geographic footprint so you do have your range of options. There are also numerous specialized schools in the valley that may suite your child's needs.

[Hombre]

Originally Posted by JasonF

Thanks guys,

Wifey does not work. She actually likes the heat (unlike me) so we'll have to negotiate. Hiking/horse trails around Griffith Park is interesting to her although I'd prefer to live on the Westside. Happy wife = happy life so we may have to compromise her way

Is Sherman Oaks inaccessible to decent riding? We had kind of narrowed our search to that area and Hancock Park/Larchmont Village but things are always in flux.

Riding in the valley is good if you know your streets and what time of the day you are riding. Only brave souls ride Ventura Blvd. But in the end I always make my way into Griffith Park.

[beeatnik]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

I guess you'd have to decide what " hot " is...https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/91436:4:US

Average 88-93 for 4 months of the year.

Maybe I'm just spoiled: https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/90292:4:US

Average 70-70 for the same 4 months.

Well, ya, it's hot. It's not Malibu.

But, if it were unbearably hot, half of Hollywood (talent and behind the scenes) wouldn't live in that part of the Valley.

Sherman Oaks is a solid hub, only a flat 10 miles to Griffith Park. And there are a few major bike lanes on streets parallel to Ventura. You could also just climb to Mulholland Hwy by making a right turn from Ventura into the hillside neighborhoods. Then there's Sepulveda along with a few Canyon roads which easily take you to Mulholland closer to the Getty. If you decided to ride the Angeles Forest, it's a flat 45 minutes to Little T or Hwy 2.

[JasonF]

Cool details, thanks.

Safe to assume humidity is a non-event? One of the reasons for a move is that I have quite a bit of hardware throughout my body due to various trauma surgeries and the humidity on the east coast kills me June-Sept. Each time I've been out there (and we're talking plenty of times all four seasons) I've never detected humidity except at the coast and it was cool enough to not matter.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by beeatnik

Well, ya, it's hot. It's not Malibu.

But, if it were unbearably hot, half of Hollywood (talent and behind the scenes) wouldn't live in that part of the Valley.

Sherman Oaks is a solid hub, only a flat 10 miles to Griffith Park. And there are a few major bike lanes on streets parallel to Ventura. You could also just climb to Mulholland Hwy by making a right turn from Ventura into the hillside neighborhoods. Then there's Sepulveda along with a few Canyon roads which easily take you to Mulholland closer to the Getty. If you decided to ride the Angeles Forest, it's a flat 45 minutes to Little T or Hwy 2.

This is actually something I know quite a bit about considering I spent 35 years working behind the scenes at all the major motion picture studios in Los Angeles.

So, some talent lives in Studio City and Toluca Lake as it is very close to 3 major motion picture studios, but I have only met 1 who is a serious cyclist. Most behind the scenes people either live much farther out north ( Santa Clarita Valley ) or farther west. Woodland Hills and beyond.

Talent, for the most parts lives in the Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz or way west ( Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood and the Palisades ).

Again, you have to decide if you don't mind the heat. I grew up in it and moved away from it as soon as I could. I've been very fortunate to spend most of my riding miles along the beach areas and canyons that intersect with the beach areas.

I have ridden in the areas that Beatnik mentioned, they are very nice and very different than the riding I do. Again, it's all about preference. I prefer the beach over other areas of LA. My preference.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by JasonF

Cool details, thanks.

Safe to assume humidity is a non-event? One of the reasons for a move is that I have quite a bit of hardware throughout my body due to various trauma surgeries and the humidity on the east coast kills me June-Sept. Each time I've been out there (and we're talking plenty of times all four seasons) I've never detected humidity except at the coast and it was cool enough to not matter.

Very little humidity in Los Angeles. Very, very rarely is it ever an issue here.

[Ken Robb]

If nobody in my family had to be in LA for work I would find a home outside of the metro area for less traffic, cleaner air and cheaper housing. BTW, the air in LA is much better than it used to be.

[JasonF]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

If nobody in my family had to be in LA for work I would find a home outside of the metro area for less traffic, cleaner air and cheaper housing. BTW, the air in LA is much better than it used to be.

I hear you Ken. We actually spent a week house hunting in your neck of the woods and really liked La Jolla, Del Mar & Solana Beach. But we came to the realization that due to its density LA offers the widest breadth of services for our son.

[onsight512]

Jason,

An earlier poster had suggested Burbank, but they're not LAUSD.
Although it is a nice place to live.