LA living/riding?

[el cheapo]

Twenty seven years ago I lived in Redondo Beach. Great rides up in Palos Verdes and midweek on the Strand (bike path) along the beach from Torrance to Pacific Palisades. Best air in LA!

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by bigbill

I'm in Anaheim the end of next week for work. I'm going to check out the riding, it's a location I could transfer to in a few years. It would have to be a hell of a raise to afford it.

I live next door to Anaheim and work there. Let me know if you need any helps/advice/tips on riding and living here.

[Pinned]

LA is great. Commuting by bike can be enjoyable, or awful. Echo Park to Culver could be rough if commuting at rush hour. Metro might help if you can use it part way. Metro is actually not bad, and the Expo Line from the beach to DTLA is great.

For riding: Echo Park and Silverlake are both close to Griffith, Elysian, and some other fun stuff. I really like that side of town for all the music, art, and food stuff going on - doesn't hurt that it's still a little cheaper than Venice/SaMo. The Westside (Santa Monica, Venice, Brentwood/Westwood) are all in close proximity to the Santa Monica Mountains - Culver, West LA aren't far either.

I'd look for a neighborhood that is walkable - the worst part about LA is all of the neighborhoods that have been built explicitly around cars and have no accessibility to anything via foot/bike. Living in LA without a car is very possible - driving here is such an absolute waste of time for the vast majority of trips anyhow.

[Fivethumbs]

Whenever someone asks me what its like to live in L.A., I have to tell them to be more specific. Are they talking about downtown Los Angeles? Anywhere in the city of Los Angeles? Or in Los Angeles County? There are 88 cities in Los Angeles County and the climate and terrain is so diverse that you can go surfing and skiing on the same day. You can sit in bumper to bumper traffic or find yourself on a desolate rural road. You can be driving through neighborhoods of mansions and in 15 minutes be driving through major gang territory. So really, the answer to the OP's question is, "it depends."

[classtimesailer]

If was to work in Culver City, I'd look to live in Culver City (Unless I could afford to live closer to the beach.) great serious riding in any direction. World famous group rides or solo escapes.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by Fivethumbs

Whenever someone asks me what its like to live in L.A., I have to tell them to be more specific. Are they talking about downtown Los Angeles? Anywhere in the city of Los Angeles? Or in Los Angeles County? There are 88 cities in Los Angeles County and the climate and terrain is so diverse that you can go surfing and skiing on the same day. You can sit in bumper to bumper traffic or find yourself on a desolate rural road. You can be driving through neighborhoods of mansions and in 15 minutes be driving through major gang territory. So really, the answer to the OP's question is, "it depends."

Great summation of Los Angeles!!!

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by classtimesailer

If was to work in Culver City, I'd look to live in Culver City (Unless I could afford to live closer to the beach.) great serious riding in any direction. World famous group rides or solo escapes.

This would be my suggestion as well. Downtown Culver City is a very happening place.

[Fivethumbs]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

Great summation of Los Angeles!!!

I was born in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital on Fountain Ave. in Hollywood. Now that building is the home of the Church of Scientology! When I used to work in Culver City I lived in Studio City. I left at 6 AM and got to work in about 40 minutes. When I left at 5 PM it took 1 to 2 hours to get home.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by Fivethumbs

I was born in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital on Fountain Ave. in Hollywood. Now that building is the home of the Church of Scientology! When I used to work in Culver City I lived in Studio City. I left at 6 AM and got to work in about 40 minutes. When I left at 5 PM it took 1 to 2 hours to get home.

I too was born at Cedars! My mom grew up in Boyle Heights, not sure which hospital she was born in. Second generation Angelino here...

[Clean39T]

Am I the only one who is having thoughts of moving to LA based on this thread alone?

[IJWS]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

Curious how you know so much about Los Angeles and why you are so negative?

Considering you live :Location: Leawood, KS- It is in Kansas City, July west tisbury October tucson

To the original poster, there have been many posts about riding-living in LA. Please use the search function.

But the readers digest version is this: the Westside people think riding on the Westside-beaches-canyons are great and the east siders think riding north east is best.

I’m sure many people will chime in.

RE: SoCalSteve's comment, which I read some version of when I asked this question 2 years ago, the riding is good in L.A. Don't doubt it. The best thing to do would be to pick a side and commit to it though. I live and work on the east side. I can ride Griffith Park every morning and I have a lot of options if I have more time on hand including Angeles Crest. Lately the gf and I have been hitting up the limited dirt trails of Elysian Park in the mornings for fun...and it's fun.

My gf commutes west and while it's not the end of the world, it could be better. I think if we both lived and worked on the west side we would end up riding in all the places west that my coworkers tell me about. I wouldn't be afraid to live on one side of the city or the other as far as bikes go but I would be very wary of my commute from one to the other 5ish days a week.

If you are going to work in Culver, find a NH west that you like and try to get there. You will be able to ride.

[soupless]

that commute sounds scary AF and not doable regularly on a bike.

you might have a bit of culture shock coming from bike friendly mpls, I had A TON coming from bike friendly nyc

I can't speak to the specifics of getting around silverlake on a bike, because I don't live there. But I really only run errands anymore if it's less than half a mile or so and I can take side streets. People drive very aggressively and aren't used to seeing cyclists.

It's an AMAZING place to ride road and mtb, but it's pretty far behind in terms of being commuter friendly.

[stev0]

Another vote for living near your work rather than commuting (this is the sweet spot that's hard to find in LA, imho). I agree that most places in greater LA have easy access to good/great road/mtb. Not sure I agree there's much happening in Culver City, but that does put you much closer to the ocean.

I've done a bike commute from farther west than Culver City to DTLA just south of Echo Park, and it was not very stressful for an LA bike commute (downright pleasant in the mornings, actually). I don't imagine it would be much more stressful going the opposite direction. I want to tell you it's definitely doable, but I suppose it's all relative to what you're used to. We don't have much (any?) cycling infrastructure and the roads are not great, but with careful route selection, a lot of cross city commutes arent too bad.

For mixed mode, what would make sense is for you to ride down to 7th st metro center and take the train to culver - anything else you get on will be a short trip to 7th st, and a cumbersome transfer, as the Expo line (going to Culver City) terminates at 7th.

[tctyres]

This thread is interesting to me. My girlfriend has a two year job stint out there and is living in Brentwood. I moved a road bike out there.

My strategy was:
1. Look on the Strava global heatmap
2. Go ride.
3. Look at the segments to see what other people are doing.
4. Plan routes on ridewithgps.
5. Ride more.

To the OP: there is a lot of riding all over the city. The bike lanes seem to be respected, at least on the west side.

I will pay attention to what others suggest.

[Devotion]

Another second generation Native Angeleno here.
I agree with almost everything that has been said in this thread. Just echoing/paraphrasing a sentiment that has been mentioned here a number of ways:
While the weather and geography certainly seem inviting, the infrastructure and deeply rooted culture of the car do not make city riding particularly appealing to me. I felt way safer on my bike on the streets of NYC (where I lived from 2000-2013) than I do on the average surface street of Los Angeles.
In my experience, the riding *in* LA (I'm talking point-to-point riding across town, commuting, etc.) leaves a lot to be desired. Conversely, the riding *around* LA (surrounding beaches, canyons, mountains, trails, etc.) is World Class.
When I returned to my native LA, I had to recalibrate my relationship to the bike and to the car.
This is the land of the Drive Through and the Drive In and the strip mall and the Hot Rod and the drag race and the Boulevard Cruise. There is no escaping car culture here.
Sure, depending on where you live and work, it's *possible* to live car free. It's also possible to climb Alp d'Huez on a track bike and run a marathon in combat boots. Doesn't make it the right tool for the job. And without a car, you'd be SEVERELY limiting yourself and cutting out access to some of the best things that this city has to offer...which are often the far corners, strange neighborhoods, surrounding environs, escapes, road trips, etc that are a short drive away.