Don't make me search. I want to ride my road bike on the path, JB says no, it's just for cruisers.

What about when there aren't many people?

Don't make me search. I want to ride my road bike on the path, JB says no, it's just for cruisers.

What about when there aren't many people?

You're welcome to ride whatever bike you want on that thing, whenever you want.

Of course you can ride any bike you want there. It can be extremely dangerous, however, with kids, drunks, walkers, joggers, skaters, and all manner of idiots. Just go slow and be careful. Most roadies avoid bike paths at the beach.

Of course you can ride any bike you want there. It can be extremely dangerous, however, with kids, drunks, walkers, joggers, skaters, and all manner of idiots. Just go slow and be careful. Most roadies avoid bike paths at the beach.

+1

I tend to use it early in the morning, and even earlier during the summer season.

After 9-10am, I stick to the streets. It's much faster and safer.

What about when there aren't many people?
Just as long as you don't mean 2am. You'll get mugged. I agree with the before 9am thing. It's usually fine from 6-9.

Just as long as you don't mean 2am. You'll get mugged. I agree with the before 9am thing. It's usually fine from 6-9.

I've spent many hours at odd times on the beach, and the bikepath. I'd need some hard stats to back up the contention that a person will get mugged at certain hours.

Based on the local crime reports, it looks like a person has much higher chance of being mugged in the SaMo parking structures at that hour.

Just as long as you don't mean 2am. You'll get mugged. I agree with the before 9am thing. It's usually fine from 6-9.

I've spent many hours at odd times on the beach, and the bikepath. I'd need some hard stats to back up the contention that a person will get mugged at certain hours.

Based on the local crime reports, it looks like a person has a much higher chance of being mugged in the Third Street Promenade parking structures at that hour.

Back to the OP's question.

Anything goes on the bikepath. You will be agog at the types of bikes you see.

So, ride whatever type of bike makes you comfortable and happy, and rest assured that you won't be out of place.

Sorry, I have no stats. Just my inclination based on the types of people I see after sunset. Ride on.

Sorry, I have no stats. Just my inclination based on the types of people I see after sunset. Ride on.

"Types of people." Can you clarify?

If you are talking about folks who "don't look like you and me" out on the beach at that hour, one thing to keep in mind is this:

The beach in Santa Monica becomes defacto housing for the homeless after hours. Many of the folks who use the beach for that purpose are quite intent on not drawing attention to themselves, or being displaced.

And anyone who is looking to pull a quick, lucrative heist would be more likely to pull that crap in the parking garages, or jack the Chinois valets on Main Street.

And, it is also a tourist mecca, and a hang-out spot for Angelenos after hours. I've seen all sorts of folks out on the path at that hour. Tourists. Families with kids. Raving lunatics. It's an interesting scene.

Looks can be deceiving.

I like to call the Venice Beach area of the Santa Monica Bike Path "The Freak Show". I've been there at all hours of day and night in the Summer and Winter, and have never had any trouble whatsoever. There is almost always a Police presence somewhere nearby because of all the homeless people who are on the border line of belonging in a mental institution.

If you want ride at a good pace, don't even bother with this path during beach hours. At all times, you have to keep a sharp eye out anywhere near pedestrian access points because tourists just don't know it is a bike path.

Don't make me search. I want to ride my road bike on the path, JB says no, it's just for cruisers.

What about when there aren't many people?

Depends on where and when, really. So, where and when?

I happen to really, really HATE the SM area bike path between Ocean Park Ave. and Washington Blvd. It's often quite sandy (and therefore slippery) and is filled with people who are mildly annoying in their inattentiveness. Some are downright dangerous in their cluelessness. It's all surviveable, though, if you slow down enough.

OTOH, just north of that area, or south of the Marina towards the beach cities, can be quite pleasant. I ride there all the time, but do when there are fewer people. This time of year, that means mid-week in the early to mid-morning, or very early on weekends.

Don'e be afraid to use the bike paths. There's quite a bit of pretty serious cycling going on there much of the time.

I like to call the Venice Beach area of the Santa Monica Bike Path "The Freak Show".

We've always just called it "the Planet Venice"...

As in, "Dude, you gotta take your out of town relatives to the Planet Venice!"

:lol:

Personally, I love riding a cruiser from Santa Monica to Palos Verdes and back. I use to do that about six years ago (before "road bike" was even a term I used in regular conversation and before I ever considered wearing a helmet). It's a full day of it with a stop along the strand for lunch.

As for a road bike, I find it a pain to have to unclip and clip back in repeatedly as I try to dodge pedestrians and such and I hate having to worry about the sand patches with my slicks (cruisers go right over those patches with no issue). But to each their own, and, yes, a road bike can go on that path just like any other bike.

thanks folks. I think you all have hit the essence of our debate. he is a "real" roadie and I am a wifey trying to keep up. He rides through intersections like a messenger and I am pretty sure I could be killed at any moment. I know Venice pretty well from my SoCal days and the people don't scare me too much when I am with him.

Depends on where and when, really. So, where and when? Mostly, I am looking for some low stress distance riding. We will have a loft for awhile and it is closeby.

I'd get there early to avoid the kids on the rollerblades, etc. Dana Point Golden Lantern area, stressful for me.

(Camp Pendelton was perfect.)

"Types of people." Can you clarify?

If you are talking about folks who "don't look like you and me" out on the beach at that hour, one thing to keep in mind is this:

The beach in Santa Monica becomes defacto housing for the homeless after hours. Many of the folks who use the beach for that purpose are quite intent on not drawing attention to themselves, or being displaced.

And anyone who is looking to pull a quick, lucrative heist would be more likely to pull that crap in the parking garages, or jack the Chinois valets on Main Street.

And, it is also a tourist mecca, and a hang-out spot for Angelenos after hours. I've seen all sorts of folks out on the path at that hour. Tourists. Families with kids. Raving lunatics. It's an interesting scene.

Looks can be deceiving.
Tourist spots are where pick pockets like to go. Homeless people are sometimes desperate. Not that I blame them. If I couldn't afford a meal, I'd probably steal to eat too. But as I said, I don't have any facts and it could be just my misconception.

urb, it could just as well be my misconception, too. I apologize; I didn't mean to shrug off your experience. I believe in goin' with the gut. If a situation feels funky and wrong, no reason to not walk away from it.

Probably a little hometown pride/ego at work on my end. :-)

No apology needed. You're just stating an opinion. I grew up in a rather sheltered area, so a lot of things here in the big city irk me more than they should.

Funny thread...I used to live in SoCal 20 years ago and rode the beach bike path many, many times. Coincidentally, I was on it again this Sunday for the first time since then...my son and I were in town, we had a few hours to kill, so we went to Santa Monica Pier, rented some junkers, and rode down to Playa del Rey and back.

IMHO, nothing has really changed:
- Lots of tourists and infrequent bikers riding slowly, a little cluelessly, and somewhat dangerously on the path through SM and Planet Venice. Lots of kids on bikes; you really need to be careful.
- Plenty of rollerbladers blocking the path. There is something in the phrase "bikes only" that is not well understood by skaters.
- A few "serious" roadies trying to weave their way through the slow-moving traffic and not liking it.

...but things open up, a bit, south of the Marina.

Net:
- It's a ton of fun to see folks out riding bikes w/smiles on their faces.
- You won't be smiling if you're trying to ride quickly.
- If you do want to ride quickly, get there very early in the morning or early morning weekdays (though as noted above you do need to be careful early in the morning because folks can be sleeping on or along the path).

Frankly I used to do my "serious" riding elsewhere and hit the beach bike path only very early in the morning, like, on my way down to one of the beach cities for an early Sunday morning breakfast. If you're not off the path by late morning on the weekend you'll get buried in traffic, but it's a nice place for a recovery ride if you've had a tough ride on Saturday.

so we went to Santa Monica Pier, rented some junkers

That reminds me:

The most dangerous hazard on this section of bike path is 3 wheelers that are rented to kids.

Be very, very careful when passing them on the left as they have a tendency to suddenly start weaving back and forth across both lanes. I wish they would ban those types of rentals.

meh, "serious" cycling

is that when you're too serious to have fun?

meh, "serious" cycling

is that when you're too serious to have fun?

Sorry if I wasn't clear.

"Serious" is when I want to cycle at a reasonably fast pace over a reasonably long distance. Sometimes, in fact a lot of time, I think that's fun.

I think I also pointed out that just tooling along the SM Beach path is fun, too, just don't plan on doing any "serious" (sorry, "fast") cycling while you're at it. It isn't safe.