Commuting - Los Angeles, Calif commuters.

Anyone here commute by bike in Los Angeles? Tips, techniques, bikes, etc. All info greatly appreciated.

Anyone here commute by bike in Los Angeles? Tips, techniques, bikes, etc. All info greatly appreciated.

I think a real great thing for the L.A. area is Bikemetro, an online bike route routing service...

http://www.bikemetro.com/

I live in L.A. Don't have a regular commute but I use my hybrid for errands all over the place, as well as for an occasional client, and I take my road bike on longer rides.

Despite the spread-out nature of this city, I've found that it generally doesn't take much longer to ride than to drive. For instance, I can get from Brentwood to Beverly Hills in about 20-25 minutes on my bike. In a car, it's 15-35 minutes, depending on traffic.

From where and to where are you commuting? Do you already have a bike or are you deciding what to get?

Here are some tips that I (literally) live by:

1) They don't see you.
2) Never expect anything more than complete idiocy from every last person you encounter.
3) Never leave your bike unlocked, anywhere, for any amount of time. In fact, you may want to lock the bike if you dismount at a red light.
4) They don't see you.
5) Ride assertively. Take as much of the lane as you need to, especially if they're brushing by too close.
6) When planning your route, don't think as if you'll be driving it. Think as if you'll be riding it. Find some mellow side streets that go for a long distance, with traffic signals at intersections with larger streets.
8) If you're going to be anywhere around West L.A., utilize the V.A.
9) If possible, utilize the Ballona Creek, which starts in Marina Del Rey and cuts through Culver City toward Mid-City.
10) I promise, they don't see you.
11) Even if for some odd reason they happen to see you, they don't care.
12) Make sure you do anything else that's important and that I forgot to mention.

oh and...

the major bus lines allow bikes on the front anytime.

the light rail service allows them on except during the time most need it, and that is during rush hour. folders are acceptable anytime on light rail.

Thanks for your replies. I'll definately check-out the bikemetro site. Drroebuck, thanks for your input, I appreciate it. Currently I'm riding a 2002 TREK 1000 road bike. I've been gradually changing it from a race/sport profile to a more touring profile by chnaging the saddle to one more comfy for longer rides, installing a shorter and more upright stem, changed the tires to Continental Ultra-gatorskins about 1 1/2 years ago but will probably swap those out for Rivendell's Roll-Poly/Ruffy-Tuffy combination. Currently I'm considering changing the crankset or just two of the three rings to lower gearing for some of the hills in my area. I live and rider in the west San Fernando Valley area of LA. Most of my riding has been on the weekends by myself of group rides with the San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club of which I'm a member as well as some occasional week night rides when I get home from work. I'm a field sales rep covering an area from San Luis Obispo, thru Ventura county, north LA county and out to San Bernardino. The company pays for my car and gas, which is a good thing, but I'm finding myself being in the office more; the office is in Gardena. The commute from home to the office is about 42 miles one way, according to the Metro website bike route guide. I could probably do it but not for more than one day at a time. I'm still looking into bus/bike routes. Thanks again to you both for your initial input. Thom.

Actually, if you're going against rush hour traffic, you can have your bike on the Metrorail. at rush hour. I do it when I'm lazy or running horribly late. Either way, I find that biking and bike + train-ing takes about the same amount of time.

Use the river bike paths if you can.

Also, they really don't see you. Especially if you have to cross a freeway entrance.

My commute is from Downtown LA/Boyle Heights side to Pasadena.

Hey thomj513,

Small world...I live in Gardena and commute to Torrance--a measly 10 mile round trip. (An 84 mile commute would be something to brag about!)

From the responses, it's great to hear there are a few bike commuters roaming the streets of L.A. It's really lonely out there sometimes. That's part of the problem in image conscious L.A.--bikes are for racing or tearing up the trails or cruising the beach--but getting from point A to point B? Naw, we have our 2 ton behemoths for that.

drroebuck said it right--they really don't see you! Sometimes I think a biker's silhouette doesn't register in a motorist's brain. I've had driver's look me in the eye and still turn in front of me. A split second later--after crossing my path--they screech on their brakes and look at me with a startled expression.

I totally agree with Michael Bluejays take on safety. (esp. the "bike behaving as a car" argument.) I really try not to force the issue when it comes to cars. Being in the right won't do me any good if I'm flatter than a pancake):

http://BicycleSafe.com/eci.html

I think the best self-preservation advice is to be seen. I used to wear a safety vest in the daytime, but found that it attracted TOO much attention. Sometimes, drivers would honk or yell out their windows or see how close they could come to me (a game, I suppose). Nowadays, I just wear my geeky bright beefy-t's and it seem to get more respect. (It's my "average joe" vs. "holier than thou" theory)

safe riding,
Ron

Use the river bike paths if you can.



A guide to them is available here:

http://www.labikepaths.com/index.html

Wow, things have sure gotten more bike friendly in the South Bay area despite the comments about ticketing by RBPD. I used to commute from Redondo to my job at the LA airport in the 1960-1965 era & Cyclist commuters were rare. The Strand was available but pretty crowded & we never dreamed of bike paths (or helmets for that matter). A friend did get ticketed once speeding thru the airport tunnel.

My office is in El Segundo and I live in Ventura County. I don't go into the office everyday but when I do, I drive my bike to Malibu and cycle the last 26 miles all along the beach. Perhaps you can drive to the coast over Topanga Canyon and do something similar.

I like that idea. Hitching on the L.A. River would be taking you waaay too far east, and then to come back west from the river to Gardena takes you, conveniently, right through City of Compton. I'm not sure if Compton is a bike-friendly town. I'll have to pop in "Straight Outta Compton" and see what N.W.A. says about cyclists.

You could drive over Topanga and park your car in the huge lot at PCH and Temescal, unless you find parking before there. Then you could take the beach path to El Segundo/Manhattan Beach and cut over inland to Gardena. That's a really, really mellow ride. State Beach (Temescal) to Manhattan Beach is probably 18 miles or so, one way, and on weekdays, the path would be relatively empty.

Depending on what time you left, you'd have a pretty strong headwind for the entire way home.

I've been commuting daily in West LA for about a month now. My ride is from Santa Monica, near the high school, to the intersection of Olympic and Sawtelle in West LA. The rush hour traffic is gruesome, especially close to the 405. I work afternoons/evenings so the ride home is in darkness. I use so many flashing lights that I look like a Christmas tree on wheels.

Yes, they don't see you - mostly because they're busy on cell phones.
If they do see you, they're angry that you're in their way.

Advice: a helmet mounted rear view mirror,
be very nimble, don't get in fights with those that try to run you over.

Thanks for all the additional info. I didn't think there would be any replies but it seems as though there are more bike commuters in LA than I thought. Liking the idea of parking at the beach and riding in, sounds quite civilized. The Griffith Park bike path is also an option. This would give me a fairly flat route from the west valley,which I know well, and leave me at the north end of downtown. Thru downtown doesn't concern me. What does is going from downtown to Gardena. I don't know how the acceptance/tolerance to bike riders is in that area plus I'm a white guy so there's the "race" issue to consider. Should not be an issue but is a concern. The Bikemetro route takes me over Cahuenga Pass thru Hollywood area and just west of downtown before turning east to Gardena; again a fairly flat route and the overall distance is about the same. I do have a lot of the safety items suggested, helmet mirror, blinky lights, hi-viz shirts etc, and have become very aware of the absent-mindedness of auto drivers so riding with traffic doesn't freak-me-out. Thx again, Thom.

The Cahuenga Pass is probably the most mild way to pass over the Santa Monica Mountains, without going all the way around them through Griffith Park. If you're riding the whole way, I would probably take Sepulveda up and over. It's not too bad. The good thing is that keeps you west. When you get into West L.A., you can take San Vicente to the beach and proceed on the bike path, or you can stay on Sepulveda all the way into the South Bay and cut over into Gardena. No hairy neighborhoods the entire way.

Either way, that's a long-a$$ commute. Even by car.

As mentioned, taking the South Bay bike path and then cutting over east to Gardena is a good, safe ride. Taking Manhattan Beach Blvd. would be fine if you're headed to north Gardena. Artesia's okay, but a little crowded and more stops. I personally like 190th Street if you're headed towards south Gardena. There's one steep hill which makes things exciting.

You're right. North of Gardena--South Central, Compton to be exact--is a dicey proposition. Once you get south of Rosecrans, it's cool.

Here's a related story...I had a German girlfriend who didn't realize how much one neighborhood could change from the next in the U.S. I neglected telling her that being a white female foreigner on a bike in South Central is not a great idea. One day, she decided to ride from my place in Gardena north to UCLA. In the first few miles, she went unnoticed. Gradually, she felt like she was being stared at when she stopped at the intersections. Pretty soon, people were making "comments" from their cars. Then, some kids squirted her from a passing car. Needless to say, she decided it was in her best interest to keep her head down, put the pedal to the metal and blow through the red lights. We laughed about it after, but it scared the sh*t out of me.

I like that idea. Hitching on the L.A. River would be taking you waaay too far east, and then to come back west from the river to Gardena takes you, conveniently, right through City of Compton. I'm not sure if Compton is a bike-friendly town. I'll have to pop in "Straight Outta Compton" and see what N.W.A. says about cyclists.

You could drive over Topanga and park your car in the huge lot at PCH and Temescal, unless you find parking before there. Then you could take the beach path to El Segundo/Manhattan Beach and cut over inland to Gardena. That's a really, really mellow ride. State Beach (Temescal) to Manhattan Beach is probably 18 miles or so, one way, and on weekdays, the path would be relatively empty.

Depending on what time you left, you'd have a pretty strong headwind for the entire way home.


You will be able to find a spot to park on Temescal in the morning. No sense paying for parking when not necessary.

I would cut inland at Manhattan Beach.

The alternate going through the city is not good at all. Lots of traffic, lots of signals, lots maniacs, and most important, just a crummy section of town that I would not even drive through. The beach gives much better scenery!!

If you do the beach route, you have to get around Marina Del Rey. One way is to head east on Washington at the end of the bike path (just past Venice Beach) and turn right on the bike path at Mildred (not quite a mile). The bike path will dump you on Admiralty Way and turn left. Don't proceed straight through Admiralty to pickup the bike path, it is worthless just meandering through parking lots. Admiralty ends at Fiji, turn right. You loop around the cul de sac and pickup the beach bike path again on the right. Note, when the path gets to a T, turn right (left takes you east on the Ballona Creek path). Turn left to go over the bridge and at the end of the bridge, turn right. You are back on the path. I don’t know what to look for to get out at Manhattan Beach as I don’t take it that far south. It isn’t all that complicated, I think it is marked well.

I live in the West Valley and have commuted to Glendale and now to USC Medical Center. While I've gone the whole way riding, if your object is not to use the car, then go the Metrolink station in Chatsworth to Union station and then take the Blue Line and get off opposite Gardena. You can absolutely get your bike on the Metrolink trains at all times but you would have to check out the Blue Line. My guess is that most peoplel are coming into downtown so if you're going the other way, it wouldnt' be a problem. Then you're sitting on the train the whole time where you can read the paper or make phone calls. And you get a good several mile ride in at the beginning and the end. Depending on teh size of your company, they may participate in a RAP program (Ride Share against Pollution) with discounts on rail and commuting passes.

Thanks for your replies. I'll definately check-out the bikemetro site. Drroebuck, thanks for your input, I appreciate it. Currently I'm riding a 2002 TREK 1000 road bike. I've been gradually changing it from a race/sport profile to a more touring profile by chnaging the saddle to one more comfy for longer rides, installing a shorter and more upright stem, changed the tires to Continental Ultra-gatorskins about 1 1/2 years ago but will probably swap those out for Rivendell's Roll-Poly/Ruffy-Tuffy combination. Currently I'm considering changing the crankset or just two of the three rings to lower gearing for some of the hills in my area. I live and rider in the west San Fernando Valley area of LA. Most of my riding has been on the weekends by myself of group rides with the San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club of which I'm a member as well as some occasional week night rides when I get home from work. I'm a field sales rep covering an area from San Luis Obispo, thru Ventura county, north LA county and out to San Bernardino. The company pays for my car and gas, which is a good thing, but I'm finding myself being in the office more; the office is in Gardena. The commute from home to the office is about 42 miles one way, according to the Metro website bike route guide. I could probably do it but not for more than one day at a time. I'm still looking into bus/bike routes. Thanks again to you both for your initial input. Thom.


Is that the red, white, and blue Trek 1000? I bought one in 2002, but I gave it to a guy at work last month, so I can't go look at the chainrings. I'm not sure you can change out the rings on that one, they might not be bolted, but riveted. You might have to get an entire new crank assembly for that. It might be easier to see if they can put a different 8 speed cassette on the back for you. That could also require the installation of an MTB derailleur on the back for the larger cogs.

anyone have a good way to get from the end of Ballona Creek to Mid Wilshire area.. I live in the south bay, hermosa beach, and can make it all the way to Jefferson/La Cienga on paths.. but rush-hour traffic at the end of Ballona Creek scares the hell outta me. I need to get from there, end of Ballona Creek, to LACMA/Tar Pits area on Wilshire.

thanks,
mike

Mike,

If your coming from the south I assume you are going along the beach and heading inland on Washington (?). What I do when I commute home (to West Adams from the beach) is take Venice Blvd. I has a bike path all the way to Crenshaw. Anyway, take Venice inland until you get to Hauser. You could turn left on Hauser, but the traffic will probaly be pretty tough at rush hour. So my recommendation would be to continue northeast on Venice until you pass La Brea. Then you will come upon a police station on your left, and a shopping strip with a Ralph's, an OSH, and a SavOn also on your left. Either turn left into the shopping strip mall's parking lot, or what would be safer is to take a left at the top of the hill just as you pass the mall, after the Bank Of America and the AMF bowling lanes. Your goal is to get onto San Vicente. Go northwest on San Vicente until you pass Hauser, then take a right on any of the streets.

No, it's metallic orange. Probably the only year TREK used that color. The crankset does use hex/allen fastenrs, it's made by Suntour. Will advise when I make the final ring swap.
Thom.

I agree with Ollo; things have changed dramatically for the better for cyclist in LA even since I left there in the early 80's according to those maps I saw.

I agree with Drroe too; it seems one thing still hasn't changed: LA drivers DON'T SEE YOU!

Wow. I lived in LA in the mid-nineties, and I bike commuted everywhere. Did grocery shopping, errands, dates, all of it, on my ride. This thread brings back memories, mostly good, about bike riding in the Southland.

I was the only guy I ever saw bike commuting in LA when I started, ~95, except for Mexican guys making very short trips to their jobs *very* early in the morning. I'm sure there were others; I never saw them. I came back to the city briefly around 99 and there were many more riders around. Main Street in Santa Monica and Venice was empty of bikes when I started pedaling around, the second time I showed up there were plenty of riders.

The point is, I just tried to make my way around without fellow commuters and without the internet. I managed, so I can tell you LA's very ridable.

Drivers can't see you, it's true. They're mostly polite, but some of them are literally pyschotic. The only time I've had someone *try* to kill me in a car was in L.A. That said, the only hostile face-to-face confrontations I had were with girlie-men, tan-and-manicure types that LA breeds by the millions, so I didn't believe I had to surrender fighting for my rights. I was mostly on the west side, though. I think Critical Mass got started in L.A. in the late-nineties, so there might be more of an awareness of bike commuting (but that might be bad, what with Critical Mass soiling whatever good feelings the ordinary driver ever had about road cycling).

You can get around surprisingly well on the streets, without special routing. I used to ride on Pico, Olympic, sometimes Wilshire from the beach to a long way inland. Most hours of the day there was parking in the #1 lane, so a de facto bike lane existed on those roads. The exception was Sunset, from Westwood out to the beach. Now *that* was a dangerous road. I tried to stay off of it. (Still, I used to cross it to go see OJ's house...)

I hated Ballona Creek. That thing inland from the Marina was just a crime scene waiting to happen, I thought. I rode it sometimes, but it always freaked me out. I would rather ride Washington, or travel a bit further north and take Ocean Park, or Pico, or whatever. I never rode on the river paths inland, but I'd probably have the same worries there.

The VA is a nice shortcut if you're in Westwood, it's true. The cemetary wasn't always open when I lived there, though. So, you have to be prepared to travel on Wilshire or Sunset. Or, I guess, you can toss your bike over the fence and trespass your way through.

I used to ride on Wilshire from Westwood into Brentwood. It seems crazy-- Wilshire and Veteran, Wilshire and Sepulveda, Wilshire and the 405, those have got to be some of the busiest freakin' intersections in North America. It wasn't so bad, though. Those lights have signal periods of like twenty minutes, bear in mind, so all you have to do is go one block at a time. Don't be in the #1 lane when the entrance to the 405 comes up, though. Both lanes on the right can enter the freeway, so get over to #2.

San Vicente, in Brentwood and Santa Monica, is a nice road.

Which reminds me, there are some side roads south of Santa Monica that run parallel and which are very bikable at all hours.

Anyway, I used to take Pico from the beach all the way inland to Robertson, La Cienega, further inland. Very ridable. If I can do it, you can too.

But, I also used to ride Sepulveda under the airport, I'd take PCH through Santa Monica until it became the 10, I'd ride just about anywhere. If you're willing to move over when you need to, you can ride all over in L.A.

And you've got great weather year round. You'll never have to look at the ice bike forum.

Here are some tips that I (literally) live by:

1) They don't see you.
2) Never expect anything more than complete idiocy from every last person you encounter.
3) Never leave your bike unlocked, anywhere, for any amount of time. In fact, you may want to lock the bike if you dismount at a red light.
4) They don't see you.
5) Ride assertively. Take as much of the lane as you need to, especially if they're brushing by too close.
6) When planning your route, don't think as if you'll be driving it. Think as if you'll be riding it. Find some mellow side streets that go for a long distance, with traffic signals at intersections with larger streets.
8) If you're going to be anywhere around West L.A., utilize the V.A.
9) If possible, utilize the Ballona Creek, which starts in Marina Del Rey and cuts through Culver City toward Mid-City.
10) I promise, they don't see you.
11) Even if for some odd reason they happen to see you, they don't care.
12) Make sure you do anything else that's important and that I forgot to mention.

Great list... especially 1, 4, and 10. When I bike commute I am in what I call "Casper mode," just invisible. I just ain't there. Reminds me of an old joke... Bank is robbed by a bicyclist... the police ask which way the robber went, the clerks reply: "I don't know, he was on a bike."

I'll be in LA for five months starting at the end of november, doing an internship. Buying a car is way too expensive for me (paying for insurance would be a nightmare)so I was thinking about using a bike to get aroud and commute. It's good to find some info on biking in LA since it has a reputation as a 'car city'. If there's more info or if there are more tips you guys can share, I'd be very thankful.

The company I need to commute to is on moulton avenue, downtown LA. Is that a neighborhood you would ride your bike in? I have no idea yet as to where I'm gonna stay, but I was told these area's would be ok: Silverlake, South Pasadena, Eaglerock, Atwater Village, Los Feliz. It looks as if it won't be too far a ride downtown from any of these places.

anyway, all advice is very welcome

http://www.labikecoalition.org/

Whew. Moulton is in Lincoln Heights, which could definitely be a little hairy, especially at night. But if you ride briskly you'll be out of the area pretty quickly. I could be wrong, but I think South Pas or Eagle Rock would have you riding deeper into **** before coming out of it, as compared to Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater Village or Los Feliz (all of which take you west).

I would argue that most areas of Los Angeles are "safe" to ride in. In a car, there are areas I would not be caught dead in (or rather, I have a higher likelyhood of being caught dead in), however on a bike, I feel completely safe (because who wants to steal a bike with no brakes or gears that has different sized wheels?), even in really "bad" areas (compton, rampart, macarthur park, etc).

My friends and I often ride through some of the worst parts of Downtown LA/Lincoln Heights at *very* late hours (try skid row at 3:30am after a night of drinking) with no major events (I say no major events, because you can't really help being panhandled, or rambled at by someone with a mental disorder [thanks reagan!]). I think a large part of the notion that certain areas are "extremely unsafe" is fueled by the media's misrepresentation of poor areas, and doesn't really have much credence on a bike (unless, of course, a bunch of roadies are in the area and they see you on your colnago 50th anniversary bike...or a bunch of messengers see you on a 3rensho with a full campy super record track group. That's when the real danger appears) if at all.

Certainly, YMMV. But in my meager experiences, being "safe" in "unsafe" neighborhoods just amounts to not being scared of poor people. If you're going downtown, I would recommend areas like Highland Park, Mt. Washington, Echo Park, Atwater Village, Silverlake (if you can afford it), South Pasadena (if you can afford it), and Pasadena (not all of Pasadena is jokingly expensive, but most of it is).

I'm going to have to agree with my bud vomitron here, mainly because I'm one of the friends he's rode through those sketchy neighborhoods with.

I've found that bike commuting in LA is a much better alternative to driving. Riding most places takes the same amount of time as it does driving with less stress, and in some places you'll get there faster.

I live in Highland Park and work in Pasadena at Polytechnic School across from CalTech, and it is faster to take the train and bike the rest of the way than it is hopping on the 110 for the short jaunt.

And economically its much cheaper, gas is hecka expensive as is insurance and regestration. Vomitron and I have pretty much consilidated our resources into one car that we both use only when we really need too, and have much more money to show for it.

Whew. Moulton is in Lincoln Heights, which could definitely be a little hairy, especially at night. But if you ride briskly you'll be out of the area pretty quickly. I could be wrong, but I think South Pas or Eagle Rock would have you riding deeper into **** before coming out of it, as compared to Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater Village or Los Feliz (all of which take you west).

Lincoln Heights isn't that bad. I used to live at the Brewery lofts on Main and Daly near County USC and road around all the time. Downtown night riding is fun. It's a ghost town and you have it all to you self and do just do skids all over.

I rode the Cranksgiving ride last week and all rode down to the Midnight Mission and no one even bothered us.

As for commuting in LA, cars are really your worst enemy so do whatever it takes to be seen. I ride with two blinkers in the back (one on seatpost other on pant pocket) and have a white blinker in front.