Southern California - Bike routes/groups in Simi Valley

I'm going to be in LA for convention next week then in Simi Valley for the week after that. Anyway, I'm bring my road bike with me and I'm looking for routes and people to ride with while down there. I'm assuming that the area by Staples Center sucks for riding so I may not be riding when downtown. But the next week I'll be in Simi and would love to ride with some people in a shop or group ride.

Any suggestions?

I find it's much easier to get around downtown on a bike than in a car, especially parking. Just have a good lock. You have access to the bus only lanes. It says bikes ok. And you'll be surprised how many are downtown biking.

Just 10 minutes from downtown, by bike, you'll be at Dodger Stadium and you can ride around there. From there you can hook up to the LA River trail and take it all the way to Griffith Park. All this would be under 30 min. I do it all the time.

Can't say about the valley. I live near downtown and I'll let the valley folks weigh in.

In Simi you can do the Simi Ride route. The group ride is seasonal and doesn't run right now but if you google it you should be able to find the route.

In Simi you can do the Simi Ride route. The group ride is seasonal and doesn't run right now but if you google it you should be able to find the route.

thanks

A quick hop over Santa Susana pass and you can ride with the SFV bike club, 3 rides to choose from every Sat and Sun and a mixture of riders. There are also mid week rides, btw.
There is another club in the Conejo Valley called CVC. They have weekend rides, too.

If you are masochistic, ride over the Santa Susana pass as John said, and then take Box Canyon back to Simi :D

Here's the page where the SFVBC weekly rides are listed: http://www.sfvbc.org/rides.php

And here's another website where one of our members posts maps of many of the rides: http://www.shprung.com/sfvbc/




A quick hop over Santa Susana pass and you can ride with the SFV bike club, 3 rides to choose from every Sat and Sun and a mixture of riders. There are also mid week rides, btw.
There is another club in the Conejo Valley called CVC. They have weekend rides, too.

Thanks I might join the rides. I also think I might try the pass and the canyon. How bad are they?

the pass is easy. The Canyon from the Chatsworth side is pretty brutal. Here is my data from the last time I did the Simi Ride. Starting in Woodland Hills, riding across the SF Valley, up the Santa Susana pass to the start of the ride, doing the group ride, riding back across the valley, up Box Canyon, down Santa Susana, and back across the valley to my car. Obviously you wouldn't want to do all that, but you can see the pass, the canyon, and the simi ride in one convenient file.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/23054739

Santa Susana Pass is a couple miles long, but not a very steep grade, probably an average of 4-5%. It's been resurfaced over large portions of it and is a very nice climb, particularly if you ride it early or late when it's not too hot.

Box Cyn. can be reached from either the Chatsworth side or the Simi side. The Simi side route is very short and intersects with the Santa Susana Pass about half way up it. The Chatsworth side is not much longer, but it's fairly steep, probably an average of 8-9% with pitches of up to 13-14%, as I recall.


Thanks I might join the rides. I also think I might try the pass and the canyon. How bad are they?

Data I'm looking at in WKO says 2 miles, 770ft gain, average 7%. One section was around 20%, a bunch of sections around 15%. A quarter mile near the middle about 13%.

Is this for Box Cyn from Chatsworth? It couldn't be Santa Su, which does not even have any 10% sections.

If it is Box Cyn from Chatsworth, I can believe those numbers, but any of the 15+% sections are VERY short. It's a hard climb, but the really steep stuff is very short.


Data I'm looking at in WKO says 2 miles, 770ft gain, average 7%. One section was around 20%, a bunch of sections around 15%. A quarter mile near the middle about 13%.

Yeah, Box from Chatsworth. They 15%+ sections are fairly short, gain about 50 feet at a time. But they join together to average 13% for a quarter mile which is not insignficant.

Edit: the highlighted section is 18%. About 60 feet gained, just over 300 feet long.

http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/images/11442.png

If you are masochistic, ride over the Santa Susana pass as John said, and then take Box Canyon back to Simi :D

Well today, I did that route and 1/4 of the way up box canyon, 2 spokes break in my back wheel :-( I did some emergency roadside surgery and rode the rest of the way up. Coming down with only a front brake was fun/scary. (can anyone recommend a shop to replace the spokes and true the wheel?)

I'm enjoying Santa Susana pass and the foothill roads in Simi. I frankly was expect Box canyon to be harder but it was tough but not insane. Excellent hill training but there is a lot of traffic on Box.

That was where Charles Manson had his ranch...!
You should try to get over to some of the Santa Monica mtns.. Stunt and Piuma are great climbs not too far.
Not sure of a good shop in that area but i'm sure there are a few.

[QUOTE=Mash Master;11212571]Well today, I did that route and 1/4 of the way up box canyon, 2 spokes break in my back wheel :-( I did some emergency roadside surgery and rode the rest of the way up. Coming down with only a front brake was fun/scary. (can anyone recommend a shop to replace the spokes and true the wheel?)
QUOTE]

If you're in Simi look for a guy named Dave Knudsen, best wheel builder I've met. He's at a shop called All Pro, last I heard.

Try Black canyon from Simi and return on Box Canyon (Box Canyon will feel like a cool down).

Try Black canyon from Simi and return on Box Canyon (Box Canyon will feel like a cool down).

The infamous Black Canyon (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/chatsworth/761124022201878506)? I still want to try that climb. Sounds fun (in a masochistic way).

The infamous Black Canyon (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/chatsworth/761124022201878506)? I still want to try that climb. Sounds fun (in a masochistic way).

That is the one. In the map you provided, continue to Woolsey Canyon and take that down to Valley Circle and over to Box Canyon to return to Simi.

If you wanted to see how steep Black Canyon is without the torture, do the ride in reverse, up Woolsey Canyon, which is not very steep, and down Black Canyon.