Southern California - Commute from DTLA to Long Beach

I'm curious if anybody does this commute on a daily basis and, if so, how strenuous is the commute. I'm looking to relocate to DTLA and my job is in Long Beach and wanted to know if this would be too much of a trip for me, especially since I am new to cycling. Any help would be much appreciated.

You should probably ask this in the Los Angeles forum. Looks like it would be about 15 miles each way which is quite long for a beginner. But you could take the river trail for about half the commute which is a lot easier and faster than surface streets.

Plus there is the Metro which, if you have a folding bike, could be quite easy to ride to the Downtown L.A. Metro station, fold bike . . . ride train to the Long Beach Metro station . . . or vice versa on the way to work.

I do a similar commute from Whittier to Norwalk on folding bike, ride Metro to Harbor Fwy Station, ride 1.1 mi. to work. Metro ticket is $1.50 each way.

Just another possible solution.

Rick / OCRR

I actually make the LB -> LA trip. I ride 4.5 miles to the Blue Line ride into LA then 5.5 miles more to work. Where in LA are you coming from and to where in LB?

Plus there is the Metro which, if you have a folding bike, could be quite easy to ride to the Downtown L.A. Metro station, fold bike . . . ride train to the Long Beach Metro station . . . or vice versa on the way to work.

+1

That's how I would do it

Plus there is the Metro which, if you have a folding bike, could be quite easy to ride to the Downtown L.A. Metro station, fold bike . . . ride train to the Long Beach Metro station . . . or vice versa on the way to work.

I do a similar commute from Whittier to Norwalk on folding bike, ride Metro to Harbor Fwy Station, ride 1.1 mi. to work. Metro ticket is $1.50 each way.

Just another possible solution.

Rick / OCRR

You don't even need a folding bike to do that either. Metro allows bikes during all hours now.

I started commuting this way back in May 2011, originally doing the Blue Line to the Red Line to Union Station, or occasionally to Hollywood. I have also made trips on the Green and Gold lines. They all allow non-folders at all hours of operation; although I do have to skip a train for the next one due to being too full. This has only occurred to me on the way home in the late afternoon/evening. Luckily they run about every 5 minutes during the rush hours, every 15 min until late. I get the monthly TAP Pass which is $70 for unlimited use (my employer subsidizes the pass to the tune of $30/month and takes my part as payroll deduction, check with your employer). Go for it and Good luck.

Moved to SoCal regional from Commuting.

I did the multimodal Blue Line commute (opposite direction) for a little more than a year on a foldie. It works but I didn't really enjoy it all that much. Glad I moved back to LA even though I enjoyed living in the LBC. I've done the whole commute via bike a handful of times, too (taking the LA river path, Central, or Figueroa) and I like Central the most, although the LA river path offers a nice reprieve from traffic. Figueroa was only enjoyable after 8pm when traffic dies down.

I want to thank everyone for commenting. Haven't been on due to work but it seems like other people have dealt with the metro quite frequently. I'm still floating with the idea of DTLA but I recently started to expand my search to West LA which would pretty much mean I would need my car to commute.

I actually make the LB -> LA trip. I ride 4.5 miles to the Blue Line ride into LA then 5.5 miles more to work. Where in LA are you coming from and to where in LB?

I havent made my move yet but I was looking in the area around the Staples Center and my job is located on Shoreline Dr in LB

Why don't you just move to Long Beach if you are working there? You can ride your bike all around Long Beach.

tFUnk,

I'm very interested in the exact route you used to get from LA River path to downtown. Any suggestions about where I can find it online?

Thanks,

J


I did the multimodal Blue Line commute (opposite direction) for a little more than a year on a foldie. It works but I didn't really enjoy it all that much. Glad I moved back to LA even though I enjoyed living in the LBC. I've done the whole commute via bike a handful of times, too (taking the LA river path, Central, or Figueroa) and I like Central the most, although the LA river path offers a nice reprieve from traffic. Figueroa was only enjoyable after 8pm when traffic dies down.

If I recall correctly, coming from the south the path ends around Bell Gardens/Maywood, and you have to get on surface streets. Some neighborhoods that you wouldn't want to be riding on at night.

Then again, if the river is dry...

Why don't you just move to Long Beach if you are working there? You can ride your bike all around Long Beach.

Agreed. Why not just live in LB? Didn't you mention that you're already living here (LB) in a different thread? Why complicate things with an unnecessary commute? Does your current job involve the photography/videography that you reference in your sig? If so, why would you want to risk slinging thousands of dollars worth of equipment over your shoulder during peak traffic hours?

Agreed. Why not just live in LB? Didn't you mention that you're already living here (LB) in a different thread? Why complicate things with an unnecessary commute? Does your current job involve the photography/videography that you reference in your sig? If so, why would you want to risk slinging thousands of dollars worth of equipment over your shoulder during peak traffic hours?

unfortunately, my job full time is not photography/videography. I just relocated to Long Beach and I'm currently in temporary housing. Only reason I'm considering DTLA is because I'm trying to find something central to where my wife would be working.

Ah, I see. Have you considered splitting the difference between your two jobs?