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Stuck in Long Beach for Work (June 8 - 12)

Old 06-03-09, 11:53 AM
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Stuck in Long Beach for Work (June 8 - 12)

I'll be down in Long Beach for a week for some training. Planning on bringing the bike so I won't lose any days of training.

Can anyone recommend a decent ride 30 - 50 miles?
Any Tue, Wed or Thur club after work rides?
Is riding the PCH say from Seal Beach to Newport safe?

Thanks in advanced.

BR
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Old 06-03-09, 07:20 PM
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SB to NB is safe however there tend to be a lot of speedy drivers since the road is wide open. If you will be staying in Downtown Long Beach you can always use the LA River for a safer ride.
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Old 06-03-09, 07:36 PM
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PCH is about as safe as anything else. Most places have a bike lane, so you are a little off from traffic.

Don't know of any after work organized rides.
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Old 06-03-09, 08:01 PM
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Where in Long Beach are you? Downtown Long Beach to PCH and then south is pretty safe, especially if you take the bike path to go out of town, avoiding Ocean Avenue. You can ride as far south as you like - to Newport (Jamboree will be about 43 miles), Laguna (just over 50 to the Newport / Laguna line) or go up Newport Coast for some hill work (about 50).
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Old 06-03-09, 09:58 PM
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Thanks for the responses.

I'm going to be staying off the 405 & N. Lakewood. Look's like I might have to drive to start any rides, right?

Any other suggestions?

BR
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Old 06-03-09, 10:07 PM
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Originally Posted by BenRidin
Thanks for the responses.

I'm going to be staying off the 405 & N. Lakewood. Look's like I might have to drive to start any rides, right?

Any other suggestions?

BR
If you’re going to drive to location I'd suggest Palos Verdes many good routes in the hill and rollers scenery is great as well.
Looking for more flat ride PCH to Seal Bach and Hunington you'll like.
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Old 06-03-09, 11:02 PM
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You don't need to drive. I've ridden all of those rides w/o any issues. You'll be fine (assuming you are used to riding with some traffic)
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Old 06-03-09, 11:16 PM
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You also have the option of riding the 2 local bike river trails, San Gabriel River Trail which starts at Seal Beach and Santa Ana bike River Trail which is between Huntington Bch and Newport Beach..
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Old 06-03-09, 11:44 PM
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Originally Posted by JTGraphics
If you’re going to drive to location I'd suggest Palos Verdes many good routes in the hill and rollers scenery is great as well.
Looking for more flat ride PCH to Seal Bach and Hunington you'll like.
+1 to PV being very nice. I ride through there regularly.

But, riding from LB to PV isn't a very nice ride. Wilmington in particular is an area I would not want to ride through at night. Imho just stick with PCH out to Newport. It's simple and you'll never get lost.

*edit*
Have you thought about taking the San Gabriel River Trail? I like it better than the LA River to be honest.
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Old 06-04-09, 03:36 AM
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Originally Posted by BenRidin
Thanks for the responses.

I'm going to be staying off the 405 & N. Lakewood. Look's like I might have to drive to start any rides, right?

Any other suggestions?

BR
While note the best starting location, you could take Lakewood up to Del Amo, take that west to San Antonio (intersection at Del Amo & Cherry), then take that to the LA River Trail and go either north or south from there. Or, if you are south of the 405, there might be a more direct route to the LA River Trail. From the approximate location where you are, though, riding is rather sucky.

If you have the means, drive out to Palos Verdes and do some riding out there. Or ride around Irvine. Or Laguna Beach. Or do a Long Beach Beach Path->LA River->Rio Hondo River->Whittier Narrows->San Gabriel River->Long Beach Beach Path Loop. Or drive farther and do some climbing in the Santa Monica mountains or the San Gabriel mountains. Yeah, where you will be staying sucks for cycling, but, with some effort, you can get some amazing cycling in. PM me with any questions if you want.

Cheers!
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Old 06-04-09, 07:45 AM
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Use this site and you'll find some nice rides.

https://www.mapmyride.com/search_site
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Old 06-04-09, 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by BenRidin
Thanks for the responses.

I'm going to be staying off the 405 & N. Lakewood. Look's like I might have to drive to start any rides, right?

Any other suggestions?

BR
Hi,

While Palos Verdes Peninsula is a great area for riding in the hills, my experience of riding there on weekday evenings is not very good. There is a lot of traffic on the peninsula during the week. Much less traffic on weekends.

South is generally good on PCH. There are a couple of rough spots if you're not used to riding in traffic (like the intersection of PCH and 2nd Street), but generally PCH has a reasonable shoulder for riding.

Your biggest problem will be getting from your hotel to PCH. If your hotel is south of the 405, you can ride through a couple of neighborhoods to get to Clark. There isn't any shoulder on Clark but traffic isn't too fast on the stretch down to PCH.

If you are north of the 405, I would take Wardlow across to the San Gabriel River Trail. You can ride that south to PCH. Ride the river trail under PCH and then make a sharp U-turn to get to PCH heading south. This route also lets you avoid the worst part of PCH heading out of LB.

Your biggest problem is the tunnel on Lakewood. Don't ride through it unless you like cheap, but real thrills. Traffic is fast through the tunnel and there is no shoulder.

Hope this helps.
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Old 06-04-09, 09:07 AM
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Great suggestions.

Thank you all very much for your responses.

Riding in traffic doesn't bother me. Ride it all the time.

Now that I have a couple of options, I'll have to put it all together.

Of course, all this depends on when I'll be able to escape from the office while I'm down there.

BR
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Old 06-04-09, 09:33 AM
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Sounds like you're staying near the airport. Go north on Lakewood to Carson and hang a right. Ride about 3-4 miles east on Carson until you hit the San Gabriel River. Hop on the San Gabriel River trail and head south until it ends in Seal Beach. You can then get on PCH and head towards Newport or even the Santa Ana River trail. I ride this route all the time, it's safe and fun.
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Old 06-04-09, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by AdamD
Sounds like you're staying near the airport...
Yep

Originally Posted by AdamD
...I ride this route all the time, it's safe and fun.
Fantastic. Thanks for the route.

BR
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Old 06-04-09, 12:54 PM
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Check out this 50 mile loop...
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Old 06-04-09, 10:00 PM
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Originally Posted by alicestrong
Check out this 50 mile loop...
Nice. Thanks.

BR
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Old 06-04-09, 10:18 PM
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PM sent some routes.
SGRT good flat route for sure.
What times are you planning to ride any idea?.
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Old 06-08-09, 08:00 AM
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Originally Posted by JTGraphics
PM sent some routes.
SGRT good flat route for sure.
What times are you planning to ride any idea?.
Got it. Thanks for sending. I like that hill route.

Not sure what time I'll be let out of training this week. Hopefully they'll let us go at 5:00. So, I'd like to start soon thereafter.

BR
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Old 06-08-09, 08:31 AM
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Originally Posted by rallison
While note the best starting location, you could take Lakewood up to Del Amo, take that west to San Antonio (intersection at Del Amo & Cherry), then take that to the LA River Trail and go either north or south from there. Or, if you are south of the 405, there might be a more direct route to the LA River Trail. From the approximate location where you are, though, riding is rather sucky.
Cheers!
Huh? The above route will take you nowhere. Scratch it altogether. If you are staying near the 405 fwy and Lakewood Blvd, there are two river trails that you are sandwiched in between. To get to the LA River head West on Willow and jump on the bike path right before you get to the 710 fwy over path. You may have to go on Deforest to get up there but you can't miss it.
To get to the San Gabriel Trail, go East on Willow. It is about 3 or 4 miles from Lakewood Blvd. Once you pass the park, you will see the trail and can get on/off from the street.

PM me if you are interested in any further information or check out this map https://www.metro.net/riding_metro/bi...a_bike_map.pdf
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Old 06-08-09, 09:00 AM
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Lakewood and 405 is also fairly close to SGRT. You can make a nice loop using SGRT, Shoreline, LART, and one of the cross streets between SGRT and LART.
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Old 06-08-09, 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by travelmama
...
PM me if you are interested in any further information or check out this map https://www.metro.net/riding_metro/bi...a_bike_map.pdf
That map is great tool. Thanks.

BR
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Old 06-08-09, 10:06 PM
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Originally Posted by alicestrong
Check out this 50 mile loop...
That route that I put up is basically a copy of the route in the Bicycling Los Angeles County: A Guide to the Great Road Bike Rides (a book I would recommend for those living in the area). Another option for this route is, when cutting over to the San Gabriel River Trail, to head north (instead of south) for a few miles and you will end up at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation area. This is a nice place to take a break, refuel and fill up your water bottles within a pleasant park/lake area. Adds some (flat) miles, but worth it if you have the time.
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Old 06-09-09, 05:27 AM
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Originally Posted by rallison
That route that I put up is basically a copy of the route in the Bicycling Los Angeles County: A Guide to the Great Road Bike Rides (a book I would recommend for those living in the area). Another option for this route is, when cutting over to the San Gabriel River Trail, to head north (instead of south) for a few miles and you will end up at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation area. This is a nice place to take a break, refuel and fill up your water bottles within a pleasant park/lake area. Adds some (flat) miles, but worth it if you have the time.
Also, without adding miles, you can make a stopover at Legg Lake or the Nature Center in South El Monte. Either spot is picnic worthy.
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Old 06-09-09, 12:51 PM
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El Dorado Regional Park in Long Beach is a nice resting place, too. Especially on weekdays.
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