A Sunday ride into the Santa Monica Mountains took myself and some friends up Mandeville Canyon, beloved of cyclists and the scene of Dr. Christopher Thompson's road rage last year against two cyclists, which netted him a five year prison sentence.



Below: On a Sunday morning, otherwise traffic-heavy Los Angeles is almost devoid of cars.



Below: Riding through UCLA, sans traffic.



Below: Riding through the Veterans Administration in West Los Angeles, no traffic.



Below: Along broad San Vicente Blvd., in Brentwood, trees are in bloom in the January sun of Southern California.



Below: Heading on empty 26th St. toward the mountains.



The rural character of the canyon, the relatively little traffic, and it's easy grade most of it's five mile run, is why this canyon draws cyclists like iron filings to a magnet.







Above: An artificial waterfall marks the entrance to an exclusive residential enclave above the canyon.

Below: Near the spot where Dr. Christiansen injured two cyclists. On my ride, the only reaction from a motorist I witnessed was a thumbs up to a group of cyclists pulled over on the side of the rode.