THE HEAT of the day had broken and I was ready for a bike ride on a late July afternoon in the City of Angels. My goal: the top of the Hollywood Sign, which sits in near-mythic repose high above the Los Angeles Basin. The sign has long served as a symbolic load stone to those who have sought fame in Hollywood, the entertainment capitol of the world. I wasn't seeking fame, though. I just wanted a scenic ride, take some time to meditate about the meaning of life, and work off some of the massive quantities of orange sherbet I had after lunch.
My route would lead me through the heart of Hollywood (known originally as Hollywoodland) and up about 1,600 feet into the Hollywood Hills, which are part of the Santa Monica Mountains. The last, steep section of the ride would take me over rough pavement on a road closed to motorized traffic, except for maintenance vehicles servicing the television towers and equipment atop the summit of Mt. Lee.
The mountain was named for a prominent Cadillac car dealer in the 1920s. The iconic sign itself sits just below the summit, facing out from the Los Angeles side of the mountain. Behind the sign are the cities of Glendale and Burbank, and beyond them the Verdugo and San Gabriel Mountains, the latter sometimes snow-topped in winter.
- THERE COULD be no better place to initiate a human-powered journey to the Hollywood Sign than the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine.
- THE LEGENDARY Capitol Records building is just up the street on Vine. Famous recording artists who made innumerable hits at Capitol have included Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Queen ("I Want to Ride My Bicycle") Radiohead and Coldplay.
Past the building, several routes can be taken that lead up toward the Hollywood Sign. Once I had passed Caheunga Blvd., pedaling above Vine, I chose streets, some of them randomly, that featured one important attribute: they traveled up.
- Below: THIS STATUE sits in the front yard of a house; the figure seems to survey the steep street below.
- THERE WERE some sharp and steep hairpins along the route; this one was one of the first. Except for the palms, the scene reminded me of Europe.
- EVEN garages come with a view of the city up here. The tall buildings in the distance are the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles.
- SOME HOMES look like chateaus, others like castles. The Spanish Mission Revival style is also popular.
- MANY HOMES, while posh, and crammed together. Several are cantilevered out over the canyons. I suppose such homes are a source of much merriment during strong earthquakes that occasionally shake the city. (That's yours truly on my Specialized Roubaix.)
- I MET two other riders, both on mountain bikes, and neither of whom went to the top with me. Mountain biker Dave led me over a stretch of dirt road that was about 1/4 mile in length, and mercifully level. The dirt road led from the end of the paved route, and over the driveway of one the houses in the background (who negotiated that right-of-way?). Beyond the house I carried my bike up a few steps and through an entry gate, beyond which was the final mile and a half or so that leads to the top of the sign.
- THIS GREAT looking couple would take a photo of me near the top. It was time to put my earphones on, crank my iPod up, and jam along a final, steep, lung-busting stretch to the top.
MY ROUBAIX performed as advertised on the rough roads. The Verdugo Mts. and city of Burbank are in the background to the north, as I apparently try to perform a track stand. Over this last 3/4 of a mile or so, the road switches from the south side of the mountain to the north, and then back again just below the summit itself, so that I eventually found myself pedaling above the 30 ft. high letters that make up the Hollywood Sign.
- THE VIEW from the summit: The ridge I rode is visible just to the left of the Hollywood Reservoir. The Capitol Building is visible at the bottom of the ridge. Downtown L.A. is at the upper left. The dirt road connecting my ridge with the final stretch of pavement is just above the "W" of the sign. The house with the driveway which provides access to the sign via the dirt road is above the "O." Beachwood Canyon, another way to begin the climb to Mt. Lee and the sign, is in shade and to the left of my ridge, and is the route on which I would make my return.
- MY RETURN to the flat lands was underway. As I dropped down the way I'd come, the city of Glendale and the Verdugo and San Gabriel Mountains were in the distance. Even though gravity was impatient with me, I tried to take my time, because soon enough I'd be dealing with the cost of gasoline, news about the occupation of Iraq, and potentially errant automobiles paralleling my path at twilight, all in the City of Angels.
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My other ride/photo reports:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=427577
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...39#post6970739