Wow.. that's impressive. How many times a week can you do this?

2 or 3 times a week. If I bonk I can take the train part of the way. But by the time I wait at the station for the 6:50 train I can be nearly halfway home. So usually I just crank the Ipod and cruise.

DanO

Hello All-

New dude here. I'm reading and trying to get up to speed on this commuting stuff, but the best education is to hop on the saddle and get started. :)

I've been an avid cyclist for some time now, but always for fun/fitness and not commuting, however that's about to change. I live in Long Beach and work in the scenic city of Commerce, so my route is basically defined as straight up and down the LA river with about 1 mile of surface streets on either end. This is a bit less mileage than I already ride so distance isn't an issue. What times do you feel the need for lights? Keep in mind traffic isn't the main concern, however the trail isn't lit either. Any other tips/pointers are greatly appreciated.

bobbyortizjr - How do you find the LA river trail in that area? I've ridden the trail and the trail itself seems to be ok. Do you use a road bike, or something else? I've also seen a number of not-so-desirables hanging out in the underpasses. Have you ever had any run-ins during the early morning hours, or any other time for that matter?

Thanks all, and I hope to see you on the road soon.

-AdamD

I rode last Friday and absolutely loved it! I'm getting a new bike for commuting and will be outfitting it with racks/bags over the next few weeks.

Hope to see some of you guys out on the road! Ride safe.

In case there is anyone else reading this that had similar safety concerns riding in that area, I know now from first hand experience that it is indeed safe. I see many other joggers, walkers, and other riders on the trail, but as of yet have yet to see anything to cause me concern for my safety. So far the biggest safety concern on the trail is the idiot dog walkers who take them off their leash.... and the dogs don't seem to be too friendly.

Five days a week from Inglewood to El Segundo.

For the last 3.5 years I've been riding from San Vicente/Fairfax to USC campus and now to downtown. I'm glad I built up my commuting chops in Seattle for a couple decades before heading down here. Though I'm lucky riding on Pico or Venice the traffic is usually heading the opposite direction. I see a lot of sidewalk cyclists, but only a few commuters, who always confuse commuting with racing. Maybe it's the novelty of seeing another cyclist.

It's not that bad. Going from West LA to the Valley is much harder because you start at a much lower altitude and have an intense straight up path. Going over starting from the Valley is not a problem at all, easy winding path with enough room for the most part. There's a few places where I go slow and be super careful, but it's a great way to start the day. Trying to go from West LA towards downtown is much more harder and scarier, IMO.

Westwood to Hollywood, (Sepulveda to Vine), mostly on Santa Monica Blvd with some side streets. Pretty flat, only 8.5 miles each way. Takes me 10 or 15 minutes longer to get to work by bike than by car. If traffic is bad, that time is nearly equal. Specialized Globe City6 (internal gear 8 speed) with dyno hub.

I've been getting comfortable with biking to a restaurant for lunch, picking up pet food or limited amounts of groceries. I also find biking to Santa Monica on the weekends takes less time than sitting in the impossible car traffic. It's that "I should take the bike instead" thinking that is creeping in.

Just yesterday, I was on the westbound bike lane near Century City. There was a single speed, my city bike and (what looked like) a converted mountain bike on the same lane. More bicycles after Beverly Hills.

-3bikes
P.S. On my route I always beat the #4 Metro bus.... (however, not the express 704).

What's your route exactly?

Eastbound AM - Sepulveda, Santa Monica (Nice bike lanes) to Little Santa Monica (no bike lanes in Beverly Hills) to Burton Way to N.Palm Drive to Civic Center Drive, to Santa Monica (bike lane starts at Doheny), to Highland (be carefull after Kings Street, the bike lane dissapears), to Willoughby to Vine.

Westbound PM - Willoughby to Kings to Santa Monica Blvd (bike lane start) to Doheny to Carmelita (nice wide residential street) to Walden to Elvarado to Whittier Dr. to Santa Monica Blvd..... bike lane starts up again at Century City to Sepulveda.

What should be a strait shot to Vine is broken up because of narrow or dangerous sections of Santa Monica Blvd (Hwy 2). It goes from LA to BH to WH to LA. Even these safer routes have their problems and dangers. Look up these routes on Google Maps or a Thomas Guide. I hope my route descriptions help you out. Ride safe!

-3bikes

You guys are awesome. I grew up in Santa Monica and I just peeked in to check out where you're riding. I haven't ridden much around LA but when I was home for a few days in August, I was impressed by the numbers of bikers out on the road. Still, I can imagine it would be super-stressful to commute, especially with LA drivers!

For me, it's the opposite. It's way more stressful when i'm in my car. Biking is a breeze.

Burbank, west hollywood, pasadena aren't part of the "valley." Just one person mentioned the valley (sherman oaks!)

Same for me, exactly!

I bike from Calabasas to anywhere in the valley often many times a week. It's a chill ride and way fun to get around although I don't like being on the busiest of streets cause the smog from the cars gets really overwhelming during rush hour!

for the guy going from agua dulce to burbank, that's pretty impressive. so are those of you going over "the hill"... that thing really looks like a lot of work, but going downhill must be SOOOOOO FUN.

I live close to a red line station (vermont/sunset station), I took it 'under' the hill when I went to see my friend in Encino. Much easier.

bhop - Since you brought up Metro trains it reminded me about their dumb rules and bikes. They have rules about no bikes during commuting hours (6:30-8:30AM and 4:30-6:30PM), but do they actually enforce these rules? There are days when taking the metro train would be a huge help, but those rules take that option away. Gotta love LA and their "commitment" to public transportation.

I'm not really sure about this one. On the days I don't ride my bike, I do take the red line part of the way home, but that's usually after 6:30pm.

Same here too, well mostly. Of course there are isolated dumb-ass driver incidents occasionally, but they are rare. My commute is mostly spent on back roads in nicer neighborhoods.

I commute from Playa del Rey to Culver City. Its 7.5 miles mostly up the Ballona bike path. Going back up the hill on my wya home is a bit of a *****, but I just got a new road bike so I am hoping that will make tonight's climb a bit easier. I started 2 months ago, before that I hadn't been on a bike in years, so I am still a bit shaky. But I am loving it!

West LA to Hollywood.

Pass a few "regulars" riding on 4th street in the morning.

I commute in Long Beach (that's LA county still :). Just got a profile in Momentum Magazine!

http://www.momentumplanet.com/profil...file-russ-roca

westwood to usc, via westwood, national, and jefferson. on way back i take venice, olympic, or wilshire. about 40mins to and 1 hour back due to the uphill. used to do it 1-2x a week until it got too hot over summer. going to start back up again soon but in the meantime i just carpool.

Last time I read the policy the restrictions applied only between Vermont/Wilshire and Union Station. That's not a tough ride on the bike. You can take a bike on the subway under the Cahuenga Pass anytime.

It looks like Metro rail has updated their rules a bit from a blanket time-based rule. The latest can be seen here http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/bikes/bikes_rail.htm. Too bad this still restricts me during the week. :(

Russ- Nice to see another LB'er out on 2 wheels. I thought I was doing good by commuting on my bike, but you just put me to shame with having to carry all that gear. Nice bike too. :)

I'm 16. Live in Carson. RIDE EVERYWHERE!! I work at The Pike in Long Beach, which is great because I live near the Del Amo Metro Station, so I ride to there and take the train to work. I also ride to school, which is a great little 16 minute ride to wake up. A well needed wake up at that.

I'm in LA often so I just love riding around there. I could never imagine, being in the huge metropolis we are, being stuck in a metal bubble 24/7!