jimincalif

Riding PCH in Laguna Beach is never great, traffic-wise, but yesterday was over the top. Seems like everyone was offended by the presence of a few bike riders. Got blasted by horns, F-bombs from SUVs and Monster pick-up trucks and one Lagunatic threw a drink bottle at one of our riders - from a PRIUS of all things (fortunately missed him). All in the short stretch between Cliff and Boat Canyon.

trailangel

Damn
Isn't throwing something at another vehicle a felony in CA?

calamarichris

You didn't have any lane-taking FLAPpers in your midst, did you?
Not blaming the victim, but as idiotic as lane-taking is, doing so (or riding two abreast) in Laguna is a rich-flavor of profound idiocy.
Hope no one got hurt either way, and that no one was unnecessarily inconvenienced either.

skidder

What time of day was it, and how many riders in your group? And you've got to consider you're not the only group riding along PCH, so other groups may have got motorists amp'd up and you're just suffering a delayed response from agitated drivers. Laguna Beach is always a mess; the only time I'll ride through there (or Corona del Mar) is the early morning when traffic is (relatively) light, and never on holiday weekend.

Garfield Cat

Riding from Huntington Beach to Dana Point and back, has to be an early morning start. That way your return ride through Laguna will be way before 10AM.

TakingMyTime

Albeit there's never a perfect time to ride down PCH... the difference in traffic density between rush hour and 09:30 is staggering. Not even to mention the rush hour when people are coming home. Going through Seal , Sunset, Newport and Laguna Beach between 16:30 and 18:00 is like riding through a minefield. I've been riding perfectly legally and been cutoff more times than I can count. I try to avoid rush hour whenever possible.

Too bad someone in your group did have a video camera rolling.

jimincalif

Yeah, a video camera would have been good. I can handle someone blasting their horn (at least I know they see me). But throwing projectiles is criminal.

TrojanHorse

They did go through Laguna before 10 am, and on a Sunday too. Oy.

I hate riding northbound on PCH...

McBTC

I'd avoid that area or you may be flirting with ghost bike on your next ride. Seems to me you're about as likely to be car-doored as honked at by a hypocritical climate change Leftist in a SUV.

CAT7RDR

How is PCH/Laguna Canyon Road inland to El Toro Road weekend mid-mornings? I enjoy the ride from SART to Crystal Cove but I usually turnaround before entering LB.

jimincalif

Outbound 133/Laguna Canyon Road is OK. From PCH coming from Crystal Cove, turn right on Cliff drive as you come into town (Stop n Go market is on the left, then Cliff on the right), ride along Heisler Park, Cliff curves around past Las Brisas and the Laguna art museum. there you can cross PCH at the light, then an immediate right onto Cliff on the inland side of PCH. Follow Cliff to Beach St. down the short steep hill, then L on Broadway/133. Follow the 133 up to old Laguna Canyon Rd in Irvine or hang a right on El Toro as you prefer. 133 has little to no shoulder between El Toro and the 73, El Toro is the same until the 73, but usually not a problem with traffic either way.

We ride this way a lot from Irvine, it is usually OK in the morning. Most of the 133 morning traffic is inbound to Laguna.

ooga-booga

yeah, you really gotta have your head on a swivel on that stretch of pch through laguna from cliff to approx thalia. you can navigate a block over to glenneyre for a reduced spell from traffic for like 3-5 minutes
but what's the point? i usually just try to save a little something and ramp it up thru laguna whether heading north or (usually) south when on pch. couple of places where you absolutely should take the lane
and a few places where you can drift over to let patient cars pass. not for beginners. if you haven't done it, i'd recommend getting comfy riding in dtown la commute time first.

CAT7RDR

Perfect!

Looks like a great route to avoid PCH traffic. Thanks!

Andrew_G

I used Google maps and I looked for an off-PCH alternate thru Laguna Beach. I found the following route: When I go south thru Laguna Beach, when north of downtown, I go inland 1 block west of PCH: I ride Cliff Drive past Heisler Park (there's a sign showing a bike route, turn right, continue south), then when back on PCH by the Museum of Art, I continue (right) southbound, downhill for three (?) blocks. I then turn inland (left) to ride east of PCH: cross at the pedestrian crosswalk light: take Park east 1 block (looks like an alley) - to Ramona south 1/2 block (another alley) - then left on Park and uphill (steep) for three blocks, to right (south) on Catalina, which eventually jogs back over to Glenneyre (south). I follow Glenneyre over the climbs to the southern end, at Nyes. I then get back on PCH going south.


Then go like hell southbound thru Aliso Beach and South Laguna.


I'm now retired, so I do my ride thru Laguna Beach during the weekday, usually on Friday. The car traffic is significantly less than the weekend; summer weekend beach car parking jams up the bike lane thru Aliso Beach and South Laguna, and makes the run impossible, in my opinion.


In 2015, I rode 10 centuries over the summer, from July 4 thru Labor Day. Doing the inland route as a solo rider thru Laguna Beach was a lifesaver.


I'm not too proud to use side streets and sidewalks whenever necessary. The population of Orange County in 2018 is about 65% more than than of 1980 (I checked!), and of course the car traffic is much worse as well.

McBTC

There's not even room for cars.... the right lane is pretty much useless with folks parallel parking, backed up to enter parking lots, opening car doors… and, their trolley bus is as big as a train caboose and essentially blocks the entire lane at every stop-- some folks who've llved there for >30 years grouse about not being able to get around because of the traffic. But, there's two ghost bikes I know of in the last 5 years just south of there around Newport Coast.

Andrew_G

I saw one ghost bike on PCH at Newport Coast Dr. a few years ago.

To avoid the traffic squeeze on PCH along Newport Coast, I ride the bike/hike path thru Crystal Cove state park. When southbound from LA county, I enter the path at Pelican Point Drive (just south of Corona del Mar): I ride the sidewalk for a little bit just south of the stop light, then turn right, onto the path. Halfway along, I wiggle thru the tiny parking lot at the Crystal Cove shake shack, and then get back on the path. I exit the path at Reef Point Dr., another stoplight, at the top of the hill.

Doing this eliminates the cars for a good high-speed stretch. I also get serenity and cleaner air.

Garfield Cat

By the way, did you ever stop at the Shake Shack for the date shakes? If so, how do you find their date shakes? Not enough dates in their shakes?

At home I experimented with the Medjool dates that are available at some grocery stores and even Costco. I probably put in twice as much Medjool dates in my blender and mixed with a banana and maybe an orange to make a smoothie with ice, of course. A nice creamy and very sweet drink, full of that date flavor. And better flavor than the Shake Shack.

Andrew_G

I haven't stopped at the Shake Shack for a meal (yet). Since I ride down from LA county, my time for stopping is limited. By the time I get down to the Shake Shack and Laguna Beach I'm usually on a 70-100 mile ride, and I'm cruising thru in a 'business only' mode.

Thanks for the tip; I hope to have time to stop later this year.