cwilliams

I'm currently in a situation where a friend of mine is shipping a car from Hawaii to Long Beach Harbor. My plan is to take the train from Chatsworth (where the car where temporarily be stored and where my vehicle will be) down to some point north or in Long Beach so I can bike the rest of the way. I can't remember how the roads were, but is there a somewhat safe and legal route from the train station via bicycle to the receiving area of the Harbor? Obviously it's huge and currently I don't know which pier it will be coming in on. Yes that's a long distance in the LA area by rail, but I'm up for it.

tinrobot

The Blue Line goes from downtown to Long Beach. Take the train to Union Station, get on the subway, go to 7th St and transfer to the Blue Line there.

cwilliams

I need a cycling route from the station downtown Long Beach to the harbor. The train part I'm good to go with. Thank you though.

A better question would be if Ocean Blvd is adequate enough (or even legal) to take over to the piers. If not, has anyone traveling that direction found an alternate route? Another route doesn't necessarily have to begin in downtown Long Beach if it gets me there in one piece.

Extort

I have never had a problem on Ocean and have taken it all the way to the Queen Mary. Traffic is a little heavy at times, and if you get scared there is a bike path on the beach...

AdamD

I'm not sure that you can ride into/through the harbor, but I've never tried. I've always gone around the harbor to get to my destination because the harbor has never been my destination. Taking the blue line to downtown LB might even get you close enough to walk, but maybe not... the harbor is a big place. I hate to discourage people from riding, but you might consider taking the blue line to downtown LB and then a cab ride to your final destination in the harbor. Maybe I'll go down there and ride around this weekend to see just how far into the harbor you can get by bike. If I do I'll be sure to report back, let us know what you find as well.

Condorita

Which berth are you headed to?

cwilliams

Appreciate the responses. I agree with you AdamD, it's not all that far. I've walked around LB quite a bit during the LBGP and everything goes pretty quick (and I won't have 30lbs of camera gear this time). I'm trying to avoid having anyone drive me down there as it's a 100 mile round trip from where I live. A cab from the blue line station is definitely the next option.

Extort: I know that beach path, but am uncertain if it extends into the shipping harbor. City streets don't frigthen me all too much.

Condorita: No clue which berth yet. I should be hearing from the shipping company within the week and I will report back.

jeff^d

I've ridden from the blue line station to Ocean Blvd to Queens Way, onto that first peninsula of the harbor. There was a sign on Queens Way that said no bicycles, but it is extremely short (1/4 to 1/2 mile) with little traffic, so I had no issues. There is a pedestrian walkway on the south side but I never found out how to get to it.

However, if you need to get to Terminal Island, where middle harbor is, I'm 95% sure it's not possible on a bike. You could always try finding a pickup truck who'd let you throw the bike in the back, just to get over to the island. It's worked for me before...

cwilliams

Jeff^d - Thanks! That's the information I'm looking for. With the short distance I would rather take a cab than throw my bike in a truck. At that point, why bring the bike at all?

If anyone finds out something different, please do post.

Edit: Yes, I'm trying to get to terminal island.

cwilliams

Off topic in my own thread:

Jeff^d: I was in downtown Claremont on Wednesday night. Hadn't been there in 6-8 months. WOW, what a nice change. Love the brand new shops and restaurants. I always liked it before, but now it's really somewhere I want to go again when I'm out that way. They've made it a great college town now.

Placid Casual

Sure you can ride through the harbor, LA and Long Beach. They're just streets like any other. I ride them all the time. Terminal Island is hard for cyclists to get on to and off of, but I doubt that your friend's car is going to Terminal Island.

If the car is being shipped from Hawaii, it's about 99.999% likely that it'll be on a Matson ship and it will go to Berth 60 in Long Beach. Here's how to get there from the Bikestation. Easy peasy, totally legal, and no less safe than any other set of roads in Southern California.

If for some reason it turns out that the car is going someplace else, post it up and I'll see if I can get you a route.

mtv8dmarine

Yup, it's like a smaller version of the Valencia Marketplace...all the shops that are accessible from the exterior. My girlfriend lives in Canyon Country and I live in Claremont...talk about commutes every other weekend splitting the driving (speaking of your efforts to avoid being driven to LB)! I haven't tried any of the restaurants yet. They seem a little too upscale for my preferences (always see people sipping on wine which is my clue I wouldn't appreciate it) which makes me wonder if my palette would appreciate the fine foods or not. In any case, the city went to extreme efforts to make it worth it to the town citizens to have a collection of stores there. I mean...we're talking about a city that disallows fast food (which I'm not fond of anyway), cell phone towers, and 210 freeway exits in city limits.

blue steal

Placid Casual. Thanks for the route map. great aerial photo. I ride that route from time to time. But before you turn at Pier C St, on Pico Ave. is Berth 55. This is a great place to have lunch. Seafood here is fresh, no tourists, and the seating is outdoors. I like the fish tacos, (3 for $5) and a nice ice cold 16oz. draft for 2.50. Just have to be a bit careful going over first bridge.

cwilliams

Awesome! You are correct, it is coming on a Matson ship according to the booking confirmation I received. Looks like I might be able to do this after all. Yippee! Of course, with that short of a distance, I actually might just take a cab, haha. I'll decide when I finally get confirmation on when the car actually arrives. Appreciate the GREAT info!

cwilliams

Well, the big trip is planned tomorrow. Would you all believe a cab ride is almost more expensive from the transit center to the pier vs the ENTIRE train trip? Ridiculous! Still debating the bike. I have until the morning to decide on that one. Thanks again for all your help!

Also, Placid Casual - you were exactly right on the location.

Placid Casual

Dude...the bike. You won't regret it.

cwilliams

Wellllll....this has been an interesting day. Bike on the train - ZERO problems. Bike to berth 56 - ZERO problems. Getting there 15 min after the place closed....PROBLEM! #%#$%@#$!!!! So for my enjoyment, I get to do it again this weekend pending they are open. Nice to know it's that easy. I was not a thrilled person when I found out they were closed. The train sure beats sitting in traffic coming back though.

AdamD

That sucks, but at least you know the drill now... as well as what time they close. I happened to be in downtown LB around 5 today. I was on my bike on the north side of Ocean getting ready to cross and saw a dude on what I think was a silver bike with a blinky on the back heading west approaching the port. Might that have been you? Good luck with the repeat trip this weekend, hopefully it goes as smoothly except the arriving after they're closed part.

cwilliams

AdamD: That was most likely me on my white Orbea Onix (white, silver, close enough ) Unfortunately I can't even do the repeat trip this weekend as they are not open. They sure make it fairly difficult for someone who works normal hours during the week to retrieve a damn car. Not everyone can take a day off!!! Heck, it takes two people if you have to go there by car. One just to drive you there...

Oh and downtown was way more scary than the harbor! It was actually a relief to go over that first bridge. I don't mind maneuvering traffic, but people in cars need to get a clue. I found myself really cranking hard to make sure I wouldn't become road kill because I had to take a good portion of the lane to make sure I didn't get doored. Kudos to all bike messengers around the world.

AdamD

Downtown can be a bit scary, especially right at 5pm. After all those people need to hurry to get out of downtown so they can sit on the freeway to go nowhere fast. Luckily traffic across Ocean is fairly easy to pace. When I ride down there I don't share, I just take the whole lane.

All the logistics of this make you realize just how car-centric our society is. It's not just the getting to and from that is difficult, so many other issues make life on a bike a challenge (but worth it). Good luck with the return trip.

cwilliams

I'll definitely be taking the full lane the next time around. I even did for the most part on the return trip on Ocean and I still had people trying to squeeze me out of it. Jerks! Traffic came to a standstill for half of it too. What's the hurry?

cwilliams

The train ends off of Long Beach Blvd. Get off the train, head towards the nearest north/south street and go south, get on Ocean and ride towards the harbor. Ocean is a little busy, but it lightens up as soon as you go over the first bridge. Be prepared to crank and take the whole lane nearest the parked cars. Screw getting squished!

BTW - I did end up getting the car, but my dad did me a favor and drove me down Monday morning just to make sure I wasn't stranded. Dad's are awesome like that.