Moving to Los Angeles - Anyone ridden much there?

Move to LA in a few months - Santa Monica - and wondered if anyone had any experience riding there? Be good to get a little info before heading over.

Was there last week.. for cycling it is the promised land.Really strong friendly bike culture

With so many police people just leave high end roadbikes parked up with limited efforts to lock them.

The roads are wide with perfect tarmac, theres also and awesome bike path that goes down most of the Pacific coast

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Braude_Bike_Trail[/ame]

Santa Monica is not L.A... its about an hours bus ride away.

you steal bikes in california ,its 3 strikes and you out , some might say a bit draconian but we could do with less leniency here !

The weather is perfect for bike riding. California really is perfect for cycling. I prefer San Diago myself, but Santa Monica is pretty damn perfect. You've got a great choice of riding from there. I am seriously jealous.

Loving the look of that Bike Trail tommy - cheers for the headsup.

I'm ok with Santa Monica not being LA if im totally honest, if the job had been downtown I don't think I'd have taken it.

Saw a lot of designated free parking spaces and structures, like an NCP for bikes, around Santa Monica and Venice. Seems extremely bike friendly.

Might have to invest in a road bike to do more distance / climbing - a lot of the trails up and down PCH look incredible.

Anyone been to any shops in the area?

This guy seems to know what he is doing...
https://www.lfgss.com/post3577823-5390.html

Jung has just moved to la

http://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/ISD/GIS/Maps_PDF/bikemap.pdf

http://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/ISD/GIS/Maps_PDF/bikemap.pdf

Infinitely useful - thanks a lot!

^TFL should do a London version and give it away with every new bike sold.

Just had a month around the West Coast and had a bit of fun with a hired tandem from Santa Monica around Venice. Lots of tourists on the beach, but the roads were fine. I think there's also a retro-ride around Pasadena every month, but that's the other end of LA from you. Route 66 ends on Santa Monica pier. Yes, on it.

Anyone visiting Santa Monica or Venice basically just needs to head a short distance north up the Pacific Coast Highway (aka Highway 1) and pick a canyon to climb. There are all sorts of popular loops.

I live in Silver Lake (a few miles north of Downtown), so do most of my riding around Griffith Park, Pasadena / Alta Dena and the Angeles Crest Highway (Hwy 2) but on occasion I head for the beach and ride Topanga Canyon to do the Fernwood/Stunt loop.

More recently I headed up towards Malibu to climb Latigo Canyon Road and ride down Mulholland Highway to the Rock Store (the climb back out is very nice).

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Ettienne I'm headed your way in January. How are you getting on? I'll be in marina del ray so just south of Santa Monica. I have some friends who ride weekly in the hills just north if you want to hook up for a ride.

Thanks for that, Mr B, I was actually staying in Silverlake for most of the time. Hope to be back soon.

Does anyone know of anywhere to rent a decent road bike in LA?

I'm going to be staying in West Hollywood for two weeks during late April and it would be a shame not to ride.

Take yours with you? Or is that really not an option?

Not really... Not really going to be riding it enough to justify it. We'll I don't think I am at this point anyway.

Might be worth checking with your airline and hotel, bringing your own may well be cheaper than renting.

JB. I rented a bike from Newbury Park Bike Shop. Not in LA though, but not far. Got full crabon and Di2 for a decent price.

Thanks for the info Croft, unfortunately it's still 42 miles away from where I'll be staying and I won't have access to a car... I might take a bike with me because it's free to take sports equipment on Virgin Atlantic. It's just a bit cumbersome to take a bike with me.

Does anyone know of anywhere to rent a decent road bike in LA?

I'm going to be staying in West Hollywood for two weeks during late April and it would be a shame not to ride.

I. Martin Imports could probably help organize a good road bike.

Good luck. Expect plenty of punctures.

Good luck. Expect plenty of punctures.

Why punctures? Los Angeles roads are OK. The biggest problem is that the roads are clogged with motorcars. That said West Hollywood is nice to bicycle about.. Head north to Laural Canyon and into the hills.. or brave Santa Monica Blvd (once in Beverly Hills you can take the "little" Santa Monica) to head over to West Los Angeles and to Santa Monica or north through Brentwood..

Why punctures? Los Angeles roads are OK. The biggest problem is that the roads are clogged with motorcars. That said West Hollywood is nice to bicycle about.. Head north to Laural Canyon and into the hills.. or brave Santa Monica Blvd (once in Beverly Hills you can take the "little" Santa Monica) to head over to West Los Angeles and to Santa Monica or north through Brentwood..

Didn't flat once in 2013 UK riding. Had 3 in a week in Cali. Maybe I just got unlucky (or lucky in my British riding, depending on your opinion).

Didn't flat once in 2013 UK riding. Had 3 in a week in Cali. Maybe I just got unlucky (or lucky in my British riding, depending on your opinion).

California is a large state with around 70% more area than the United Kingdom including Ulster. Elevation too runs the gambit from under sea level (Death Valley) to nearly 4 1/2 km for Mount Whiteney (the highest summit in Continental US). Extremes of heat and cold, desert and forest, sandy beaches, swamps, cities,.. its all there.. Including a large number of languages in highly concentrated ethnic pockets.. West Hollywood is the most densely populated in California and the most urban area outside of downtown Los Angeles. Once home to a large number of exiles from Nazi Germany--- Bert Brecht, for example, lived on King's Road (just down the road from the Gelson's/Mayfair market)-- the typical resident of West Hollywood today is either Jewish (these days large numbers from ex-USSR), gay or lesbian (or combination thereof)--- alongside the East European Jewish dominance (before Boy's town and before the wave of ex-Soviet immigration) the area used to also have a significant catholic minority including even a convent school ("St Ambros" which closed down a few years ago)... While it was home to German exiles it really only became a Jewish area in the late 1950s when the "Borscht Belt" moved from Silver Lake/Echo Park to Fairfax (these days its more East of Highland or Pico/Robertson).. I can continue on.. but its out of the scope of the questions here---- I think I know more about West Hollywood history than 99% of its current residents...