Bicycling in Los Angeles

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Bicycling

When you plan to bicycle in the L.A. area, consider the logistics of transportation, rentals, and your chosen terrain. If you plan to get to your bike route via bus, you can do so only if the bus has a rack on its front (if not, you're out of luck). Taking a bike on the subway requires a permit; to apply for one, call the MTA (213/922-7023 or 800/266-6883). The permit's free but is sent to you by mail, so do this well in advance. You can get maps of L.A.'s bike trails and information leaflets on bus bike racks from the MTA or the Department of Transportation (213/580-1177) or through the Web site www.bicyclela.org. A word to the wise: don't cruise deep into the national parks and forests by yourself.

For an L.A.-area overview, including maps and useful links, check out Los Angeles Bike Paths (www.labikepaths.com). For bike-route suggestions or a little company, you can get in touch with the San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club (818/347-6148. www.sfvbc.org). Mountain-biking enthusiasts should visit the South Bay Mountain Biking Club (www.sbmbc.com); find a date-route rated for your skill level on this Web site, contact the leader for that group, show up with your bike and gear, and you're good to go. Gay and lesbian folks can check in with Different Spokes Bicycle Club (www.differentspokes.com) for info on recreational rides and events (it has a newsletter, too).

Any L.A.-area yellow pages will yield a bunch of retail bicycle shops where you can rent wheels, pick the brain of a savvy salesperson or customer, or at least pick up the twice-yearly Bicycling Event Guide. MyBikeSite.com (www.mybikesite.com) posts extensive national information, including good coverage of southern California. Also worth a look is the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (www.labikecoalition.org); though primarily an advocacy group, it also sponsors events.

Cycling Revolution

Launched in San Francisco in the early 1990s, Critical Mass is a noncompetitive mass bike ride typically held on the last Friday of every month in cities around the world. In Los Angeles, cyclists, rollerbladers, and skateboarders, meet at sites from Pasadena to Santa Monica to assert their right to cleaner air, less freeway gridlock, and solidarity with other nonmotorized travelers. For a schedule, go to www.cicle.org/cm/criticalmass.html.

The Pacific Coast

The most famous bike path in the city runs along the Pacific Ocean. The 22-mi concrete route from Will Rogers State Beach down to Torrance Beach, known as the Strand, attracts cyclists of all levels. They share the path with joggers, skateboarders, in-line skaters, walkers, and other nonvehicular traffic (although for some stretches, bikes have their own parallel path). Except for a couple of short city-street detours around the Marina del Rey Harbor and the Redondo Beach Pier, the sunny beach scenery is uninterrupted. The ride can be done in a long leisurely afternoon, with plenty of time for stops along the way: rest assured that there's more than enough to see to make the round-trip worthwhile. You can rent a bike at one of many shops along the Strand's middle section between Santa Monica and Venice. Cyclists often refer to the 18.4-mi section south of the Santa Monica Pier as the South Bay Bicycle Trail.

South of the Strand, following the brief and pathless "RAT" (Right After Torrance) beach, is a 23-mi loop with good views of the winding hills and clear ocean views on the relatively untrammeled Palos Verdes Peninsula. The trip, which takes at least three hours, is best attempted on a temperate morning when fog isn't obscuring the ocean. The marked bike lanes come and go, so be careful.

Other Excursions

Nod to the brown pelicans in the wetlands as you cruise westward along the Ballona Creek path from National and Jefferson boulevards in Culver City; you can hook up with the Strand at the other end. Santa Monica's San Vicente Boulevard has a wide, 3-mi cycling lane that parallels the sidewalk. Balboa Park, in the San Fernando Valley, is another haven for two-wheelers, although beware after a heavy rain; it'll be flooded. The flat, 3-mi paved path around Lake Hollywood is a great place to take in views of the Hollywood sign. Griffith Park, Malibu Creek State Park, and Topanga State Park are all part of the Santa Monica Mountains, which have good mountain-biking paths. Griffith Park also has a flat family-friendly 4.7-mi path that runs along Crystal Springs Drive and Zoo Drive, then turns back along the Los Angeles River and ends on Fletcher Drive near the main entrance.

For some solitude and rural terrain, visit Angeles National Forest, in the northern reaches of L.A. County. The mostly flat and shaded Gabrielino Trail (626/574-5200 forest service) along the upper Arroyo Seco is a favorite of mountain bikers, runners, birders, and horseback riders. To get there, exit the 210 Freeway at Arroyo Boulevard-Windsor Avenue in Altadena. Drive three-quarters of a mile north and look for the small parking lot just before you reach Ventura Avenue.

Bike Rentals

Bike rentals usually cost $6-$10 an hour or $15-$40 a day. You'll likely also need to hand over a photo ID and credit card before cycling off. Double-check the helmet situation with your chosen rental outfitter; some places rent helmets, some only sell, and a couple charge a nominal fee if you're renting a bike for several days.

Perry's has three locations along the Strand: Perry's Bike & Skate (2600 Ocean Front Walk, Venice. 310/452-1507), Perry's Beach Rentals (2400 Ocean Front Walk, Venice. 310/452-7609), and Perry's Cafe & Sports Rentals (1200 The Promenade, Santa Monica. 310/485-3975). Spokes 'N Stuff (Griffith Park, 4400 Crystal Springs Dr., Los Feliz. 323/653-4099. Strand, 1700 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica. 310/395-4748. Strand, 4175 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey. 310/306-3332) has a rental shop behind the ranger station in Griffith Park and two rental places on the Strand. Venice Pier Bike Shop (24 Washington Blvd., just east of Strand, Venice. 310/301-4011) rents bikes and other beach-sport stuff.