Originally Posted by
Joearch
OP great post. I live in WLA and do the Ballona Channel path daily. It can be a bit jittery, especially between Lincoln and Fiji Way turn off. I recently upgraded to a Bianchi Infinito CV and the way the CV smooths out the road is satisfying. I will be on the lookout for your Wilier.
Ha, cool, a local guy! Not too many LA folks on here for some reason....
Yes, that path is rough in spots. First time on it I pinched my tube and spent an hour fixing it....Long story short but my spare tube leaked so I had to do it twice AND patch a leak....And down on that path it can be a bit sketchy if sitting still. But it's a nice route so from my house I have Ballona to MDR at about 12 miles total and Santa Monica Blvd to Arizona (with a bike lane almost the entire way) which is about 8 miles. I usually go one route to the beach and the other back home. Just wishing CA had a path along the beach for the entire state; I keep running out of beach paths as I get in better shape.
I'll keep an eye out for a nice Bianchi. I've been waiting a bit for warmer weather and I'm nursing a slight cold (no, not covid!)
And for the last 2 Sundays on my way back, there has been a pretty cool jazz band set up on Ballona at that little stage about 2 miles inland from MDR. They have a complete set up with vibraphone, drums, bass violin and sax. Not sure how they get that all set up but I guess it's not too far from the street. Obviously, the sax guy has the easy part!
Anyway, thought it was pretty cool and unexpected....