Tycho Brahe 

I ride tons of miles, but they are solo. It is not that I am against cycling with others, but I simply do not know other cyclists. My local shop does not organize rides.

I live near Griffith Park and it seems like no one else on this forum does. If anyone rides in central Los Angeles, I would like to join them. I am not a fast A ride cyclist, but I do hard rides. My average for 2017 was 100 ft per mile. Not going to get up early in the morning just to do laps around the Rose Bowl. Suck on flats but great on climbs (despite having a sprinter physique and a non-weight weenie bike).

I ride Griffith Park during the week when I have less time and the park is not crowded. On the weekends I either do hills repeats around Mulholland or up Angeles Crest highway. Also would like to ride with others on my longer rides simply because of safety. No cell reception in the San Gabriel mountains and no one to really call.

diphthong

if my sched ever changed, i'd bite and ride up there w-ends. fortunately/unfortunately i work
w-ends. forced to do my longer rides weekdays. good for solitude. bad for group/social riding.

Garfield Cat

Solo rides, I think, are what most cyclist do on weekdays. Then weekends, if work schedule and family obligations permit, are a bit more flexible.

Even with group rides, it really means compromise. Its about the time of start, the routes, the level of intensity of each group or sub groups, and the group's drop/no-drop policies.

Yeah, there's safety in numbers especially when riding on portions of a river trail, even in daytime rides.

tinrobot

I ride Griffith and/or the river trail at least a few days during the week. Typically try to get in at least a Trash Truck or a Mt Hollywood climb. I might be up for something, though I get the feeling you're much better at climbing than me.

Golden Saddle does a Friday morning ride that leaves from Intelligentsia on Sunset. It's never quite the same ride twice and they mix up dirt, gravel, and road depending on the week. Might also be a good place to meet other riders.

nesdog

We do a shop ride from Serious Cycling (Agoura--Northridge shop has one also) every Saturday morning. Multiple groups and distances. We get riders from lots of places.

hoovbikes

Hey man, I'm kind of in a similar position. I live just south of you down in Ktown and am still pretty new to the area. I've ridden around town and around Griffith, but not much anywhere else. Definitely would love to get out to some more remote places to ride like San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains with some other riders. I'm not huge on the morning rides either but I would like to check out the Golden Saddle ride at some point, given that I currently ride a bike that was originally purchased from their store by a friend of the owner's. Anyway, anyone feel free to message me if you're ever looking to get a nice group ride going! Cheers

f4rrest

I'm pretty similar, mostly solo commute to Pasadena weekdays and ride Mt Hollywood weekends, but I need to get back up ACH / Big T / Mt Wilson again.

I used to do large group rides like Rosebowl and Montrose, but it's so sketchy.

Tycho Brahe 

One day we will finally meet up in order to do that proposed ride. Here is the reverse of what I was planning: https://www.strava.com/segments/8577647

When I first moved to the area, I went to the local bike shops to buy some token things (tubes, co2) in order to check them out. Did not get a good vibe from GS at all. There is no info on their rides, and I have definitely not going gravel.

Sorry, but that is way too far. I did say Griffith Park. Really should have said south of Griffith Park.

It's been too windy to do anything else lately (I'll climb for hours, but am a wimp when it comes to wind). Still haven't found a group, but let me know if you ever wanted to meet up.

As much as I love cycling and the sport, many cyclists are just a**holes. I rather continuing cycling by myself. I think 3-5 riders is the perfect amount.

I like my local mechanic at the Spoke Cafe, but they do not organize rides. I consider asking the many riders there on the weekends, but I think they are the type that stick to the river trail and not much else.

https://www.spokebicyclecafe.com/

hoovbikes

The Spoke Cafe looks like such a cool place! I'll have to check them out sometime. Surprised to hear they don't do group rides, they seem like the type that would, being so community friendly and everything. But like you said, maybe it's more their demographic to just do lower intensity rides.

I myself, however, am totally down to do that Strava route you posted to @ooga-booga. I usually have at least one free weekday where I could ride. If you guys wanna set a date a slam that one out that looks super fun. This week I am planning to do the weekly Wednesday ride with the LA Wheelmen and check out the Golden Saddle friday ride as well. We'll see how they go, but either way, if you guys can find some time that fits your schedules, definitely count me in for that Encanto->La Canada ride.

diphthong

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tycho Brahe

One day we will finally meet up in order to do that proposed ride. Here is the reverse of what I was planning: https://www.strava.com/segments/8577647

been there done that. granted, it wasn't exactly last week...

https://www.strava.com/activities/409734524

TakingMyTime

Tycho,

I'd love to go on that ride with you except for a few things, I can't ride that far, the hills and elevation would kill me, it would take me 2 days to complete it. You guys are way out of my league.

But you never know, maybe one day.

TMT

Tycho Brahe 

The issue with Spoke Cafe is that they are a small shop. They do not sell bikes, only accessories and rentals. There is only one mechanic during the week and two on weekends and they are very busy. I offered to help organize the ride, but the mechanic is just too busy.

I might not need two days to do that route, but I will not be super fast either. With the days still somewhat short and the wind is high, I will wait until at least March for such a ride. Don't mind doing parts of it, but 100 miles with somewhat short days is pushing it for me.

hoovbikes

True, 100 miles is a good distance, esp if there's a lot of elevation gain. Now that I'm thinking about it, it would probably be kind of cool to break it up into two days. Camping out one night in the mountains sounds fun, and I guess that would technically make it a proper, if short, bikepacking trip, which is definitely one way I think I would enjoy familiarizing myself with the region. Just thinking out loud! It's an option..

Tycho Brahe 

Wish I had a touring bike. I do want to get a touring bike that doubles as a commuter, but I would be hesitant to lock up any bike over $100 in LA.

100 miles is doable, the days just need to be longer. Once the sun starts to set, the temperature starts to fall rapidly. Plus the winter Santa Ana winds, which should be dying down. I did half that ride this past weekend. Might do the other half in a couple of weeks.