aprevo15

i am planning on riding up pch from santa monica/pacific palisades to up north to around zuma. then on my way back maybe take a detour up topanga canyon road and back down. was wondering how safe is pch on this route. i know the traffic is pretty packed here but are the roads wide enough for cyclers?

KevinSCo

I do that ride pretty often. If you start at Temescal, PCH is plenty wide except for a few short stretches. If it's a summer weekend, I highly recommend an early start. Most dangerous stretch IMO (when crowded) is from Charthouse restautarant back to Temescal - lots of cars and surfers parked on PCH -- doors, double parked cars and surfboards can be an issue. Keep your eyes open! Southbound, the shoulder disappears about a mile or so before Temescal but at that point you can cut through the guardrail to the parking lot for Will Rogers beach or the bike path. I do Topanga/Old Topanga fairly often; the first big grade up Topanga from PCH is tight -- again, I recommend an early start. Las Flores and Latigo are good less-traveled alternatives to Topanga. Though Fredly, I alway wear some sort of a day-glo jersey or vest, and keep my rear blinky on even, in daylight. All that said, I love riding up the coast and the canyons.

cervelo4me

i just started doing this ride too and i must admit on the tight spots i click my shoes out.im a rookie and it makes me feel a lot more in control if i have to avoid getting plowed.the rest of the ride is very safe and old topanga is always safe.i think the route is fantastic.

vertical bob

I never ride that portion of PCH. It's just too dangerous in my opinion. Especially in the summer. I take Mulholland as a north south alternative.

Ben FR

I live in Santa Monica and ride PCH all the time. If you live in SM, it's a necessary evil if you want to ride a lot. It's definitely less safe than other parts of PCH but I don't find it terrible. Try to avoid heavy traffic times.

aprevo15

well since i will be driving out there first, i should drive up a bit more north.

KiddSisko

Really depends on the time of week/day. There is a bike path along the beach which runs northward to .5 mile south of Sunset, from there it's a mixed bag of narrow and wide road up through Malibu. Very early on a weekend is best. Keep in mind where the sun is in relation to a driver's view. The worst time is heading west (north) in late afternoon when the sun is in a driver's eyes. Same with heading south/east in early morning. One of the worst spots is southbound as you're heading into Santa Monica near W. Channel Road where there is no shoulder at all with fast moving traffic. Cyclist was killed at that location last year. Pretty much the reason I ride the beach path along that stretch.

lesiz

I travel PCH a lot, nearly ran into a car once. I was doing 30 on a descent, and this Prius pulls over in front of me and stops.

Good points were made here:
-Be ever-alert on PCH
-I always have a bright white blinky on the front when travelling the west side of the road - for the sake of drivers looing in the mirror to pull out.
-Fluorescent jersey is a good idea.
-If you like a hilly route, take Mulholland. But, the ride up Topanga is a little eeeky, as there are stretches with little or no shoulders.
-It seems to me that on the average about one cyclist gets sent to the happy riding ground each year from PCH. There's always a lot of cyclists on PCH, so the average may not be so bad.
But not so good either.

herbm

I like pch north of malibu cyn....south is pretty scary at times!

DScott

If this is the case, start at Malibu Cyn., head north and climb Latigo or Mulholland from the Leo Carillo end. Both are sturdy but doable climbs for anyone in decent shape. It's a very enjoyable route. Just be aware of traffic and don't ride like an idiot- generally drivers have been be pretty good up there, IME.

KiddSisko

The 72 mile LA Grand Fondo event is happening tomorrow (sunday), beginning in Beverly Hills, going west along PCH, up Topanga, Piuma, then back through Topanga, PCH and finishing in BH. Cyclists in number along that PCH stretch should be safer than riding solo.