orcanova

I hear the riding there is some of the best in the region. I overnighted there recently for work, and talked to a married couple at the restaurant bar where I had my dinner. I told them I was looking forward to biking in the area soon, as it was so picturesque.

They started to spout off that its horrible riding, no shoulders, everyone speeds and its not enforced, and to tell all my cycling friends not to come. Then she stated vehemently how she HATES. HATES cyclists. They went on about bad manners of groups, and he went on to brag how one refuses to get over, so he clipped him with his mirror and kept going. I bet he was just being bravado and the incident never really happened (bartender said he had several drinks), but my question is for people who know the area, were these people not representative of the townspeople there, or is it a hostile and/or dangerous place to ride, outside of the many organizes cycling events they have there?

FunkyStickman

I imagine St. Fracisville is no different than anywhere else in southern LA. The people are, for the most part, pretty cool. You'll always get a few wackos like that who make it a point to harrass cyclists, but they're not the majority. It's a very rare occurrance. St. Fracisville should be used to cycling groups, as it is very pretty and groups come from all over the southern end of the state to ride there. Most people will be courteous, some will be less courteous, but I don't think anybody will bother you intentionally.

orcanova

Is there a problem with the lack of shoulders? They were telling me none of the roads have shoulders and the roads have heavy traffic? Asked about out towards Angola and they said there are lots of homes/subdivisions out there so its busy there too. Not sure what to make of it all. I know there are lots of organized cycling events there, just wondering if its good riding outside of the events on a typical day.

FunkyStickman

Probably better riding on the weekends, but you'd have to ask the local guys about specific roads and such.

nycphotography

If he's bit**ing about groups then it MUST be a pretty good place to ride because groups are GOING THERE to ride.

orcanova

Except that sometimes weekends are when everyone is running errands and whatnot, so if its near a commercial strip then it could be worse. That's how it was in the Northeast where I have lived for a long time.

True. Definitely the scenery is good, the hills are nice, but there are limited cycling routes in SOLA, mainly because of the geography, due to the fact that the region is dissected by waterways. So it could be one of the better routes the region offers, but with innate flaws.