indyfabz

Yep. Around here they are pretty brazen. Not all that afraid of human presence.

big john

Are you going to be limited to riding from your hotel or will you be using a car to get to ride starts? You can ride from West LA to Latigo Canyon, for example, but the traffic on that part of PCH is awful, imho. It would be fun to start at the bottom of Latigo or someplace in that area and go up one of the canyons and descend a different one.
Gibraltar is much further, near Santa Barbara. A great ride for climbers but you need a car.
Consider the weather, too. It's coolling down this weekend but if it goes back up the climbs from the coast will be brutal, unless you start very early. It can be nice at the coast but the temperature will climb rapidly just a few miles inland. This may be ok depending on how acclimated you are and if you know where to get water.

If it's too hot you can stay at the shore and ride to Point Mugu or go the other way to Palos Verdes. That way (south) is where all the people are but still some good riding.

WhyFi

Maybe you can see if Phil Gaimon is still hiring himself out as a local guide. I hear that he likes to climb, so that's right in your wheelhouse.

genejockey 

Lord, no. Pennsylvania, though the part of it that might as well be South Carolina.

Velo Vol 

I meant the peaches.

genejockey 

So did I.this is orchard country. Why would we IMPORT peaches? Coals to Newcastle.

datlas 

First order of business is getting the bike, which is in Sherman Oaks. I will get an Uber or other mode to get there and ride the bike to where we are staying in West LA. Google says best way is via Sepulveda BLVD. Anything with a name like BLVD makes me wonder, is that bike-friendly?

Velo Vol 

I've never seen a peach from PA.

Velo Vol 

LOL

WhyFi

Awesome. So is this the actual dude or is this just a bit? Brilliant either way, but an extra heaping of kudos if he's the dude.

edit: okay - just a comedic bit. Still awesome.

datlas 

We have a peach tree. It produces juicy and super-sweet fruit, somewhere around 25 pounds or so. However it's only good fruit for about 1 week, and I am askeered that it will happen the week we are away in LA.

big john

Yes, Sepulveda from the Sherman Oaks area south is fine. You climb over the pass and there is a tunnel at the top but it's not a problem tunnel. When you descend the other side eventually you come to Constitution Ave, @ the Veteran's Cemetery. There, you turn right which gets you away from traffic. The road takes you through the VA hospital and you end up on San Vicente, which is a bike friendly route to the beach. I don't know where you are staying but San Vicente is a good way to get West.
WLA VA Hospital - Google Maps

You definitely want to avoid Sunset Blvd and Wilshire Blvd. If you take San Vicente to Ocean (the end of San Vicente) you can use Ocean to go south. It's busy but not fast and there is a bike lane.

Velo Vol 

More goodies for the groundhog.

datlas 

Got it. Good info. Thanks!

We are staying in an Air BnB house that is near the intersection of Tennessee and Kelton. I am told it's a decent neighborhood. The house looks gorgeous, at least online.

Mojo31

"Mmmmmmmummify yo ass."

That's some funny stuff.

big john

Oh, so you're east of the freeway. I was thinking you were west. Still, I would avoid Sepulveda past the VA/Wilshire Blvd area. I never ride that area but let me see if I can come up with a bike friendly way to get through those last few miles.

datlas 

That thing is NEVER going to leave. I believe it has a home under our outdoor shed.

datlas 

Google Maps has me looping around the VA and then taking Santa Monica BLVD (just for a few blocks, then Veteran Ave). I am open to suggestions.

genejockey 

You probably did without knowing it. It's not like they wave flags.

Mojo31

Are you going to visit the Rodeo Drive shops? Not very practical by any means, but fun to gauke and see celebs if you're into that.

We strolled through that area some time ago while on a vacation, and went into a well-known watch store. I asked to look at one that was in a stand alone case, and while they had it out the security guard stood about a foot behind me. As I was looking at it, I casually asked the price and was told $600. I told the sales person that it was very nice and that I appreciated her letting me have a look. As we left, my daughter (about 13 at the time) asked why I didn't buy it since it was so cool and only $300. The look on her face when I told her that it was $600,000 was priceless.

In another store not far from there, we were looking at watches again and my son started talking to the sales guy about tennis since he was playing a lot at the time. The guy asked him if he would like to see the watch Nadal was wearing then, and pulled one out of the case. He let my son (age 10) try it on, and told him it was only $250,000. I was astounded that he let my son even touch it.

Things are very different out there than what I'm used to.

genejockey 

According to my orchard-owning friends here, peaches now run from late June to September, whereas they used to be just 2 weeks in August. More varieties.

big john

I was thinking Montana (from Sepulveda before the VA) to Veteran but I have sent an e-mail to a friend who lives near there to ask about it. Might work.

Some of those roads in West LA are big and busy but have room for bikes and are not intimidating. Some of them suck.

datlas 

We might, but neither mrs datlas nor I are big into celebrities OR shopping, so maybe not. Main goal is to get daughter #2 into her dorm and set up. I do plan to get in some cycling and mrs datlas is a culture vulture so we will have to see some museums etc., but we are there for 8 days so I am guessing we will also do some other "touristy" things, covid19 permitting.

seedsbelize 

Jackie!

MoAlpha

PA peaches are very good.