ddcheng

So I'm planning on riding from the San Gabriel Valley (San Marino/South Pas) to Ventura. I've ridden the northern part from Malibu to Ventura, and the route is really nice with very few issues. I have not done the ride through downtown, though. For those that might commute or are more familiar with the route, are there suggested routes? Google Maps and Apple Maps seem to route down through Spring St. to USC. Is that the best way? Long ago, someone said that it might be better to go along Venice? I've had some issues with the routes that Google and Apple suggest (not major, just I might take a different route if I'm familiar with the area), so I'm curious if I should follow those routes.

Then when I get to Santa Monica, is that part of the bike path similar to the northern portion? I'm assuming I just follow the coastline from Santa Monica to Malibu and eventually get on the 1, right?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

GaryinLA

This might be blasphemy but an alternative would be to take the LA Metro (train- gold line) from pasadena to dtla, then take the LA Metro train (blue line- Exposition) to Santa Monica and start your biking up the coast from there, on the coastal bike path north.

This would get you out of city traffic. The trains would be efficient and inexpensive. Bikes are permitted on the trains.

Another approach could be to take the train (gold line) Pasadena to dtla. Then take the recommended Google bike route all the way across town from dtla to SM.
This would put you on streets like Exposition Blvd and Venice Blvd that run east-west and have bike lanes.

GaryinLA

I've biked SM to Malibu on the coastal bike path but no further north.
At some point, the bike path ends and you end up biking on PCH aka the 1. This puts you on a road with cars going North to Ventura.

GaryinLA

Another approach would be to bike from Pasadena west though the San Gabriel valley and SanFernando Valley through the mountainous areas of Malibu to end up in PCH to go northbound. With this approach you would never go south to dtla.
This would require a lot of route planning and would be much more taxing then the above options beause you would have about roughlly 40 miles or more from Pasadena to Malibu on some routes that would be basically mountainous.

Elvo

Valley -> Sunset->Fountain->La Cienega -> Santa Monica->Federal->San Vicente->Ocean->California Incline->PCH

Edit: Be very careful on PCH from Santa Monica to Malibu. Traffic is back to 95%

Eric F 

Putting San Marino and Ventura at the start and end points into Strava's route creator, I get a route through Glendale - Van Nuys - Santa Susana Pass - Simi Valley - Camarillo - Ventura. 88 miles, 2200' climbing. You won't get the nice ocean views, but you also don't get the PCH traffic challenges.

ddcheng

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll look into those. Inland might be an option, but I was hoping to ride more along PCH because we have the beach... It's just getting there! I was reading that the Expo bike route might be good, and that appears to be what Google and Apple are recommending for getting out there. I may just take my changes on getting through DTLA; maybe I can time it so that it's not too crazy.

At this time, I'm not sure if I want to ride Metro, but that is certainly an option. I haven't had a problem on Metro except during rush hours.

Eric F 

I tend to use Strava a lot more because it leans toward bike-favorable routes (heat maps based on use by cyclists).

Chinghis

If you're coming from So Pas and want to go through Downtown, you could take the Arroyo Seco bike path to the end (Montecito Heights Rec Center). Take Figueroa down to Pasadena Avenue, and once you go over the river you'll hit Broadway. That will take you straight through Downtown, paralleling Spring St. From there I'd hit Venice and head straight for the beach.

Do you have a gravel bike? I've always wanted to try dirt Mulholland as far as it goes.

diphthong

dirty mully goes 4 miles or so but there are various splinter trails off of it. i find it a little easier heading west to east but it’s comparable. you can do it on a road bike but you’ll want to go slow to avoid pinch flats and sliding when descending either end of the dirt section.

Chinghis

Interesting, thanks. I thought it went farther than that. Guess I should just go explore. For the OP, I was thinking he could drop down Topanga Canyon and hit PCH that way.

diphthong

it would still be another decent climb up to the topanga canyon rd summit heading southbound towards the ocean and then dealing with fast and (depending on the day/time but likely) plentiful traffic on the descent to pch.

krakhaus 

This. Downtown just seems like a waste of time.

ddcheng

Well, after having gone through DTLA, I think I have to agree. I ended up riding through downtown on Spring, and the road conditions were pretty bad. So much construction, potholes everywhere, etc. I would hate to have to commute through there regularly! And the dedicated bike lanes...let's just say that my definition of dedicated is different than others.

If I have to go this way in the future, I'll definitely look for ways to avoid downtown.

krakhaus 

I just rode from Cabazon to Beverly Hills yesterday. I wanted to ride from my house in Palm Springs, but there's no way to do it without using the 10 freeway for a few miles. From Cabazon to my hotel was 111 miles. I rode in through San Marino and S. Pasadina. Nice neighborhoods and roads through there. It was pretty easy going through Eagle Rock and Glendale to Hollywood and take Santa Monica to Beverly Hills. Hollywood traffic is awful as expected, but it definitely beats going through downtown. Also downtown is just way out of the way. It would add probably close to 10 miles.