["Z"]

Hey everyone... I'm new to this board. Turns out we're moving back to LA from Boston for the first time since high school... I can hardly believe it!

Can someone give me the straight dope... Where's the best network of (legal) singletrack near town? What's close enough for after work rides? How far will I have to drive on the weekends to find really challenging technical trail riding and freeriding?

We have super technical trails here in New England, with rocks, roots, dropoffs, etc. I learned to ride here 15 years ago and it's been my life ever since. My idea of a perfect ride is a 6 hour epic on very technical, rocky nastytrack. Is there anything like this near LA? To be honest, even though I'm excited to move, I am worried I won't find any of the kind of riding I like and I will be one very sad Z!

Also, we're coming into town in a couple of weeks to look for apartments. If you were me, where would you look? I'll be working downtown, husband doesn't know where he's working yet. We've been considering Santa Monica, Hollywood/Silver Lake, and Pasadena as options. We want somewhere interesting, not a boring bedroom community, a place where you can walk to shops (or am I dreaming?), less than a half hour commute to work, and to the north or west of town so I'm not too far from my parents in the West Valley.

Any input much appreciated.

And... I look forward to riding with you all when we land! We're looking forward to checking out some new adventures!

 

[Tracerboy]

Angeles National Forest has many legal trails that are technical (wall crawling, rock gardens, singletrack), and long. They can be ridden up or shuttled. When you come out here, I would ride up there. Mt. Lowe and Sturdevant are trails that are ridden by many, so I would check those out first.

There are many other trails anywhere from 10-45 minutes from downtown L.A., so you'll have a lot to choose from.

 

[Veloculture]

maybe you should be in the So Cal forum???

LA is a huge place and there is top notch riding all around. i preffer the San Gabriel Mountains, and Santa Monica Mountains. there are literally thousands of miles of killer trails in the LA area. faaaar more than most people think considering LA is such a large city.

 

[Bomber Harris]

You should check out Pasadena. I lived there for a year, fantastic. Downtown is great forwalking around shops & plenty of restaurants. Close to LA on the 110 or the metro. And the bonus some of the best biking both on & off road So Cal has to offer right on your door step. I still go up there to ride as much as I can. Hotter than hell in the Summer!
Check out the foothills along the 210. If you are looking to rent check out www.Westsiderentals.com, there a $60 fee, but you'll get a good selection of listings at all rates.
Happy riding

 

[FTM]

Agree with the Pasadena suggestion. I live in Altadena (just to the north of Pasadena at the base of the San Gabriel Mtns) and I ride every day from my house. Furthest trail head that I frequent is 1.5 miles on the road. Can't remember the last time that I have put my bike (Road or Mountain) on my car.

Better, less frequented trails, can be found 30 minutes (non traffic) drive away.

 

[endo verendo]

It's LA. There are trails everywhere.

 

[G-AIR]

Santa Monica

Santa Monica....no more.
Still a great town in the middle of it all. You also have the Pacific Ocean right out your door. The Santa Monica Mouontains offer a lot of great single track if you know where to go. THe Backbone trail crosses all through the SM Mountains. Also malibu to the north has some fun riding.

Also it is fun community. A lot of shops to walk to, farmers markets, bike friendly, plenty of rentals apartments, not hot in the summer.....did I mention the ocean.

Good luck!

 

[adamantane]

yeah, santa monica mountains are good...

 

[LBmtb]

Hey Z, lots of riding around LA. If you ever need someone to ride with check out the link in my sig. Personally I wouldn't want to live near downtown LA - too busy there for my liking. You really should check your areas of interest in person before committing. Good luck!

 

[Epic Mtn Biker]

Hey Z,

i'll have to agree with Pasadena suggestion. Great city all around, proximity to many, many trails & road riding is abundant. no one's mentioned that you can take the Metro Gold Line into Downtown from Pasadena and avoid the drive to work, that to me is an added plus. you also have Incycle Bike Shop on Colorado Blvd., just west of Hill, which is a great bike shop.

good luck

 

[dstepper]

Didn't we just have this conversation.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=152528

 

[Evel Knievel]

http://www.venturacountytrails.org/TrailMaps/MapsHome.html

Spend some time looking at these interactive maps .

 

["Z"]

Thanks so far...

Thanks, guys, for the feedback so far. Sounds like there are some pretty good arguments for both Santa Monica and Pasadena. We'll check them both outwhen we're out there.

Didn't we just have this conversation.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=152528

Thanks for the link. Actually, I think our questions are pretty different. But it's helpful to read that thread, too.

So... all this talk about lots of trails in LA but I still haven't seen any compelling evidence that there is any freeriding or really challenging technical riding in the area. A lot of people say there is, but everyone has their own definition of challenging. I haven't seen a single photo...

(The closest I've seen is a video of Kenter Coaster, but I heard that'd bulldozed is that true?)

C'mon... anyone? anyone?

 

[dirtmistress]

The truth..

East coast trails are nothing like our dry semi-rocky dusty trails. Hate to break it to you but it's true. We do have great trails..to us, but most people I know from the east that come here are dissapointed in our terrain. We have lots of fire roads in the Santa Monica's and some singletrack. It is good singletrack but the freeride stuff will be the San Juan in OC and Suicide in the valley. There are others of course but these are the ones that seem to get chatted up the most. I live really close to Santa Monica and to get to some tough tech trails in the San Gabriels takes an hour on a Sunday morning. I'm not complaining. I think thats good for L.A. The San Gabrials are the best we have and they are damn fun and challenging!! IMHO the Pasadena, Alta Dena area gets REALLY freaking hot in the summer and the smog tends to blow up to the base of the San Gabriels and then sits there. It is gorgeous though...usually. Near the ocean is good but the single track is limited. It's there, just not as abundant as San G.'s When you look for a place to live, try to get easy access to freeways so you can head out all over. Theres some good clubs and good guide books and you can always shoot me a PM or drop a msg on the board and someone will wanna tour you! At least here you can ride 300 days a year with no jacket!

 

[The Beekeeper]

We do have great trails..to us, but most people I know from the east that come here are dissapointed in our terrain.

I have ridden a lot in both Boston and LA, and am not disappointed in the trails here at all. They ARE very different. I miss grippy dirt, wet roots, mud, big boulders, dense forest, and the beauty of New England. I appreciate the rockier terrain, much steeper trails, crazy exposure (well, usually), longer rides (you should have no problem finding those 6 hour epics here) and year-round riding.

Where did you ride near Boston? I can get a better sense of your technical needs with more info.

As far as trails here, the whoops are not bulldozed, although it is a dirt jumping trail, not really a technical trail. There are plenty of technical singletracks in the Santa Monicas, but more in the San Gabriels. However, neither are so far from many areas of the city to make your choice purely Santa Monica or Pasadena.

 

[chuky]

Just try to live close to where you work...

However, neither are so far from many areas of the city to make your choice purely Santa Monica or Pasadena.

If you commute an hour each way, that is an extra 40 hours every month that you dedicate to your job.

If you can afford it, try to eliminate commuting time, in order to dedicate it to riding. ;-)

 

[dstepper]

There is a ton of hidden treasures in the San Gabriel’s many of them get little to no traffic. Mammoth Mountain is not that far away and is a good summer weekend escape. If we are lucky maybe Big Bear will open the ski area again this spring. Santa Barbara is fairly close and can keep you very entertained. Once you get settled and meet the locals you can get the scoop on the real deal, the stuff we don’t talk about on an open forum.

You may be disappointed but it will not be because of lack of places to ride. But there again I will drive for hours/days to get to a new trail.

 

[wrongway]

Pasadena all the way.

 

[minkhiller]

Just commute from N. Conway.