Stan’s Obligatory Blog

Today’s bike ride was down to Whittier and the up and over Turnbull Canyon. We haven’t done this route on a Sunday since last June, when we went to see the Octomom Art Project. It was chilly and overcast, and not promising to warm up. So we were all pretty bundled up.

Before we left, I noticed that Silvio’s fork had “Damocles” on it. That struck me as odd. After all, if I were riding fast down a mountain, I’m not sure I’d want my bike to have the Fork of Damocles on it. Somehow, it’s just not the mental image I’d want my bike frame to evoke.

We rode down to the Rio Hondo bike path and took that down to it end to get to the San Gabriel River bike path. That brought us down to Pico Rivera and Beverly Blvd. We rode across Whittier and started up Turnbull Canyon. As I expected, Scott pretty much left us in the dust going up the hill. But that’s all right.

At the top, we regrouped before heading down the other side. Then we made a big look through La Puente to get back. Our snack stop was at Merengue in Monrovia. Normally, we sit out on the patio, but it was too cold for that. While we were eating, Keira mentioned that she didn’t want to go back outside because of the cold. I got a small newspaper and gave it to her to make a Hoover Blanket. And she said it worked.

From Merengue, we took the direct route home. When we got back to the park, I had 46 miles and nowhere in particular I had to be. So I noodled around the neighborhood a bit just to get to 50. Because it just looks nice on the bike computer display.

50 miles.
cycling

Since it’s Thanksgiving weekend, it seemed appropriate that today’s bike ride should be the route that ends up at El Pavo bakery.

It was a perfect day for riding, and the route meandered around from Pasadena down almost to downtown L.A., and then back out on Huntington Drive all the way to Monrovia. For some reason that was not apparent, we were going especially fast today. We turned south into El Monte, and then west to get to El Pavo in San Gabriel. We stopped and had snacks there. I thought it was a bit amusing that the sign showed a peacock, which the dictionary tells me is pavo real, but the girl at the counter said that ‘pavo’ can mean any large bird.

Before we left, we had a look across the street. There was an impromptu memorial there for the pilot of a small plane that crashed there a couple weeks ago.

The ride home was pretty straightforward. It had warmed up nicely, and it was very pleasant.

43 miles.
cycling

The route for today was a new one I’d cobbled together to go to The Trails in Griffith Park, and then over Mt Hollywood. It was a nice day for riding. A bit chilly in the morning, but it warmed up very nicely.

We started out from Victory Park and rode across the Colorado bridge and down into Eagle Rock. We took a short detour to look at Nolden St and contemplate trying Fargo St next spring. Then we rode down Eagle Rock Blvd to Atwater Village, across the Los Angeles River, and through Silver Lake to Griffith Park.

The ride up to the observatory is pretty steep, and our group spread out a lot. At the top, we regrouped and got a souvenir picture with the Hollywood sign behind us. Then we rode down Western Canyon Rd to The Trails. We found a bench in the sun and had some snacks and drinks. Then it was back up the hill and over Mt Hollywood Dr to the far side of the park.

We rode around Travel Town to get to the L.A. River bike path, which took us back down to Fletcher. From there, we took Riverside all the way to where it crosses the river and becomes Figueroa St. Then we rode home by way of South Pasadena and San Marino.

On the way home, I found a nice white couch abandoned on the side of the road.

It was a very nice ride.

45 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike ride was up to Sunland to see a house that was mentioned in a talk I heard at Caltech about debris flows in the San Gabriel Mountains. Debris flows tend to follow major fires, and the Station Fire this summer certainly qualified. The scientist giving the talk said that this particular house had been destroyed in 1978, and then it was rebuilt in the same spot. They expect that the chance of it being destroyed this winter is close to 100%. So I thought this might make for an interesting outing for the bike club.

We rode out across Eagle Rock, Glendale, and Burbank, and then turned north into Shadow Hills. Along the way, we saw horses, and also a sculpture garden. Then we came out on Sunland Blvd and headed north. To see the house, we had to take a small detour into the mouth of Big Tujunga Canyon. The house sits in a small canyon just west of the main wash. There are two canyons that merge just above it, and it’s in a narrow portion of the lower canyon. So it’s easy to see how debris flows could come down and be concentrated right where the house sits. I suspect that the owners know this. In the picture of the house, it looks like they’ve installed some steel girders sticking up out of the driveway. They may be planning on putting up a deflection wall to try to guide the muck around the house. It will be interesting to see if that works.

Coming back, we stopped at Goldstein’s Bagels and then headed home. It was a nice ride.

44 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike ride was a tour around the San Gabriel Valley to see examples of topiary. I’ve been collecting photos of these sorts of things for a while, and I decided to put then all together into one ride.

The first stop was the topiary rabbit at the Bunny Museum. Then we rode to the Pasadena Elks Lodge to see the topiary elk’s heads by the front door. Next was the topiary Pegasus at the Mobil station on Lake Avenue. This one is not well-kept, so it’s kind of a lame topiary.

After that, we rode out to Glendora to see the topiary teddy bears. Along the way, Sage got a flat. This is her first appearance in the Flat Tire Gallery. We also had a laugh at the “For Sale” sign on a Dodge truck. After all, how hard is it to spell “Dodge” when it’s right on the side of the truck?

Our snack stop was at Classic Coffee in Glendora. Then we headed home. Along the way, we saw Vikki, and I got to talk to her for a bit for the first time in a while.

The last topiary was a rocking horse in Sierra Madre. And then we rode back to the park. It was a nice ride.

45 miles.
cycling

Physician accused of deliberately injuring two bicyclists is convicted

I’ve been riding seriously for more than 35 years now, and I’ve had countless run-ins with assholes like him. So it’s really nice to finally see someone getting punished for acting like that.

Today’s bike ride was a trip out to the Variety office building on Wilshire Blvd, across from LACMA. There is a piece of the Berlin Wall on display there for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall. It was a perfect fall day for riding.

We left Victory Park, and almost immediately, JJ got a flat.

We rode down Huntington Drive to Mission Rd and Main St into downtown Los Angeles. Then we took Olympic Blvd all the way out to near Hancock Park. The section of the wall was on display on the lawn in front of the building, so we were able to get up close to look at it.

For our snack stop, Gene suggested Farmers Market, since that was very close to us. We went there and settled in, but then one of their security guards told us we had to leave. He pulled out a piece of paper with the ‘Code of Conduct’ on it. It said that bicycling was not allowed inside the market. We pointed out that we were not bicycling. We had dismounted and walked in. But he still gave us a hard time, so we resolved never to go there again.

Coming home, we went through Hollywood. At one point, we heard sirens and saw smoke coming from Beachwood Canyon, below the HOLLYWOOD sign. Then we rode over the Shakespeare Bridge and home by way of Highland Park and South Pasadena. We passed a very energetic and excited street preacher along the way.

It was a very nice ride, aside from the run-in with the guard at Farmers Market.

45 miles.
cycling

Sunday’s bike ride was our old favorite route through northeast Los Angeles, with a nice climb up Mt Washington. It was cool in the morning, but warmed up nicely. It was a perfect fall day.

There wasn’t a lot remarkable about this ride. We did a slight variation on the route, taking different streets down the big hill. The change of scenery was nice, but the streets were pretty rough, so it was a real bone-shaker. Our snack stop was at Kaldi’s in South Pasadena. And then we just headed straight home from there.

It was a very nice ride.

38 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike club ride was my “Down for the Count” route out to Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City to visit the grave of Bela Lugosi. The last time we did this ride was two years ago. And with everything that has happened in my life since then, it seems like it was another life. So it was time to do this ride again.

It was cool in the morning, and there was a slight mist around the towers in downtown Los Angeles. This combined with the morning sun reflecting off the windows of the new Ritz Carlton to make a very striking sight.

When we got to Holy Cross, we first went to the Grotto to see Bela Lugosi. Then we wandered around a bit near there, where we found Sharon Tate, Rita Hayworth, and Jack Haley. They have all been added to the Graves Gallery.

On the way back, we stopped at Noah’s Bagels on Venice Blvd. Then we rode Venice almost all the way into downtown, and then north to Silver Lake for the trip home. Once we got to Fletcher Drive, we were back on familiar territory. From there, we took the most direct route home, through Eagle Rock and up the Colorado hill into Pasadena.

It was a very nice ride.

53 miles.
cycling

Last Friday, I went to a talk at Caltech about debris flows, and how they are almost certainly going to happen this winter because of the Station Fire. The speaker made mention of one particular house in Sunland. She said that the house had been destroyed by debris flows in 1978, and that it was then rebuilt in exactly the same place. Because of this, it is expected to be destroyed again when the rains come. So of course, I immediately looked up the address and worked out a bike route to get there and see it.

I took the direct route there, since I didn’t feel like riding through Burbank and Sun Valley on a weekday. And riding up Foothill Blvd through La Crescenta and Tujunga was no picnic, either. But I made it to the mouth of Big Tujunga Canyon and got to take in the charred mountain vista. It was impressive. Then I rode up into the little private neighborhood on the north side of the canyon. The fire had come down to within about 100 feet of the houses there, and the burned area looked pretty devastated. And when I found the house, I could see why it had been destroyed. There is a large drainage area above it, and it’s situated in a narrow part of the canyon. And there is no debris basin above it. Anything that comes down from that drainage gets funneled through the canyon where the house is. I suppose the owners know this. Aside from mud and rocks destroying the house every 30 years, it looks like a very pretty and idyllic place to live.

On the way out, I saw two news trucks parked at the mouth of Big Tujunga Canyon. The first rain of the season is predicted for tonight, so they may be setting up to see the first mudflows.

It was an interesting little sightseeing ride.

38 miles.

Addendum: Here’s the Google Maps view of the terrain there, and you can see that there are two big canyons north and northwest of the house, and both those merge into the narrow canyon where the house is. Check it out.

cycling