# evening rides in sherman oaks???



## stratonian (Sep 22, 2004)

anyone have any input as to what some good routes/rides are in the evenings in sherman oaks. i'm going to be there for the month of july and will have lots of free time on my hands. thanks.


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## mickey-mac (Sep 2, 2000)

*Gotcha*



stratonian said:


> anyone have any input as to what some good routes/rides are in the evenings in sherman oaks. i'm going to be there for the month of july and will have lots of free time on my hands. thanks.


I just moved away from SO after living there for six years. As you probably know, it's a pretty densely populated area, so you can expect a lot of vehicle traffic. One of my regular routes was into Griffith Park via Riverside Drive. Take Riverside east to Pass (by Warners Bros studio), go right to Forest Lawn, and left on Forest Lawn to Griffith. In Griffith, you can go up the hill the goes around the golf course. From my place this round-trip was about 26 miles. Another decent ride is up into Porter Ranch. Ride over to Woodley and take it up to Rinaldi. Turn left on Rinaldi and go to Porter Ranch. Once there, you can take one of the roads up the hill (Reseda, Wilbur, Tampa) to Sesnon and then descend back to Rinaldi. I'd avoid Ventura Boulevard during evening rush hour traffic. With all the commuter traffic combined with people out for the evening mindlessly trying to find parking places, it's pretty sketchy.

If you're interested in group rides, I think there are still rides that go out of Cal State Northridge in the late afternoon during the summer. You may want to check with the San Fernando Valley Bike Club to see if the rides are still happening.

Have fun


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

I've lived in Sherman Oaks long enough to watch home prices plummet and then rise to new heights. M-M has good suggestions for longer rides, but if you only have an hour or so to get an afternoon ride in, try the residential streets south of Ventura Blvd and west of Sepulveda. Install nice climbing gears on your bike. Get out the Thomas Map (a possession that is absolutely mandatory if you want to truly savor the native Southern California experience). Enjoy Valley Vista Boulevard, High Valley Road, Royal Oak, and the other windy, twisty streets. Go south on Hayvenhurst to either Calneva or Encino Hills Drive. See how far you can climb up either of those two 17%+, mile long monsters. If you make it all the way to Mulholland, you can turn right onto a three mile stretch of dirt road. On the other hand, if it's a day where you feel thrashed and wimpy, just make your way a few pedal strokes north and west to the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area. It's dead flat. Do the bike path alongside kids on trikes and in-line skaters.

And by the way, don't be afraid to try the weird & wonderful ethnic restaurants along Reseda Blvd. After I finish this post, I'm off to dine at one of the best of them - a Japanese Noodle Parlor called Nippon Ramen.


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