# Where is mulholland?



## steel515 (Sep 6, 2004)

I have heard of Mulholland mentioned for climbing, how do I go there and come back from UCLA westwood area? 
I need some simple directions (via main streets) because I get lost easily.


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## MaxPower (Jan 14, 2005)

Easiest way from UCLA/Westwood would be to go North on Sepulveda and take a right at Skirball Ctr (takes you over the freeway) and follow that to the end. That will put you at Mulholland which you will go right. You can follow Mullholland as far as you want and turn around, coming back the same way or you could head down Beverly Glen (cross Sunset...can be a little dicey) and right on Wilshire. 

There are a number of better options off Mulholland that others can suggest as I don't want to confuse you with bad directions (maybe down Laurel Cyn or all the way to Griffith Park and back, etc).


The Sunday Morning Nichols Ride (8am @ Westwood/LaGrange) will give you an idea of a nice route from Santa Monica to Mulholland and back Sepulveda).

good luck. ride safe.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

steel515 said:


> I have heard of Mulholland mentioned for climbing, how do I go there and come back from UCLA westwood area?
> I need some simple directions (via main streets) because I get lost easily.


IMO, the best part of Mulholland begins down in the Calabasas area and runs to the sea, pretty much at the Ventura County line. Between the 405 and Topanga Canyon, a lot of it is dirt, so you might have to go down into the valley and take Burbank Blvd across.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Mulholland Drive is the street that sits atop the hills you see when you look north from Westwood or UCLA. It dives and climbs along the crest, as far as you can see in either direction. 

Here is the least strenuous way of getting there from Westwood Village.

1. Go West on Gayley Avenue. When you cross Veteran, Gayley becomes Montana Avenue. 

2. Make a Right Turn at Sepulveda Blvd. Slog Northward on Sepulveda several miles.

3. Make a Right Turn at Skirball Center Drive. Cross over the freeway and climb the hill. This will put you at Mulholland.

4. If you go East, you will eventually make it to Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood. Long before this, though, you can loop back to ULCA and Westwood by making a Right Turn on Beverly Glen Blvd. Beverly Glen will take you right down to Sunset Blvd. If you continue south on Beverly Glen past Sunset (which isn't as easy as it could be, as there's a stretch of Sunset you must traverse), you'll soon be in the residential area east of Campus and the Village. From there, you're on your own.

5. If you go West, Mulholland will turn into a dirt road after about two miles. If your tires are skinny, you'll have to turn back and retrace your steps, but it's still a very worthwhile way to go.

BTW, no matter what you do or how you do it, when you do a Mulholland ride you'll be facing a bare minimum of a 1000' elevation gain. Be prepared.

Hope this helps.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Definitely do Mulholland. It's a great ride.


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## magicant (Apr 22, 2006)

There are two Mulhollands - Mulholland Drive, which runs across the mountaintops between the Valley and Hollywood/Bel-Air/Westwood (and actually continues through Encino and Tarzana via the stretch of dirt noted in the post above). A climb to get up there (around 800' from Westwood) and some good riding, but it's not the real challenge.

Mulholland Highway starts in Calabasas and runs about 25 miles through the Santa Monica Mountains, finishing up on the coast, near the Ventura County line. This is where you get some great climbing in. Several thousand in elevation gain over the course of the ride, with a stretch of 1200 feet of continuous climb (2000 feet if you start at Leo Carillo State Park and go the other direction). Grade is over 10 degrees in many places.

Great riding - part of my regular route and part of many organized rides and centuries.


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## magicant (Apr 22, 2006)

By the way, if you still want directions, can you clarify if you're planning to ride there or if you want to drive there (to a particular starting point)?


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

As magicant and Mohair say, Mulholland Highway is a whole 'nother category of riding. It's a marvelous, bounteous, all-day, lose-yourself-in-the-hills of Old California kind of road. 

It's also rather far away from Westwood. You have to approach it either by going into the San Fernando Valley and then heading west until the Valley ends, or by going north on Pacific Coast Highway and catching it via a number of sometimes very steep canynon roads. Of course, you can also pack your bike into your car and drive to a Mulholland Highway startpoint...perhaps at the corner of Mulholland Hwy and Las Virgenes/Malibu Canyon.

Mulholland Drive, though, ain't hay. Views are big and the traffic is manageable and mostly friendly. I'm on it all the time...mostly going the easy direction, west to east.


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

I like taking dirt Mullholland on a 'cross bike. It isn't actually that long a ride--maybe 20 miles out-and-back from Encino Hills to Topanga, if you aren't seduced by any of the roads and trails that beckon along the way--but you can accumulate some respectable elevation, work on your dirt chops (there are a lot of pretty savage ruts and washouts to be navigated at speed), there's no auto traffic along most of the road and on a clear day you can get amazing vistas from the old Nike (missiles, not shoes) radar installation.


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## steel515 (Sep 6, 2004)

After sorting through all the advice, I visited some of these places by car. Latigo Canyon was very difficult even by car. Very hilly, gravel, uneven camber on the sharp curves, 1 way traffic. I drove through Malibu Canyon (so many vehicles!) which seemed flat and boring but ridable. I took freeway north ending up in Calabasas. 
I then drove, passing Mulholland. So I drove part Mulholland which was good as you suggested. I was going to ride but it was very hot! I'm still working on bike fit.


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## Speedy (Oct 30, 2005)

steel515 said:


> Latigo Canyon was very difficult even by car. Very hilly, gravel, uneven camber on the sharp curves, 1 way traffic.


I also drove Latiago before I rode it - and thought no way. I climbed it for my first time on Memorial Day and it was great. 

One thing about climbing - it looks worse in a car.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

The Walrus said:


> I like taking dirt Mullholland on a 'cross bike. It isn't actually that long a ride--maybe 20 miles out-and-back from Encino Hills to Topanga, if you aren't seduced by any of the roads and trails that beckon along the way--but you can accumulate some respectable elevation, work on your dirt chops (there are a lot of pretty savage ruts and washouts to be navigated at speed), there's no auto traffic along most of the road and on a clear day you can get amazing vistas from the old Nike (missiles, not shoes) radar installation.


I always had trouble with traction on the stretch between Sullivan Ridge and Caballero Canyon. You know, the deep gravelly stuff. I don't mtn. bike much nowadays but those fireroads off of Mulholland were regular routes for me.


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

The place that always gave me the willies was a 1/4 mile stretch going west just before Santa Maria Rd; it's kind of a dead spot (as far as the wind goes), so the road gets buried in dust that's finer than sifted flour, often to hub depth, with no way of knowing what rocks and ruts are lurking out of sight. Good place to stop and nurse a faux flat while waiting for someone else to go flying through, so you can take their line (or not).


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## Mersault (Jan 3, 2005)

Speedy said:


> I also drove Latiago before I rode it - and thought no way. I climbed it for my first time on Memorial Day and it was great.
> 
> One thing about climbing - it looks worse in a car.



The first time I climbed it years ago, I had never been up it before. I was told it was a good climb and I went, and went and went, where does it end I kept thinking? Great climb, lousy descent though, the road is too bumpy and winding for going down. I go from PCH up Latigo and over to Kaman , then down Kaman to PCH. Kaman is like a wind tunnel though. hold on tight.


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## Speedy (Oct 30, 2005)

Mersault said:


> Great climb, lousy descent though, the road is too bumpy and winding for going down. I go from PCH up Latigo and over to Kaman , then down Kaman to PCH. Kaman is like a wind tunnel though. hold on tight.


I could tell as I was going up Latigo that I didn’t want to descend it. I instead took Mulholland north to PCH. That's a beautiful ride and a great descent. No bad corners, and the headwind off the ocean helped control my speed without a lot breaking. 

I had to ride PCH back down to my car at Topanga - which I don’t plan on doing again on a weekend, especially a Holiday! 

Total craziness going through Zuma. :mad2: :cryin:


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## steel515 (Sep 6, 2004)

where do you people park when you ride on mulholland highway in Calabasas?


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

steel515 said:



> where do you people park when you ride on mulholland highway in Calabasas?


I park at my parent's house, but if I were you, I would try to park at Calabasas High School, or on the road outside it.


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## magicant (Apr 22, 2006)

steel515 said:


> where do you people park when you ride on mulholland highway in Calabasas?


Park? What's that?

I start off in Studio City, riding the whole way.


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## Mersault (Jan 3, 2005)

Speedy said:


> I could tell as I was going up Latigo that I didn’t want to descend it. I instead took Mulholland north to PCH. That's a beautiful ride and a great descent. No bad corners, and the headwind off the ocean helped control my speed without a lot breaking.
> 
> I had to ride PCH back down to my car at Topanga - which I don’t plan on doing again on a weekend, especially a Holiday!
> 
> Total craziness going through Zuma. :mad2: :cryin:


I actually descended it once, and that was enough for me. I found it nerve racking and I was "bouncing" all over the place.

PCH traffic is bad whenever the weather is good on the weekends. Better to go early in the moring and be done before noon, then you usually won't hit the traffic. that weekend it was a holiday and the weather was great, so a double whammy. it's not usually that bad. I ride on PCH all the time, if it's overcast and cool, you can get a good ride along the coast, hardly any traffic when it isn't "beach" weather.


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## stihl (Oct 27, 2005)

Forget about catching a La Grange group ride if you're new to the area.

These clowns will look at you from head to freakin' toe.


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## -CM- (Jan 6, 2006)

steel515 said:


> where do you people park when you ride on mulholland highway in Calabasas?


Juan Bautista de Anza park, near Los Virgeness and Lost Hills Rd. It's 1.8 miles down Los Virgeness to Mulholland, or you can go the other way to Agoura Rd, turn left, then go to Cornell Rd to get to Mulholland. Lots and lots of great rides from that park.


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## Speedy (Oct 30, 2005)

stihl said:


> Forget about catching a La Grange group ride if you're new to the area.
> 
> These clowns will look at you from head to freakin' toe.


Please explain?

I see La Grange riders all over the place, but haven’t ridden with them - yet.

Is there something I should know?


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## MaxPower (Jan 14, 2005)

Speedy said:


> Please explain?
> 
> I see La Grange riders all over the place, but haven’t ridden with them - yet.
> 
> Is there something I should know?


I guess you could say they have a reputation for being....let's see...snobbish, to be polite. As with any group, you have your good people and your ********s. Being the largest group in the area, maybe the ********s stick out more.

I can say that they are doing a lot for local cycling as far as advocacy goes. They have taken a very hands on approach since the PCH deaths last summer.


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

He's buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery.


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