# Simi Valley + Surrounding Area: Relocation and roadbiking



## martinman (Jul 25, 2008)

Hi Everyone,

I'm interested in relocating to CA from Michigan and I've been working with a potential employer in Northridge. Looking at the commute distance and traffic patterns, it looks like Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Calabasas, and Agoura Hills are all candidates to live in / near. My #1 priority is a safe living environment to bring the family / kids up in which all these seem to be. My #2 priority is close access to safe road biking. I'd like to to roll out on my bike and ride anywhere from 20 - 50 miles. Which area has the best potential to do this? Mountain biking is also on the list, but I don't mind driving to a destination. I like to do my road rides before work and quick access to a decent safe road network is a must. 

In Michigan, I have access to a 45 mile ride through a local park system where the top speed for cars is 40mph. Most are very courteous of us bikers because it is the only place to ride short of driving a couple hours to a more rural part of town.

I spent a few days during my interview and checked out the area - Santa Monica, Malibu, Calabass and Topanga Canyon - all very cool with (it seems) lots of trails. I didn't quite make it up to Simi though. 

Any thoughts?


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Simi Valley is famous for being the bedroom community for the LAPD. It'll be safe. The bicycling around Simi Valley is perfectly acceptable, but it's a far cry from the cycling paradise that are the Santa Monica Mountains. Moorpark and Thousand Oaks will be a genuine schlep to get to and from work...though you are right up against those wonderful Santa Monicas. Buy a car with comfortable seats and good air conditioning if you move to those areas. Agoura Hills will be slightly less of a schlep. Calabasas isn't very far from Northridge, but it's expensive. Why don't you explore Northridge itself? Some fine neighborhoods. Some excellent ethnic restaurants...in distinct and utter contrast to the other areas you've mentioned. Far enough from prime cycling areas to give you nice warm-ups and cool-downs, but not far enough to make you give up the ghost. And still quite safe.


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

Mapei has it about right. 

I used to work in Simi. Road cycling is good, but not great. They're not really atuned to road biker needs. Many of the main roads have no bike lanes. Three is a trail along the Aroyo Simi, but they ask you to get off and walk at every road crossing. Mountain biking is ok, but not great, although I haven't done a lot of MTBing there. 

I live in Thousand Oaks. Road cycling is great. Mountain biking is great. Same for Agoura Hills, Westlake Vilage, and Calabasas. You could also look in the parts of the San Fernando Valley near the Santa Monica Mountains for easy access to the road and MTB opportinities there. Those would be West Hills, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park (not a prestige zip code) Encino, Sherman Oaks. 

JSR


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## martinman (Jul 25, 2008)

Ok, thanks for the responses. How is the 101 around commute time going east? That'd be my only worry living in thousand oaks / calabasas / Agoura Hills. 118 looked a little easier (plus, from what I hear I can take the metro?). Calabasas is only a few exits to the northridge area. 

When I visited I took 101 to PCH North to Topanga Canyon Blvd (27) - then weaved my way through Calabasas *WOW* - what great places! I saw a few road bikers on 27 / PCH, but it looked a little tight. Is Topanga Canyon in the vicinity of santa monica hills?

BTW, I stayed in Woodland Hills when I interviewed. I saw a few bike lanes, but very few bikers. Actually, the traffic volume was pretty high too - is this pretty typical of the SoCal road experience? Is there a bike lane system that will allow significant rides? Or do they usually lead to more rural settings (i.e. to get you out of the city)?


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

martinman said:


> How is the 101 around commute time going east? That'd be my only worry living in thousand oaks / calabasas / Agoura Hills. 118 looked a little easier (plus, from what I hear I can take the metro?). Calabasas is only a few exits to the northridge area.


It's heavy, but not horrible. The real problem is that you yave to get off the 101 and go accross the valley for several miles. Traffic moves, but it takes time. The commute from Thousand Oaks to Northridge takes about 40 minutes, or a little more, no matter which way you go.



martinman said:



> Is Topanga Canyon in the vicinity of santa monica hills?


Yes, Topanga Cyn goes trhough the Santa Monicas. There are lots of quiet 2-lane roads to the west of Topanga. Mountain bike trails can be found all through the region.



martinman said:


> I saw a few bike lanes, but very few bikers. Actually, the traffic volume was pretty high too - is this pretty typical of the SoCal road experience? Is there a bike lane system that will allow significant rides? Or do they usually lead to more rural settings (i.e. to get you out of the city)?


Ok, so the riding in the Valley will always have traffic. It's a big city. The attraction is the easy access to the rides in the hills. Valley Circle Blvd, which goes from Calablasas to Chatsworth, is a wide road that I used to find reasonable for weekday training rides. The bicycling tradeoff is easier commute in the Valley vs. much better riding in Thousand Oaks.

FWIW, the schools are generally better, and the communities safer, in Calabasas, Agoura, T.O. (full disclosure - Taft HS in Woodland Hills, which is LA Unified Schools, are perennial contenders in the adademic decathlon). Simi Valley is also safer. As a long-time Thousand Oaks resident I know the Simi people are less intelligent. Others can't tell the difference.

JSR


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## AvantDale (Dec 26, 2008)

You can always give Porter Ranch a shot. Its only a few mins from Northridge. Riding along Rinaldi is not that bad, plus you have short fun climbs through the residential areas.

I did a ride today from Reseda to Calabasas...lol...it was hectic...so much traffic.

Agoura Hills is a really nice area for cyclists. Your only a few mins away from some of the best riding around.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

If you've got a little bit of the hippie in you, you could move _into_ Topanga Canyon itself. Shady. Mellow. Beautiful. Surprisingly rural. A quintessential L.A. neighborhood. Live next to a Sixties rock star! Then again, as quintessential neighborhoods in L.A. tend to be, Topanga Canyon is prone to fire and flood.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

I used to live in Topanga - big limitation is schools. Once kids are past elementary, they need to leave the canyon and go either to Pacific Palisades or the valley (you don't want kids in the LAUSD system). Overall, it's a challenging context for teens. Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Agoura areas are better for kids/schools. I'd rank these above Simi too.


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## martinman (Jul 25, 2008)

Yeah, I hear you on the schools. It really seems to be a mixed bag from what I can tell (almost 2k miles away!).

Hopefully, fingers crossed, my new salary will allow us to send our kids to private / montessori schools. Atleast that's the goal. Maybe a bit less variation, but still something to be on the lookout for. 

Are most roads with dedicate bike lanes well traveled and safe for bikes? I really don't want a nail biting experience when riding - i need it for stress relief! I don't even mind riding the same area / route. I just don't want to (overly) worry about getting hit..


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## martinman (Jul 25, 2008)

Oh, and if you guys use a GPS when riding - do you have posts of your rides? Maybe at trails.com or at garmins site? Or maybe some local socal biking websites / bike shops that I can also use as resources. 

Also, in your experience, is Google maps a pretty good representation of the safe riding areas? They don't really have a classification for sidewalk vs. bike lane vs. traffic etc.. 

This is a great thread -- it's helping me out a great deal!


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

I wouldn't want to overgeneralize regarding the safety of all bike lanes. But if there's a marked bike lane, that's as good as you're going to get. Ride assertively and keep your line, you'll be ok, barring a texting while driving event.

I don't use GPS, but you can find some good ride info here:

www.cvc.org
http://sundancecycles.com/

JSR


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

if you go the private school route and want your kids in big time athletics programs, Oaks Christian is the school (the starting varsity quarterbacks have last names of Gretzky and Montana...).


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

I've discovered that the best bicycling is usually on the roads without bicycle lanes. Try not to get fixated on government-chosen bicycle routes. It always helps, of course, to avoid major thoroughfares. Rest assured that though Valley Side drivers can be inattentive and in a hurry, they are not targeting you. Do not, however, assume this is true in the L.A. Basin. In all, I enjoy riding in the San Fernando Valley and adjacent areas a heck of a lot. (I live in Sherman Oaks.)


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## blankdrift (Jul 17, 2010)

martinman said:


> I'm interested in relocating to CA from Michigan and I've been working with a potential employer in Northridge. Looking at the commute distance and traffic patterns, it looks like Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Calabasas, and Agoura Hills are all candidates to live in / near. My #1 priority is a safe living environment to bring the family / kids up in which all these seem to be.
> My #2 priority is close access to safe road biking. I'd like to to roll out on my bike and ride anywhere from 20 - 50 miles. Which area has the best potential to do this? Mountain biking is also on the list, but I don't mind driving to a destination. I like to do my road rides before work and quick access to a decent safe road network is a must.


I am in Santa Clarita so if you want the dirt in relation to your priorities:

*#1*
The Good: 
_We are not in the LA Unified School District, it is family friendly, there are a lot of parks as it is a planned community, and it is generally safe. 
Commuting to Northridge is not bad. Though the 5 South over the Newhall Pass is slow, once you hit the 118 you will be heading opposite traffic. If you have to get on the 405 it is not great, but not a nightmare either. There are alternate routes to the valley as well._
The Bad:
_IMHO, the hills out here, and in Simi Valley, are not nearly as beautiful as those on the coast because it is much drier. We are further north and inland, so it is hotter in the summer, colder in the winter, and far less "LA trendy" than Calabasas, Aguora Hills, or Thousand Oaks. Santa Clarita is sort of the place where soccer mom's abound and everyone acts like they have far more money than they actually do._

*#2*
The Good:
_We have bike lanes, dedicated paved biking trails, and paseos a plenty: you could probably ride 25-30 miles and not have to ride outside of a bike lane or paved trail. One of the members of the city planning committee is a pretty hardcore cyclist and this is often reflected when repaving occurs. A new ordinance recently passed: if there is no bike lane it is not illegal to ride on the sidewalk, as it used to be. We also have plenty of mountain biking trails._
The Bad:
_Some major roads do not have bike lanes, though most have a wide enough right lane to provide room to ride safely. I would say most of the drivers here are less crazy than the real LA drivers, but the speed limits are a bit higher, and there are a lot of teenagers and college students. There are some serious canyon rides and difficult climbs, but again, many of the canyon roads are two lanes with a narrow shoulder, though traffic is lighter than say, Topanga. In the summer it is hot, really hot, so unless you get your miles in early you will bake. _


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## martinman (Jul 25, 2008)

What about the mountain biking in the area? I'd really like to ride to the trail head -- driving is soo overrated!


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

martinman said:


> What about the mountain biking in the area? I'd really like to ride to the trail head -- driving is soo overrated!


Rocky Peak / Hummingbird just over the Santa Su pass

Lang Ranch 

Chesebro / China Flats / Albertson Motorway to your south.

:thumbsup:


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