# If Huell Howser posted here ... Mini-Tour of L.A.



## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Huell Howser? If you have to ask ...

Took the new ride for its inaugural spin this weekend. I'd ridden it for a few miles here and there, but hadn't had the chance to spend the day on it.

So Friday night I decided not to go on my weekly Saturday morning road ride. Instead, I would spend the entire day trekking around L.A., with two ultimate destinations: Philippe in Downtown for a French Dip, and Hollywood Cycles for some Brooks Proofide. I didn't even know if they'd have any in stock, but they're the only store in the L.A. area that stocks Brooks, so it was worth a shot.

I woke up Saturday morning, made some small adjustments on the bike (namely to the rear fender), packed up the Carradice saddlebag and took off. I hit the road at about 10:45 and got home sometime around 6 p.m. It was the longest 35-mile ride I've ever done. And the best.

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The route.

San Vicente to the V.A. to Ohio to Veteran to Santa Monica to Charleville to Le Doux to Gregory to Schumacher to San Vicente to Warner to Fairfax to 8th, 8th St. all the way into Downtown.

I've take 8th this distance twice now and I honestly can't think of a better street for traversing this city. Until Koreatown it's wide and empty. It gets a little busy through Koreatown, but after Alvarado or so it gets pretty quiet again. Even at its busiest, it's no worse than any other street.

To this point, my route had gone according to plan (which isn't saying much; I worked it out in my head while I was riding). Once in Downtown, I headed north on Hill St. This turned out to be a good choice, as it brought me through the jewelry district, then to a stop at Pershing Square, another stop at Angels Flight, a slight detour to see the Gehry-designed Disney Concert Hall, then straight up into Chinatown.

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The Wilshire Ebell Theatre on the outskirts of Hancock Park.












I loved the colors of this store. Looked like it was taken right out of San Jose, Mexico, a small town just outside of Cabo San Lucas.












The Biltmore Hotel. (This photo was an homage to this one; thanks, Walrus.)












The previous shot was taken from Pershing Square. All the people sleeping made _me_ feel tired.












California Plaza, with the so-called Textbook Building towering above it.












Looking south at the Jewelry District.













A brief detour to see the aforementioned Disney Concert Hall. I actually saw a performance there with the pipe organ a couple years ago.












Crossing the 101 ...












... And arriving at one of my pre-determined destinations. Lunch at Philippe. (I can't remember, but I may have Walrus to thank as the inspiration for this as well.)

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After lunch, I cruised over to Olvera Street and walked around for a little while. Then it was Cesar Chavez/Sunset through Echo Park (with a slight detour to the park itself) and Silver Lake, veered onto Hollywood Blvd and rolled all the way until my next stop at Hollywood Pro Cycles. The stretch from Downtown to Hollywood was the hilliest of the ride, and was against a pretty severe headwind. I really, really, really hate the headwind. The bummer is, because I live near the coast, I almost always have to fight the wind to get home.

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Olvera Street.












I don't drink coffee. But if I did, I'm sure I'd prefer it without meat.












Echo Park.












Hollywood Pro Cycles. (Note: the pic is from last year.)

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Hollywood Pro Cycles is a tiny shop right in the middle of all the tourist crap on Hollywood Blvd. I stumbled onto it by accident once while I was killing time before a movie at the Egyptian Theatre across the street. Turns out it's a great, great shop. Like I said, they actually stock Brooks stuff (and yes, they had the Proofide), along with Gilles-Berthoud, Ortlieb, Arkel ... They had a bunch of Surly bikes, like the Steamroller, Long Haul Trucker, Cross Check. Even a Bare Knuckle (which was quite pretty, I must say). I was kind of bummed, because I ordered a lot of stuff for the new bike online when I could have bought it right at this store. I just didn't think about it. The guys there were super-cool and they totally dug my new ride.

But I digress. After leaving the shop I hung a left on Highland, a right on DeLongpre, a left on Orange, a right on Fountain, to La Cienega to Santa Monica, across Doheny and a right on Carmelita and came to a nice resting point under a tree at Alpine. After that, it was Carmelita to Linden to Santa Monica.

I stopped at Santa Monica and Wilshire to see a memorial for a bike rider who'd been killed by a car (surprise!). Alas, I guess the time for remembrance had passed and the memorial was no longer. I'd seen it a dozen times before but never took the time for a closer look. Seemed to be a metal sculpture of a bike rider.

This may come as a shock, but Beverly Hills is, without a doubt, the _least_ bike-friendly city in L.A. County. Not a single bike lane. Not a single traffic light trigger that's sensitive enough to detect a bike. And during rush hour, not a single thoroughfare with a right lane consistently wide enough for a bike. Not to mention they are the biggest obstacle toward any kind of mass transportation project linking Downtown to the Westside. They're really terrible people over there (not to generalize or anything).

Anyway, I continued on Santa Monica, to Sawtelle, a quick stop at a hotel with a familiar name, then through the VA and back home.

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Under a tree in Beverly Hills.












The Hotel Brooks. I've seen the hotel a million times but never gone inside.












Maybe one day ...


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Man the ride reports on this site keep setting a new standard for sweetness.

This report meets the California Gold standard for sure!


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Great ride report. Almost makes me want to visit LA, and I've never thought that before!


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

How did you get from Pershing Square to the Disney Concert Hall? Did you go up Grand Avenue? The grade of the hill on Grand Avenue is unreal. I never have had a bike with me when I have been in downtown LA. But, I have walked up that hill with a heavy briefcase more times than I would like to remember.

I really enjoyed your report.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

MarkS said:


> How did you get from Pershing Square to the Disney Concert Hall? Did you go up Grand Avenue? The grade of the hill on Grand Avenue is unreal.


Funny you should ask. I took Hill all the way up to 1st. I was all proud of myself for avoiding all the steep grades going up to Bunker Hill. Then when I got to 1st I looked left and saw Disney at the top of the hill two blocks away. I couldn't resist, so there I was mashing up the hill. It was pretty tough on the fixie, but I think not as bad as if I'd gone up Grand.


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## Kolossal (Feb 12, 2007)

> I don't drink coffee. But if I did, I'm sure I'd prefer it without meat.


:lol:


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## team_sheepshead (Jan 17, 2003)

I was born in and lived the first 30 years of my life in L.A. Been in NYC for seven years now. Love it here, but your thread makes me miss Cali. Although I could never imagine riding thousands of miles a year in L.A. like I do in NY. In NYC, I can ride out to quiet, suburban roads in 45 minutes. A one-hour train ride gets me into the forest of Bear Mountain. But the L.A. sprawl, as I remember it, seems to go on forever.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Wow, you actually made LA look kind of like a nice place . Actually, I've only been there once and it wasn't to the nice areas. I like city riding and from your pics I think I'd like doing that route.


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## yetisurly (Sep 30, 2005)

nice! looks like a sweet ride.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

MB1 said:


> This report meets the California Gold standard for sure!


Somehow I knew you'd know.


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

Very cool report. I loved the juxtaposition of Hancock Park and the bodega--that's why I always got a kick out of doing the Marathon Bike Tour, because at some point you'd be sliding through the posh areas, like 6th St. going through Hancock Park, and 2 miles further on you're rolling up against the underbelly around MacArthur Park. 

I can spend an entire morning just loafing around through downtown, starting up on Bunker Hill and sliding down to Chinatown, over to Union Station and then on to Little Tokyo and the Arts District, making a sweep up Broadway through the old Theater District (the trick here is to look up above street level and notice the details of the old buildings, not the ticky-tacky Third World shops), over to the Central Library and then back up to Bunker Hill. One of these weeks, I'm gonna do this again, and add a side trip to Silverlake and Los Feliz--there are just too many neighborhoods full of Craftsman-style bungalows and Tudor houses to take in during one ride. ...and yes, I have to fit Philippe into the itinerary, too.

Actually, this report was better than Huell would have done; the guy's just too obnoxious for me. Now, if Ralph Story were still alive, and riding a bike, _that_ would be hard to beat....


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## undies (Oct 13, 2005)

Ridgetop said:


> Wow, you actually made LA look kind of like a nice place


Indeed. Brilliant post!


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

*cool*

nice report! Most I've seen, some I haven't. Always fun to see a new perspective on the city. Inspires me to come up with a report of my own....


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Hollywood said:


> Inspires me to come up with a report of my own....


Looking forward to it.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

DrRoebuck said:


> Huell Howser? If you have to ask ...


I had to ask. I goooooogled him and it turns out he is a missing person who's picture is on a milk bottle.  











Great report though! Sometimes the rides with the shortest miles and longest times are the best ones.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Hooray for Ralph Story. When I was a kid, I never missed one of his Ralph Story's Los Angeles shows.

As for Huell, whenever I clean my bathroom I think of Huell standing there beside me gushing out "Whay, that's linoleum!" " Whay, that's linoleum from the 1970's!" "Well, we really _have_ discovered California Gold!"


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

_When I was a kid, I never missed one of his Ralph Story's Los Angeles shows._

Yeah, I credit him with being maybe the biggest single motivation to get out and poke my nose into the myriad nooks and crannies in L.A. He rarely ever dealt with the showstopper, _de rigeur_ tourist attractions, but ferreted out all the little, overlooked gems, the forgotten history and obscure buildings and places, all the kinds of stuff that made L.A. _interesting_.


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## 2cflyr (Apr 9, 2002)

a bump in honor of huell howser.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

2cflyr said:


> a bump in honor of huell howser.


Thanks, 2C.


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