# Moving from texas to pasadena



## 007david (Dec 24, 2007)

Next week I'm leaving Texas (Dallas area, but from Austin) for grad school in Pasadena, and I was wondering the situation for riding. For instance, in most of North Texas, it falls somewhere between suicidal and vaguely dangerous to leave from your house on account of the cars and pickups. From what I can gather via map my ride and the like, it seems as though just heading towards mountains is okay, but having not yet been to the city, I haven't seen this first hand.

So I suppose I'm asking whether the area is going be okay with a guy in lycra on a bike (contra Texas), and whether there are specific areas, shops, etc. people like in or near the area.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

The weather can get hot, and despite the decades of smog regs Pasadena's air still isn't quite pristine, but all in all it's not a bad place at all to ride or live (are you going to CalTech?) If you glance northwards you'll see the San Gabriel Mountains with its rewarding mountain roads and passes. Residential neighborhoods are posh, and their roads are curvy, well shaded and nicely hilly. Drivers aren't bad, either. There are also some extremely good bicycle shops, and the dining can be utterly first rate. Enjoy!


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

Mapei summed it up pretty well. Also, a few excellent group rides. During Spring and Summer months, Tues & Thurs evenings around the Rose Bowl's 3.1 mile circuit. The 100+ strong group averages over 25mph for ten laps! For Sat morning, a few groups of varying skill levels complete a 40+ mile loop thru the San Gabriel valley. I "retired" from the fastest group a few years back. It sometimes felt like doing two-mile intervals between catching the occasional light. Those guys are animals.

Then a few loosely-organized traditional rides exist. For example, the New Year's morning massive group goes up into the high mountains. Saw a few RBR members - including Hollywood - on that sucker a couple years ago. I bet Mapei probably gets out there every year!


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

007david said:


> So I suppose I'm asking whether the area is going be okay with a guy in lycra on a bike (contra Texas), and whether there are specific areas, shops, etc. people like in or near the area.


Having lived in Dallas, and now safely back home here in L.A. lets just say the difference is night & day. Pasadena is a pretty popular area with cyclists - both road and mountain. Drivers are used to seeing them (us) on the streets for the most part, so you shouldn't be having any tallcans hurled at you out here  The heart of Old Town Pasadena may the only sketchy area for you, where it can get congested with cars. But for the most part I think you'll be pleasanty surprised. And relieved. There are tons of destination rides to be had as well to neighboring cities like Glendale, Atwater Village, Montrose, etc. You're also going to be introduced to something called "climbing" :thumbsup:

There are also several good shops in the area

Velo Pasadena Inc. | Velo Pasadena?s has best selection of mountain, road, tri, and family bikes. We specialize in all you?re your cycling needs and have the best service in the LA area. We also offer profession ReTul fittings.


Incycle Bicycles your #1 cycling choice in Southern California


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Hollywood mysteriously neglects to mention the most interesting, whacked out Pasadena bicycle store of them all -- Open Road. Anyway, as H'wood says, bicycle-wise you'll be pleased as punch by the move.


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## stabor (Nov 22, 2011)

007david said:


> Next week I'm leaving Texas (Dallas area, but from Austin) for grad school in Pasadena, and I was wondering the situation for riding..


First thing you do, pick up a copy of "Where to Bike Los Angeles" by Jon Riddle and Sarah Amelar. This will show you some great rides and dish out a lot of local lore as well.


Steve


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## David23 (Jun 5, 2012)

I lived in DFW for a number of years, but have now returned to So Cal. You will find the cycle culture here much different than Texas. Make sure you take some time out from climbing in the mountains to go down to the coast and cycle PCH and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

Did the move happen?


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## wgscott (Jul 14, 2013)

Biking is far better in Cali. Many motorists actually respect cyclists. I went to grad school at Berkeley and the biking opportunities were 1000 times better than the East Coast or Chicago (where I am from). I won't say nothing bad ever happens, but nothing bad has happened to me in CA during 6 years at Berkeley and 15 in Santa Crud. I've never even been chased by a dog here. (If I were you I would be more worried about the smog. I didn't even apply to Cal Tech because of that.)


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## 007david (Dec 24, 2007)

So, I didn't mean to neglect the thread, but, yes, I did end up getting over here. So far the riding been thousands of times better than Dallas, but I have discovered that being the best climber in any group ride I've done in Texas doesn't really mean much when the climb lasts for miles upon miles. To that end, the climb up to Mt. Wilson and the Baldy ski lifts were amazing and the descents worth the trip (though I'm not sure whether I like Baldy rd. or Glendora ridge rd. better for either leg).

The mountain bike riding, though, is somewhat of a different matter. In as much as I've googled I can't seem to find one place that lists the trails around here and as well what type they are. In Dallas we have DORBA who build and maintain all the trails, and as such have a comprehensive listing of them all. Coincidentally enough the shirt I put just a second ago getting out of the shower is from winning their fall XC series last year (i.e. it's laundry day). Now, Texas is fat, so while the trails are open to hikers and joggers, you never see them. However, so far as I can tell every bikeable trail is also hikeable and tends to have them as well. But, neither Strava nor Google maps give much by way of "tons of hikers", "XC bike not recommended", or other bits of helpful information for picking a course. Even still, riding up Mt. Lowe railway on a bench cut between a cliff going up and a cliff going down is at once amazing and terrifying for my wife once she saw the video.

As to the other odds and ends, I'm out here working on a phd at Fuller, actually. The big picture is a science/religion thing, but not like the Bill Nye/Ken Ham thing from the other night (Ham's wrong on, like, 90% of his points religious and scientific). The trip out here, was somewhat less than sublime, though. We sold off a ton of stuff and with the intention of bringing only what would fit in or on top of our two cars. We took the northern/I-40 route with the intention of a grand canyon detour, but the moment we were 100 miles from anything my car overheated. Long story short, my car's potentially dead, but resting with my parents back in DFW, we ended up getting a moving truck, and towing her car. Since our apartment wasn't ready yet, we stayed the night with her step-grandmother-in-law in Oxnard, and from the moment we got the moving truck in Wichita Falls, until we parked in Oxnard I drove the thing only stopping for food, pee, and gas. With that level of frazzledness, pulling onto 210 from 15 about 20 minutes after the Rose Bowl ended, I can that it was an _adventure_ getting here.

Oh, and we didn't swing by the Grand Canyon (it would've been 3am when we got there anyhow).


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## jmorgan (Apr 13, 2012)

Moved from Houston to Pasadena in Sept., I know what you have been through


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

glad to hear you arrived, somewhat uneventfully 

You've done some pretty big rides! Baldy lifts is no joke. Dallas is lucky to have DORBA. We have CORBA: The Concerned Off Road Bicyclists Association here but I don't think its anywhere near as resourceful. The best way is word of mouth, through shops or other riders. The San Gabriels there are pretty technical. Much more mellow riding to be found in the Santa Monicas, if thats your thing. Look up Westridge, Sullivan Canyon/Sullivan Ridge, The Hub, etc. Just west of the 405 off Mulholland Dr. Pretty big network of trails there connected by fireroads. Lots of hikers & bikers gather at the "NIKE" rest area too (water and bathrooms). You could also look up the El Prieto loop there in Pasadena. Very popular. Lots of people park on Windsor north of the 210 and ride up into the hills from there, along side the JPL campus.


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## 007david (Dec 24, 2007)

Yeah, I've done the El Prieto loop a few times since it's not too far to JPL or even the lower Sam Merrell trailhead to just ride from home. Once we're back up to two cars, I definitely plan on exploring a bit more. And, yes, DORBA has kind of spoiled me in a number of ways, but DFW being all sticky clay mud, that everything shuts down for a week when it rains does get kind of old.

Now, Baldy, I've had my eyes on that ever since looking at the tour of california however many years back and seeing that stage. It was around the time that I was settling on a grad school, and, not that I mentioned this on my application, to be able to ride up such a thing was part of the reason I picked as I did. If nothing else it make me glad I rebuilt my bike with a compact crank and a 28t low end!


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## stabor (Nov 22, 2011)

007david said:


> The mountain bike riding, though, is somewhat of a different matter. In as much as I've googled I can't seem to find one place that lists the trails around here and as well what type they are.


For what it's worth, the publisher of the Riddle/Amelar book also has a mountain bike one (Where to Bike Los Angeles Mountain Biking: Best Mountain Biking around Los Angeles: Steve Messer, Jim Hasenauer, Mark Langton: 9780987168672: Amazon.com: Books). Not everything is on Google.


Steve


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## raceline (Apr 30, 2004)

*You Lucky SOB *



007david said:


> Next week I'm leaving Texas (Dallas area, but from Austin) for grad school in Pasadena, and I was wondering the situation for riding. For instance, in most of North Texas, it falls somewhere between suicidal and vaguely dangerous to leave from your house on account of the cars and pickups. From what I can gather via map my ride and the like, it seems as though just heading towards mountains is okay, but having not yet been to the city, I haven't seen this first hand.
> 
> So I suppose I'm asking whether the area is going be okay with a guy in lycra on a bike (contra Texas), and whether there are specific areas, shops, etc. people like in or near the area.


I lived in so cal my whole life , new to dallas & last 3 years in were in Houston , You are in Gods country for cycling Texas SUCKS !!!


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## 007david (Dec 24, 2007)

No doubt riding in Texas is less than sublime; Austin's not too bad though. Noq, I have found that Garmin finds Texas' dirt roads to always avoid, but not so much here. I told it I wanted to ride up to crystal lake, and it took me there sure enough. It just did it by going through Monrovia canyon park to Monrovia canyon truck road, then to Rincon truck road which dumped me out on 39.

Nearly 20 miles on dirt and gravel roads on a carbon road bike with carbon wheels made for a very interesting climbing and descending. At one point going up I passed some people on mountain bikes going down, and at a saddle I came across some people in DH gear. The looks they gave were amazing.


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## BigTex91 (Nov 5, 2013)

I'm south of you in OC, so I can't really help you much with trails around Pasadena. But geoladders.com can be a pretty good place to find mountain biking routes in SoCal. Also check out mountainbikebill.com.


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## Rokh Hard (Nov 25, 2013)

007david said:


> Next week I'm leaving Texas (Dallas area, but from Austin) for grad school in Pasadena, and I was wondering the situation for riding. For instance, in most of North Texas, it falls somewhere between suicidal and vaguely dangerous to leave from your house on account of the cars and pickups. From what I can gather via map my ride and the like, it seems as though just heading towards mountains is okay, but having not yet been to the city, I haven't seen this first hand.
> 
> So I suppose I'm asking whether the area is going be okay with a guy in lycra on a bike (contra Texas), and whether there are specific areas, shops, etc. people like in or near the area.


hi david, yep....lycra is good as gold here in socal. wear it proudly.

best place to start is consider joining PAA.....wonderful, highly organised large cycling group.

PAA Cycling - Pasadena Athletic Association


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