A two-wheeled guide to Carmageddon

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By now readers have hopefully digested the hint: Avoid driving this weekend, particularly near the 405 freeway and instead enjoy some down time in your own neighborhood. There really is no better way to do the latter than on a bicycle. It’s faster than walking, provides some exercise and there’s usually ample parking.

So, for those looking to dust off the old 10-speed or just rent a bike for the weekend, here are some resources to help get you on your way.

Bike Rentals:

If you’re searching for a bike to rent, a good place to start is Yelp.com, which has local listings and reviews for over 30 bike rental options in the L.A. area. Just plug in your neighborhood and give a ring to the one that suits you best.

Many shops that sell bikes will also rent them for a daily fee, so it’s a good bet to call up your local shop and inquire about their policies and rental rates. Ironically, perhaps the most ubiquitous bike rental operations in L.A. are the beachfront shops that rent out beach cruisers by the hour; however, those shops will probably be hard to get to this weekend, unless you live close to the beach.

A lot more bike info after the jump…

Tune-ups:

Here’s a list of some of my favorite places to get a fresh dab of chain oil and a some new tubes. More listing can be found by searching Yelp for bike tune-ups.

Bicycle Ambulance (Santa Monica)
2212 Lincoln Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 395-5026

Bikerowave (Mar Vista)
12255 Venice Blvd
Mar Vista, CA 90066
(310) 230-5236

Bicycle Kitchen / La Bicicocina (HelMel)
706 Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 662-2776

Valley Bikery (Van Nuys)
14416 Victory Blvd
Ste 104
Van Nuys, CA 91401
(818) 921-6522

Flying Pigeon L.A. (Northeast Los Angeles)
3714 N Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90065
(213) 909-8986

Rider Information and Resources:

Bike Metro — Your go-to guide for all of Metro’s bike-related amenities and policies. Here’s a selection of additional helpful tools:

City of L.A. Department of Transportation Bicycling Services — More helpful tools for biking in the City of L.A.:

Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Resources Page —  Even more links to maps, parking information, safe riding tips and relevant state and local laws.

Safe travels to everyone — remember to wear a bean protector (i.e. helmet) — and enjoy the oportunty to rediscover your neighborhoods on two wheels. Anyone who wants to suggest good rides — particularly in the San Fernando Valley — please feel free to do so on the comments page.

 

Categories: Bicycle

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6 replies ›

  4. I bet riding a bike will be faster than driving in the westside during the closure. Just ride right past that parking lot of cars on wilshire or santa monica blvd… Riding past traffic could also send the same message as a smoothly running LRT in the freeway median past a sea of traffic.

    It will be interesting to see if the Valley’s arterials become very congested which would make riding a bike even more appealing as using a car would be a hassle. One of the best paths in the valley of course is the one running parallel to the orange line bus which also connects to a north-south pathway at balboa blvd that runs along lake balboa park from victory and down along the golf course there to Burbank blvd and goes east by the sepulveda flood basin, along Burbank blvd before sepulveda blvd. basically the whole sepulveda flood basin park and balboa park has many bike path options to explore in general. now if only ventura blvd were more bike friendly…

  5. My favorite name for cranial protection (biking helmets, construction hard hats, etc.) is “Gourd Guards”