Car culture
Southern California is widely regarded as the center of car culture in the U.S. And while it may seem a bit strange, that was our theme for today’s bike club ride. Normally, we regard cars as a nuisance at best, but today we were out to sightsee some car culture.
It all began with an article in the L.A. Times on Friday:
Molly and Stan Hyman are hitting the road and they’ve put their garage up for sale.
And by the way, their six-car garage comes with a house.
The Burbank couple are automobile enthusiasts and restorers who in 1995 custom-built their garage/house to give themselves room to rebuild and showcase vehicles.
So I just knew we had to go see this garage. The article also mentioned:
It’s in a residential section adjacent to Burbank’s Media District, close to Warner Bros. Studios. Cross noted it’s also near Bob’s Big Boy, where hot-rodders and car cruisers congregate weekly. Nearby are George Barris’ Kustom Industries, which builds movie cars and hot rods, and entertainer Jay Leno’s Big Dog Garage.
So we had a tour. We’d been by the Barris showroom before, so I looked up the addresses for the Hymans’ house and also the Big Dog Garage, and we were off.
Along the way, we also saw a car-themed decoration on a dental office. That was kind of weird, but it fit the theme of the day.
Our snack stop was at Priscilla’s in Toluca Lake, right near Bob’s Big Boy and the Barris showroom. Jay Leno’s place was up next to the runway at Burbank Airport.
The ride turned out to be a bit longer than I’d thought, but it was a perfect day for riding, so it was all right.
55 miles.