Stan’s Obligatory Blog

Today’s bike club ride was the Topiary Tour Classic. This is a ride out to Glendora by a rather roundabout route that passes by every example of topiary to the east of Pasadena. It was a very nice day, and we had a good-sized group this time.

The first stop was the topiary Smokey the Bear by the fire station on Foothill Blvd in Pasadena. From there, we headed south and then east, passing by the topiary swan on Camino Real at Baldwin. Then out into Baldwin Park to the house that has several topiary animals in the yard. They had the giraffe done up with lights and a Santa hat.

In Glendora, we passed by the topiary teddy bears. They were the first ones I saw, and they inspired this whole silly adventure. Then we stopped off at Classic Coffee in Glendora, where Carla got me the littlest eclair I’ve ever seen. It was good.

On the way back, we passed a few more small topiary animals in Glendora, and then a pair or horses in Monrovia. The last stop on the tour was the big rocking horse on Grand View Ave in Sierra Madre. We also saw what is likely the weirdest mailbox I’ve ever seen. Between that, the bass mailbox, and the catfish mailbox, maybe I can make up a weird-mailbox tour some day.

It was a nice ride.

40 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike ride was a new version of the original Topiary Tour. I’d found a couple of new topiary sites to add to it, and we even found a couple more along the way.

We began with a short jaunt up to Altadena and the Bunny Museum with its big topiary rabbit on the front lawn. Then down to the Elks Lodge in Pasadena and the elk’s heads by the door. The pegasus at the Mobil station on Lake Avenue was badly in need of a trim. It was barely recognizable.

In Arcadia, we saw what we think was a topiary swan that looked a lot more like a bathtub rubber duck. And in Baldwin Park, we passed a house that has several topiary animals in the yard. Then we went by the original topiary site. The one that first gave me the idea to to a Topiary Tour. The topiary teddy bears in Covina.

Our snack stop was at Classic Coffee in Old Town Glendora. Then, on the way back, we spotted a topiary deer, two dolphins, and a teddy bear in front of two houses along Leadora Ave.

We continued on through Azusa and back into Monrovia, where we passed the topiary hearts on Colorado Blvd. And the final topiary stop was the big rocking horse on Grand View Ave in Sierra Madre.

It was a fun little themed ride.

47 miles.
cycling

About a year ago, I had the idea of putting together a theme ride to see examples of topiary, since I’d seen a number of them here in Pasadena and as far east as Glendora. We did this tour back in March. Then we discovered a new piece in Glendale, and I started to think about making a second Topiary Tour. And after some pointers from friends, one tip from Google, and an accidental discovery, I had enough examples to put together a second Tour. So today was the day.

We headed out across Eagle Rock and Glendale and into Burbank. Then we turned west and headed to the south entrance to Burbank Airport, where there is a topiary airplane. It was a pretty good example of topiary.

Leaving the airport, we headed south to our next stop. But along the way, I spotted a sort of cartoon lizard in a car peeking over a fence. So we stopped for a look and found a boneyard of carnival rides. That was very deeply weird, and really pretty entertaining.

Continuing south, we got to our second stop. A Shell gas station in Burbank with a topiary sea serpent and two winged horses. They looked a bit like My Little Pony with wings. The serpent was a bit sparse, but the others were pretty good.

Our next stop was a topiary Bugs Bunny in Toluca Lake. Then we stopped for snack at Priscilla’s. That left only one more topiary stop, which was the dolphins that we’d found in March. I had to get a souvenir picture riding the dolphin.

After that, we headed home, but on the way back through La Cañada, Don spotted one more in front of a house on Berkshire Drive. That made for a nice end to our Topiary Tour.

46 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike ride was a new version of the Topiary Tour that I debuted back in November. I’d added one more stop for some topiary animals in a yard in Baldwin Park. It was cool, but basically a very nice day for riding.

The first stop was the Bunny Museum, where they have a giant topiary rabbit on the front lawn. Then on to the Pasadena Elks Lodge and the topiary elks by the front door. The nose of one was brown. There’s a joke in there, I’m pretty sure.

Riding back across Pasadena, we stopped at the Mobil station at Lake and San Pasqual. The topiary Pegasus was kind of overgrown, and didn’t look much like a horse at all.

The next stop was the house in Baldwin Park. They have a giraffe, a bear, a deer, and and an elephant. After that, we continued on to Glendora to the house with the teddy bears and the swan.

Our snack stop was at Classic Coffee in Glendora. Then we took a short detour to see the Glendora Bougainvillea. It wasn’t flowering, so we’re going to have to stop by again next month to see it in bloom.

The route back was pretty straightforward, ending with a final topiary stop in Sierra Madre at the rocking horse. Since it’s spring, the horse had lots of new growth, and it was somewhat in need of a trim.

It was an entertaining little ride.

48 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike ride was a tour around the San Gabriel Valley to see examples of topiary. I’ve been collecting photos of these sorts of things for a while, and I decided to put then all together into one ride.

The first stop was the topiary rabbit at the Bunny Museum. Then we rode to the Pasadena Elks Lodge to see the topiary elk’s heads by the front door. Next was the topiary Pegasus at the Mobil station on Lake Avenue. This one is not well-kept, so it’s kind of a lame topiary.

After that, we rode out to Glendora to see the topiary teddy bears. Along the way, Sage got a flat. This is her first appearance in the Flat Tire Gallery. We also had a laugh at the “For Sale” sign on a Dodge truck. After all, how hard is it to spell “Dodge” when it’s right on the side of the truck?

Our snack stop was at Classic Coffee in Glendora. Then we headed home. Along the way, we saw Vikki, and I got to talk to her for a bit for the first time in a while.

The last topiary was a rocking horse in Sierra Madre. And then we rode back to the park. It was a nice ride.

45 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike ride was the Topiary Tour West. I’ve actually found enough topiary around here to make two complete tours. Today marks the first time we’ve done the western route in over a year. It was just me and Carla today, so we headed out across Eagle Rock.

The first topiary stop was at the south entrance to Burbank Airport, where they have a topiary jet airplane. It’s pretty nicely done. Then we headed south, passing the kiddie-ride boneyard on Clybourn Ave on our way to the second topiary stop, which was a pair of winged horses and a sea monster at a gas station in Burbank.

Next up was the topiary Bugs Bunny on Riverside Drive in Toluca Lake. Then we stopped off at Priscilla’s for a snack.

Coming home, we went up Glendale Blvd to see the topiary dolphins at a gas station there. Then it was time for the four-mile uphill to get to La Cañada. Then down the other side of the hill to see the topiary giraffe family on Berkshire Drive.

Coming back into Altadena, we passed the topiary baskets on Mendocino Ave, and finally, the giant topiary rabbit in front of the Bunny Museum.

It was a fun little ride.

48 miles.

This Sunday’s bike club ride was yet another celebrity grave tour. Back in February, we’d taken a ride to East L.A. to visit the grave of Lincoln Perry, who, as “Stepin Fetchit“, was the first black movie star. So today we were going to North Hollywood to see Willie Best and Mantan Moreland, who were the other two earliest black movie stars. And as an extra bonus, we got to visit Aneta Corsaut, who was on “The Andy Griffith Show”, but who I always remember as Steve McQueen’s girlfriend in “The Blob“.

On the way out, we found some more topiary in Burbank at Alameda and Victory. I’ll have to add them to the Topiary Tour West route for the future. We also stopped off at the house in Burbank with the giant desert tortoises in the yard. They were very active today. I was glad the camera has a ‘fast action’ mode on it.

When we got to the cemetery, we found Willie Best on the way in. His stone is new, since he was unmarked for many years until Scott Michaels and the Findadeath.com crew arranged to get a stone made for him. He is buried close by to Oliver Hardy. Mantan Moreland and Aneta Corsaut are close together in the far back of the cemetery.

After the cemetery stop, we rode down to Riverside Drive to stop at Priscilla’s Coffee. On the way we saw a sign-painter-fail. The painter had made the sign say, “ABLAMOS ESPAÑOL”, so the had to just paste on the “H” in front of it.

The route back went down the L.A. River bike path, and then home by way of South Pasadena. It was a pleasant ride.

46 miles.

I recently saw an item in the Los Angeles Times about the last remaining Greene and Greene house in L.A. being for sale. So I looked it up and we took a ride out to see it today.

We rode into downtown L.A., and then down through to Adams, near USC. Along the way, we passed the convention center and its sign for the “Everything to do with Sex” show. Then we headed west on Adams. The house itself is in the “Harvard Heights Historic District“. Which is apparently a fancy name for a former high-class neighborhood that’s kind of gone to seed. The house across the street was quite large and ornate, but it had broken windows and just did not look like it was being maintained.

Our stop was at Noah’s Bagels on Larchmont. Then we started for home. David got a flat, and while he was changing the tube, I checked the true on my back wheel. It was way off, and a closer look showed that one of the spokes had pulled out of the rim. This sort of thing is never a good sign. So I trued the wheel as best I could and we continued on.

After just about another mile, David said his tire was going flat, so we had to stop again. This time, I took a close look at his tire and found a staple stuck in it. Mystery solved.

Going up Benton Way in Silver Lake, I spotted a new topiary. I don’t know if it can be incorporated into one of the existing Topiary Tours that we do, but I will keep it in mind.

In Eagle Rock, my bike started making a weird noise. Turned out the spoke had come loose from the rim and was flapping around. So I stopped and twisted it around the spoke next to it to hold it still for the ride home.

When we got back into Pasadena, we saw a roadblock in Old Town, so we went to see what it was, and we rode into the middle of a Ferrari show.

It was a kind of strange, but very fun ride.

41 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike ride was a tour of Downey to visit several local sights. We’ve done this ride before, but it’s been over two years, so it was time again.

The first stop was the oldest operating McDonalds, where they had a small topiary hedge in the shape of the old-style McDonald’s logo. Then we moved on to see the two apartment buildings that Karen and Richard Carpenter bought with their earnings from their first two hit songs. Then we went to see their family home, which had been in danger of being demolished a couple years ago, but it was still there. And the final stop was at Dennis the Menace park, which, strangely, was not open at 10:00 on a Sunday morning. So nobody was in there, aside from a bunch of homeless people.

The highlight of our morning easily had to be the guy walking his pet raccoon. A raccoon on a leash is something we’ve never seen before, and the raccoon was very cute. We also saw Herbie in a driveway in Downey.

It was a fun little ride.

40 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike ride was the “San Dimas South” route, which is a fairly flat route that goes out to Bonelli Park, but not through the park and over the hills there. It was chilly, but basically a nice day for riding.

The route out was pretty direct. We passed by the house that had had a big tree decorated with big Christmas ornaments last year. This time, they didn’t do it, although they still had the rest of the house decorated.

The stop was at Panera Bread in West Covina. By then, it had warmed up enough that it was pleasant sitting outside.

On the way back, we saw a house in Baldwin Park with some topiary animals in the yard. That will have to be added to the Topiary Tour route for next time.

It was a very nice ride.

45 miles.
cycling