Stan’s Obligatory Blog

This year marks the tenth time we’ve done our traditional “Down for the Count” Halloween ride to Culver City to visit Bela Lugosi’s grave. The weather today was looking threatening, but most of the route was very close to one or another Metro Rail line.

We rode through downtown L.A. I thought we’d see the Rock-‘n’-Roll Half Marathon, and we did see a few runners, but it seemed like it was all over by the time we got there. Streets that I thought were supposed to be closed for the course were open to traffic. That seemed a bit odd.

South of downtown, we picked up the bike lane built on Exposition, next to the Metro Expo line. We rode that all the way to La Cienega, where we got on the Ballona Creek bike path. We took that to Overland, and then rode to Holy Cross Cemtery. We came in the back entrance, and then rode up and over the hill to The Grotto, where there are a lot of famous people buried. As usual, someone had come by and left a set of vampire fangs on Bela Lugosi’s grave. And we were all a little surprised when Jen perked up when someone mentioned that Bing Crosby was buried nearby.

Leaving the cemetery, we rode back into Culver City to our snack stop at La Dijonaise in the old Helms Bakery complex. Just as we got there, it started raining. We got a table inside and had some snacks. When it was time to leave, it looked like the rain had stopped. But once we started up Venice Boulevard, it started raining again. It wasn’t pouring down, but it was raining hard enough that it really was not fun to ride in. So we turned off on La Cienega and rode over to the Metro station there.

When we got up on the platform to wait for the train, there was a young girl there who started talking to us. It turned out she’s a bike racer. So I got to talk to her for most of the ride back to downtown. She told me stories about what racing is like now, and I told her some of my old-school racing stories from the ’70s. She said her dad used to race, so it’s possible we might have even been in some of the same races way back when.

33 miles

Route map and elevation profile

Some months ago, I read an article about a small family-owned donut shop in West Covina. It’s owned by a family of Cambodian immigrants, and they have been a fixture in the neighborhood for almost 30 years. And now Dunkin’ Donuts is talking about opening a store in the same shopping center next year. So today’s ride was just to go see the shop and the center it’s in.

It was a cool and overcast morning. The forecast was for light rain later in the day, but it was pretty pleasant in the morning. We headed out east, and then south to get to West Covina. Along the way, we passed a house where the owners had really gone all-out decorating for Halloween. This was the same house that had the basketball-sized Christmas ornaments on the big tree next to it a few years ago. We were at the south end of the town, right up against the hills when we arrived. The donut shop is fairly unassuming. The sign was partially obscured by a tree. But there was a police car parked outside, so I guess that means the donuts are good.

Heading home, we rode through a little residential area to get to Lark Ellen Ave. That was the one real hill of the ride. Short, but pretty steep. Then we headed north. The plan was to take the little bike path next to the drainage channel north of Cameron. But when we got there, it was closed. There wasn’t a sign or anything indicating why, but that meant we had to double back and go around. Then we stopped for snacks at Panera in West Covina.

Heading home, we must have had a tail wind when we got on Arrow Highway by Santa Fe Dam. Without really trying, we were averaging over 20mph for no apparent reason. But then Silvio got a flat, so we had to stop for a bit. But once that was fixed, we headed home by our usual route. It was a pleasant ride.

40 miles.

Route map and elevation profile

The weather forecast for today called for a slight chance of rain, so that meant it was time to bring out the classic Metro Rail Tour. This is about 40 miles around L.A., but with the route never being more than two miles or so from the nearest Metro Rail station. We’ve done this before, and having the quick bailout option has come in handy in the past. Also, today was the Ciclavia downtown event, so we figured we could ride at least part of that route.

It feels like fall now, and we headed into downtown Los Angeles by our usual route. There were a few times when it started sort of just barely misting rain, but it wasn’t bad, and it stopped quickly. We made good time, and we got to the bridge across the river just in time to see the 8:50-or-so Metrolink train go by. Then we went to Chinatown and picked up the Ciclavia route. It had just opened, so it wasn’t crowded yet, and we rode the route to 7th and Flower, where we turned south.

We made the usual loop through Koreatown and Hancock Park, ending up at Noah’s Bagels in Larchmont Village. After the snack stop, we rode west, picking up the Ciclavia route again on 7th St near MacArthur Park.

Coming back into downtown, it started getting a bit crowded, so we turned off and rode up Main St instead of the Ciclavia route on Broadway. We took that to Chinatown, were we got back on Broadway to cross the river. Then we headed home by way of the Arroyo Seco bike trail

43 miles.

Route map and elevation profile

It’s been just a bit over three weeks now since I had the surgery for the pituitary gland tumor, and last week, I got clearance from the surgeon to resume most of normal activities. Last week, I came on the bike club ride, and we rode to Glendora. That time, I bailed out at 25 miles and rode the Metro home from Azusa. So my goal for this week was to try and go a bit farther. The route for today was the ‘Big Donut’ ride to La Puente to see the Donut Hole drive-through donut shop. The route is something like 45 miles, but I figured I’d probably bail out somewhere near the end when the route met up with the Metro.

The route is pretty flat, although it begins with the ride up and over the hill through Sierra Madre. I was curious about this, since I was curious to see how the downhill out of Sierra Madre would feel. For the last few years, I’ve been having a sort of low-grade vertigo thing that’s made me doubt my balance on the bike. This has caused problems with both downhills, and also with doing my traditional trackstands at red lights. Last week, I managed to make it all the way to Glendora without having to put my foot down at any of the lights, and that was my goal again for today. And it worked out pretty well. There were a couple of intersections that were off-camber, so I ended up putting a foot down at them, but most of them, I was able to just balance on two wheels until the light changed. So between that, and the fact that the blurred vision I had in my left eye has cleared up, the surgery seems to have done what it was supposed to do.

We stopped briefly for a photo-op at the Big Donut. Then we continued on, making a loop through West Covina and back up to Irwindale and Santa Fe Dam. We picked up the bike path there, and rode that up to Duarte and Encanto Park. At that point, I had about 33 miles, and that was where I bailed. I rode about two more miles to get to the Duarte/City of Hope Gold Line station, where I got on the train to come home. For some reason, the train was packed. There must have been a game of some sort going on somewhere that everyone was going to. But I rode the train back to the Allen station in Pasadena, and then rode the two more miles home from there. So overall, it was a pretty good ride. I think next week, maybe I’ll try for the full 40-mumble miles we usually do on Sunday mornings.

35 miles, plus two more riding home from the Metro station.

Route map and elevation profile

Today is my last Sunday bike club ride before at least a couple of weeks for forced rest to recover from surgery that is scheduled for this Wednesday. So for my last ride, I thought we should go and see the newly-rebuilt California Incline in Santa Monica. It was closed for rebuilding in 2015, and recently reopened.

As we did the last time, we ride through downtown Los Angeles, and then west along the bike lanes and trail constructed alongside the Metro Expo Line. When we got to Culver City, we turned off onto the Ballona Creek bike path, and rode that to Marina Del Rey, and then north through Venice. It was a perfect day for riding.

When we got to Santa Monica, we stopped for snacks at Dogtown Coffee. Then we rode through downtown Santa Monica to the Incline, and then down to the beach. We ride all over L.A., but it’s not that often we make it all the way to the beach, so this was a nice treat.

After that, we rode back up the Incline and down to the Santa Monica Pier. Then we got on the Metro Expo Line for the trip home.

36 miles to Santa Monica, 39, including the ride home from the Metro station

Route map and elevation profile

Today’s a holiday, so we went downtown to see the new OUE SkySpace on the 69th and 70th floors of the U.S. Bank building. I’ve climbed the stairs in this building many, many times, but it felt weird to be going there for any other reason. We’d made reservations online, so when we got there, we were able to go right on up. They have three floors dedicated to this, which seemed a bit odd. The entire 54th floor was just sort of a waiting area with photos and artwork to look at while waiting for the elevators up to 70. But fortunately, it wasn’t crowded, so we were able to go right on up.

When we got to 70, we walked around, looking at the view in all directions. That was kind of nice, since when we get to the top of the building at the stair climb, we’re only able to look north and west. Then I walked down to 69 to see Kathleen go down the SkySlide.

I did take a moment to paw forlornly at the door to the staircase.

It was fun having the outdoor observation decks on the east and west sides of the building. And it was novel to be able to look down on all the other tall buildings that I’ve climbed in the past. So I guess this is probably the most fun I’ve had in a tall building that didn’t involve climbing stairs.

Today’s bike club ride was the route out to Burbank to see the F-104 Starfighter-on-a-stick that they have displayed in a park. And also, we went by Burbank Airport to see how their new airplane topiary is coming along. It was cool and overcast and perfect for riding.

When I got to the park to meet up with the group, I saw that they had one of the playing fields fenced off, and there was a small group of geese foraging in there. When everyone got there, we headed out straight west across Eagle Rock and Glendale to Burbank. At the park, I read the little plaque that told the story of the F-104. It said it was developed by the Lockheed Skunk Works in the late 1950s, and it was in production until 1979. It also said that it set an altitude record by flying up to 103,395 feet, and a climbing record of 82,020 feet in 286 seconds. To put that in perspective, that works out to be about 195mph straight up.

From there, we headed north to the airport. The new topiary is coming along nicely. We’d been to see the old one before, but the last time we were out there, the former bush had died and they’d replaced it with a new one that wasn’t quite full yet. This time, the wire frame was completely filled out, and the bush needed a little trim. Carla noticed that the topiary plant itself is jasmine this time, and it was flowering. So we had to stop and smell the flowers.

We passed the kiddie ride boneyard again. I still think that would be a perfect setting for a killer-clown horror movie. Then we stopped at Priscilla’s for snacks.

For the trip back, we took the L.A. River bike path. They are apparently widening the bridge where Riverside crosses over the river. It’s kind of a mess now, but it will be nice when it’s done. And at the other end of the path, we rode the new bridge over the river to Figueroa Street, and I stopped to take a picture of the stub of the old bridge. Then we rode up to Ave 43 and got on the Arroyo Seco bike path to South Pasadena. All in all, it was a pleasant ride.

45 miles.

Route map and elevation profile

Today’s ride was the old Glendora route, with a side trip to see Rubel’s Castle, and also the Glendora Bougainvillea.

When we were going through Covina, we passed the original topiary house. This was where I got the idea for the original Topiary Tour. I also saw that the first hot-rod mailbox house is for sale now. I guess times change. I hope the new owners will still keep the mailbox.

When we got to Glendora, we took a short side-trip up the hill to see Rubel’s Castle. Then, on the way back down, we passed by the Glendora Bougainvillea. Then we stopped for snacks and drinks at Classic Coffee.

39 miles.

Route map and elevation profile

It’s Nisei Week in Little Tokyo, and that means it’s time for the gyoza eating contest. We’ve been there before, and it’s always simultaneously hilarious and horrifying.

In a departure from the format of previous years, they added a few side contests. One was a short one featuring some of the girls who were in last year’s Nisei Week court, as well as one pitting LAPD officers against LA County firefighters. Those were all entertaining, but were just a warm-up for the main event. Lots of the big names in competitive eating were there, and once the ten minutes began, it was obvious that they’re all professionals. The plates held 25 gyoza each, and empty plates started stacking up in front of the top eaters as their heads bobbed up and down and they did little shimmies and jumps to try and pack the food down as they ate. And of course, in the final seconds, they stuffed their cheeks like chipmunks to try and pack in as many gyoza as possible. I guess that’s the competitive eating version of a sprint to the finish.

In the end, Matt ‘Megatoad’ Stonie was the winner again, and by a convincing margin. He was the only one to go over 300. The full results are here:

http://majorleagueeating.com/news.php?action=detail&sn=970

Yesterday, I went on a tour of the Columbia Memorial Space Center with Atlas Obscura. During the talk there, they mentioned that one of the original buildings was still standing, dating back to the days when it was Vultee Aircraft in the 1940s. So today’s bike club ride was the route to Downey to see the oldest operating McDonald’s, and also to see the old Vultee office building.

When I rode to our meeting place in Victory Park, the sprinklers were all running. In these drought days, that looks odd. But the city is using recycled water to keep the playing fields in the park green. And thanks to Atlas Obscura again, I know where ‘recycled water’ comes from…

The route was pretty much straight out and back. We went directly south all the way to Downey, where we stopped briefly at the old McDonald’s so John could get a classic fried apple pie. Then we continued on the mile or so farther to get to the site of the old Vultee/North American/Rockwell plant. I stopped for a moment to take pictures of the building that used to be the main entrance to the Vultee offices. Then we headed back north to downtown Downey and 3rd St Coffee.

The route back went up the Rio Hondo bike path, and we had a nice tailwind, so we were able to go pretty fast. The rest of the route back was just retracing our route out from the morning.

40 miles.

Route map and elevation profile