View Full Version : road conditions


danielfr
01-11-2005, 06:31 PM
So now that it's finally stopped raining, does anybody know what type of conditions the roads are in? I was hoping go for some longer rides this weekend like Malibu (canyons and/or PCH), Sepulveda/Mullholland or Palos Verdes. Which of these are even possible?

flattire
01-11-2005, 11:19 PM
So now that it's finally stopped raining, does anybody know what type of conditions the roads are in? I was hoping go for some longer rides this weekend like Malibu (canyons and/or PCH), Sepulveda/Mullholland or Palos Verdes. Which of these are even possible?
I will say that Santa Barbara is a mess. At least half of our standard loops here are off limits and maybe more. Some of the normal and excellent cycling roads will be closed for quite some time, perhaps months. I did see some footage on the news tonight showing a house sized boulder on the road around Malibu but I didn't catch what road exactly. Be careful, there is a lot of heavy machinery out working right now and I have a feeling that Cal-Trans workers will be in no mood to deal with cyclists trying to skirt barriers as we frequently do after storms up here.

meat tooth paste
01-12-2005, 12:26 AM
Lots of new pot holes in West LA on Olympic and all the side streets off of it that cyclist tend to take. Watch out for them during the nite time when they are hard to see.

The Walrus
01-12-2005, 11:46 AM
...just inland from PCH.

No (serious) issues going from the north end of the San Fernando Valley over the hills to Simi Valley and out to Moorpark (along Tierra Rejada).

Anyone here located in/around Capistrano? I saw that washout on the news last night; I was planning to go from Tustin down to San Onofre this week, and I wondered about the state of things in SJC and San Clemente.

soulsurfer104
01-12-2005, 03:12 PM
i am pondering spending a few hours working on climbing in Palos Verdes this weekend, but i'm pretty sure that the roads will be a mess. i may wait until next weekend, because i don't want to discover a palm frond in the road while i'm descending. then again, the air is very clear right now from the rain, and the views are probably phenomenal from Del Cerro Park and Crownview Drive, and it's supposed to be in the 70s all weekend....tough choice. see how my legs feel.

you'd probably be safe riding just about anywhere, but be more cautious about running over flat-causing debris.

happy riding.

DrRoebuck
01-12-2005, 10:50 PM
So now that it's finally stopped raining, does anybody know what type of conditions the roads are in? I was hoping go for some longer rides this weekend like Malibu (canyons and/or PCH), Sepulveda/Mullholland or Palos Verdes. Which of these are even possible?

I drove the entire stretch of Mulholland today, from the Cahuenga to Roscomare. It was pretty messy but not awful. Coldwater and Laurel were both closed.

The strand is a disaster, especially by SM Pier and in Venice.

My wife works at Pepperdine. I'll ask her for a road conditions update tomorrow and report back. When I rode PCH the Sunday before last, it was terrible. Shoulder was closed for a mile, then the right lane was closed for another mile. Muddy, dirty, flooded.

She may also know whether Malibu Cyn or any other canyons are open or closed.

And the lady at Helen's told me it was supposed to start raining again on Sunday. But that's neither here nor there.

meat tooth paste
01-13-2005, 11:00 AM
And the lady at Helen's told me it was supposed to start raining again on Sunday. But that's neither here nor there.

Just checked the forecast, and there is no rain predicted for Sunday.

Lots of big pot holes and palm fronds all over the west side. I thought I was going to eat it on Sepulveda near Olympic when I hit this 4" deep by hole.

serbski
01-13-2005, 09:01 PM
So now that it's finally stopped raining, does anybody know what type of conditions the roads are in? I was hoping go for some longer rides this weekend like Malibu (canyons and/or PCH), Sepulveda/Mullholland or Palos Verdes. Which of these are even possible?

Old Topanga, Fernwood, Schueren and Piuma are all OK for climbing as of today although there are plenty of mudslides, rocks, running water and clean-up crews to make (rapidly) descending them rather dicey. There is lots of activity with clean-up crews et al at the top of Stunt and along Schueren which were both a mess but ridable. I only went down Stunt (which was "closed") and it had large areas of mud and greasy water on it and don't get caught behind one of the multitude of dump trucks as they head down, brakes ablaze! The crews working were all very cool about letting me pass through "closed" areas; only cautioning me about rockslides and the like. The upside to all of this is that there will be very few riceburners riding like a-holes. Have fun out there...

soulsurfer104
01-15-2005, 04:04 PM
has anybody ridden the San Gabriel river trail since the storms? i usually take it from Seal Beach up to El Monte, or sometimes to the Santa Fe dam. i'm pretty sure it is a nightmare, but can anyone agree or disagree with me on that?

NOTES FROM TODAY'S RIDE

PCH is clean, maybe more so than usual, on both sides, from Long Beach to Laguna Canyon. the road through Laguna Canyon isn't bad, but there is just a bit of mud/gravel/sand in some spots.
PCH is under construction from Seapoint Blvd in Huntington Beach to about one mile north of there. i rode through there today, and i wouldn't recommend it if you are a wuss and/or are scared of traffic and/or are not a decent bikehandler. to get through, you must ride very close to a concrete wall on your right with traffic whizzing past to your left. plenty of dust and gravel kicked up by passing cars pelted my face, body, and bike- but it was better than taking the "bike detour" along the path on the beach. overall, the the portion of PCH that i rode today was cleaner than than usual.

happy riding, everybody.

mickey-mac
01-15-2005, 04:31 PM
Be careful in and around Griffith Park. Portions of Zoo Drive are a mess. The road up behind the golf courses is pretty muddy in spots. I haven't even thought about trying Mt. Hollywood (aka Trash Truck Hill). Forest Lawn drive has a lot of muddy sections in the bike lane, which can be a real hazard when traffic is flying along at 70+ mph.

Things seem to be in pretty good shape in the west valley and out to Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks. I was out there this morning and didn't encounter any major problems.

soulsurfer104
01-22-2005, 08:01 PM
wanted to update everybody on road conditions along the San Gabriel River....

today i did a nice low-cadence/moderate intensity base-miles ride from the mouth of the river in Seal Beach up to the bridge by El Dorado Park, then crossed the bridge and continued to the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, then re-filled my bottles and rode home the same way. a quick re-cap of my ride follows.

the first obstruction i came across was the second underpass at El Dorado Park- there was an inch or two of sand that had collected under there and it was fairly dangerous; i nearly crashed. my next two moments of excitement came underneath the railroad overpasses out past Downey- both had a mixture of sand, mud, and gravel gathered under them. it was fairly uneventful all the way to El Monte, until i had to dismount just after the golf course- the road was covered with about a foot of dirt and gravel right in that swampy area. all of the underpasses from there to the Santa Fe Dam were somewhat sketchy, but only twice did i have to actually dismount and carry my bike through. the road along the top of the dam was surprisingly clean.

despite the road conditions, it was a very enjoyable ride. warm day, little wind, and no clouds. hope everybody else enjoyed their saturday ride, and i hope my info is useful.