Venice Beach to Santa Monica (and back): No muscle building for us on the flat path at Muscle Beach - Grampies on the Go - Again! Summer 2012 - CycleBlaze
Venice Beach to Santa Monica (and back): No muscle building for us on the flat path at Muscle Beach
For our last ride of this shakedown expedition (last ride on the Coast, anyway)
we headed for the heart of the beast, Venice Beach - not far from Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and all the other famous stuff. The beach front features a level paved path that runs for about 10 kilometers. It's an easy glide, but so much fun! I'll let the captions of these photos tell the story:
Three cyclists, one with BoB trailer, heading for Los Angeles. These guys were really booting it when they passed us as our van was in a lay by. It took a minute or two to actually catch them. Later we saw them at Venice Beach. Impressive.
At Venice Beach we were too lazy to unfold our bikes and so rented a pair. More than beach cruisers, they were brand new and had full gearing and shocks. $6 per hour.
In California we have run into many transients who are living out of/getting around with bikes. The difference between a transient and a cycle tourer? Cycle tourers have Ortlieb or equivalent panniers, transients favour white buckets. We have had some chats with transients - they are often more saavy and tougher than tourers.
This too was along the path. We'll have to catch it on our next tour to Los Vegas! It made us a bit homesick, though, to read the French on their signage.
A street in downtown Venice. Much of Venice retains its character of small, old homes. Even the boardwalk seemed authentic. That is, though a tourist construct it seems to be there for the amusement of "local" tourists. The coast cycle book captured this idea by commenting that this is where the people of LA come to play.
Often in the US, good food comes from Mexicans or other immigrants (not including those who work at McDonalds!) This stall was lined up with Indian, Japanese, and other outlets, each with an authentic looking cook in a small kitchen.
A really excellent pupusa. There was real coffee nearby too and gelato made by a Danish guy. We did not expect to run into such great stuff here, but in the American food desert it was an oasis!
