Ride #1: Griffith Park

After half an hour of preparation, I was ready for my first ride:

Helmet, shoes, sunnies, water, phone, and Garmin: All CHECK.

This was a combination of Ride #1: Griffith Park (in orange) from Where To Bike LA  with a bit of gmapping that I did myself.

Date: 7/18/2012

Time: ~12:45 PM

Weather: 81 F, party sunny

Route: Franklin/L N. Catalina/L Rodney/R Avocado/R Los Feliz/L (at light) Riverside (Crystal Springs, Zoo Dr)/L Griffith Park Dr/R Crystal Springs/R Los Feliz/R Lambeth/L Griffith Park Blvd/R St. George/R Tracy/L Talmadge/R Prospect (Hollywood)

This route took me past some Griffith Park attractions, including the LA Zoo,
the Gene Autry Museum, and a golf course.

Distance: 15.5 miles

Time: 1 hr, 4 min

Avg Pace: 14.5 mph

Terrain: Relatively flat, with one notable climb (300 ft over ~0.5 miles)

Interesting Happenings:

1. I saw my first coyote!  He (she?) darted across the road just ahead of me, and performed a flying leap up a retaining wall and off into the scrub.  WOW.  Note: Do not stop pedaling just because you are in coyote-shock.

2. I climbed my first sorta-serious hill.  Nothing tremendous, but I still felt pretty accomplished at the top (and enjoyed the coast down).

Lessons Learned:

1. Finally, I understand why people wear wrap-around, rimless sunglasses: Better overall coverage and fewer blind spots (eg: when turning around the check for cars behind).  Must get myself a pair, eventually...

2. The cheating turn!  I was losing sleep over making a left from Los Feliz (v. busy) onto Riverside Dr:

I don't know when this photo was taken,
but this intersection is usually far busier than shown here!

I just don't have the balls (yet) to cross 3 busy lanes of traffic to get into the left turn lane for Riverside: But I worked out a pretty good compensatory trick: I stayed on Los Feliz to cross Riverside with traffic, then carefully slowed and did a little loop on the sidewalk to get onto Riverside, heading into the park.  This way, I crossed again, with the light (and traffic) on Riverside Dr.  An ingenious way to avoid a tricky left, without being exiled to the cross-walk.

3. Keeping my camera in one of the back pockets of my biking jersey will result in a fogged lense, if the lense-side is facing my body (oops).  Flipping it around so the screen side is against my back is a much less moist position.  And having it close at hand is good for snapping a few from-the-bike photos:

On Crystal Springs Dr, past the museums and zoo. 
Just about ready to start climbing.

Lingering Questions:

1. How do I clean my chain?  [In Rochester, I'd just hose the whole bike down & lube the chain; out here, I don't have access to a hose, and there is a LOT of dust in the air.]

Overall, once I got out the door, the ride went pretty smoothly. The initial city riding (to the bike path) was a little nerve-wracking, but not ridiculously busy.  Once I started path and park riding, things were excellent.  These eight miles of solid riding gave me confidence for the final mile I had to ride on Hollywood Blvd.  And of course, when I got back home - I felt AWESOME.  Note to self: Remember this while preparing for my next ride!