You Never Forget Your First Time (Facing "Flat Fear")

"PSTSSssssssssssssssssssss..........."

This is not the sound I want to hear as I pedal hard down Myrtle Ave in Montrose.

But hear it I do, and my second-to-worst fear as a cyclist comes true.  I have a flat. On the road.  Alone.

I am 12 bikeable miles from the car and 15 freeway miles from home.  My husband is at work, also 12 miles away from the car (and without car keys or viable public transport options to get to the car).  It is 6:20 PM, and the sun is starting to go down. 

I border on panic-mode.

*deep breath*

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Back when I starting casual cycling (in Rochester), I was sort of paralyzed by Flat Fear.  I'd ride short distances, or multiple small loops near people/businesses I knew, or only when my husband was in town and "on-call" in case I needed a car rescue.  He wasn't in town much - so I think I rode the 20-mile Flower City Challenge loop exactly once before race day.

I had the proper equipment: tire levers, tubes, and CO2 cartridges.  I had the brain smarts: I'd attended a flat tire clinic, and had even changed my own flats before, when my bike went on a tube-popping-in-the-middle-of-the-night streak.  But the first of these was at home, with unlimited time and YouTube.  The second was done pre-ride and with the assistance/company of Mr. Gustavo G-L Z, who treated the whole thing like it was no more trouble than brushing off a pesky fly: release the tire, remove the tube, check the tire, insert the new tube, pump, and voila!  You're done.  

What I didn't have yet was confidence.

But I didn't think I'd find this confidence in safe, close-to-home loops.  So when I moved out to LA, I made the conscious decision not to be limited by Flat Fear.  People cycle long distances all the time.  They change their flats. So could I. And off I went (with supplies & cell phone in tow).

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 *Exhale*

The moment had come to put myself to the test. 

So I did the first thing any smart cyclist would do: I called my husband, told him where I was, and asked him to help me figure out if I was near a bike shop.  [Cue the first time I have ever - EVER - wished my Stupid Phone were a Smart Phone.]  For you non-cyclists, note that walking in cycling shoes isn't easy, or pretty.  So for the purposes of this discussion, "near" was something like "less than a mile, and preferable more like two blocks, away".  There were, in fact, several bike shops within a 1 mile radius; but they all closed at 6 PM.  Thirty minutes ago.

He offered to put out a "Facebook Call For Help", to see if any of his friends could come pick me up.  I was too proud to go that route, yet.  So I assured him I'd be fine, and was just going to change the tire myself. *coughcough*just*coughcough* [Voice in my head: "Eeep!"]

Man down! Man down!

I pushed down panic, put on my Big Girl Panties, and got started.  I removed the front wheel easily - that's how she rides in the car, so I do that part all the time.  Then, I remembered that my tire levers got lost somewhere between Rochester and Los Angeles.  After fighting to pry the tire up over the rim, I had a flash of insight: I could use my keys as a similar lever.  This worked (almost) like a charm, and pretty soon one side of the tire was out.  

I removed the tube and was absolutely unable to find a hole (oh, well).  I thought back to my YouTube video education, trying to remember any small steps I was forgetting.  I checked the tire, inside and out, for anything that would've caused a puncture.  Nada.  I got the new tube in pretty easily and replaced the tire (Gustavo talked me through this part, in my head. Thanks, G!). 

The culprit.

Now, all that stood between me and the rest of my ride was: the CO2 Cartridge.  And I'd never done this part before.  I wasn't quite sure what triggered the CO2 release, so I handled each step very carefully, screwing on the adaptor, fitting it over the valve, expecting an explosive release of CO2 at any moment.  But there was just...nothing.  Nothing.

Dear CO2, Where are you??

So, I fiddled. I channeled my best fiddling and problem-solving abilities, as honed by years in a research lab.  And then, AHA!  See that little spring up there?  That controls the release of the CO2.  When the spring is compressed, CO2 is released.  Man, that is brilliantly engineered.  So I fitted the green part over the valve, and squeezed. My fingers got COLD, but my tire got FULL!

I was so surprised that I nearly fell over.  Seriously.  It freaking worked!!!!  There was joy, on that little section of sidewalk, I tell you. JOY.  I think I did a happy dance.  I nearly stopped the next passerby to say, "Hey! Hey! Look what I just did!"  I refrained, as I preferred to avoid police involvement at that point.

I put in a bit more CO2, but was afraid of popping the new tube, so I stopped well short of max pressure.  But that was OK - the tire was full enough for me to ride the 12 miles back to the car.  Fueled by giddy pride and racing the setting sun, I set a pretty good pace on the return trip. 

To be honest, the whole experience was slightly terrifying.  And I can't swear to you that I'm now a genius at tire-changing.  But I can tell you that there is nothing in the world like facing a fear and emerging having conquered it.  

I'm no longer afraid of a flat.  I changed my tire once, and I can do it again.  Stupid as it sounds, I think I walked a little taller for the rest of the day.

And now, I want to share my knowledge with every biker who's ever let Flat Fear hold him/her back.  You can do it!  I did it, and so can you!!  

But when you get down to it, that's the catch.  I can preach it all I want, but until you go out and change your first solo flat, you won't fully believe that you can do it.  

I am planning to do a flat-tire-change post with lots of details in the future.  But for now, be fearless.  Go to a clinic, go to your bike shop, ask your biking friends.  Learn the academic parts of it.  Make sure you have the right equipment, and a phone in case things go badly.

Then put on your helmet, and ride fearlessly into your first flat.  With a little practice, a little luck, and a little guts, you too, will pedal victoriously out the other side. 

Ride on, friends!

[The rest of the details about this ride - Ride #8 - coming soon.]

Quote-spiration I

It's easy to do the things you're good at...



...but considerably more rewarding to conquer the things you struggle with.

Reasons Biking Rocks, #1

I'm a runner at heart.  But after a 4-month vacation full of ~15 mile weeks, I've been spending the summer in a slow base-rebuilding mode.  This is good, and safe - but sometimes leaves me feeling a little bored.  My runs are at conversational pace, and my primary mental struggles are to keep things easy, and to avoid piling on too many miles too fast.  Very seldom have I had to harness my mental fortitude to push through a hard workout.  Boring, yes.  But "These intervals HURT and I don't know if I have two more left in me", no.

However, I'm finding that I can build bike time much faster. When I was getting started, I'd ride for an hour, then an hour and a half, and now I'm up to two hours - over the course of just a few weeks.  I could do such a ride a few times a week, if I wanted - and I feel confident that I could go out for a three or four hour ride today, if my schedule allowed. I've done all of my bike work thus far without acquiring any worrisome twinges, tweaks, or pains.

Sure, my quads get sore, and I have to stretch my hips out every day.  Sometimes my back aches a bit.  But my feet, ankles, IT bands, and hips have been very accepting of my new habit.   

Of course, a longer/harder ride will leave my legs feeling fatigued.  And so, I recently had a revelation: I can harness this fatigue to make my runs more challenging.  Once or twice a week, I can safely ride myself to tired legs, then enjoy a more challenging run on these legs.  This is not dissimilar to running the final miles of a long run at goal-marathon pace: Holding a pace when your body is tired.  But instead of running myself to a tired state, I bike myself there, then pick up the run.  [Note: I don't usually do this like a brick workout: get off the bike and go immediately into a run.  Instead, I usually give myself 6-16 hours between the two.  This creates a different kind of fatigue, I think.]

It wasn't until I added biking to my workout repertoire that I've been able to achieve a good, solid, tired-legs feeling.  And the truth is: I love it.  How much will this improve my running physiology right now? I really don't know.  But I do know that it's providing solid mental training and varying my workouts a bit, while keeping me healthy and strong. 


I also haven't done much research into the physiological validity behind this approach.  But my legs feel tired and I'm getting a challenging run workout that my hips and IT bands are tolerating well.  [They are the first to complain when I push too hard, too fast.]  And since I'm not in event-specific training at the moment, I have some time to experiment on myself.

I don't know how my relationship with cycling will change once my legs are back up to running 50+ miles/wk.  But for now, cycling has been a much-needed release for my athletic energy.  So despite my grumblings (in a few minutes, I have to load my bike into the car for a trip to the bike shop, grrrr...), I'm thankful for this opportunity to explore a new sport and some new approaches to training.  

I've also been motivated to learn/read/think more about integrating different kinds of cross-training into a running routine.  While this is relevant to me in the short-term, I think it also holds considerable promise for runners with chronic/degenerative injuries, who are looking to improve running performance but whose bodies only tolerate a certain mileage each week.  As a running coach, I have lots to think and learn about - good thing this stuff fascinates me!

Ride #4: South Bay Bike Path

A dear friend of mine visited us for a long weekend at the end of July.  After dropping her at the airport on a Tuesday morning, I made the most of my drive to the west and headed to Marina del Rey for a trifecta of short rides at the beach.

If this won't sooth Melanie-missage, I don't know what will...

Where to Bike Los Angeles describes three intersecting rides from Marina del Rey south to Torrance Beach.  Basically, along the coast in this area:

The first of these is the South Bay Bike Path - essentially, a straight shot down the coast.

Date: 7/31/2012

Time: ~10 AM

Weather: 72F, Overcast

Route: Start at the Ballona Creek Bridge/Enter South Bay Bike Path/Transition to bike lane on Hermosa Ave/Back to bike path/Follow through parking garage/Turn around at Torrance Beach (end of bike path)

Hey! I found "0" on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail!
We usually run/ride this around miles 17-23 in the Santa Monica area.
Note to self: Consider a complete end-to-end ride on this path...

This ride is from Where to Bike Los Angeles, except I started from the parking lot Del Rey Lagoon Park, which offered free parking and restroom facilities.

Distance: 23.1 mi

Time: 1 hr, 25 min

Avg Pace: 16.2 mph 

Ride Description: This is definitely a weekday or very early morning ride.  I imagine this path gets crowded with runners, walkers, and beach-goers in the afternoons, especially on weekends.  On this particular morning, overcast skies and my odd timing meant that things were pretty quiet over 80% of the path (the other 20% was hoppin', though - read on).  The ride isn't quite as fast as it could be, though, because sand on the path makes it pretty slippery in places.  I got to practice some bike handling on sharp, sandy turns.  

Sand to the left, Sand to the right,
Sand on the path all day & night...

The sections of the route that went onto the road were in very quiet areas (again, probably not so on the weekend).  I was slowed only by lights and stop signs.  There was a bike lane in places, and where there wasn't, cyclists got this:

See that sign?  And the WHOLE ENTIRE FULL LANE, labeled just for me (us)?!?  WHEEE!!!!

There is one section at Redondo Beach where this happens:

Saving pedestrians from cyclists.

Although, on this particular day, the pier was pretty deserted:

Maybe things will pick up once this place opens?

I kinda wish I could climb up there and scribble in "Eventually".

Overall, at a quiet time, this is a flat, easy ride that affords meditative ocean views.

Interesting Happenings:
1. Summer camp like WHOA.  Kids & counselors, for all kinds of camps.  On one section of beach, I overheard the introduction of the day's camp guest, surfer "Bob Gnarley".  I thought camp was for, like, 4-H.  But I guess when you live on the West Coast, you can go to Summer Surf Camp:

Love the teamwork.

Looked like those campers could have used one of these, which I spotted a bit further down the beach:

Truly ingenious, right?

Really, truly camping at the beach.

2. I also thought that RVs/Campers were for camping. Like, forest camping.  But then, I came upon a beachside parking lot full of RVs.  First, I thought it was a sales lot. Then, I realized that these people were really, truly, legitimately camper-ing.  Next to the beach.  I'll bet those suckers are full of sand by the end of the week.  Better them than me...  Boy, I'm learning so much out here in Cali.

3. Sometimes, you'll randomly stumble upon a mid-week volleyball tournament:

Gates erected along the bike path forced cyclists to walk their bikes through this (very crowded) section.  But that slowed me enough that I could fully appreciate some of the team uniforms.  A few of my faves:

Looks like the Cleveland Indians are playing 2 sports this summer...

Yep, definitely them.

At least it's the off-season for the Lakers.

Team Thanksgiving.  I guess it's sorta their off-season, too...

Lessons Learned:
1. A bike path can go through a parking garage!

The approach...

..."Bike Path Ahead"...

...it's dark in here!

2. "Heads up, passing on the left" is a pretty good way of alerting pedestrians/recreational cyclists to your approach.  I find that the standard, "On your left," is very confusing, since you're saying exactly the thing you don't want them to do.  The brain hears "left", and half the time, they step left. It's not really their fault; it's their brains!  But "heads up", followed by "Passing on your left" seems to be processed a bit more successfully.
3. Pedestrians ignore signs that designate paths as "Bikes ONLY".  Dude - I don't care HOW fast you run, you don't belong on the bike path. Seriously.
  
Lingering Questions:
1. Where in the heck do people go to just ride??  Every place I've ridden so far has stop signs, stop lights, pedestrian crossing, and/or bike-walking sections.  Even though my serious pedaling speed averages 18 mph, when factoring in slow-downs for people, stop signs, lights, etc - I only average out to 16.  How do people train for a long-distance bike race this way?  Are you all just packing your bikes up and driving them miles away, somewhere free from all signs, lights, and people?  Where is this secret place?? 

Overall? A happy ocean-side ride with a few slow sections.  I circled back to the car for a snack, some sunscreen, and a double-check on the directions for my second planned ride of the day.  Stay tuned!

Ride #3: San Fernando Pass to Santa Susana Pass - Porter Ranch

Sometimes on Wednesday evenings, I join a group run out at Fleet Feet Encino.  On this particular Wednesday, I decided to pre-game my run with a bike ride up in San Fernando.  

Significantly northwest of downtown LA.  The ride started in San Fernando (at right),
and proceeded up into Porter Ranch (pink area with red pin).

This area is north of Encino, even further from the city, and thus the trip to Encino is significantly easier from San Fernando than from our apartment in the evening (going south instead of north).  I parked at the Sylmar Metro station.  Note to Angelinos: MANY Metro stations have free parking.

I promise you, there's not much out in Sylmar except free parking at the Metro station.*
But that was awesome!

Date: 7/25/2012

Time: ~3PM

Weather: 90F, Sunny

Route: R Hubbard/L San Fernando/R Workman (Rinaldi)/R Reseda/L Braemore/R Tampa/L Sesnon/L Mason/R Chatsworth/L Variel/R Devonshire/R Valley Circle/L Germain/End at Chatsworth Park North & turn around/L Devonshire/L Variel/R Chatsworth/L Mason/R Rinaldi (Workman)/L Truman/R Hubbard/L Frank Mondugno

This route is from Where to Bike Los Angeles.  I am describing routes briefly in these posts, but truly - if you're a cycling Angelino, you should buy the book for yourself.  The authors provide five times more information than I can/want to - and books like this come to fruition as a result of rider support.  So go get yourself a copy - you won't regret it!

Distance: 27 mi

Time: 1 hr, 51 min

Avg Pace: 14.6 mph, with a max of 33.9 mph (for me, that's freakin' FAST) 

You can see the Garmin data for this ride here.

Ride Description: The ride starts with some mild suburb navigation through Sylmar, then involves a straight shot down Rinaldi for 4 miles.  There is a bike lane here, but the road is a moderately busy commercial section, with freeway entrances/exits, lights, and businesses.  I generally felt safe, but this wasn't a relaxing section to ride.

At Reseda, the route turns up into a very quiet, residential area - and climbs 350 feet in about 0.6 miles into the Porter Ranch neighborhood.  Now THAT is a climb.  But one thing about bike shoes that clip in to your pedals: You don't have much choice but to keep on pedaling!  And at the top, I was rewarded with nearly deserted (and flat!) residential streets:

and views of the distant mountains:

One thing to note, though - if you're taking photos while on your bike, you may not be able to take full advantage of all descents! 

Still, the photos were worth it.

After a few high miles, the route drops back down out of Porter Ranch.  In this section, I encountered a road full of heavy construction equipment and obvious roadwork.  I was afraid I'd have to backtrack - and the anal retentive part of me worried about not completing the route as it was written.  But the road crew let me through and I coasted some fast, steep, and construction-riddled miles down.  The final part of the "out" ride goes through another commercial district, but was quieter and more pleasant to ride than Rinaldi.  The turn-around point is at a disappointingly meager park:

LA has some awesome parks. This isn't really one.

In fact, there wasn't even a water fountain (that I could find).  I was glad I wore my hydration pack, rather than relying on water bottle refills for this ride.  On my way back, I stopped for a pick-me-up lemonade at The Munch Box.  It is, apparently, a Cultural Heritage Site (who knew?).  The lemonade was pink, but acceptable.  The cold sugary goodness fueled the last 8 miles of my ride.

What can I say? Photos with historic cultural sites are now a habit.

The return trip skips the climb up to Porter Ranch and instead remains entirely on Rinaldi Street.  This is not complicated, but does include too many entrance/exit ramps for my liking.  

Interesting Happenings:
1. Best climb yet!

This is a picture taken on the return ride.  Straight ahead is Porter Ranch.  I didn't climb all the way to the top, but this gives you an idea of the unusual layout of this area.

2. On my return trip, I saw a man lying on the sidewalk at a bus stop, receiving CPR.  This was happening literally across the street from a hospital, and there were plenty of scrubs-clad-professionals in attendance, so I didn't feel that my Red Cross CPR certification was needed.  I did, however, stop complaining to myself about silly, inconsequential things.  For example:
3. Coming in to the final miles, I got passed by a gentleman 15 years my senior with a spare tire around his middle that would be suitable for Dimitri.  Humbling, much? 

Lessons Learned:
1. What climbing a 10-12% grade feels like.
2. Motorists interpret "bike lane" to mean "Hey! I don't have to pull super close to the curb, since there's all this extra space on the left!"
3. Lemonade is just as good at the end of a tough ride, as it is at the end of a tough run.
4. Maybe I'm getting a bit more comfortable riding with traffic?  And this particular ride included several "right lane turns into right hand turn lane" situations.  A vast improvement from this ride.  Good thing, too - because this road was much busier than Old Town Montrose.
5. Don't write your turn cheat-sheet on old, brittle paper from a freebie WestLaw notebook.  My direction sheet literally crumbled in my pocket, and I was holding left piecing fragments together to recall my route.  I hope that WestLaw as a service is higher quality than their paper...

Lingering Questions:
1. Really must learn how to clean my chain.  All this hot, dry, dusty business is resulting in grit accumulation.  This isn't really a question, unless you have some advice!
2. Why does that one piece of hair insist on popping out of my helmet?

As if a helmet isn't already a terrific fashion statement...

Overall, this was a great intermediate ride.  There wasn't extreme climbing, or extreme traffic - but there were modest amounts of both, which resulted in my feeling both practiced and accomplished at the end.  However, the distance from home, plus the commercial nature of Rinaldi, are enough to discourage me from returning to ride here regularly.  But thanks for a good time on this particular afternoon, Porter Ranch!

*This is not entirely true.  Sylmar also houses the Nethercutt Museum, the most fantastic collection of mint-condition classic cars I've ever seen.  Admission is free.  You should go.

Ride #2: The Rose Bowl & Descanso Gardens

I was still feeling pumped from my first ride, and two days later, I was ready to head out again. I had a few errands to take care of out in Pasadena, so I decided to pack my bike into the car and knock off a few of the Pasadena rides.


No, I don't like carting my bike to ride, but I recognize that I won't always be able to ride to every ride from our apartment.  And since I was heading out to Pasadena anyway, I didn't have to worry about making an extra trip.  So I sucked it up, undid the quick release, collapsed Dimitri's back seats (Dimitri = our car), and rearranged our normal trunk-stuff.  After hitting up the library, the dry cleaner, and the storage locker, I parked down along the Rose Bowl and set out.

This is the western part of Pasadena. The Rose Bowl (football stadium & golf course) is that long, skinny bit of green marked with the pin.
The first part of this ride circles the Rose Bowl. The second part goes up into those squiggly roads to the northwest of the Rose Bowl, all the way to (and past) Descanso Gardens, which are the spot of green with the tree picture at the upper left.

Date: 7/20/2012

Time: ~3:00 PM

Weather: 85 F, Sunny

Route: Clockwise loop around Rose Bowl/L Salvia Canyon/R Linda Vista (Highland)/R Berkshire/R Chevy Chase/L Descanso/L Verdugo (Honolulu)/Turn around at Old Town Montrose & Reverse/Clockwise loop around Rose Bowl

These two routes were directly combined from Where To Bike LA, Route #13 and #14 (low road option).

Distance: 17 mi

Time: 1 hr, 7 min

Avg Pace: 15.1 mph

Terrain: Rose Bowl Loop rises slightly to the 12 o'clock position, and drops to the 6 o'clock position (150 ft increase, over 1.5 miles).  The route up to Descanso climbs steadily but not steeply (~600 feet over 5 miles), mostly through quiet residential areas:

Quiet residential area - including tree shade!!

and nearly deserted scenic overlook roads:

A little too much road & power line, but look at that view!

before dropping sharply into Montrose.  Obviously, the return trip features a short steep climb out of Montrose, then 5 miles of gorgeous, gradual downhill.

Interesting Happenings:
1. Lightbulb moment as I flew down the hill into Montrose: "Hey! That is the Ralph's I always stopped at for lemonade after workouts!"  There I was, just ~1/4 mile from the park where I coached some young runners earlier this summer.  When I planned/mapped this route, I had no idea.  Ooops.

Lessons Learned:
1. Don't get so distracted unloading and prepping your bike (and yourself) that you forget to close the car door.  After messing around at the car for ~10 minutes, I hopped on my bike for my first loop of the Rose Bowl.  

Coming around the Rose Bowl - the golf course part, not the football stadium part!

15 minutes later, as I circled around to finish the loop, I noticed that Dimitri's driver's side door was ajar.  Thankfully, nothing was disturbed - I think I was so distracted by preparing for the ride, that I didn't notice I'd left it open.  D'oh!  Henceforth, I shall double-check all doors.

Descending from Descanso Gardens.

2. Sometimes, you don't realize how much climbing you've done until you see that you're actually coasting the whole way back.  Sweet!

 3. This is a BEAUTIFUL ride.  I wish I'd known about it when we were living out in Pasadena for the month of December.

4. Beware of the right turn lane!  Coming into Old Town Montrose, I stopped paying attention for a moment, and suddenly the right hand lane (where I was riding) had become a right turn lane full of cars. I wanted to go straight, but couldn't move over safely.  In this case it was OK - I just made the turn, then looped back when it was safe to cross.  But if that had been a freeway entrance ramp, I'd have been in a tight spot.  I must remember to watch for this when I'm riding in a new area.

Lingering Questions:
1. I had some trouble at the start today with one pad on my front brakes rubbing (my cyclocross bike has caliper brakes).  I'm starting to suspect this happens when I don't put the front tire on exactly square.  Thoughts?

2. Any tips for getting started from a dead stop (red light) heading up a pretty steep hill?  I try to remember to shift into an easy gear before stopping, to make starting easier.  But even so, as someone who's still adjusting to clipless pedals, I had a scary moment or two getting started on a busy road (no place to weave/swerve to build momentum) climbing out of Montrose.  

Overall, I was proud of myself for this ride.  I got out there without too much grumbling, did a little climbing, explored a new area, discovered a really beautiful spot for biking/running, and built up a huge appetite for date night dinner at Musha Izakaya.  

I'm out in Pasadena about once a week; whenever possible, I'll be bringing my bike along, to check out a few other rides, and zip up to Descanso again, for sure.  I'm also excited to check out the "high road" variation of this ride, which has a bit more climbing.  

And while I didn't have time to stop on this particular day, Old Town Montrose is pretty cute and has some tempting spots for a coffee/lemonade/muffin stop.  I'll also be checking them out (purely research purposes) in the future!

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!