Underground to the Mountains

I've never really explored Runyon Canyon, one of L.A.'s premiere "hike and be seen" spots where cute actresses and scruffy musicians walk their dogs and look fabulous. Its absolutely packed on weekends, with great scenery to be found - both of the human and nature varieties. So today I hopped on my friendly neighborhood subway with my singlespeed, which is no good for getting across town, and took it a stop or two to H-wood town.

*click photos to enlarge

Obligatory still life + motion


Knobbies on Stars


A few quick blocks of dodging tourists and I was on my way up the hill to the entrance to Runyon. Leaving the BS of the city behind. Sorta.


A much shorter ride than I'm used to, maybe 3-4 miles round trip, but I felt like I owed it to myself to get familiar with something in my backyard so to speak. The paved climb up from the bottom is a nice consistent grade, definitely a workout on a singlespeed. And I did not see any other cyclists the entire time, only swarms of people and dogs. Looking back down on the climb -


Great views looking south & west at the top. I rode to the gate at Mulholland to make my summit official then turned around to head back down. I conveniently looked the other direction as I passed the 'No Bikes' sign at the top of the dirt trail. For the sake of my knowledge and this blog I had to be a scofflaw for a day and see what was in store. Besides, riding down the way I came up would be no fun at all.

Top looking south


East (HW sign center)


Rustic living on the ridge. Downtown in b/g


Summit Me


The top half of the dirt trail was rideable, with only some water bar drops and a few ruts to contend with. The second half? Yeah no. Hike-a-bike time.

Wheel catchers


Made it back down safe and sound with nary a gripe from any hikers. Ideally I would do 2 laps but the sun was setting and I had a train to catch. Next time. Back down to HW proper for a much-needed recovery beverage. Something tells me its mandatory to include Starbucks with a Runyon hike.

What Would Jesus Drink?

A. a double-tall cappuccino



* all photos courtesy of my sucky iPhone cam.



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