Finds from the Grind - River Trails and Hills

Scenes from around the Arroyo Seco and Los Angeles River from my bike on April 15th.

This was the first time this year I rode along the Arroyo Seco and the Los Angeles River. During the Winter, both glorified gutters had seen a lot of action with flash floods, debris, and even some dramatic rescues. I waited until things calmed down and dried out.

The first thing I noticed were the sheer number of abandoned shopping carts. The second thing I noticed was how there were piles of leftover clothing from the homeless camps after they got washed away. The third thing I noticed was how all the homeless who used to be on the San Gabriel River appeared to have relocated to the Los Angeles River. Whether they were the same ones or not, I don't know, but the numbers of homeless in San Gabriel are way down and the Los Angeles River Trail camps are way up.

The construction project at the Figueroa to Riverside Drive transition finally finished up. I had no idea they were making a roundabout. I thought they were just retrofitting that bridge and widening the lanes. The new bike lane extension is kind of wonky, though, and it's clearly designed for commuters to the metro station there. I'll figure out the best way to get in there to join up with the LA River Trail soon enough.

I got passed by a motorized bike up Chevy Chase. That's never good for the ego to see someone pedaling twice as fast as you on a steep climb, but then I saw the electric motor, so my self-image was saved until the next time a semi-pro passes me on an ascent.

I also decided to take Inverness from La Canada to meet up with Highland on the Pasadena side, since I had not been on that stretch of road for about 12 years. It's still a hard rolling course up and down.