Customer Reviews

Bicycling Los Angeles County: A Guide to Great Road Bike Rides

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's ok. Too many of the "rides" are "star home tours" or bike paths that are pretty obvious (like Santa Monica bike path) and could be found online. Also, a substantial number of the rides are on surface streets within dense parts of Los Angeles ("sights of downtown", "Hollywood landmarks"). It lists Santa Fe Dam but neglects to mention how dangerously hot it can be for part of the year and only gives a passing "isn't known for its crystal clear air" instead of mentioning it as a serious potential health hazard.

I also find it irresponsible that they list the Rose Bowl ride with no mention of the charged atmosphere surrounding it on the weekends (and conflicts with law enforcement). Ditto for Mandeville Canyon. I'd certainly want to know these things if I weren't an experienced Los Angeles rider. It seems more important than pages of addresses (mostly ex-addresses) of stars.

As the author of Bicycling Los Angeles County, I'd like to point out that at the time of the publication of the book, the "charged atmosphere" of the Rose Bowl Ride had not yet risen. There have always been conflicts between group rides and traffic, but the situation at the Rose Bowl wasn't tense when I was writing the book. Similarly, as a rider who rode Mandeville Canyon the day Dr. Thompson assaulted Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr (and later covered the trial for VeloNews) I can say the book didn't include anything about that incident because it was already in bookstores.

I respect that every book will be criticized, but I do hope that readers won't ding a book for not mentioning events that occurred after the book was in print.

This is an excellent product for those who like to discover new routes (and drive to get there). I am a beginner cyclist so, I was able to find a couple good routes near my house.