Holiday in LA, biking question

[Hatawa]

Hi everyone!
Fellow mustachian from Russia here :)
coming to LA later this month for a week.
staying in Glendale. I won't be able to drive but want to explore the city. Was wondering if anyone knows how bike-friendly LA is. Is it possible to rent a bike? Are the usual tourist places within biking distance?
Will also appreciate any tips on saving: food, public transportation, etc
thanks!

[Abe]

Hi, welcome! If you come to Santa Monica let me know!

LA is really spread out, even compared to other big cities. It is generally not bike-safe because most neighborhoods don't have a lot of bikes so people aren't looking for them while driving (Santa Monica and Venice Beach being two exceptions that are safe and have bike rentals. May be others I don't know about). You could definitely bike to the LA Zoo and Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign (all which you should see). You can take the train (Green Line) to Chinatown and downtown. Hollywood itself you could theoretically bike to in the same time public transit takes (1 hour), but I'd recommend an Uber for practical reasons.  Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach would take 1-2 hours by car or by train. You can take bikes on the train and it would be much cheaper, so that's an advantage.

Food is fairly expensive in the tourist areas, get it in Glendale and take it with you.
Public transportation is cheap but buses are always stuck in traffic and the trains don't go directly to a lot of tourist areas. I highly recommend seeing the surrounding hills and the trails, especially in the Santa Monica mountains. that area is my favorite place to go on weekends.

[socaso]

I lived in Glendale for over 10 years. I would not say it is bike friendly at all. There are some seriously crazy drivers in Glendale. It's actually kind of a joke around the rest of the LA metro area how bad the Glendale drivers are. I have known people who biked around LA and even those who commuted to work using a bike but typically they would take the bus or train part of the way. There is a very active community of recreational biking but it seems like a lot of those folks ride in groups and do a lot of riding in the hills.

I do have a dear friend who lives and works in Glendale and has never driven but walks and takes public transport so that is an option. And of course it's much easier to get a cab these days thanks to Uber and Lyft.

[Hatawa]

Thanks for your replies!

Abe, sure, can let you know if I come to Santa Monica :)
Thanks for the ideas on where to go and how to get there.

socaso, thanks for the heads up on Glendale )) good to know someone manages without a car over there. Means totally possible

[pk_aeryn]

Echoing others comments that Glendale is a special place when it comes to drivers. We have some of the highest insurance rates in the state for good reason.  Road rage is a big problem in this area, and it's one of the few places I've heard of where a cyclist was run over ON PURPOSE per video evidence.

 I always drive or bike with a dash or helmet cam.  There ARE actually a lot of bike lanes in Glendale.  Glenoaks Blvd is a long one (though not relaxing as ppl use this street for street racing) and  Sonora Ave (that will take you down over the freeway bridge to Griffith Park bike lanes and LA River Path) has a fancy new green painted lane.  It's poorly designed however, as it ends abruptly at certain intersections and changes into a furrow.  So you can do it if you are an aware and capable cyclist who is not afraid to get honked at and take a lane where necessary, you'll be ok. 

There are bikes to rent in Griffith Park but otherwise you'll have to google to see if any of the local shops might rent. There are more places to rent along the River Path like the Spoke Cafe but you'd have to find a way to get there since it's several miles from Glendale.

In the city of LA itself at a lot of Metro stations has a new bike share program for bike rentals. So check that out to see if Metro's bike share is a good option.

[Hatawa]

re pk_aeryn: Great. Thanks for the info abt the bike share program. Someone also suggested spinlister. Seems there ARE some options.