Taking a slightly different direction today. I found myself watching a movie that reminded me of Los Angeles, which brought back memories of the city I called home for 21 years.
Before leaving on my trip, a friend of mine joined me for one final tour of the city. We did all the cheesy tourist stuff, even things I never did the whole time I lived there.
However, when I think of Los Angeles I don’t picture Hollywood Boulevard, Rodeo Drive or even Venice Beach. I picture the mountains.
Southern California is home to incredible natural beauty that I’d rank pretty high in a “world’s best” list. Sadly, it’s beauty that most tourists, and even most locals, never take the opportunity to see.
When I wanted to get out in the middle nature, it didn’t mean driving to some far off location. I grabbed my bicycle and left from my front door. Within 12 miles, I was in the mountains. Millions of cars were just down the hill, but once you pass the residential areas, they are a rarity on the roads.
The scenery is at its best in a “green” year when we actually had some rainfall, but even when the desert climate creates more brush than lush, the serenity out there was astonishing. It’s all the more amazing when you consider that a bowling ball unleashed on these mountains would roll its way to the middle of the second largest city in the US (if you had bumpers around the corners).
The Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriels, Angeles Forest, Palm Desert, Lake Casitas are just a few of the wonderful locations for cycling in Southern California. To be fair, some of these are from rides a bit further away, including the northern coast. I considered it all my backyard, though. A playland for me, my friends and my bicycle.
(as always, click on any picture for a closer look)
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Lake Casitas on the way to Santa Barbara
On the way to Ojai.
Angeles Forest, with just a bit of snow in the distance. 
Angeles Forest with the fog a couple thousand feet below. 
Santa Monica Mountains on a cool, overcast morning.
The California Coast at dawn.
Heading up to Mount Baldy
A bit further north on the PCH, while riding from San Francisco to LA.
Finally, a picture of Big Tujunga Road in the Angeles Forest a few months before I left, just starting to recover from massive forest fires.
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