When I first started riding, I found it immeasurably difficult to get around LA in a way that felt safe and accessible. Over the years, I’ve compiled a laundry list of short cuts, detours, and locals-only shoots that have allowed me to piece together rides spanning LA proper while still maintaining a threshold of safety from cars and pedestrians alike.

This series is a mission to disseminate this information and help LA riders and commuters (especially new ones) stay safe.

If you have any cuts that you love to use to find bike lanes, avoid cars, traffic, or anything dangerous, please DM us so we can feature them.

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This week’s safety editions is a short little segment that we use often when formatting rides that run through Griffith. Taking your first right after Trails Cafe onto Red Oak Drive takes you up and around some short punchy climbs and dumps you square onto Beachwood Dr. From Beachwood, you have access to a bunch of great, low traffic climbing through the Hollywood Hills. While this may not seem like a lot of road to skip, the segments of Los Feliz and Franklin that you skip over are HECTIC during most of the day, and honestly the Franklin stretch features some of the angriest rush hour drivers that we see on the road.

Stay safe out there!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3087256885705729862