Monday night rides in LA

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Riding your bike through the streets of Los Angeles in the dark? Believe it or not, it is somewhat of a normal thing for a small group of folks. With all of the traffic, a night ride can actually be a rare opportunity to escape the peak congestion hours and see LA from a new angle. There are two ongoing "eastside" rides that are most well known:
  • Wolfpack Hustle - Departs from Tang's Donuts at 10p on Mondays. This ride has a mix of fixie and road riders. Distance generally ranges from 25-60 miles, with pretty high speeds for much of the ride. The group gets a B- on average for safe riding -- traffic lights are observed in some cases, but the pack has a tendency to keep rolling. All rides start and end at Tang's: 4341 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90029.
  • Cyclones  - Departs from Velo Love at 8p on Mondays, I have yet to do this ride, but I heard that they are more safety conscious than the Wolfpack Hustle and the pace is a bit more mild. Velo Love (AKA SWRVE): 3421 Verdugo Rd, Los Angeles, CA.
These rides are a mix of regulars and first-timers. Consider a helmet and front/rear lights mandatory. Familiarity riding in a group is another must in order to keep things safe.

There a number of other "party rides" that I have not listed here, but may be up your alley depending on what you are looking for. The focus tends to skew more toward drinking and smoking various substances vs. riding, with each ride having it's own atmosphere. See Midnight Ridazz for a ride calendar.

If you aren't used to riding at night at this just sounds like absolute madness to you, it might be worth giving a shot just once. In a couple of days I will summarize what you need to survive a night ride. So stay tuned.

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