The City of LA has been working on the new Metro Orange Line for some time now. It's a 14 mile bus route with its own road that spans the entire San Fernando Valley from Warner Center to North Hollywood. The Busway isn't officially opened yet. The official first day is Oct 29, 2005.In addition to the separate road (called "The Busway"), there's also a bike path that runs in parallel. You do have to cross intersections, but the stretches between are great riding.
The path is mostly flat, so it's easy for just about any biker. You can take detours at Balboa Park and the Sepulveda Dam if you want to explore.
This time we took the path to Van Nuys, then dropped down to Ventura Blvd for brunch at Jinky's, our favorite restaraunt.
On the way back, we had a bit of bad luck when Fran pulled off the trail and rolled over a batch of thorns. There were litterally dozens of them, and both tires went flat in a matter of minutes. Fortunately we had a mobile phone and got a lift from our brother-in-law Andrew, who just happens to be working on the Busway construction.
Also, since this is the Valley, we highly recommend sun block if it's summer time. Temperatures can be in 90's or 100's and there's little cover.
