STAR RIDING & TOURING ASSOCIATION SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, CHAPTER 237
Ride Report – Hollywood Hills
January 16, 2010
The day started out at 6:30 a.m. when my trusted
companion, Rupert, awoke me for his morning
walk. As we headed out the door, I looked up
at the sky and began to worry about the days
ride. The sky was full of dark, threatening
clouds in all directions and there was a stiff,
cold breeze in the air. I crossed my fingers
and prayed that, by ride time, the weather would
improve. After a walk and a quick breakfast,
I was out the door again (this time minus Rupert
plus 1 motorcycle) and on my way to the starting
point: Starbucks Coffee on Ventura Blvd. The
weather had already improved; I could see patches
of blue sky, a bit of sun, and the wind had died
down substantially.
I arrived at Starbucks at around 8:30 to already
find that a small group had gathered. I have
to admit, I was a bit nervous being a first time
ride captain, but also very excited. I had
done a ton of preparation including, but not
limited to, printing maps, directions, and even
Hollywood trivia! I was prepared. When
I arrived a few people where busy filling out
paperwork (ride waivers, etc.) and I collected a
bit o’ money (annual dues) from a few members.
At 9 o’ clock I gathered the group together for a
little pre-ride chat. There were 10 people on
the ride, plus me. The group consisted of
Chef Dave, Eddie Colon, Mark Goldstien, Dave
Applebaum, Don Weyant, Mark Itzigsohn, Bobbie
Campos, Brent Groves, Steve Satnsfield and Paul
Guerraro (new guy). I gave everyone a little
information about the ride, reviewed some key hand
signals, and then asked everyone to “saddle up.”
As we turned right onto Ventura Blvd. at about
9:10, the weather was perfect. It was much
warmer than when I walked Rupert at 6:30 a.m. and
the sun was shining. It was a perfect day for
this ride. We headed East on Ventura Blvd. to
Van Nuys Blvd., then right on Van Nuys Blvd. to
Beverly Glenn. We weaved our way up Beverly
Glenn to Mulholland Dr., turned left, and. road
through the windy canyons on Mulholland Dr. (with
some amazing views) to our first scenic overlook
(at around 9:45). I was pleasantly surprised
how empty the parking lot was at this first
overlook since, when I checked it the week before,
it was packed. We had some amazing views of
downtown Los Angeles, the Hollywood Bowl, the
Hollywood sign (from a distance), and even the
Griffith Observatory.
We left this overlook at around 10, and continued
down Mulholland Dr. We drove our way up into the
Hollywood Hills (via Wonder View Dr.). The
scenery was amazing as was some of the
architecture. We drove around Hollywood Lake
(on Lake Hollywood Drive) and slowly to our second
scenic stop: a site very, very close to the
Hollywood sign (and Madonna’s old house). We
stopped there for a bit of trivia (and candy that I
had bought for those who guessed correctly) and a
group photo. We also chatted a few minutes
about the next part of the trip that, from my
pre-ride experience, was the most difficult of the
entire ride: very, very narrow and windy with one
turn that, as I had mentioned in an earlier
posting, was only possible in my car by doing a
3-point turn.
We “saddled up” again and, very slowly and
carefully, continued to wind our way through the
Hollywood Hills toward our midway destination: The
101 Coffee Shop. I think that many who went
on the ride will agree with my pre-assessment that
the 1 very left turn on an up hill road was
“extreme.”
Anyway, we all arrived at The 101 Coffee Shop safe
and sound at about 10:45. After a bit of time
to find everyone parking, and a little wait for a
table, we were all seated at tables near one
another and fed by, in my opinion, a VERY
attractive waitress (with beautiful eyes).
She was even kind enough to give us all separate
checks! The meal was ok, except for one
person getting a bad piece o’ meat (steak).
They were kind enough to bring him something else,
of course. As I mentioned in my originally
posting for the ride, and as some heard at bike
night the night before the ride, this place is
known more for its ambience then it is the quality
of its food.
After a couple hours of eating, chatting, and
unwinding, we all met back in the parking area
where our Webmaster (Steve) decided that taking a
fall off the parking lot wall into the bushes below
seemed like a good idea (sorry, Steve, it had to be
mentioned). He was, as one would expect when
surrounded by your fellow STAR 237 members, quickly
rescued. However, shortly thereafter, he was
called away on business and was unable to continue
the ride. After a brief pre-ride chat before
part II of the ride, the remaining 9 bikers (plus
myself) saddled up and headed down Franklin Ave to
Cahuenga Blvd. It is worth noting that, even
though the posting had listed 4 scenic stops on the
after-lunch portion of the ride, the group had
decided to cut it down to 2: one overlooking
Universal City and the other overlooking the ocean.
We followed Cahuenga Blvd. to Multiview Dr. and
then took that small, windy road back up to
Mulholland. We made our first stop to
overlook Universal City. After a brief
viewing (and a bit more trivia on the San Fernando
Valley), we pressed on to our final stop: a scenic
overlook to see the ocean.
On the ride to our final destination we were
treated to some amazing views and incredible
weather: mid-60s and sunny. Some people,
myself included, even caught a glimpse of the
famous Disneyland “D” on the side of one of the
hills! We carefully turned left into our
final destination and got a somewhat cloudy view of
the ocean and, believe it or not, Catalina
Island. After this, we all went our separate
directions: some headed back to Beverly Glenn and
others continued down Mulholland Dr. to the 405.
I was truly pleased with the turn out for this ride
and, despite my concerns about being a ride
captain, was happy with the way it turned
out. I only hope that the pace wasn’t too
slow, or the roads too windy, for my fellow
riders. I thank everyone who came on this
ride and hope to be able to lead it again next
year.
Regards,
Your Ride Captain,
Daniel Litvack
P.S. My photos from this ride can be found at
http://s576.photobucket.com/albums/ss203/Dlit99/Hollywood%20Hills%20Ride%20-%2001162010/?albumview=slideshow
Map
http://www.gpsed.com/track/4645565576095900996
