Riders! Welcome!
Friends, The Latebirds are just so damn stoked to host you in our city for this rally!
We're going to have a real good time, and we're going to go on some legendary rides. We're gonna show you all over this fine town. And we're gonna party.
We want every rider to be as safe and secure as possible during this rally, so please, please read the ride descriptions below and prepare accordingly! Please have your bikes in order, make sure you are legal, and please keep a courteous and cautious vibe on all the rides for your own safety and the safety of riders around you. There are riders of all levels, shapes and sizes coming to this great weekend!
Moral of the story is: don't be a kook and everybody should have a rad weekend!
Don't forget to follow @flockyeah on Twitter! Twitter will be the PRIMARY method we use for mass communication throughout the course of the Rally weekend. If you are a Twitter hater, or you do not have a smartphone, you will want to stick near to someone with a smartphone and a Twitter account.
A Word of Warning:
PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE RIDE DESCRIPTIONS BELOW! These rides are not easy, not for the faint of heart nor the faint of moped. Friday night we will blow up your kit, if you even make it to that part. Saturday, assuming you even get to the canyons, you'll need to be extremely careful on the steep, twisty route down. Please take heed and be smart about your riding! We ask that you ride with COURTESY and keep your fellow riders in mind at all times! Please be sure, especially for Saturday, that you have GOOD WORKING BRAKES!! See the Saturday ride description below for details on that note.
A NOTE ON CALIFORNIA MOPED LEGALITY: Los Angeles is not as friendly/forgiving towards mopeds as it once was. Cops are HIGHLY likely to fuck with us at some point and there's absolutely nothing we can do about that. If you would like to avoid problems with the cops, it is highly recommended that your moped be fully, legally registered and insured, and that you be a legally-licensed rider. In California, that means that you need at least an M2. Please refer to this California DMV page regarding mopeds for more information.
A Special Note Regarding Oscar Palma:
Los Angeles tragically lost a great dude and moped rider on Monday night when Oscar was killed by an automobile while on his moped.
In the wake of this travesty, The Wooly Bullies have asked us to remind every rider yet again to be as safe as possible, and be sure to have your bikes in order. That includes working, running lights.
Please also help us contribute via ChipIn to Oscar's family for his final costs:
We'll be collecting contributions all throughout the Rally as well.
We are dedicating the Sunday ride to the memories of Oscar Palma and Daniel Nguyen. See the Sunday ride below for more information regarding this.
Let's Talk Itinerary
Friday
- Check-in at Choke Motorcycle Shop from 3PM, if you've already bought or would like to purchase a Rally Pack.
- Rides leave from Choke. Be ready to ride by 6PM. That includes being gassed up! There is a gas station right around the corner from Choke, and it's cheap.
- Kickstands up, wheels rolling at 7PM SHARP!!! NO EXCEPTIONS!!! We have a deadline on this ride: to get through an area that closes at 9PM. If you can't ride at 7PM, you will have to meet us after the ride, period!
- 20-mile ride of utter amazingness (see below).
- PIZZANISTA!
- Beers and cocktails at Tony's Saloon
- Ride home on your own - Be Safe!!
Before the Ride
If you're registered and either have purchased or would like to purchase a Rally Pack, we can accommodate you at Choke Motorcycle Shop from 3PM on until it's ride time. Don't fuck around with being late, though.
While chillin at Choke, things that would be wise to take care of: buy some oil and spark plugs from Choke, who are helping us out big-time at this rally and very much deserve your business; fill up on gas at the Valero that is 1 block north of Choke on Virgil Avenue; get a snack at a local market because we won't be getting to the eatery until late and we don't want no ginerin' babies suffering from hungy time!
If you are arriving late and cannot make the ride: getting from Union Station to Pizzanista! is exceedingly easy! It is 7 blocks down 1 street! There are cabs galore at Union Station, and a cab ride to Pizzanista! will be about $6-10. Behold this simple map:
View Larger Map
Easy, right! If that were any other city, you'd probably just walk.
The Ride
This is ride is about 20 miles long, give or take.
We will absolutely start rolling from Choke no later than 7PM. If you can't deal with that, plan to be at Pizzanista! at 9-ish and/or any time into the night after that.
This ride will take you on a nice tour of urban Los Angeles, with a little dash of country road. We'll bounce across the top of Downtown LA, and ride up through the heart of Chinatown. We'll cruise into Elysian Park right about twilight, and take some wild, windy, country roads along its northern crest. Please understand: these roads are narrow, full of potholes, barely paved, and have dirt and erosion leaking in on all sides. There will also be cars on this road. We will keep this portion of the ride at a very, very chill pace. For all your fellow riders' safety, please stick with the chill pace and please keep SPREAD OUT as best as you can. Tight-pack riding during this part of the ride will lead to pot-holes and collisions and disaster. Chill out, bro, and enjoy the leisure time.
That said, the majestic city and sunset views and the lovely Los Angeles park life and tall palm trees will very much please you. Once we're past the slow, country-road portion of the ride, we will immediately open up onto a huge, multi-lane, no-traffic, epic downhill bomb where you are welcome to blow your bike up to your heart's content. The feeling of opening up on that stretch after the slow cruise is so very very nice. After that, we've got about 20 minutes along a series of very straight roads on which Latebirds regularly blow up their kits. So beware, and have fun.
Beyond that stretch, we will head back into glorious Downtown LA, snake across a couple bridges over the world-famous Los Angeles River, before arriving at our destination, Pizzanista! There's a big parking lot, the pizza is the bomb (you'll be buying this meal yourself), and there's a great bar next door for partying.
You'll be riding home on your own. Please don't ride wasted. Be smart. You'll want to get home not-too-late, because the Saturday ride starts early!
Saturday
- Be at Choke at 10AM and BE FED before you arrive!
- Kickstands up and wheels rolling at NOON!
- 70-mile ride
- Utterly amazing - if your bike isn't blown your mind surely will be!
- Beach vibes, bring a bathing suit and some sunscreen in your bag
- Free tacos for those with wristbands (included in the Rally Pack!)
- Sunset Boulevard
- Party
Prepare yourselves for the most epic moped experience you've ever had.
Meet at Choke as early as 10am. It is important that you GET FED BEFORE you show up at Choke. There are myriad amazing spots to get grub at any price range on a weekend morning in Los Angeles. Brunch is possibly this city's favorite thing. Here's a handy guide to Brunch/Breakfast in LA!
But yo, don't be late...
WHEELS ROLLING FROM CHOKE AT NOON, PERIOD.
DO NOT MISS THIS.
This is a 70-mile ride.
Latebirds have ridden this ride on every type of bike including stock Tomos (even a 1980 Blue Bullet!), and made it just fine (albeit slowly uphill).
The most important thing regarding your bike on this ride: GOOD BRAKES. This ride features a 5-mile downhill at a 10% grade with wild twisty-turnies that do not feature guard rails. This is a serious warning: without good brakes, you will launch right off such hairpin-turn cliffs and helicopters will have to get involved with your rescue. You won't be interested in that bill at all, so don't fuck around.
The Ride
If the warnings above are heeded, you are going to have the time of your life. We will start by cruising up the Los Angeles landmark Mulholland Drive through the gorgeous Hollywood Hills. This is a beautiful, twisty road that is designed primarily for getting rad on a moped. Epic vistas left and right - feel free to slow down and take in the view - epic smooth curves and downhill straightaways - feel free to get as rad as you can.
Once we're over the 405 freeway, we'll head down into The Valley and cruise a broad, open Ventura Boulevard for a stretch through Encino. We will then reconnect with the Mulholland Highway and head into the Canyons.
Stunt Rd and Schueren Rd will take us straight up a 1500+ ft ascent. Stock bikes you will be going slow. It's cool, though, because it's beautiful and there's lots of view to enjoy at 4mph. Dudes on kitted and variated bikes, you will be enjoying the view at the top for a little longer than most. It's cool too, though, because it is truly epic and amazing! That view at the top is precisely why one rides mopeds in Southern California.
From the peak we will be heading down at a 10% grade for 5+ miles. This portion of the ride is not to be trifled with. Please be aware of your fellow riders, and be aware of your pace and your brakes. Warnings aside, this part of the ride is truly a blast. At no point are you not leaning! The views! The twists! Here's an actual quote from Latebirds Captain Kinsler: "I needed a hug after that ride." Factual information! It's a beautiful thing.
Once we're back to sea level, we will have a most delightful cruise along the world-famous Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu. Another word of warning: PLEASE STAY IN THE RIGHT LANE NO MATTER WHAT WHILE ON THE PCH! The speed limit on PCH is 50mph and countless exotic sportcars are not gonna have it when even super-kitted and ported mopeds are blocking their ability to open up on the PCH. Also, you'll likely get pulled by CHP for "impeding traffic." PCH can be very dangerous and it's just not worth the risk. Stay in the right lane, be safe and be smart. And most importantly, enjoy the ride! It is beautiful! Oceanside cruising that you will not want to blast through too quickly.
We will then arrive at Topanga State Beach, where we will enjoy some truly wavy vibes. Additionally, for those of you with wristbands from purchased Rally Packs, you'll enjoy free, beachside tacos to your heart's content! There's surfing, swimming, beach chillin, parking lot hangin, bathrooms, delicious seafood stands across the street - a truly enjoyable Malibu vibe. Plan ahead and bring a bathing suit and some sunscreen in your bag! Latebirds Swim Team in full effect!
Once the sun starts to set we will get back on our bikes and roll up Sunset Boulevard towards home. From the ocean, Sunset is mega chill, curvy, wide, hilly, beautiful. We'll cruise through the Pacific Palisades, Bel Air, and Beverly Hills. When we hit the Sunset Strip, the road will become very urban and full of traffic. This is Saturday night in the heart of one of the world's quintessential party strips. At that point, swarm and destroy. Sunset will take you all the way back to Silver Lake/Echo Park. If you're going straight to the party space, take a right on PARK AVENUE, just past Alvarado, and that'll take you directly to Glendale Blvd, which will lead you to the party space just east on Beverly off of Glendale.
If you're gonna head home/back to your hotel to clean up, we'll see you at the party space at 9PM!
The Party
The Party is only accessible via Rally Pack purchase and the included wristband. There will be free beer and booze and lots of great entertainment, as well as the lovely company of your fellow riders.
The party will end no later than 2am and we cannot house anyone in the space. So please, plan ahead. Do not ride wasted. Be safe and smart about your plans after the ride and for the Saturday night party. We want you to have a blast, and we want all of you to show up Sunday alive and well and not in jail!
Sunday
We are dedicating this beautiful and chill ride to the great memories of two wonderful members of the Los Angeles moped community that we lost over the last year.
Oscar Palma
Daniel Nguyen
It is our sincere hope that everyone will honor the memory of these two great dudes by riding this ride and enjoying this day.
The Ride
We're going to take a real nice cruise up the Arroyo through some fancy neighborhoods, then across and down the Chevy Chase. We'll end up at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park, where we'll chill out on some nice park vibes for the afternoon.
Party's over at 5PM. Love you, boos.