What I Saw Skating in Venice Beach California

[Kathie Fry]

Pictures of some of the things I saw skating up and down Venice Beach and Santa Monica Beach in Southern California on Saturday, March 31, 2007.
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Here's what the weather was like at the beginning of my skate. The Santa Monica Pier and roller coaster are just ahead on the left but you can't see any part of them because of the fog.





The two cute guys below were selling gadgets in Venice Beach that you can strap onto your shoes so you can glide along on your heels. The idea is like Heelys except these can be removed from your shoes, they are adjustable for any shoe size, they have tiny flashing lights in them, and they have much larger wheels then Heelys.





I think the hockey player in the yellow pants is saying hello to me!





Hmmm... something new. now we are not suppose to go beyond this point.





Uh oh - now you can see I am beyond the barrier. BAD GIRL! This skater and all the cyclists behind him followed me right past the detour sign so I was a bad influence on everybody that day.





If you have friends who don't skate or cycle they can rent a three or four wheel beach cruiser in Venice or Santa Monica. These are fun, but if I'm going to skate with little kids in beach cruisers I prefer to do it on weekdays (Monday-Friday) when the trail is not so crowded.





"Hot Dog on a Stick" has the best fresh lemonade.





I just HAD to take a photo of this couple. These two sure did get me
daydreaming about who I might bring along on my next skate.





Finally they stopped hugging but they still can't let go of each other.





Santa Monica beach is for everybody.





Baby train!





Aaaaaaaaah.... SUN





View of Santa Monica and Palisades Park





Aquarium under the Santa Monica Pier





What happens when you skate without your elbow pads (ouch!). Those two walking by are looking at me like... "why is that silly girl taking pictures of herself?"





New Muscle Beach is in Venice and it has indoor and outdoor areas but the original Muscle Beach was all outdoors and it was located next to the Santa Monica Pier on the Venice side.





Some of the equipment at Old Muscle Beach in Santa Monica.





Quad Skater in front of the Santa Monica Pier





It's not yet noon and Venice beach is already hopping with street vendors and entertainers.





OMG - Harry Perry skating on Landrollers!





- Kathie

[TooFast]

Cool picures Kathie, thanks for sharing them. I love Venice Beach.

Bruce

[chuckboucher]

I notice you're wearing the advertisement. Good girl!

Now how did you manage to skin your elbow?

Great photos, BTW. I can't wait to get my ultra-compact digital so I can start snapping shots while skating. (The dSLR is just a bit too big for any packs that I use while skating.)

[Skate50]

Thanks for the Pics.

You do a great job with this Forum - Always amusing!

- Skate50

[Kathie Fry]

Now how did you manage to skin your elbow?

I wasn't even skating when I fell. Once minute I was taking a picture and the next minute I was down on the ground. I think my back wheel might have gone slightly over the edge of the trail when I was taking the picture.

- Kathie

[CrazeeDave]

Originally Posted by Kathie Fry

I wasn't even skating when I fell. Once minute I was taking a picture and the next minute I was down on the ground. I think my back wheel might have gone slightly over the edge of the trail when I was taking the picture.

- Kathie

Thanks for the pics Kathie !!!!
They should probably mark those treacherous trail edges.
Kiss, kiss on the owie

[online inline]

Hi, Kathy.
Up the coast a thousand miles or so, in the Pacific Northwest, i'm debating whether to go hit the trail or go to the gym. The double espresso machiato, which usually gets me out the door, hasn't done it's work yet. It's gray and threateining showers, and rather cold at 45 degrees.
But your great photos are so inspiiring, i just may give it a shot, and i';ll bring the digital camera in the spirit of the day.
Maybe i;ll bring my bike too in case it rains.
thanks again.

[oldiesk8er]

Maybe I just don't get it, sorry, but the impression from these photos is that while the skating might be good Venice Beach doesn't look all that nice.

[janneman]

Mmm very very nice - apart from the ouchie... here's a little smootch for the spot

i have the feeling these are results from a nice new cam?

love the shooting! keep up the good work!

[Kathie Fry]

Maybe I just don't get it, sorry, but the impression from these photos is that while the skating might be good Venice Beach doesn't look all that nice.

I'm not sure I would use the world "nice" to describe Venice Beach but it's a fantastic place. It's more funky and retro then nice... a throwback to the 1960's and earlier. I don't think it has changed much in 50 years and we don't want it to change at all. Venice is a wild scene and a big party every weekend. Oceanfront Walk is filled with street vendors, musicians and all kinds of other street performers and you never know what or who you will see. If you want upscale shops and restaurants go to Santa Monica but if you want an afternoon of wild and crazy fun, Venice is the place. For more information see Visit Venice Beach and Venice Beach Drum Circle.

This sight would surprise no one in Venice Beach.

- Kathie

[online inline]

Originally Posted by oldiesk8er

Maybe I just don't get it, sorry, but the impression from these photos is that while the skating might be good Venice Beach doesn't look all that nice.

Really? What don't you like about it?

[oldiesk8er]

Originally Posted by online inline

Really? What don't you like about it?

I suppose to answer that I should really visit first. Need to try and make it before the Great Reaper catches me first.

[the Asocial Ape]

thanks for posting those photos. very neat.

[chuckboucher]

Along with what Kathie says, the theme of Venice Beach is "everyone's a star on Venice Beach".

I have never been there myself, but friends have and have brought back pictures of all types of people doing all types of things. (I personally like one I saw of a guy juggling chainsaws)

[Jessica]

Originally Posted by oldiesk8er

Maybe I just don't get it, sorry, but the impression from these photos is that while the skating might be good Venice Beach doesn't look all that nice.

I think it's beautiful. Love the pictures.

[IraSiegel]

Great pictures and picture descriptions, Kathie.

Originally Posted by Kathie Fry

I'm not sure I would use the world "nice" to describe Venice Beach but it's a fantastic place. It's more funky and retro then nice... a throwback to the 1960's and earlier. I don't think it has changed much in 50 years and we don't want it to change at all. Venice is a wild scene and a big party every weekend. Oceanfront Walk is filled with street vendors, musicians and all kinds of other street performers and you never know what or who you will see. If you want upscale shops and restaurants go to Santa Monica but if you want an afternoon of wild and crazy fun, Venice is the place. For more information see Visit Venice Beach and Venice Beach Drum Circle.
- Kathie

I have been running, biking and skating along Santa Monica and Venice Beaches on and off since the late 1970s, and they changed a lot since the late '70s. The biggest difference is that on any given day today, they are 2 to 4 times more crowded than on a corresponding day in the 70s. So, a lot today's versions of the "nice" weirdos who used to walk along the Venice walk way back in the '70s just don't come out any more and bikini clad skaters in Venice and Santa Monica are much rarer today. The crowds, particularly in the summer months, that, from about 11 a.m. to sunset, actually walk on what was originally intended to be a bike path, or cross it without looking both ways first, make skating physically dangerous.

On the other hand, the bike path itself has improved in a one step back, two steps forward way over the years. Now (as of this 5/27/07 edit) that the repaving of the parking lot at Temescal Canyon is finished, we can skate approximately 6 miles in each direction on smooth pathways from the northern portion of the Temesacal Canyon parking lot at Will Rogers Beach to the southern end of the Washington Boulevard parking lot at Venice Beach.

[Daisydoo]

Great photos and great narration along with those photos! I think I might take a trip out there just to skate!
I was there about ten years ago when I worked for the airlines. I remember that guy with all the stuff around him, guitar and skating around. My friend took a photo of him and when we returned to Boston one of the girls from Ca. said he was famous and so here he is, ten years later on this skating forum!

[LaurieFlood]

Here's what the weather was like at the beginning of my skate. The Santa Monica Pier and roller coaster are just ahead on the left but you can't see any part of them because of the fog.

The early morning, late afternoon beach fog. This really brings back memories. I grew up in Hawthorne and lived in the area for 28 years. Venice is one of the fond memories - a wonderfully eclectic place. It clearly hasn't changed at all. Once I left 19 years ago for the Sierra, though, there was no turning back.

Thanks for the pictures and all you do to maintain a great forum!

[JGwinner]

Nice pics, sorry for your booboo.

Hi, I'm a beginner down in Torrance.

I went to Venice beach to buy my skates, but I'm just getting up to parallel turns, so I didn't try skating there. While I was there I went running on the path and was told by a bicycler that only bikes could be on the path.

There ARE big signs that say "bicycles only" with an arrow but that could mean "bicycles can only go this direction in this lane".

Is that true? There's no WAY I'm skating in the pedestrian area once I get good enough, it was hard enough to run through the crowd on the 'pedestrian path' It's just nuts.

I'm in Torrance so I'd be on the Redondo end, but want to make sure I don't piss people off by skating (or running) on the wrong path.

Thanks,

== John ==

[IraSiegel]

Originally Posted by JGwinner

Nice pics, sorry for your booboo.

Hi, I'm a beginner down in Torrance.

I went to Venice beach to buy my skates, but I'm just getting up to parallel turns, so I didn't try skating there. While I was there I went running on the path and was told by a bicycler that only bikes could be on the path.

There ARE big signs that say "bicycles only" with an arrow but that could mean "bicycles can only go this direction in this lane".

Is that true? There's no WAY I'm skating in the pedestrian area once I get good enough, it was hard enough to run through the crowd on the 'pedestrian path' It's just nuts.

I'm in Torrance so I'd be on the Redondo end, but want to make sure I don't piss people off by skating (or running) on the wrong path.

Thanks,

== John ==

Hi John,
The signs, where they exist, are pretty easy to understand. Your interpretation gave me a laugh. According to a police officer I spoke to about the issue, only bicycles are allowed on the bike path in Santa Monica where there is a footpath relatively nearby and, technically, skaters are prohibited just like walkers. Bicyclists on the Venice and Santa Monica bike paths generally don't mind skaters. (See this web page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strand_(bicycle_path)) for a funny comment about what happens if a bicyclist hits a skater.) It's the walkers that cause many of the problems. (People who let their kids run across the bike paths when they are going from the parking lots to the beaches cause problems, too.) Walkers are often 3 and 4 abreast, amazingly oblivious to the traffic whizzing by them at 10-20 mph. Where there is a separate, parallel walkway (as is the case for most, but not all, of the 6 mile stretch from Temescal Canyon to Washington Boulevard), there is no excuse for walkers on the bike paths. Runners are generally tolerated as are skaters since runners are moving fast enough and generally are smart enough to stay far to the right, while walkers, amazingly, are not smart enough.
As it turns out, however, the police stopped enforcing the rule against pedestrians on the bike paths a long time ago.