As the day light grows shorter, so too does the time remaining before the haunted spirit of Halloween. On Sunday, October 7, hordes of cyclists took to the streets for our Sunday Funday: Haunted Pedal ride. This month, LACBC partnered with the Crafty Pedal, and started out of their Pico-Union shop on our 14-mile ride through famous LA haunts. The Crafty Pedal is regularly an appointment-only bike shop specializing in the restoration of vintage bikes and custom made goods, such as upcycled leather bike bags and handlebar wraps. They welcomed us with coffee, fruit, donuts and pan dulce, courtesy of owner Ané Uno.
Mounting up from the Crafty Pedal.
Once fueled, we rolled westbound toward the West Adams Heights neighborhood, where we stopped at the Rosenheim Mansion, made famous as the “Murder House” in the television series American Horror Story. After snapping some pictures of this eerie and famous location, we continued on to the Rosedale Cemetery off of Venice and Normandie. These enchanted grounds in the middle of the city were founded in 1884, and was the first cemetery in Los Angeles that allowed people of all races and creeds. Few in our group had ever visited the cemetery, and the group spent time exploring the mausoleum and tombstones, and paying our respects.
Our lively group then headed eastward toward downtown, stopping by two infamous haunted hotels. Opened in 1927, the Cecil has a lore that’s taken on life of its own, as it’s been home to a number of serial killers and many strange and unexplained deaths. Now known as the Stay on Main, mystery still surrounds the hotel, as coroners were unable to explain the recent disappearance and death of a female tourist in 2013.
The Rosenheim Mansion. Boo!
Next, we headed to Pershing Square, which lurks under the shadow of the Biltmore Hotel. This LA landmark was the first to host the Academy Awards, but is also known for its number of ghosts. The second floor is supposedly haunted by a nurse, and there have also been reports of spirits taking the form of children and the illustrious Black Dahlia. We finished up by telling our own haunted tales!
Thank you to all the riders and marshals who came out for October’s ride. Join us out of Spoke Bicycle Cafe for our next Sunday Funday on November 4th as we tour Griffith Park and end up at the Harvest Festival! RSVP here.