A Ride to Remember Movies

{ DESTINATION: CINEMATASTIC! MOVIE SITE TOUR }

A RIDE TO REMEMBER ong-time cyclists Linda Coburn and John Tajiri variety of business reasons that made them even- opened Pedego 101 Electric Bikes in Westlake tually stick with Pedego, but one big reason is that MOVIESLVillage, California, after a vacation to Seattle Linda is ﬁ ve feet tall, and Pedego is one of the few where they rented e-bikes and learned to appreciate brands that offers its highest-performance model riding in the rain. Their initial exposure was to the with a small frame and 24-inch wheels. For short PedegoPedego brand, 101 and after Electric researching manyBikes’ brands, riders who want maximum performance, the Pedego ridethe couple to kept famous returning to Pedego.movie There sites were a 24-inch Interceptor is a wild ride.

(Top Left) This ape village from Planet of the Apes was on the shore of Century Lake. There is no trace of it that is visible today. (Top Right) This shot of the Planet of the Apes costars Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison is from the corn- eld location as well. (Bottom Left) This empty mead- ow was once a key scene where Charlton Heston and the cast of Planet of the Apes attempted to escape through corn elds in 1967.

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Without the water tank on top, you would never know that this hillside was the site of a complete Welsh mining village during WWII.

Fear of Nazi submarines sinking passenger liners helped studio executives build a Welsh mining village on this hillside. All that remains is the water tank that allowed the village to have rain in Southern California.

46 www.electricbikeaction.com In addition to being a retail store, Cinematastic! Movie Site Tour is. The and heading for Malibu Creek State all Pedego dealers are encouraged to minimum ride distance is 22 miles, but Park. For most of the distance the offer rentals as well. Westlake Village that distance can easily grow if you roads have a nice shoulder, if not a has some very nice destinations, and want more. bike lane, and road users were cour- the area has bike lanes to get to a The ride starts from the back door teous. The area is a huge cycling des- lot of the areas. Pedego 101 offers a of the shop, and the ﬁ rst few miles are tination, and some of the same routes few guided tours as part of the rental on city streets that feature nice bike are used by the Tour of California program. Being such an avid cyclist, lanes. Soon enough, though, you are cycling race. Most car drivers are you can see Linda’s inﬂ uence and in the country on the twisty mountain accustomed to cyclists and these enthusiasm in how ambitious the roads of the Santa Monica Mountains roads and make plenty of room.

The Paramount Ranch is bike-friendly, and it is a very cool destination for hiking and exploring. This is the “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman” set.

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Fox wanted this location for the movie Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. The property was not on the Fox ranch at the time, and the family that owned the property allowed the house set to be built, but insisted that the house be habitable, and not just a set. The building is 7/8ths scale, but it was a working home after the movie. It is now administrative of ces for the park.

(Top) This parking lot used to be a shallow re ecting pool that allowed studios to shoot water shots like the shipwreck scene in the original Dr. Dolittle with Rex Harrison playing the doctor. (Bottom) This shipwreck scene from Doctor Dolittle was shot in the re ecting pool. The sky is painted on a wall, and the water is only a couple feet deep. 48 www.electricbikeaction.com The ﬁ rst road you pick up is Cornell, which winds through MOVING ON a rural and largely equestrian area leading to the Paramount From Paramount you take Cornell until it crosses the Ranch. Since 1980 this 326-acre “ranch” has been a part famed Mulholland Highway on the way to Lake Malibu. A left of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on Mulholland there at the old Reagan Ranch and you follow between Malibu and Calabasas. The western movie town the twisty mountain road down to Las Virgenes Road. Most on the ranch is best known as the town seen on “Dr. Quinn locals simply call it Malibu Canyon. A right on Las Virgenes Medicine Woman,” but the ranch was used for many movie Road takes you to the front gate of Malibu Creek State Park. and television locations. There is paid parking for cars, but e-bikes get to ride in for

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Riding on the rural mountain roads was more relaxing than we thought it would be. Linda Coburn is a fearless leader.

50 www.electricbikeaction.com The Rock Pool was transformed to look more tropical for this scene in Doctor Dolittle from the mid-’60s. This pool looks largely the same today.

free. At that point the tour group hooks up with park docent Seeing the locations of so much movie magic was impres- Brian Rooney. He is author of the book Three Magical Miles sive, but equally amazing was seeing how little trace was ([email protected]) that documents the interesting left where once there was obviously construction, a time of history about Cornell, Lake Malibu and the Malibu Creek hubbub and activity followed by demolition. Areas that were State Park. The books are available at Pedego 101. temporarily thriving cities are now virgin brush and trees. The pace is relaxed to allow time for photos and conver- No group is too big or too small, but remember that sation. Riding in and around the park is easy, and the ride riders under 16 cannot operate electric bikes in California, getting to the park is not hard and the scenery is amazing. but Pedego 101 does offer child seats and trailers. Recent When it comes time to return to Westlake, though, you will tours that include the normal sightseeing but add a private feel the climb back up Mulholland, even with an electric bike. brunch in Cornell have been selling out at $98 a person. If We were surprised how well the Pedego rental bikes handled you just want to rent bikes and explore on your own, prices the climbs. are between $50 and $85 a day. The more expensive rentals Once you are back on Cornell, the rest of the ride is quite are the 48-volt bikes, but the performance is worth the added relaxed. Pedego 101 can easily customize the ride for you. cost. Reservations are suggested, and 24-hour notice is It is possible to shorten the mileage if you want. Watch the required for groups of ﬁ ve or more. ■ www.pedego101.com website for special offers and tours. www.pedego101.com