There’s a lot of upside to group rides around LA, but the one thing that can take it all down is a bike crash.

My weekly ride with friends takes us to a variety of great places showing the richness of cycling around the area.

You can find a number of spots you can open it up at and Mulholland Drive is one of the best.

As we were finishing up a ride that included the Sunset Strip, Beverly Hills and Franklin Canyon, the ride got spicy.

Mulholland from Coldwater to Laurel is as fun as it can get as it’s mostly downhill speed through a number of windy curves.

I knew the pace was going to be high after I got a top ten on the short, initial climb even though I was fiddling with my cameras.

The windy section down to the Mulholland Scenic Overlook isn’t just a thrill ride, but it also provides some of the best views as it’s one of the longest unencumbered stretches with no houses or trees to one side.

As we were zipping our way through the corners, I could tell we were pouring on the speed, so I kept a couple extra dad lengths back just for caution.

Just as we were nearing the last and sharpest turn, even hitting the breaks I closed the gap quickly so I know there was a bit more caution up front.

Still, tucked in I couldn’t quite see what was happening, but in one of those moments where time slows down, but it was still hard to make out what was going on from my position.

Luckily, there was no oncoming traffic and we were able to keep from piling up.

My first instinct after was actually not to help Paul, but go back to that blind curve to stop people from running him over.

I thought about how cycling legend Steve Tilford was killed (not while biking) by actually being hit after they were assessing an earlier collision while driving home.

With a cracked helmet, some bruising and bleeding, I thought Paul got off pretty good at the time, but I know it takes a few days to assess it all.

No one goes looking for a bike crash on our rides, but it’s part of the risk of riding across Los Angeles.