dwhitlow

Hi All,
I live in Orange County and have been riding pretty steadily since October of last year. The rides I do generally involve a loop and a decent chunk of PCH between Laguna Beach and Seal Beach. As much as I like my rides, I'm wondering what else is out there that you OC'ers recommend such as rides with a great view, climbs with a big payoff at the end, long stretches of low-traffic, smooth roads, etc.

What are your favorite OC rides and why? Looking forward to hearing about them.

Thanks,
-Don

Flying Merkel

Get out in the country! Take Chapman Ave into the hills. Been a while since I hauled my candyass out there, but it's still open country with a bike lane.

Accordion

I second this. Look up Santiago Canyon Road. Basically take Jamboree Road East until you hit Santiago and then take a right. You'll be up in the mountains with crystal clear air and amazing views. Take a left about 6 miles in at Silverado Canyon road and climb for 45 minutes all the way up to Maple Springs road. You'll be in the middle of nowhere and your legs will burn.

There's a blog called toughascent.com that somebody here did on that ride. It has pictures and elevations and motivated me to do the ride.

snowman40

^He could also do Portola up to the 241/240. About half the climbing (I think). Most is closed to bikes due to construction at the moment. Usually, no traffic.

OP, how long of a loop? Laguna to Seal is a decent distance, but what is the rest of it?

Mr. Beanz

Make the drive to GMR, not nearly as much traffic.

lowlife1975

newport coast/ vista or ridge park (newport beach)... thalia or park ave (laguna beach)... santiago canyon as previously mentioned but throw in a loop around live oak canyon. shady canyon (irvine)... hidden hills (yorba linda)... you can make long loops out of all of these but it just depends on how far you are starting from.

allroy71

Also, check out some rides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Great views and lots of bike lanes. Go to Mapmyride.com for ideas.
And I second doing GMR/GRR/Baldy or San Gabriel Cyn!
Also, for OC rides, Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda have some nice hills. Not the best bike lanes though, but some shoulder space.

rallison

That would be me Anyway, here is that Silverado climb:

https://www.toughascent.com/blog/?p=45

Just gets tougher the higher you go

Also, for tough, shorter hill climbing, you can always hit the steep streets of Laguna Beach (Park, Summit, Nye's, etc).

azncarbos

Every Saturday for me is SART to Chapman to santiago canyon to El Toro to PCH to Dana Point to Huntington Beach to SART then back home.... Sunday is same thing but I include Newport Coast to Back Bay to Huntington Beach to SART or if I'm mountain biking then it random trail....

kandyredcoi

Upper SART to the BEACH!

idoru2005

Nice! How long is your Saturday loop? I'm guessing that it is at least 80+ miles.

lpolliard

Santiago Canyon, Newport Coast, Mountain/Sea bike trial (Back Bay), Aliso Creek bike trail, SART, PCH to Long Beach marina, Carbon Canyon...

Zmony

Dana Point to Oceanside via Pendleton - coastal views/climate and very little traffic to contend with.

Rumpled

If you really want some hills, check out the seven sisters in Laguna-Newport-Aliso area.

rallison

Yes. If you want punishment, this is the way to go.

idoru2005

I've heard about this route. Can you give details? Maps?

rallison

Search function is your friend: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ters-(B!tches)

azncarbos

it roughly about between 85 to 90 miles because I may add more along the way.....