pb_toronto

well, it's getting cold here up in Canada, nevermind the sun going down at 630pm, so I'm coming to Santa Ana for the first two weeks of November to soak up that heat and sun.

Any ideas where to ride? I am up for 60-80mile routes, and can handle my fair share of hills..and can keep around 27-29km/h for that kind of distance...which i guess is somewhere in the 16-18 miles/hr

links to strava routes would be helpful, but equally helpful would be areas NOT to ride. i was looking around some of the parks, which aren't exactly paved, but like, how unpaved are we talking? (google satellite doesn't show enough). I ride a Colnago, which is far from a mountain bike, so ideally, no routes/areas that would fugg it up.

thanks in advance!

(also recommendations on bike shops in Santa Ana (surrounding area) would be helpful too).

MikeEckhaus

You'll get lots of responses on this, and the distance you are suggesting allows for some really scenic rides. I might suggest a big loop across Santiago Canyon Road (which is called Chapman Ave in the Santa Ana/Orange area), then down El Toro towards the beach. There are several options for getting to the beach, including Laguna Canyon Road (rt 133), Newport Coast, or the Back Bay MUP trail. You can wander around the coast and then head back up the Santa Ana River Trail (called SART on this forum.) I'm not a huge fan of the SART because it can get crowded, but it is a direct way inland with lots of jump-off points. What's nice here is that prevailing winds are most often tailwinds as you leave the beach and go back uphill. In and around the Laguna/Newport Coast/Newport Beach areas, there are many options for scenic and/or hilly detours. The town of Santa Ana itself has varying levels of traffic and bike friendliness, so depending on where exactly you will be, we can give some suggestions for starting and ending routes. Most of Orange County is fairly bike friendly, so there are a lot of bike lanes and MUPs to choose from. If you want even more hills, there are some lovely neighborhoods in North Tustin and Anaheim Hills that will give you a pretty good workout. I am about the same speed as you and do rides of similar miles, so I could possibly do a ride or two with you if the dates work out.

As for bike shops, they are everywhere. There is a Colnago dealer in Irvine, just at the Santa Ana border called "A Road Bike for You." I don't know them well, but they seem to do pretty good business. They also rent high end bikes if you decide to leave yours at home. I am a Trek guy, so I like Jax Cyclery, also in Irvine. Others will give you their recommendations, I'm sure.

Also, just thought of this, you can do a one-way ride south to Oceanside or Solana Beach and take the train back. Amtrak has regular trains with bike facilities. If you start at the Santa Ana train depot, it's probably right at 80 miles to Solana Beach, a bit less to Oceanside. Great places to eat at either of those stops.

pb_toronto

thanks so much for the detailed response, definitely some really great suggestions...especially the one about going south and taking the train back.


and, if you are around/have time, it would be great to ride with someone. I've got a cousin who lives in Santa Ana (Main and Edinger) so I'm just heading down for a bit to get in some riding. I've still be riding a lot here but some days it's down to about 3 degrees already..which I think is around 37F, by the end of the month the snow/ice comes and that's it until April.


but I've been playing around with some strava routes, do you think ones like this are actually practical?


lake matthews | Strava Route


thanks!


pauline

raceboy

+1 for the train. If you can do 70 miles with hills, I'd suggest you ride all the way to the San Diego train station. It's about 100 miles but pretty flat except for the Torrey Pines grade about mile 82.

It's fun to kick back and ride the train back to Santa Ana.

Rick@OCRR

And, since you like to climb, be sure to ride Glendora Mountain Road to Glendora Ridge Road to Mt. Baldy Village and then up the Ski-Lift climb if you like the steep/brutal stuff. The rest is pretty easy, only the Ski-Lift bit is brutal.

Also, try CA Hwy 2 out of La Canada/Flintridge, refuel at Newcomb's Ranch, then up over Cloudburst Summit, down to Islip, then up to Dawson Saddle (just shy of 8,000 ft. of elevation).

Another great climb is Hwy 39 starting from Encanto Park in Duarte, SGRT (San Gabriel River Trail) to Hwy 39 to Crystal Lake (good Cafe there to refuel).

And then . . . it would be bit of a drive to the start, but Hwy 38 from the Ranger Station, up Damnation Alley, past Forest Falls, refuel at Angelus Oaks, then up the final 20 miles to Onyx Summit (8,843 feet of elevation).

Each of these would be a drive-to-start from Santa Ana . . . but totally worth it for quality climbing miles.

Rick / OCRR

Pamestique 

RIck's suggestions all take you so far away from Orange County... there's great riding ot be had here and my recommendation is to try the Santiago Loop and some variance of that to up the mileage. The basic Loop is about 40 miles but generally we also ride down to the beach to extend the ride to over 60. Not certain where in Santa Ana (which is a very large city) you will be but I suggest driving over to Citrus Ranch Park in Tustin (check a map for directions). Ride up Jamboree to Santiago Canyon Rd. Take that out to El TOro, turn right up Glenn Ranch. Take Glenn Ranch to POrtola, turn right to Alton, turn left. Alton you can take all the way to the beach and then I would connect to the San Diego Creek trail which will take oyu all the way back up to Citrus Ranch Park. Mileage I think will be around 65 miles or so. You can add climbing and distance if you want by doing Newport Coast or San Joaquin. Check Strava, this route is fairly common...

As to bike shops - not much in Santa Ana but there is The Path in Tustin, RockNRoad in Irvine, Mission Viejo and Anaheim, Bike Co in Lake Forest. What exactly are you looking for?

Now many clubs in the area welcome visitors... check online for bike club of Irvine, OC Rebels, OC Wheelmen etc. Their rides are posted online and if you just need a route slips, generally those can be printed off the websites.

RIck can correct me but I think OC Rebels does their longer rides on Saturday and BCI Does theirs on Sunday...

Rick@OCRR

I can't comment on BCI but yes, the OC Rebels longer rides are on Saturday. See a schedule of OCRR rides for this weekend here: OCRR Rides Page

Plus, OCRR has evening rides Tues. and Thurs. starting from Windrow Park at 6:00PM. Yes, you will need lights this time of year. I think BCI has evening rides too, but I'm not sure.

Rick / OCRR

jimincalif

BCI rides on both Sat and Sunday with several routes available each day. We also have weekday rides - see the website. Looking at the routes for 11/1, 11/2 and 11/8 and 11/9, the long rides on the Saturdays are 37 and 36 miles, the longest Sunday rides are 53 and 59 miles. We start at 0900 from Deerfield Community Park in Irvine off Irvine Center Drive (which is the same street as Edinger in Santa Ana). Ride in from your cousin's home straight down Edinger/Irvine Center to Deerfield, that's 5.5 miles each way so that's another 11 miles if you'd like.

Guests are always welcome. Here is our website, BCI - Bicycle Club of Irvine. Be sure to make yourself known. You can email me thru the BCI website, go to the board of directors, I'm the secretary. Enjoy your visit to SoCal!

Genaro

Here's a loop that I really like


Bike Ride Profile | 56 miles near Yorba Linda | Times and Records | Strava

Elvo

Here's one:
7 Sisters in Laguna Beach, CA, United States | MapMyRide

Make sure your brakes work

Bikegeek1968

If you want to do some dirt, here is a strava ride that connects to the SART. Some 28mm tires and a 34x25 should do the trick.

Bike Ride Profile | Morning Ride near San Juan Capistrano | Times and Records | Strava

I also run a small road bike rental business if you need a bike. My website is in my signature.

Mark

LGHT

Here is a ride I'm preparing to ride on Nov 2nd. It's called the dino dash and is a fund raiser. Not 60-80 miles, but lots of long hills to enjoy.

50k Dino Dash | Strava Route

Pamestique 

The basic Santiago Loop I recommended with some mileage thrown in...

Darth Lefty 

Remember the Alamo!

Garfield Cat

Santa Ana is not really a destination place to ride. You are now entering a lot of possibilities because Southern California is open to you. There are more bike shops in Southern California than any other area in the States. Find the shops and you will find the local rides and riders.

Take advantage of those two weeks in November. But don't forget your cousin in Santa Ana.

pb_toronto

yesssssssssss

thank you everyone for all the great suggestions....definitely given me some ideas. Signage in most places is decent, ya? I'm a sucker for paper maps, which sometimes get me lost...

and thanks for the info about the clubs. I've checked out the rides and will be hoping to do some weekday rides...and potentially one weekend one. seeing how i'm couch crashing at my cousins, i can't be a total jerk and not hang with him one the weekends...

diphthong

something tells me that once you catch scent of the beaches strung out between long beach south to san clemente,
you'll find yourself riding along pch (pacific coast highway) and environs more than once. you could do a lot worse.