showlow

My wife wants to move to Redlands. California is home to her and she wants to be back. I went to a few college parties and a reunion with her at University of Redlands back in the day so I've spent some time hanging out in the town. I dig it over all. Lots of really good Mexican food.

What I am wondering is how the cycling scene is there. We went last weekend to check out a house. The whole time I was there I didn't see anyone riding, even on Saturday and Sunday morning. The IE seems really unfriendly to cycling. My experience is that traffic moves really fast and drivers are stressed and impatient. I have very little free time to ride these days, so most of my rides will have to begin and end at my front door early on Saturday or Sunday mornings. Are there good routes in the area? What about dirt roads?

Thanks.

diphthong

have only sparingly ridden in the area. i do remember serpentine rd in the area turning into sunset dr and running for a good stretch slightly uphill as you head west to east.
pretty and a lot of it is shaded so good for those hot days that blanket the area for 5 or so months. san timoteo canyon rd runs parallel to that and carries a decent amount of traffic but allows
you to head west or east w/o too many stop signs/lights. the adjacent san bernardino mountains are the elephant in the room. if you hate climbing, heading north is completely shut off to you.
if you love climbing, you're in luck. there are a few forumites that dwell/ride in the area and i'm sure they'll be along shortly.

jimincalif

DrIsotope

Of the towns in the I.E., Redlands is certainly one of the more bike-friendly. As @jimincalif pointed out, we've got all the climbs you could want-- Oak Glen, Onyx Summit, Forest Falls, Arrowhead-- hell, you're close enough to ride to San Jacinto or Baldy and back. It's about 70 miles to Huntington Beach via the SART, about 90 to Oceanside via Fallbrook. You want dirt? Hulda Crooks, Yucaipa/Zanja, Alder Creek Road, San Timoteo Canyon-- you can ride from the valley all the way to Big Bear Lake on fire road and singletrack. An early morning Greenspot Loop will get you great scenery, quiet, almost empty roads, and the biggest mix of pavement conditions you could encounter on a paved ride-- there are places in the I.E. where going through a field is smoother than sticking to the road.

The big clubs are Ride Yourself Fit and Redlands Water Bottle Transit Company-- a great start is to look 'em up on Strava and see where the club rides go. They stick to the more bike-friendly roads and parts of town. I ride wherever I please, so my Strava would probably put some folks new to the area into a coma. Don's Bikes in Redlands also does a Tuesday Night Worlds every week on the Sunset Loop, and casual pick-up rides every weekend. If you do make your way out here and you're ever looking for an informal guide to the area, send me a PM. I don't know if there's anywhere in the I.E. I haven't been.

TrojanHorse

@tunavic used to live in Redlands and as far as I know still belongs to RWBTC.

IMO Redlands is easily one of the more bike friendly towns in the IE.

If you want some hills, you can always start at your front door and head up to Onyx peak. No clue about dirt roads.

tunavic

Lot's of good info already given here. @DrIsotope rides all over the IE so he's an excellent source of info.

In general, the IE is like much of SoCal. Lots of SUVs and big trucks and roads that vary from OK to horrible pavement.

Speaking specifically of Redlands, it's probably one of the most bike friendly communities in the IE. The Redlands Bicycle Classic is held every May right in the heart of downtown.

Home - Redlands Bicycle Classic - Redlands, CA

Local clubs: www.rwbtc.org and www.rideyourselffit.org Both decent bike clubs with great members.

showlow

Thanks for the responses everyone. Got lots to follow up on here.

I definitely like to climb, btw.

diphthong

you be set then. between the 18, 330, 38, 74, 243, oak glen road...those will keep ya in shape.

hsuehhwa

Lots of serious cyclists there. lots of good climbs: Onyx Peak, Oak Glen... or you may drive a bit to San Gabriel Mountains..

Beach OAB century rides (with tailwinds most of the day) is fun too (or half a century with metro train out or back)

tunavic

Here's a link to some rides in the area. Only a couple of them are private but most will open in RWGPS with no problem

https://rwbtc.clubexpress.com/conten...dule_id=165009

showlow

Thanks again everyone. Tons of good info here. Really excited to explore our new home. Hard part will be waiting for the wife's contract to be up next spring so we can get going.

Princess_Allez

Make sure to check out Cuca's Mexican food and cycle Sunset Dr when you get into town.