Riding in Orange County--Where should I start?

[PacMan]

I would appreciate the opinions of those of you that live in the OC.

I am in northern San Diego county and my bro's and I have decided it is about damn time we drive a bit north and ride some OC trails.

Which trails should we start out on?? We are all strong intermediate riders so I'm not worried about elevation or techy stuff.

I guess I'm asking--what are the best trails in Orange county?

Thanks,
-Doug

[guero]

hard to say what the "best" trails in OC are. there are tons, and each have their own section or two or three that make them all unique and almost equally as fun as the next trail. it also depends on what type of riding you are looking to do. a pretty good xc grind would be holy jim to trabuco, which consists of a 5 s/t climb, then a 7 mile rollercoaster of fireroad, then a bitchin 5 mile or so s/t descent. you can also do maple springs to the motorway, this is pretty much 13 miles of fireroad climb/rollercoaster to about 3 miles of downhill s/t. both of those rides are in the santa anas. then you have the famous san juan/chiquita loop which is all s/t with tons of fun and challenging technical sections once you hit chiquita. then, you have your "parks", aliso/lcwp/el moro. these offer fireroad and s/t climbs with tons of options and tons of fun s/t descents for just about every abilility level. you can also choose to do whiting ranch, exit out the back and enter the santiago truck trail and go to the famous luge s/t or keep going towards old camp. doing whiting/stt/luge/whiting is a lot of fun and has lots of variety with some creek crossings, double wide, fireroad riding in it. you can also choose to explore santiago oaks which has lots of fun and technical s/t to explore. there are the 3 b!tches which you must climb to reach the top play area, but they are relatively short climbs.

your best bet is to keep your eyes peeled for what rides we have going on next weekend and come join us, chances are you'll have a blast!

[tkblazer]

i'm thinkin of a san juan ride next weekend, just not sure what trails to hit there yet....

[mytrustysteed]

San Juan should be perrrrrrrrrrrfect right now

[bananaseat]

Packy... rode noble with you back during Thanksgiving weekend. Go try the Upper San Juan, Blue Jay - Viejo - Chiquita shuttle. You and I share a love for the "shuttle", and IMO this ride is better than Noble. That comment alone should be enough to lure you to upper San Juan.

[Pain Freak]

couldn't agree more for you my friend, hit San Juan, just ask the other Noble loco, he'll tell you. After that there isn't much you can do in the way of shuttles, so break out the climbing legs and do the Holy Jim to Trabuco, for a real fun ride. There is a wide range of stuff to do over there and it is fun, but if you want to travel a little bit more the San Gabes and the Santa Monica's are a blast too. Let me know when you come up this way and if I'm not already committed I'll show you around. One good tour deserves another!

[PacMan]

Thanks for al the good info. I have always wanted to ride SJT but am mainly interested in good ol' trail riding.

The only shuttle ride I do is Noble down here, everything else is I ride is regular XC/trail stuff.

I am also finding my climbing legs--I started to really knuckle down and start eating right back in December and have lost close to 30 lbs. Guess what--the less you weigh, the easier it is to climb so I want to start exploring all these trails I hear you all talking about.

Maybe when I lose a few more LB'z, I'll start joining you guys for rides. I always get nervous riding with new groups because I don't want to be an anchor and bog the pace down. I had a few bad experiences with that when I first got into MTB'ing.

Thanks for the tips

[allison]

Another one I always like is Cooks Corner - Luge. You can extend it and climb a bit more if you start at Whiting and ride to Old Camp, but if you aren't really into climbing I'd start with the shorter route The Luge is a blast, and I like climbing Santiago Truck Trail.

[PHAT TIRE]

I like all of those you guys mentioned. For quick and short noobie riding areas- Aliso Woods, El Moro, Peter's Canyon, Fullerton loop all have good riding areas if you lived in the areas or want a quickie!

[tkblazer]

doug, hit me up when you're in the hood yo! i can show you around a few of the trails..

[1_fez_rider]

I don't care what anybody says. But Fullerton Loop is mega fun! Yeah Aliso Woods is a great place too!

[bjammin]

Originally Posted by PacMan

I would appreciate the opinions of those of you that live in the OC.

I am in northern San Diego county and my bro's and I have decided it is about damn time we drive a bit north and ride some OC trails.

Which trails should we start out on?? We are all strong intermediate riders so I'm not worried about elevation or techy stuff.

I guess I'm asking--what are the best trails in Orange county?

Thanks,
-Doug

Hey Pac, I live in Oceanside and ride in the OC all the time. Hit me up if you want to join us on a ride. If weather permits, I'll be night-riding SJT this Thurs. You should join us.
Ben

[PacMan]

Originally Posted by bjammin

Hey Pac, I live in Oceanside and ride in the OC all the time. Hit me up if you want to join us on a ride. If weather permits, I'll be night-riding SJT this Thurs. You should join us.
Ben

Well, I have to be to work at 0600, so no weekday night rides for me.

I will have to take you up on the offer sometime

[OMR]

Up Blackstar Canyon past Beak's Place to the Motorway and down Silverado Canyon is particularly good right now... lots of guys doing this for the up coming Vision Quest...

...and then there's always Smashface!!!! (aptly named!)

Old Man Riding.... Coldwater this weekend....

[bjammin]

Originally Posted by PacMan

Well, I have to be to work at 0600, so no weekday night rides for me.

I will have to take you up on the offer sometime

We most likely will be doing SJT to Blue-jay and back down on Sunday.