thinking about peters canyon loop, need advice?

[faded1004]

hi, i am thinking about taking my girlfriend to the small lake loop. is there anything special i need to know about it. it seems nice, easy... and alittle short?

not sure if there are any dangers or recommendations, where to park... this is my first time going there... so any help would be great, specially recent up to date stuff... poison ivy warnings...

thanks for the help...

[Trizz]

Thats where i take my wife atleast once a week, its an easy ride, just be patient, i learned the hard way, also, either park on the far side by the elementary school or in the albertsons parking lot so you dont have to pay.

cant think of any dangers,

[faded1004]

okay, i will look for those parking areas... do you happen to know how much the parking is? i was thinking if it is like 3 bucks like aliso, it isn't bad at all?

[SheDevil]

3 bucks...and tell her not to fret over having to walk up a couple hills. If she's new maybe down a couple too.... do the lake loop.

[Trizz]

Originally Posted by faded1004

okay, i will look for those parking areas... do you happen to know how much the parking is? i was thinking if it is like 3 bucks like aliso, it isn't bad at all?

yes its 3 bucks, no its not that much, so either way is up to you, most people do the loop counter clockwise, if you take a left at the bottom of the first big hill you will kinda go around it and it wont be to big of a climb.

[SheDevil]

She can come ride with the girls on Tuesday nights there too...we'll take good care of her.

[Dial Tone]

Park at the far corner of the Albertsons parking lot and ride the path down a block or so.

[faded1004]

Originally Posted by SheDevil

She can come ride with the girls on Tuesday nights there too...we'll take good care of her.

i will give her the invite, she is still new, and wants to ride with me only so far? i keep telling her there are lots of girls who ride... and it isn't about making it super fast downhill...

she is coming around though... she had fun at aliso last time, although she only got 2 miles up the trail... which made the trip 4 miles total... good for first trail... so this 2.5 miles should be a nice first finish accomplishment...

Originally Posted by Dial Tone

Park at the far corner of the Albertsons parking lot and ride the path down a block or so.

i forgot to ask, what street is the albertsons from? can you see the park and lake from the parking lot?

[SheDevil]

Albertsons is corner of Jamboree and Chapman. Follow Jamboree toward the park...err....southwest I believe....and when you hit the park make a right...might be easier to cough up the 3 bucks tho. Just for now.

[Trizz]

albertsons is on the corner of Jamboree and chapman, you cannot see the lake from there but the sidewalk goes directly to peters.

and the loop i think is 5.6 miles according to geo ladders, but if you do just the lake its probably around 2 or so.

Originally Posted by faded1004

i will give her the invite, she is still new, and wants to ride with me only so far? i keep telling her there are lots of girls who ride... and it isn't about making it super fast downhill...

she is coming around though... she had fun at aliso last time, although she only got 2 miles up the trail... which made the trip 4 miles total... good for first trail... so this 2.5 miles should be a nice first finish accomplishment...



i forgot to ask, what street is the albertsons from? can you see the park and lake from the parking lot?

[Kaboom]

Originally Posted by faded1004

i will give her the invite, she is still new, and wants to ride with me only so far? i keep telling her there are lots of girls who ride... and it isn't about making it super fast downhill...

she is coming around though... she had fun at aliso last time, although she only got 2 miles up the trail... which made the trip 4 miles total... good for first trail... so this 2.5 miles should be a nice first finish accomplishment...



i forgot to ask, what street is the albertsons from? can you see the park and lake from the parking lot?

The Albertsons is on the corner of Chapman and Jamboree. If you are driving north on Jamboree, you will pass the park on your left. Make a u-turn at Chapman, and pull into the 1st Albertsons driveway on your right.

[faded1004]

cool... yea, i am only going to try the small lake loop... told my gf about it already... and she likes how there is a lake!

SHEDEVIL, is there an STR ride post thingy for the girls night ride? just looking for more info on that ride you were talking about... not sure if she will be ready next week... but it is good to keep in mind for her

[SheDevil]

We call it Taco Tuesday....look under Trailhead. It really is an easy ride...you know....ride-socialize-breathe hard-complain-eat tacos-repeat

[faded1004]

okay, thanks... i will look for it when she is up for it...

[faded1004]

went for a ride today! was great! the parking ticket machine was broken, so there was a sign saying free parking for today! there were alot of hikers and not too many bikers. still was a nice ride with girlfriend... she made it to the big hill area then we turned around and went the other way... got to the big hill area again and went back to the car.

we only did the small lake loop, and she had fun... a bit scared... but still good experience...

this is her bike i bought...



this is my bike with a nice view in the back of the lake area...



i will post pics of the bike in my build thread, i did a few mods this last week... need to take GF to around town for a few errans right now...

[guero]

sounds like you guys had a fun ride.

one thing i noticed about your bike is that it appears your front quick release skewer is pointed downward...i always make sure mine is pointed up or back towards the rear of the bike. that way it is less apt to hit a rock or a log and/or branch or what not and break or cause a crash or damage.

[ezzyride]

Sounds like a good time Peters is a great place for beginner rides. We also ride on tuesday's if your girlfreind ever wants to join us. We start in the back no fee for parking and it's a gradual climb.

Here is the post to our ride.

Last year we held this ride spring thru summer every tuesday night. The idea is to hold the ride every tuesday night again this year. If you need to get into shape or want to hit the dirt on a bike this is the ride for you.

I am not an expert mountain biker or a fast biker but will share what I have learned on the trail. Some more experienced mountain bikers join us on this ride from time to time. The experienced riders also share their knowledge lots of good tips.

Date: April 1,


Time: 5:30 p.m.

Location:
Meet at Peters Canyon, Peters Canyon St.

Directions:
From the 5 Freeway- exit Jamboree and head north towards the foothills
and drive approx. 3 miles to Portola (signal). Take a left on Portola and
drive to Tustin Ranch Road (signal) and take a right. Get in your left
hand lane immediately and take a left on Pioneer WAY (signal). Now get
into your right lane and take the next right on Pioneer ROAD (signal).
This road will wind around Cedar Grove Park. Continue to the first stop
sign and take a left on Peters Canyon Road. Take this road down around a
little curve and park on the right side of the curb at the end of the road.

Ride Description:
This ride is for fun and a good workout. This is a no drop ride meaning no will be left behind. Slowest rider determines the pace if you ever wanted to ride your bike on a dirt path this is the ride for you. We will ride as far as we can making sure we are out of the park before sunset.

What to bring:
Water
Helmet
Bike with wide knobby tires
Gloves

Shape:
Doesn't matter

Kids are welcomed!

Please e-mail me if you plan on joining us.

-Elvia

[L8 APEKS]

Hope to get Jen out on this one soon! Thanks for the info Elvia!

[back of the pack]

Since Jen did the Fully loop she shouldn't have any problem with Peters. The lake loop has a few steep spots but nothing she can't handle (or push up). You can make her mad by climbing "Big Red" a few times but that's just cruel. I usually park at the school or the park at the bottom of Peters, that way it's all downhill on the way back to the car.

The single tracks can be a little challenging but once she gets her confidence up they can be fun too.

[faded1004]

Originally Posted by guero

sounds like you guys had a fun ride.

one thing i noticed about your bike is that it appears your front quick release skewer is pointed downward...i always make sure mine is pointed up or back towards the rear of the bike. that way it is less apt to hit a rock or a log and/or branch or what not and break or cause a crash or damage.

i didn't notice the quick release until now... usually i like to point it right up bhind the shock tube... protected right behind... i will have to check that next time i go for rides... it is good to see, and thanks for mentioning it...