Ride Report Rethinking The Oaks

Yea Sean, Id be glad to ride you around the park- It's my new favorite park in the OC!!
Call or text me at 714-504-5045
RRich

 

Wadda mean no more B's??? Time to get revenge!! Go DOWN the B's and come back up Goat, Yucca or BB!
See ya on da trails
Rich

 

Better yet, go down Grasshopper or Hawk and come back up Goat. The best revenge for the B's is to ignore them! That way, no fire road at all, except as you come into the park!

 

I have spent more than a decade riding up the 3 B's......must say that I am not missing them.

 

Grasshopper had a couple places I had to walk, just too much chunk around bends of exposure (I was solo too).

Hawk was much better, with just one chicane I decided to walk as well. This option was definitely better than going down the B's.

 

I just wantdd to chime in with one more "dude, the new oaks is frreakin sweet", and "dude, that map is awesome, thanks"
Now if I could just figure out the new "optimal" loop with all this new variety. guess I'm just gonna have to experiment

 

exactly!

 

I don't think there will be a optimal loop more like some cloverleaf's to get the mileage in.

Dean

 

Waay to many choices to find an optimum, but here are some of my favorites:

Beat-the-sunset Quickies: Up "Chutes B", then either down Cactus Canyon & back up Bumblebee & Mtn Goat, or up & down Zips.

Got more time option: Up Zips, down Deer, back up and then down Zips to Cactus Canyon, down Bobcat, and back up & out.

Take a lunch option: up Zips, down Deer, loop Weir Canyon, down Cactus Canyon, up Bumblebee, up the 2nd B, down El Camino, up 1st B, down Bobcat, up Goat & out. Haven't had the gumption to try this yet. Usually when I have enough time & energy to ride this much I'll drive somewhere else for a change of scenery.

PS: I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I'm still not convinced the new Oaks is an improvement. Sure everything's better, but what has been lost? The jump line shows promise, but the switchbacks after that are not speaking to me. Cactus Canyon is flowy genius, but Bumblebee was built like a strip mine. Chutes B is better than climbing the B's, but is the new volume of traffic permanent? Bobcat was always just above my skill/courage level, now it's almost tame.

I know it's nostalgia--but it's tough to see a trail I know by heart get plowed under. I'd estimate that I've ridden that park 400 times over the past 13 years. Broken tailbone, 2 busted helmets, pints of blood lost, 4 bikes from 3 different eras. I have a very vivid memory of standing on the top of Zips in early April of 2000, riding my shiny new Schwinn Moab (sooo much nicer than the '89 Nishiki Cascade I'd been riding for so long), and thinking that I'd better hurry up, my first child was due any day and it would be a shame to miss it because of a flat or OTB...

I know the new trails are being built with lots of TLC by someone who wants to make a quality MTB experience, but I haven't quite settled myself to this change. Not trying to rant, just getting misty eyed. Jeez I'm old.

 

Spent a summer riding out there.......only repeated a ride a few times.....there is enough variety out there now to be able to mix and match.

 

I'm warming up to the new trails now that the rains have done some damage. I was frustrated with the perfectly flat trails, but things are getting a little more exciting now.

There are 2 things that I don't like though:
1) The unavoidable jump on Chutes A at the bottom of the loose hill coming off Barham Ridge. It keeps me on the brakes when I like to let go.
2) The Switchbacks on Chutes A. It isn't the fast, flowy trail it used to be.

Actually, that would be my gripe. Chutes used to be like a bobsled run where you fly & stay off the brakes. Now Chutes A requires a lot of control. Maybe if I had a downhill bike that was built for the jumps it would be a different story, but the flow would still get killed with the switchbacks.

Other than that, I enjoy being able to ride my SS on the trails. The new trails make for some good loops without having to waste time on the flat section through Irvine Park. I also realized there are other, better technical trails than Chutes that are less traveled.

 

I agree with the above. We rode last weekend out there, and checked out the newest Chutes line. First thing my wife said, was what happened to the fast flowy section that used to sit where they put in the jumps. From there on down the new switchbacks seem really close together.....to the point where there is no flow to them....plus they are so close together, they have rain diverters cut in between that they don't seem to be that fun.

I was under the impression that the original trail/line would remain and that a new trail would be added....however that doesn't seem to be the case. They added the new trail, at the cost if the original trail.

Kind of a bummer.

 

I also thought the original trail was to be left alone. I'm equally bummed they plowed such a fun section & replaced with a loose uphill + tight switchbacks (not fun).

I'm scared/interested to see the plans for the rest of Chutes A, assuming they are continuing. I hope they concentrate on technical features found in nature, rather than unnatural jumps & humps that are best left for skate parks.

Finally, long term maintenance should be interesting. With the number of new trails they cut, it is going to take a lot of annual maintenance. I wonder how many trails will eventually disappear.

 

That's funny, I was wondering how many trails will eventually REappear...though I shouldn't think that out loud. There is a solution to that. Just plow the whole mountain under.

 

Really? an OC park builds a legal trail with tabletop jumps and people are complaining?

 

Let's just say I'm ambivalent. Building new trails is great, erasing a significant trail in the process is not so great. Just not sure why one has to come with the other.

 

I rode the new lower section of Chutes B yesterday. I'd rate it a "Meh".

Oddly enough, it felt like going down a ski slope.

Most of the trail is ridiculously wide. Not doubletrack, but 2 cars wide. The trail is perfectly groomed. The turns are banked like a car race track, not like a bike trail. They added a bunch of their new trademark rollies, which are supposed to be fun I guess. They still suck as much as the rollies in upper Chutes A. The one unique feature is a log; A Santiago Oaks log, not a Sequoia so you have about 3" of rideable log for the length. It is great for building accuracy.

I'd still give up all the Chutes A & B trail work to have the old Chutes back.

 

I'd wipe away the work for the old too, but that bottom section is fun to double. Besides, the bottom half of the old chutes was getting worked. FYI: The log is slippery as $#!^.

Winger, start throwing bobcat (Hawk) into your loops. Its the only trail left that is not 4 feet +wide. Rode it a couple days ago for the first time in a long while and had a blast.

 

I miss the old Chutes too, but it has never been the same since the fires. That last bobsled section morphed from a tree lined dirt water slide pre fires, to a an area more than 20ft wide with a dozen different lines. Regardless, I think the trail work was needed in one form or another. Before The Path revamped their website, they used to have all their old shop ride videos on there. It was always a trip watching how much foilage the Oaks used to have.

Anyway, the last section of Chutes with the banked turns and log skinnys feels like a bike park and I had an absolute blast riding there last Saturday. I never thought I'd see the day when any of our trails would have features. Now if they could just find a place to build a few ladder drops and I would forget all about the old Chutes.

 

i also enjoyed the new lower chutes.