just moved from new hampshire. been biking tech rooty trails my whole life, this is quite a change. did my 1st ride at elfin forest, the downhill was fun, the uphill, well, 8-[. im also a roadie, theres a couple nice hills around here
Try La Costa, pretty near by...You might also like San Clemente Single Tracks, might be a little similar to what you are used to riding but without trees. I moved to SD from flat areas years ago. First ride was up Jackson fire road at Mission trails, nearly puked and cramped badly, but I saw other guys just going right up so it seemed possible...If you want to fall in love with riding in this area do Indian Creek/Noble Canyon/Big Laguna Trail network, either in parts or all together. There's also some challenging gravity stuff in Alpine area off Anderson truck trail...Mountain Bike Bill's website is a great resource for riding in the area, including detailed maps.
Neeeeew Ham'cha. Welcome to So Cal! More of the better riding is up north from you. Oh and you are not a Yankee....you are a Chowd'a
Welcome! There's a free Meet Up group that hosts a lot of road and MTB rides nearby you: http://www.meetup.com/san-diego-mountain-biking-meetup/ You might wanna check it out - a great way to discover new areas to ride as well as like minded people.
No problema...now do yourself a favor and hit Indian Creek & Noble Canyon...you won't be disappointed