Road Ride Trying to decide on a Saturday Road Ride in Irvine/ Aliso Viejo Area

Discussion in 'The Roadie Hangout' started by Redley78, Nov 6, 2013.

  1. Redley78

    Redley78 New Member

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    I am new to road biking (less than one year), but i want to challenge myself and find a fairly fast group ride (20+ mph).
    I have found a few rides this saturday that start in Irvine. The food park one looks good, but i have heard its a huge group. I dont know if thats the best one to try for my first group ride?
    I also heard OC wheelmen is a good group, but do i have to register before i ride, or can i just show up and tag along?
    Any feedback would be appreciated.
     
  2. Pilas

    Pilas Member

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    I would try to find a smaller group ride for your first one. Food Park can get pretty agressive and it is a very large group. Not familiar with OC wheelmen, but there is a group in Irvine called OCR. They used to have 3 different rides/levels. Not sure if is still around.
    Also, Rock and Road in Irvine used to have a pretty good training road ride on saturdays. You may want to give them a call...
     
  3. bvader

    bvader Long Live The Gorn!

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    BCI and Rebel Riders (OCRR) are pretty fun. (sorry edit said full)
    OCRR has like Gold Silver and Bronze groups and are very friendly just show up.
     
  4. Redley78

    Redley78 New Member

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    Thanks for the responses guys. BTW, Where did the "Thanks" button go anyways?

    I was considering BCI and rebel riders, but they looked to be an older crowd. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but i was "assuming" their pace would be slower than what i am looking for. And im not really looking for many regroups, if i get dropped so be it, im sure i wouldn't be the only one.

    i am strongly considering meeting up with rock n road in irvine. Thanks for that suggestion.
     
  5. biknpam

    biknpam Member

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    No question BCI and OCR contain older riders but if you can keep up with the fastest - then I will be impressed.

    Suggestion: for your first group ride, show up for BCI's Saturday ride and do the yellow route - blue if it suits you. The group is fairly newbie" friendly especially on Saturdays. OCR is good for Sundays. You don't have to be a member to ride with either group, just show up.

    Now if you are looking for "regroup" rides, I can't help you. Most clubs do not ride in that format. I believe Santiago Cycling does but that's a very formal riding club. You must start in the "C" group and be invited to move up into "B". "A" is extremely fast and hard core. The "C" group will do regroups however.

    Most clubs (like BCI and OCR) provide a route slips. I suggest you let ride leaders know you are new and most likely they will stay with you otherwise you are on your own to keep up and stay on route. There is usually a regroup half way at a coffee stop.

    I've ridden with BCI, OCR, OCW and Santiago. I have not ridden with the race groups which I would not suggest until you get used to formal club riding... PS Rock N Road Irvine would be a good fit as well...
     
  6. Redley78

    Redley78 New Member

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    True, im sure there are plenty of riders with more experience and faster than i am in those said groups. I guess what detracted me from joining their group was the stop at a coffee shop. I am looking to go, ride, get home. I have a baby, so i have around 2.5 hours to be away from the house...and that is pushing it!
    Thanks for the suggestion
     
  7. MnMDan

    MnMDan Member

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    Whatever group you go with, the most important part of learning to ride in a group is safety, not speed. If there's a safety Nazi in the group, it'll be annoying, but you'll end up faster, safer, and more comfortable in the group.

    Shop rides will let you know if they have regroups and are smaller than Food Park and Como, and aren't nearly as fast.

    Advice is to try a few on for size.
     
  8. Redley78

    Redley78 New Member

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    I decided to join a smaller group for my first ride. I should be able to learn some group ride etiquette this way. I called RnR Irvine and they have a smaller group (10-15) i can jump in with on saturday.
    They said its a drop ride, so i hope i can keep up!
    I forgot to ask them what route they will be taking. Hopefully they will provide a directions sheet in case i get dropped.
     
  9. wizard

    wizard tradersancho's dad

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    +1 on OCR. It's like an STR ride but on pavement. Unless your are really fast, you will probably be dropped by the leaders, but typically you can fall back into 2nd or 3rd groups.
     
  10. ericfoltz

    ericfoltz Active Member

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  11. Redley78

    Redley78 New Member

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    Thanks for the heads up Eric!
    My normal "solo" ride is very similar to your Newport coast loop, but a bit shorter at 30 miles.
    http://app.strava.com/activities/91404723

    Id like to join your group this Saturday. And from what i have read about ARB4U, id be able to start with the A group, then if i get dropped, i could just resume with the B group. Please let me know if i have this wrong, or if the information is out of date.

    From your website it looks like the A group is riding at 18-21, which is about the pace i am seeking.
     
  12. ericfoltz

    ericfoltz Active Member

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    Come on out. We have a lot of riders who start with A then drop back to B before we hit the Newport Coast hill. Pretty mellow crowd.
     
  13. Redley78

    Redley78 New Member

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    Great, i'm sold! ill see you out there Saturday.
    Sorry rock n road!
     
  14. Redley78

    Redley78 New Member

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    Thanks to Eric for leading the ARB4U ride on Saturday . It was a good experience for my first group ride. I met a few people and learned several things about riding in a group. The pace at times seemed a little slow. Alot of that was due to hitting so many red lights (unlucky) and part of that was we never split into two groups so nobody was dropped from the ride. i was able to keep up with the leading group until we hit Newport Coast climb, then i fell back about 2 minutes (hit two red lights on that climb, unlucky). Anyways, it was a good ride and hope next time we split into groups so i can see if i can hang with the big boys!
     
  15. ericfoltz

    ericfoltz Active Member

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    Good to meet you.

    Try the Santiago Loop with us next time. Things are generally faster with less lights as I'm not into sprinting from light to light when you know your going to have to stop anyway. You can also come up front if you'd like to push a little. You might have noticed that there were only two or three people who pulled the group all day. More people rotating in front brings the pace up.
     
  16. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors Climbing > desending

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    I'm looking for a decent ride for this Saturday (Nov 16) - recovering from a nasty cold so perhaps the 1100 feet of climbing is all I should do. Can we just show up?
     
  17. ericfoltz

    ericfoltz Active Member

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    No problem just show up.
     
  18. CarbonLegs

    CarbonLegs Search for ultimate ride.

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  19. db.mx

    db.mx Member

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    I ride with them occasionally and its a great group ride. There are riders of all levels and they aren't as aggressive as some of the other rides.
     

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