me and my bike

whats going on you guys. anyone want to give a newbie some good rides out here in the irvine. Whats your guys favorite or most scenic. I start at UCI if that helps but yeah.Thanks again.

TMonk

why don't you start by joining UCI's collegiate team?
that should be able to connect you with tons of other students like yourself who ride and know the area.

if you decide that you're interested in racing, then you're already in the right place. Even if you're not interested in racing atm you should still join the team.
Collegiate cycling is a great way to meet people and get connected to the local cycling community.

fly:yes/land:no

back bay rd. santa ana river trail, turtle rock, shady canyon, pch, bicycle club of irvine saturday rides (you can also look at their route slips for ideas on where to ride). coffee crew starts near uci on tuesday and thursday early, but that is quite a brisk ride and not for newbies. you could also look at the route for the orange county gran fondo (i think it went on santiago canyon last year, but not sure).

jmX

Go on strava. Click explore - type in Irvine, CA, see thousands of rides. You can even see how many strava users ride a certain area, and that'll give you an idea of just how popular that segment of road is.

TrojanHorse

Strava's a little hard to find rides... segments of rides, yes, but even that's klunky.

ridewithgps has some interesting ride finders, and you can limit your search results by distance / altitude gained as well.

Heck, try 'em both.

Google maps with the bicycling feature turned on is a good way to map out an A to B route as well.

Vlaam4ever

Find a bike shop, ask the skinniest guy there for any good group rides.

caloso

My MIL used to live in Irvine. I was out for a ride on PCH. I think I was in Newport stopped at a light and asked an older lady in a convertible if this was the right way back to Irvine. "IRVINE?!?! That must be TEN miles from here!"

TrojanHorse

You have to understand - people in Newport only drive their Ferraris in Newport. You can't expect them to know how to get to a plebeian place like Irvine.

And frankly, driving a car 10 miles down there probably takes 2 and a half hours... of course she was shocked!

snowman40

OCTA has a map of bike paths and lanes on its website. Have you looked there?

Irvine also has a map of the Irvine paths and lanes.

Drag

Now thats funny right there. Lol.

me and my bike

thanks you everyone for the info. Yeah i check octa and other site for rides but the best info comes from people who actually ride. sometimes i feel like the people in irvine who created bike lanes dont even ride themselfs. One minute the lane is there the next your merging with an 18 wheeleer onto culver. Anyone have any tips for riding on pch .everytime i go down there i nearly get trampled by a car cuz i cant find a bike lane. Ive done back bay and am writing up all your guys tips and will be sure to try them soon. thanks alot

TrojanHorse

Ha ha, isn't that the truth! Riding down a road, bike lane, bike lane, bike lane, no bike lane. 500 feet later, bike lane again. Wtf? You supposed to walk your bike from one to the other? I don't think so.

me and my bike

I knowwww rightt. I say we vote to make the devoloper of streets get on a bike during rush hour and ride what they created. its only fair

caloso

It's been a long time since I rode down there, but I do remember thinking that the bike lanes around the Yale Loop, Barranca, and Irvine Center were pretty good. The drivers on the other hand....