I have the same bike as you and also ride in socal. I've been riding for about 8 months and when I go on the trails, I pass all the road bikes at my normal riding speed (then again I have no idea how far them came from so they could just be on their way back). You'll get used to your gearing and how your bike feels. I used to hop around a lot at big downhills and really struggle on long uphills. That pedal stroke advice is really useful but you end up figuring that stuff out anyway the more you keep riding.