Corona to Stanton - Suggestions?
 

I'm thinking about riding from an address in Corona to an address in Stanton early on a Saturday afternoon. Using Google's bicycle directions, I came up with This Route, but I am unfamiliar with most of the route, and I would appreciate any advice.

In general, I don't have any questions about the SART. My questions are mostly about getting to or from the SART. For example, is Google's suggestion for the route from my starting point in Corona to the SART good?

Once I get into Orange County, I am thinking about staying on the east side of the SART and going west on Orangewood. From there I would go south on Lewis or Haster and turn west on Lampson. This would be more direct than using Garden Grove Blvd, and in Google's street view Garden Grove Blvd doesn't look any more bike friendly than Orangewood or Lewis or Haster.

What do you think?

In my limited experience, I have ridden from Long Beach to Anaheim Hills 2 or 3 times. I stuck to Lampson. Nice bike lane through fairly slow, neighborhood streets. As far as getting on SART I went from Lampson to Lewis to Chapman to SART, which is tricky with freeway there. I don't know much about GG blvd, but I don't think it has a bike lane. I think the sooner you get to Lampson the better.
Sorry I can't get you all the way to Corona.

Oops just re-read your post. Orangewood to Lampson is better than the Google Map route.

allroy71 - thanks for the tips. I'm going to try west on Orangewood, south on Lewis and west on Lampson.

I'm still trying to get suggestions from some Corona friends for that part of the ride.

In any case, I'll post my impressions of the route once I've done it.

I've ridden Serfas Club-->Palisades-->Green River to the SART many times. It's a good route.

Most of Orangewood has a separate bike lane. I use it frequently to get from Haskett Branch library to my favorite rubber stamp store on Tustin just off Palmyra (Broadway - Brookhurst - Orangewood/Walnut - Cambridge - Palmyra - Tustin).

sartp - orangewood - lewis - lampson = WIN

palmyra drops you out on tustin right at Carnitas Los Reyes, awesome food there

i never saw you riding on palmyra when i lived there, condor

Ride report
 

This past Saturday I rode the route described in my original post (above), except I exited the SART at Orangewood, went west, then turned south on Lewis and west on Lampson. Here are some of my observations from the beginning of the ride in Corona to the end in Stanton.

In central Corona, Main St and W Grand Ave have no room on the right for bikes. I rode on a holiday Saturday afternoon, and I occupied about 1/3 of the lane (so drivers changed lanes to get around me). The traffic was very light, only four or five cars passed me, and I had no trouble. On a busy day, with rush hour traffic, it probably would have been scary enough to send me to the sidewalk, and that's pretty scary. On the west side of Corona, Frontage Rd is also very narrow and has no sidewalk. These tight spots accounted for maybe 1/4 of the Corona segment of my ride. The other 3/4 of the Corona roads had bike lanes or were plenty wide. In fact, they were pretty nice!

After entering the SART, there is a portion that runs along La Palma Ave for a couple of miles. I had no trouble getting there, but I got a little lost looking for the trail that leads back toward the river. It was no big deal, and anyone familiar with the area should not have any trouble.

After riding for several miles along the SART, I took the Orangewood exit and turned west. At first the road is wide enough for bikes on the right, but as it approaches the 5 Fwy overpass, it changes to three lanes in each direction, and there isn't much room. Again, I was riding on a quiet afternoon, so it wasn't a big deal, but during rush hour I expect it would have been pretty scary. Once I was on Lewis and then Lampson, the ride was nice, except by that time I was pretty worn out!

33.2 miles / 1:39 total time / 20mph average / 40 mph top speed - all very good for me!

Thanks for the update. Nice average!! Was there a little off shore push?

Yes, there was a mild Santa Ana condition in the Corona area. By the time I reached Tustin Ave, the wind was calm, which also means there was none of the normal headwind.

My average was something like 22 mph until I hit Lampson. I think I hit every one of its stop lights and stop signs. I still like Lampson, but with 28+ miles behind me, the stops and starts were a little painful!

11

I live on Lampson between Beach (hwy 39) and Western. I wonder if I saw you?
Jon

Only if you were there 7 years ago.