JimmyNH

A couple of weeks ago ooga-booga asked the million dollar question - what's the best road ride in Orange County? After a prolonged discussion we decided that the best ride in OC must include the following: the 1984 Olympic road race course, Santiago Canyon, Newport Coast, PCH and Laguna Canyon. Being the local guy around here, I ended up with the mammoth task to create the actual route that would include all of the above. So here it is; come join us and decide for yourselves.

WHEN: Saturday, September 21 at 8:30 AM sharp!

Start from the Irvine train station (15215 Barranca Pkwy, Irvine, CA 92618).
(L) on Barranca/Muirlands
(L) Los Alisos
(R) Vista del Lago
(R) Marguerite
(L) La Paz (regroup on top of La Paz)
(L) Olympiad
(R) Marguerite
(R) El Toro/Santiago Canyon (regroup on top, about 2 miles from Cook's corner)
(L) Jamboree
(L) Portola
Coffee stop at Pete's Coffee and Tea (cnr. Portola and Culver) about 35 miles into the ride.
(R) on Portola (backtrack)
(L) Peters Canyon Wash Trail (use pedestrian crossing just before CA-261)
(R) Harvard
(R) San Diego Creek Bikeway(At Barranca)-Becomes Peters Canyon Trail (mi 40.2)
(L) Exit Peters Canyon Path (mi 42.3)
(R) Harvard (mi 42.3)
(R) Berkley Ave/E Peltason Dr
(L) Anteater
(R) Bonita Canyon
(L) Newport Coast (regroup on top just before Pelican Hill)
(L) PCH
Coffee stop at the Crystal Cove Starbucks (7958 Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Beach, CA 92657) about 53 miles into the ride (and just about 1 mile after the turn on PCH - make a left on Crystal Heights(traffic light), then first right into shopping center)
(L) PCH
(L) Cliff
(L) Laguna Canyon CA-133 (regroup at Laguna Canyon and Lake Forest Dr)
After Lake Forest Dr go to the next traffic light (Pavona St??) and very carefully make a left turn to stay on Laguna Canyon Rd.
Cross over I-405
(R) Barranca
(L) into the Irvine train station parking lot

Total: 68 miles, 3500' of climbing

Pizza and beer at Red Brick Pizza (6721 Quail Hill Pkwy, Irvine, CA 92603) about 4 miles from the Irvine train station.

Any questions? Google it, don't bug me. I'm not an organizer, doctor, babysitter, weatherman or in any shape or form responsible for anybody or anything that may or may not happen at this ride. We are just a bunch of guys getting together for a real fun ride. If you can't live with your own f***-ups, or if you don't understand the profound meaning of the words "shít happens", then this ride is not for you. We'll regroup fairly often and wait for the slower guys but be self-sufficient.

Who is in?

ooga-booga
CbadRider
Jsigone
tunavic
Elvo
Kensic
Tyler714
Uncle Jams Army
MikeEckhaus
JimmyNH + 4

I will also provisionally pencil in Calamarichris and GP - they've got some unfinished business to settle.

Elvo

I might be in.

tunavic

Jimmy thanks for putting this together. Please change from maybe to all in

TrojanHorse

I used my nerd powers to map the route and RWGPS says it's 6,453 feet, which means it's probably about 4,500

I think I'll call this the Left Turn Tour of OC (I still need to clean up the map, for one thing, google doesn't think laguna canyon exists even though it shows on the map)

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/3242024

Oh, and yes - I'm in.

diphthong

thanks Jimmy. asked for the 21st off...dunno if i'll get it tho. worse comes to worse, i'll be there for the 1st half and split off back towards the train station once we head south on culver since i'd hafta be at work at 3pm.

CbadRider

Looks like I might have to drive. The Oceanside Metrolink doesn't leave until 8:15 am.

JimmyNH

You're in bro, thanks!

I like the "Left Turn Tour of OC". Too bad I can't change the title anymore.
I tried MapMyRide and it didn't work on Laguna Canyon either. Anyway, maybe 3000' is a bit low. If we nickel and dime every little bump on the road - maybe 4000' max. The main climbs are Vista Del Lago (0.6 mi @ 10%), La Paz (1.2 mi @ 5%), El Toro/Santiago Canyon (approx. 4-5 miles with max grade not more than 5-6%, Newport Coast (3-4% avg grade over 2.5 miles) and Laguna Canyon (I reckon 6 miles with 2-3% avg grade with tail wind).

Hope you can get the day off. Red Brick Pizza makes really good pizza and serves craft beers, not pissy-tasting Bud Light.

Hey Cbad, please check again about the trains. I looked at www.Amtrak.com and apparently there is a train (763 Pacific Surfliner) leaving Oceanside at 7:01 AM, arriving in Irvine at 7:48. That's why I set up the start time at 8:30, so you don't have to sprint with your cycling shoes, looking for us. CommuteCommando also mentioned this train, so it must be true.

diphthong

hope i can get the day off too. my absolute inability to eschew the one-two punch of beer-pizza is the main reason i ride.

GP

Amtrak is $36 round trip. Metrolink is $10 for a weekend pass but doesn't get to irvine until 9. I can afford to ride the Amtrak if I sell my cycling shoes.

CbadRider

^^This. It only takes $30 to put a full tank in my Prius.

TrojanHorse

I'm not sure about your prius but ours has an 11 gallon tank, so it's more like $40 to fill it. Of course, the dumb thing flashes and says it's empty when you still have 5 gallons left, which is silly.

Can you take metro link from that far south? I was unaware.

Carpool?
Start at 9:05 instead of 8:30?
Sell GP's cycling shoes and buy Amtrak tickets for all of you?

CommuteCommando

Oceanside is the southern terminus, and is where I board 5/7. That said, I'll probably pony up for the Amtrak just because I like trains, and unlike Dr Shelon Cooper, (Actualy writer Chuck Lorre) I know that the "wheel bases" under the cars are really called Trucks. I would be open to pooling with Cbad, but he may have to reveal what his facination with Barbara Eden is

The mileage is about right for me, and this would be a good training ride for my upcomming century in Oct. Thanks to TH for mapping it, and glad I read the rest of the thread before wasting time and doing it myself.

My Toyota Matrix (disguised as a Pontiac Vibe) only has three gallons when the light comes on. Must be a Toyota thing.

CommuteCommando

I coppied and edited Sean (Trojan Horses) map. At mile 39.7 there is a turn at Yale loop. I think Jimmy's intent was to go around Yale Loop. Seans map has the ride turning off Yale into a bike path. I have seen that path, though have never been on it. On a Saturday morning I would expect it to be packed with dog walkers and strollers. Between Barranca and Alton it crosses the San Diego Creek path which is much more of a bikeway with some high speed traffic. (durring my weekday commute I am that traffic). I think staying on Yale Loop would be better.

Also at 55.1 I drew a route off of PCH because it starts getting hairy through Laguna. I am not sure of this so I would like Jimmy's feedback on it.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/3260158

jsigone

I will likely just drive to Irvine if any wants to car pool from SD. I can fit two bikes on the back and one in inside the fj.

TrojanHorse

I've driven on Yale Loop before and it's pretty wide with a bike lane so either way is fine with me. That bike lane looks like a dinkly little mup from all the turns it does. Your route change through Laguna is probably a good idea too.

Jimmy - you cast the deciding vote!

I've been playing with my garmin 800 to see if can get actual turn notifications - so far it just pops up a little "turn R on xxx Rd" right as you go by it. it would be handy to get some sort of advance notice. There is a field you can display to show the distance to the next turn and i guess you could just look at the map, which I typically don't.

Anyway. This looks like it'll be a fun ride.

CbadRider

I have a 2013 Prius and it goes down to about 30 miles left before it starts flashing on the dash. I've never been able to put more than 10 gallons in the tank, even when it's almost empty.

I'm female.

Elvo

There are like 20 stop signs on Yale loop though. Might be a better idea to just take the Peters Canyon Wash Trail to Harvard to Peltason to Anteater to Bonita then up NPC

CommuteCommando

I'm guessing she's your Doppelganger. I've been told mine is Jerry Garcia.

Yep. There is a stop at Peets Coffee at Culver and Portola. We could double back the quarter mile to Peters canyon trail, or go down Culver to Irvine blvd then over.

PhotoJoe 

Done.

I have two metrolink stations within a few miles of my house. No options there for me, though. It wouldn't get me in until 9:53. That's late enough that I doubt I'd even get there in time for pizza.

JimmyNH

Guys and gal - thank you all for the input. It looks like CommuteCommando is sticking with the train, so let's leave the start time @ 8:30. That should be also suitable for the guys who will drive from SD.

I'd love to avoid Yale and since TH gave me the right of the decisive vote, I'll change the route as per Elvo and CommuteCommando. But I'll need some help here from you guys. Please review the change in the OP and let me know if it looks correct. Basically - go down Culver, right on Irvine Blvd, left on Peters Canyon Wash Trail, right on Harvard, right on Berkley Ave/E Pealtason Dr., left on Anteater, right on Bonita Canyon and then back on the original route (i.e. left on Newport Coast). This way we'll also avoid that pesky Ridgeline hill.
As for the deviation off of PCH through Laguna Beach, I personally prefer to stay on PCH and make the left turn on Cliff Dr. But I don't want to inflict my preferences on others, so those who want to take the deviation that CommuteCommando suggested, please feel free to do so. We'll regroup on Laguna Canyon just after Forest Ave to make sure we are all together.

CommuteCommando

I'm OK with Carpooling, but it looks like jsigone, GP and Cbad may be a full car unless you can get four people and four bikes in a Prius.

The route looks just about right. An option that does not change the route hardly at all is to get back on the Peters Cyn Trail at Barranca, which will bypass traffic signals at Alton, San Marino, San Carlo, Main and Michelson then dumps you back on Harvard before University.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/3260158

As far as the Laguna Beach detour, I have only ridden it once. The ride up to the turn at Brodway, the car traffic was so thick that the cars were doing bike speed or slower. There was one guy in an SUV that was as thick as the traffic, but I guess I can handle that.

Start from the Irvine train station (15215 Barranca Pkwy, Irvine, CA 92618).
(L) on Barranca/Muirlands
(L) Los Alisos
(R) Vista del Lago
(R) Marguerite
(L) La Paz (regroup on top of La Paz)
(L) Olympiad
(R) Marguerite
(R) El Toro/Santiago Canyon (regroup on top, about 2 miles from Cook's corner)
(L) Jamboree
(L) Portola
Coffee stop at Pete's Coffee and Tea (cnr. Portola and Culver) about 35 miles into the ride.
(R) on Culver
(R) Irvine Blvd
(L) Peters Canyon Wash Trail
(R) Harvard
(R) San Diego Creek Bikeway(At Barranca)-Becomes Peters Canyon Trail (mi 40.2)
(L) Exit Peters Canyon Path (mi 42.3)
(R) Harvard (mi 42.3)
(R) Berkley Ave/E Peltason Dr
(L) Anteater
(R) Bonita Canyon
(L) Turtle Ridge
(L) Newport Coast (regroup on top just before Pelican Hill)
(L) PCH
Coffee stop at the Crystal Cove Starbucks (7958 Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Beach, CA 92657) about 53 miles into the ride (and just about 1 mile after the turn on PCH - make a left on Crystal Heights(traffic light), then first right into shopping center)
(L) PCH
(L) Cliff
(L) Laguna Canyon CA-133 (regroup at Laguna Canyon and Lake Forest Dr)
After Lake Forest Dr go to the next traffic light (Pavona St??) and very carefully make a left turn to stay on Laguna Canyon Rd.
Cross over I-405
(R) Barranca
(L) into the Irvine train station parking lot

TrojanHorse

I thought I deleted this thing... hm. late post, let's leave it at that.

tunavic

Prius gas tank capacity is 11.9 gallons.

@CommuteCommando She does ride a bicycle

kensic

i am local also, just got into biking. don't think i can last a 68 miles route

mwandaw

I have also had trouble mapping rides near Laguna Canyon Road and Lake Forest. Using RideWithGPS, I switched from "Optimize for Cycling" to "Optimize for Driving", and the problem went away. In general, I find RWGPS works better when optimized for driving, except when you specifically want to go on a MUP.