Santa Anna River Trail - Big Bear

December 9, 2006

This day started with weather forecasts of rain in the afternoon but we headed up Highway 38 towards Big Bear anyway to check out this legendary trail. Brad warned us that it was easy to get lost on the trails up there and that it's a good thing to ride with someone familiar with the area. Adam had ridden it once before and was our navigator. He did an excellent job considering the confusing crisscross of singletrack.

In retrospect we learned how important it is to be prepared for adverse conditions on any ride; I should have started my GPS at the lower vehicle but didn't. Akos had a tumble off the trail but didn't slide down the mountain. I slammed the ground hard and cracked some ribs. Akos had a nasty case of chain suck. Greg's bike was dead on arrival with a blown rear shock but managed the ride just fine. We went the wrong way on the trail at the beginning which took us away from the bottom vehicle. It was crazy fun.

Laguna Art School / Aliso Woods Shuttle

December 3, 2006

I was remiss in my photographer duties and didn't get any action shots but did get few "lifestyle" photos in.

Fremont Canyon Docent Lead Ride

December 2, 2006

Docent and OC Rider member Bad Brad gave us the heads-up on this special ride opportunity. And it was stunning. We left from Albertson's and met up in Irvine Park with the other riders. For us it was a 20 mile loop which gained over 4,200 feet in elevation. The Santa Ana wind conditions made it seem like even more climbing. Click here for the Google Earth KML G.P.S. file of the entire ride. You'll need to have the free Google Earth application installed on your computer to see it. Click here for the MotionBased G.P.S. link which contains all of the ride stats...including my heart rate data. Scary.

Aliso Shuttle Ride

November 25, 2006

Several of the Clownhillers got together this Saturday morning to pound their bikes and bodies on the rocks around Aliso Woods. It's all good...

Little Pine Mountain - Santa Barbara

November 24, 2006

3,800 feet of elevation gain in 4.5 miles and that's the top...right there, but we couldn't press on any longer due to the blisters on our heels from all of the hike-a-bike. The conditions and scenery were beautiful and the decent was fantastic. Click here for the Google Earth KML G.P.S. file of the entire ride. Click on Mike on the right to see a 600kb QuickTime movie.

The Annual Turkey Day Ride Up To Four Corners

November 23, 2006

OC Rider, The Path Bike Shop and The Lost Bean Coffee And Tea hosted this years ride to the top of Four Corners on the Main Divide. The turnout was huge and Trey said it was the best weather ever on this event.

Maple Springs Road to the Motorway

November 11, 2006

Bob Vezeau (pictured on the left) has that look on his face that kind of says to us 'this ain't shit after you've raced across America.' He is one tough cyclist.

For the rest of us we huffed our way up Maple Springs Road to the top of the Main Divide and headed over to the Motorway for a blast down that rocky piece of singletrack back to the cars. At the bottom we were greeted by a host of emergency vehicles waiting there for word on a motorcyclist and Jeep that crashed head-on somewhere up Maple Springs Road. It was sobering...but we cracked open a couple of beers anyway. Our only causality was a couple of cut rear tires while descending Motorway.

Trey also shot a ton of photos. Click on the picture to the right to see them.

Click here for the Google Earth KML G.P.S. file of the entire ride. You'll need to have the free Google Earth application installed on your computer to see it.

Mystery Tour of Santiago Oaks

November 4, 2006

The Path Bike Shop, SHARE and the Orange Park Acres Department of Parks and Recreation did a fantastic job on this event. It was the first time the Orange County Parks Department had ever officially sanctioned a mountain bike ride in their jurisdiction. Think about that for a moment. For all of the miles we travel in their parks and all of the riders who use the parks this was the very first time the Parks Department got involved in a mountain biking event. Pretty cool me thinks.

The ride was essentially a Poker Rally type affair with a very vague map handed out at the start. There were seven check points, one being a "floater" on a bike but you didn't know who it was. The map had the trails shown with their local names only. It was very helpful that we had all ridden these trails a lot over the years. Many entrants got lost trying to find their way around the Oaks but we aced everything. Bob Walker finished near the top in the points.

Trey shot the pictures and video on this ride. Thanks Trey. Click here for the Google Earth KML G.P.S. file of the entire ride. You'll need to have the free Google Earth application installed on your computer to see it.

A Nice And Easy Shuttle Ride Of The Santiago Oaks

October 29, 2006

We spent a lot of time on this ride just playing on some of the great drops and jumps up at the top of the Santiago Oaks. The kids with some BMX background (Adam and Kevin) get all of the style points on the jumps. That's me (Craig) on the left dropping a section that I had never done before, the damn BMX boys had made it look so easy.

Terry Bass conquered his demons too and, for the first time since he injured himself on it, hucked Bob Walker's Clavicle Drop.

We had a great time!

Santiago Oaks with the Weir Loop

October 28, 2006

No other pictures to show of this ride as I was too damn lazy to take any. Click here for the Google Earth KML file of the entire ride. You'll need to have the free Google Earth application installed on your computer to see it.

Whiting Ranch Sunset Ride

October 26, 2006

This warm October evening we watched the sun set for the last time in 2006 on our afternoon rides at Whiting Ranch. We'll be rolling out with our lights on for the rest of the year doing the Santiago Truck Trail / Luge rides on Thursdays. It'll be a long wait for Daylight Saving Time to startup again.

Santiago Oaks Shuttle Ride

October 22, 2006

Greg, Dave, Trey and Craig (that's me) got together for a couple of easy runs down Waterfall and Bobcat on this beautiful Autumn morning in the Santiago Oaks. Trey and I played on Bob Walker's "Clavicle Drop" (pictured on the left) and had several safe freefalls down her. The trick to Clavicle, or any drop where you can't see the landing point until you're in the air, is simply carrying enough speed at the launch so that your front end doesn't try to land while the rear tire is still on the perch. Sounds simple enough but it's a real leap of faith on the approach.

Aliso Woods Lazy Boy Loop

October 21, 2006

Trey backs 'er in on one of the switchbacks descending Meadows on this ride. We clocked 12 miles but avoided all the hard climbs and challenging descents. What can I say...it was just one of those lazy mornings.

Click here for the Google Earth KML file of the entire ride. You'll need to have the free Google Earth application installed on your computer to see it.

Thursday Evening Twilight Ride at Whiting Ranch

October 19, 2006

We're milking the last of our daylight weekday rides as the time-change draws near. Whiting Ranch closes at sunset but we've been bringing our lights along to see us out of there towards the end of the lap. In another week it'll be rolling off in total darkness and our Thursday ride will be the STT or some cow trails in and around the Santiago Oaks that Brad has been plotting out for the last couple of years.

Fullerton Loop Night Ride

October 18, 2006

Chad bombs the stairs at the Fullerton Courthouse at the end of his first lap this night. I say first lap because he and Trey did a second lap...backwards. Seems as if me and my Garmin Edge 305 GPS bike computer parted company somewhere along the trail. I discovered that the computer was missing at the end of the ride. Chad and Trey kindly offered to backtrack and look for it. God bless 'em. Dave and I hung out in the parking lot and waited, and waited. After an hour and a half Dave finally headed home and I continued to wait. The boys finally showed up a couple of hours later having ridden the complete loop at half speed looking for the computer. They never did find it.

A quick personal observation from the Courthouse parking lot late on a weekday evening: One, the large crowd of folks attending traffic school there all drive like maniacs (hmmmm, coincidence?). Two, why would a couple of guys decide that a County Courthouse parking lot is a good place to openly smoke crack? Three, this must be the place to park your Harley Sportster on a warm October evening and, dressing up like a biker from the Village People, walk around with a cell phone in your ear eyeing stupid mountain bikers waiting for their buddies to return.

City mountain biking at its finest, right here in the great OC!

Flightline - Carlsbad

October 15, 2006

Whoa! There is a "mystery guy" who reportedly has single-handedly constructed most of this awesome trail network in Carlsbad. There are bridges, ladders, switchbacks, trail decorations and even a ride over teeter-totter to test your skills. Rumor has it that developers will soon level this fantastic mountain biking playground so get it while the going's good.

Santiago Oaks with the Weir Loop

October 14, 2006

It poured down rain the night before this ride but in the morning the conditions were fabulous. It's hard to beat the Oaks for an all around great ride.

Click here for the Google Earth KML file of the entire ride. You'll need to have the free Google Earth application installed on your computer to see it.

Santiago Truck Trail to Old Camp

October 7, 2006

Stunning weather on this ride handed us a big turnout. Everyone made it to the top of Old Camp without too much hard work. We even managed to get back to Cook's Corner to make the cutoff for breakfast. And it was Mike and Adams first time up the STT. Wait 'till the night rides in the middle of December boys, it won't seem like so much fun then.

Click here for the Google Earth KML file of the entire ride. You'll need to have the free Google Earth application installed on your computer to see it.

Maple Springs Road to the Main Divide and down the Motorway

September 30, 2006

Adam finishes strong on the left after a strenuous 17 mile loop in the Santa Ana mountains. The Fall weather prevailed again this Saturday morning as it was perfect.

Click here for a Google Earth KMZ file of the entire loop. You'll need to have the free Google Earth application installed on your computer to see the loop.

Aliso Woods

September 23, 2006

Oh yes, Fall weather is here in Southern California right now. Not too hot and not too cold, the air is clear (except for some smoke from the brush fires in LA) and the days are still on the long side of the clock.

We had a pretty nice turnout at Aliso Woods this day and managed to clock about 12 miles. Afterwards we headed to Ogie's for an early lunch and some beers. Life is good.

Here is a Google Earth KMZ file of the entire ride.

Santiago Oaks x 2

Labor Day Weekend, 2006

Summer vacation officially ended this long weekend and as usual it was hot. Saturday we rode the Oaks short loop electing to skip the Weir Canyon loop due to the extreme heat. We did however do a quick lap of Peter's Canyon just for fun.

Monday the Clownhillers met in Orange and shuttled Waterfall and Bobcat. It was fun and challenging. Trey shot some pictures of the drop at the top of the Bitches.

Mammoth

August 23-27, 2006

Holy Crap! That pretty well sums up the Mammoth mountain biking experience. Trey took over 400 pictures and has posted most of them to his web site.

San Clemente Out 'n Back Ride

August 19, 2006

A Boy and His Dog (a great cult movie from 1974) has absolutely nothing to do with today's ride. It does however go out of its way to establish that special relationship a man has with his pooch. Milo and Bob will agree...me thinks.

Brad led us on this adventure which had most of us well outside of our comfort zones. Many of us liked it and a few didn't. Afterwards we regrouped and recovered at Oggie's.

Aliso Woods Shuttle Rides

August 12, 2006

This was probably our biggest shuttle ride with 10 OC Riders showing up. It was also a crash fest with all but Joe K. and Mike Bynum not taking a spill somewhere along the way. Bob Walker joined in for his first "Downhill" adventure and had a couple of serious get-offs. He reported in the next day with this:

Bob W report for first downhill adventure: Bruised left ribs; Busted stitches/left arm; Contusion/left cheek (possible slight concussion); Sprained left index finger; Sprained right thumb; Large trail rash/left Hip; Assorted bruises/small cuts; Sore wrists/hands.

But it was worth it...right Bob?

Santiago Oaks with the Weir Canyon Loop

August 6, 2006

The weather was fantastic, the trail conditions were perfect and the recovery fest at BJ Brewery's couldn't have been better. Kind of what mountain biking is all about.

Aliso to Laguna Wilderness Shuttle Loop

July 29, 2006

I'm beginning to see a trend here where I always manage to use a picture of myself on this ride page. But the one on the left is a good one and I had to work really hard to pose for it. Trey was busy snapping photos...as always as we shuttled from the Laguna Art School to Aliso Woods' 5 Oaks. From there it was down Stairsteps and over to Laguna's T&A.

Fricking Hot at Aliso

July 22, 2006

We rolled from the church at 8:00am this morning and it was already pushing 90+ degrees. We decided to head straight to Mathis and get the big climb over with right away. Too late. We all baked in the sun as we pedaled to the top. Some poor guy was seen projectile vomiting on the side to the trail. It happens.

Trey took a bunch of photos on the descents. Thanks Trey.

The Usual Suspects Celebrate the 4th of July at Craig and Monica's Place

July 4, 2006

This day the OC Riders converged on Santiago Oaks in the morning...but with a twist. Half of the group did shuttle runs of some of the better downhill sections and the other half did the standard cross country ride. We skipped the Weir Canyon loop due to the high temperatures.

After the rides we all enjoyed a BBQ at the Erion home. Good stuff.

Aliso Down Hill Runs

July 2, 2006

More shuttle fun in the hills above Laguna Canyon Road. These big-hit bikes are amazing!

If It's Thursday It Must Be Whiting

June 29, 2006

Hot, hot, hot is the best way to sum up this Thursday evening's ride. A bit of a heat spell has gripped the OC this week but a few of us were undeterred and, with our hydration packs full, rode to the top. Several riders elected to skip the extra credit and were happier bench racing at Four Corners...dreaming of the next Shuttle Ride no doubt.

Wahoo's was to follow with a huge turnout.

The Shuttle Queens Hold Court at Aliso

June 24, 2006

A deviate faction of the OC Riders, sometimes known as the Clownhillers, paid a visit to the Laguna Canyon hillside that abuts the top of Aliso Woods. Three runs were made down three different trails. The big-hit bikes came out along with all of the necessary body armor and full face helmets. And beers.

Race Across America (RAAM)

June 17, 2006

One of the OC Rider regulars, Bob Vezeau and his team, The OC Quattro were featured on the front page of the Sunday June 11, 2006 issue of the Irvine World News insert in the Orange County Register. Bob Vezeau, Douglas Browne, Edward Bates and Matthew Vujovich have finished the Race Across America (RAAM). Click on the link to see their results. Congratulations to Bob and team members, as well as their crew, you all made us proud to be one of your Sponsors.

Maple Springs Road to the Motorway and down

June 17, 2006

It cooked up on the Main Divide this mid-June morning. Other than the heat the trails were in great condition. Motorway was loose, as always, but otherwise very nice.

Post ride recovery at the Rose Canyon Cantina was awesome.

Santiago Oaks with the Weir Canyon Loop (again)

June 10, 2006

The Oaks has been in exceptional condition these last few weeks and so has the weather. Even though we rode the Oaks and Weir last Saturday we did it again this Saturday. There's just something special about riding Santiago Oaks, it has a little bit of everything that there is to like about Mountain Biking; good conditioning fire roads, challenging hill climbs, excellent vistas and fabulous single-track downhill sections.

After the ride most of us gathered up at BJ Brew House in the Irvine Marketplace for post ride recovery. Very nice.

Santiago Oaks with the Weir Canyon Loop

June 3, 2006

Snakes, they're out there on these warmer days (and we're not talking about our esteemed members) so be careful.

This day we rolled at 8:00am from the Albertsons parking lot and managed to beat the heat which neared record highs for a June 3rd day. The trails were in excellent condition and we even hooked up with a handful of our down hill clowns.

Another Thursday Evening Lap of Whiting

May 25, 2006

It's been said that we are drinkers with a riding problem. Hmmmm...no way.

The weather was perfect and this evening's ride had a large turnout. The fish tacos and beer at Wahoo's afterwards hit the spot.

North County's Fullerton Loop

May 24, 2006

Urban Warfare is what this loop is all about. It meanders through Fullerton's and Brea's horse trails, railroad tracks, frontyards, backyards, alleys and parking lots. It's a blast. We did the extra credit which made the loop almost 16 miles. Moderate climbing and great decents.

Aliso on Saturday and Flying B on Sunday

May 20-21, 2006

We rode Aliso Woods on Saturday and on Sunday did a lap of the Flying B race course. Aliso report: All good. Flying B report: Like Rats in a Maze we were.

Maple Springs Road to the Main Divide to the Joplin Trail to Old Camp to...

May 13, 2006: I know, I'm obsessive compulsive. But we had so much fun last Saturday (see below) that we just had to do this ride again, while the weather is nice. I wore a helmet cam and captured most of the Joplin Trail run to Old Camp. It's a freaking huge video at 55 MB so click carefully and please be patient while it downloads. The picture on the left gets you a to a slideshow of shots by Trey and I.

May 6, 2006

"It's kind of like a controlled fall down Joplin from the Main Divide to Old Camp" is what Trey told us before the ride. He was the only one among us who had ridden Joplin before a few years earlier and his memory didn't disappoint. The entire loop was around 24 miles and required a shuttle from Cook's to the end of Silverado Canyon, which is the trailhead of Maple Springs Road. Nick (that's him on the left) shamed us all with his superior bike handling skills down some of the sketchier sections of Joplin. The pictures of this ride were taken by Craig, Nick and Trey. Enjoy.

April 29 - 30, 2006

Another Spring fling up in Idyllwild, California for some of the OC Riders. We entered a 10 person Corporate Team, again, but were only able to muster-up eight riders, resulting in some extra laps for most of the team. Out of 11 Corporate entries we finished in a solid 6th place, having completed 21 laps. We had time to get two more laps in but it wouldn't have changed our final standings so we called it a day at 10:30 AM Sunday with Andrea doing the last lap (her 3rd.) The trail conditions were excellent as was the weather...as was the camaraderie!

April 23, 2006

Tani and the guys at the Path Bike Shop have been hosting this very informal social ride for the last several years and this years ride was perfect. There was a large turnout of about 100 riders of all ages, shapes and size. The weather cooperated nicely even though it had rained the night before. Tani, Carl and Mondo served Diedrich coffee, fruit and pastries in the parking lot prior to roll-out. Everyone converged at the Tustin Brewery for post-ride recovery beverages and good food. Thanks Tani!

April 13, 2006

It's been a long winter around here. Our night rides have been cold and hard to get motivated for. The Santiago Truck Trail, being our only legal night ride, was beginning to get stale. Finally the time has changed to daylight saving and we can get back to doing Whiting Ranch for the evening rides.

This Thursday evening it was warm and clear as we paused at the bench to take it all in. Pretty damn good stuff.

April 8th and 9th, 2006

OC Rider has been contesting the 24 Hour of Adrenalin at Hurkey Creek State Park in Idyllwild California for three years now. There is the Spring event at the end of April and a Fall event in September. We always try to get out there for an overnighter a couple of weeks before the actual event for a pre-ride. This Spring was no different. Trey, Greg, Dave C., Danny and Craig (sorry for the third person speak) arrived Saturday mid morning and set up camp. A beer was in order as the weather was warmer that it had been for the last several weeks. So we basked in the brilliant alpine sun and sipped our brew. Then another. And then one more. While we were at it we had some ham sandwiches. Not so smart.

Pretty soon it was time to take a lap, although a nap would have been more appropriate. The 10 mile loop at Hurkey consists of doing an initial 7.3 miles of climbing and then some fun downhill back to the start. The first 1.9 miles is a solid climb. Them ham sandwiches and beers fought back hard as we ascended the first climb. It was ugly. That's me on the left expressing myself at the top of the first climb. Anyway good times were had by all and thanks to Trey for some great pictures.

Santiago Oaks with the Weir Canyon Loop

March 25, 2006

This ride is always a favorite for us. It's about 14 miles round trip and has a little of everything that you could ask for. Today I wore my helmet cam for the first time and got a little bit too frisky trying to keep up with Trey. Click on the picture to the right to download a 15 MB Windows Media file that captured all the fun of a fast decent starting from the top all the way down to the bottom.

March 19, 2006

I wish I had a dollar for every "ride to Old Camp" where we never actually make it past the Flag much less to Old Camp. And I'm the most guilty party for blowing it off most of the time. This ride had all of the makings for passing on riding up the Santiago Truck Trail to Old Camp; it was threatening rain, it was cold and a few had post Saturday night party syndrome.  But today the rally cry was "the beer will taste better if we do Old Camp." So up we went even though the heart was weak, and ride to the top we did. In fact we even rode all the way into the "Camp" proper, which is a rarity for most of us. In fact I hadn't been down there in over five years.

It had rained the evening before and the trail conditions were perfect. The STT was slightly damp which made for excellent traction but not wet enough to sap power while pedaling. Due to the chill there were no flies at the top or down in the camp which is a rarity. And the seasonal creek in the camp was flowing nicely.

It turned out to be one of those magic rides that keeps you coming back for more.

March 12, 2006

Rain postponed our usual Saturday ride so we put it off 'till Sunday. All of the parks were closed (due to the rain) so we did the STT to the Luge run. This trail tolerates rain exceptionally well, which is a good thing considering it is one of the few trails available when the parks are closed. While we didn't get rained on we did see a dusting of snow at the flag pole and some nice hail on the way down the Luge. There was a surprisingly large turnout of OC Riders considering the "cool" conditions.

February 25, 2006

Scott, Sagit, Joe, Nick, Dave C., Bad Brad, Craig, Trey and Verbal (aka Danny) all met at the Laguna Art School and shuttled to the Top of The World at Aliso Woods Park for this day's adventure. For a few of us it was our first time down Telonix. Very scary. I tried to do my best Scott imitation on my first ride over Tank but managed to get up and ride that horse again to do it successfully. It was Verbal's first ride with us and he showed some awesome heart descending the technical stuff on a pretty vintage mountain bike. Unfortunately the rocks won out and Verbal suffered a few cracked ribs in the process. Hey Verbal, we're damn proud of you and get well soon.

Trey took a ton of pictures for everyone's enjoyment. Thanks Trey!

February 5, 2006

This was a really nice ride up the Bitches, down the Chutes and over to the back side of Irvine Park for some fun and exploration.

As Trey demonstrates on the left, the Oaks can be a whole lot of fun with the right bike.

January 28, 2006

Our fearless Clownhillers were at it again in Boulder City, Nevada, riding the downhillers' dream called Bootleg Canyon. It was all good.

A big thanks to Nick for the great pictures.

January 14, 2006

Out 50 miles, turn around and go back. Easy...if it wasn't for the first 50 that is.

The ride started in Ocotillo California and went up the Great Southern Overland Stage Route of 1849 (a.k.a. S2) to the intersection of State Route 78, fifty miles later. A very strong headwind was in our face for the entire ride out as well as a 3,000 elevation gain. It was one very tough fifty miles. The ride back was fast and fantastic with a 20+ mile per hour tail wind most of the way.

January 8, 2006

I've ridden the Santiago Oaks loop for several years now and have never had as much fun doing it as on this ride on Sunday the 8th. Maybe it's because we didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn or ride up the Three Bitches. Maybe it's because we sipped on a beer before the ride was over. Maybe it's because we shuttled to the top in trucks or because we rode down Waterfalls and didn't walk down it. All I know is this Downhill stuff is good. Really good.

Thanks again to Sagit and Scott for organizing the trip, and getting the rest of us in touch with our need to improve on our bike handling skills (and the desire for speed and adrenaline.) And thanks for the many great pictures Trey! By the way the pictures don't do justice to the nerve involved in launching your bike over a blind ledge that drops 20' down the hill side.

January 7, 2006

This ride we started in Aliso Woods, went down Five Oaks, up Choilla to Stair Steps, down Stair Steps to Laguna Wilderness Park. Then up Willow to T&A and down T&A to a shuttle ride back to our cars. The ride has some good Cross Country sections with lots of climbing and some very technical downhill sections. It is the best of both worlds and can be done with any full suspension bike...but the more travel the merrier.

Trey took the time to take many many pictures and they're all here for your enjoyment!

January 5, 2006

Hey...it's dark out here! But this evening it was warm and clear and the mountain bikers were out inmass. Scott hauled up a six-pack of ice cold beverage and life was good. Thanks Scott!