West Coast Self Supported Bicycle Touring Group cover photo

Sat, Nov 16, 2024, 12:00 PM PSTLower Moro Campground Overnighter
Santa Ana Metrolink Station, Santa Ana, CA
This is an intermediate level ride.

This is a 39-mile loop to Lower Moro Campground in Crystal Cove State Park, starting from and returning to the Santa Ana Metrolink Station. The first day is 18 miles; the second day is 21 miles. The ride in Crystal Cove State Park is an up-and-down off-road dirt trail, requiring a gravel, mountain, or all-terrain bike. This ride is labelled "Intermediate" because of the steep climbs in the state park. The label only indicates the work involved, not the required skill level; anyone who wants to try is welcome-- if you have to push your bike up hills, that is fine! (There will be places where all of us will be pushing!).

(See Route Blue=Bike Lane on Road; Green=Bike Trail; Red=Street with no bike lane; Dotted Line=Off-Road Dirt Trail) Taking off from the Santa Ana Metrolink Station, we ride on bike lanes and bike paths through Santa Ana and Irvine to arrive at Crystal Cove State Park, where we ride hilly dirt trails to the campground. On the way there, we'll stop at an In-N-Out for lunch (there are other fast food places in this shopping center). There is also a Trader Joe's in the same center to pick up food for the evening.

We return to the station the next day via a different route.

Our camping location is a primitive campsite, with only a picnic table. There is a decent pit restroom; there are no showers. There is no water at the campground; we'll have to carry in enough water to last through dinner and breakfast. (A suggestion is to carry enough bottles to fill up at the In-N-Out when we're having lunch on our way to the campground. ) This is also a pack-in-pack-out campground so we will have to carry our trash out.

Please note: E-bikes are not allowed in Crystal Cove State Park, as per these notices:
http://www.crystalcovestatepark.org/rules/
and this notice.

MEETING UP.
We will meet at the Santa Ana Metrolink Station (601 N Santiago St, Santa Ana, CA 92701) at 12 noon. There is overnight parking at the station.

Cost is $4. This covers the cost of the campground, and any left over will help pay for the cost of maintaining this meetup account.

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Disclaimer: This bike-touring/camping group ride is a meeting of like-minded people gathering for a time of fun and social interaction. No organizational responsibility is implied in the creation of this ride. Upon registering for this event, you acknowledge that participation in the event is done out of your own risk and you accept responsibility for your own safety.
6 attendees+1
Sat, Nov 23, 2024, 10:15 AM PSTLaguna Niguel Metrolink station to O'Neill Park camping
Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink Station, Mission Viejo, CA
Hi Everyone,
So sorry we were unable to do this ride in September due to the fire. I hope this date works for a lot of people. We have 2 sites so we can have 16 people! (we will split campsite fee between attendees, will likely be less than $5 each)

We will meet at Laguna Niguel Metrolink station (note: Amtrak does not stop here) around 10:15 am and depart at 10:30 am. (I made this time a little earlier since it will get dark much earlier) It will be the same route as the August ride. Up Crown Valley in a bike lane, to the entrance of the bike path at Crown Valley Park. We will continue to Laguna Niguel Lake, then after crossing the street, we will get on Aliso Creek Trail and continue until we reach Rancho Santa Margarita. Here we will be in the bike lane and we will then stop at Ralphs for snacks and any dinner items we wish to cook in camp. Next we have a long, medium steep hill and once we come down the other side, we will enter the dirt path that leads to the camp. This dirt path is about 1.5 miles and has a small creek crossing. The very first part of this trail is short and steep.
The next day we will leave around 9 am (or earlier if people have a specific train to catch) and go to Einstein Bagels for Second Breakfast! Then its mostly downhill all the way back!
There are lots of places to stop for bathroom, water and snack breaks (including places to fill up your bottles).
Here is the route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17334649
About 21 miles.
9 attendees+4
Sat, Dec 7, 2024, 10:00 AM PSTLaguna Niguel Train Station to San Mateo campground
Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink Station, Mission Viejo, CA
Hi All!
Welcome to our December ride! It will be about 22 miles each way. We will be riding from Laguna Niguel Metrolink station (note, Amtrak does NOT stop here) to San Mateo Campground. We will be riding partly on bike trails and partly on the street/bike lanes. Our route will take us along Crown Valley Parkway, through a neighborhood, then we will ride along an excellent bike path called Salt Creek Trail, then we will go through Dana Point Harbor, then towards San Clemente where we will ride some hills through the neighborhoods. We will be stopping at Pedro's Tacos where they have incredible burritos! Also, there is a grocery store less than a mile away and we can go there too. With our burritos snuggly secured onto our bikes, we will ride the last bit to the campsite. We have two sites, I think it might end up being about $10 per person, depending on how many people attend (to be paid to Thaun).

Here is the route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48115372
Note: Salt Creek Trail is comprised of short steep roller coaster hills. It is a blast to ride, but definitely requires a low gear!

It has been a while since I have been to this campground so I am not sure if they have showers.

We will leave the station sometime around 10 to 10:30, once we know the winter train schedules.
14 attendees+9

West Coast Self Supported Bicycle Touring Group