Wier Canyon!
dragonboi said:
great thanks guys. i will probably check out aliso & woods canyon or maybe peters canyon.
Nobody mentioned Wier Canyon and that probably has something to do with the fact that it seems like there's rarely anyone there. Wier alone is a short loop (4.x miles), but can be done more than once and is worth it - just watch for ruts in a few areas (I haven't been since the last storms). Wier is almost all singletrack with lots of ups and downs, but basically nothing so long and steep as to require walking. Peters Canyon has 1-2 hills where you'll definitely walk up and Peters seems to go by more quickly despite longer actual mileage than Wier. Still, both are great starter places and I recommend variety!
Once you're at a more advanced (not much more, as I can do it) level, Wier is great when used as part of a longer ride using neighboring Santiago Oaks and Irvine Park, but the "Chutes" trail and the trail that links Santiago to Wier require some technical skills.
Remember that you can always walk the bike up or down the nastier stuff - you just need to be able to stop yourself before you get there. This just means you get off the saddle and get your weight back on downhills so you can brake without skidding your rear tire.
If you don't already have Mountain Biking Orange County California by Randy Vogel and Larry Kuechlin...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=sr_1_1/102-5925912-4468943?v=glance&s=books
...you should get it. This is a great book and usually pretty much spot-on (allowing some lenience for the subjective nature of trail ratings). Note that you'll probably want to do the beginner's shortcut back to your car at Wier the first couple of times rather than doing the final 0.5 miles or so, which includes one long, moderately steep descent on smooth rock.
Have fun!
Cegrover
