Riding Locally
Group rides
The Bicycle Tree offers our own series of group rides, including a regular Sunday Morning ride, night rides, and other special occasion rides. For more information on The Bicycle Tree rides, go here.
The Orange County Bicycle Coalition has a great list of Orange County Bike Clubs.
Santa Ana Active Streets (SAAS): our frequent collaborators also host their own group rides from time to time. For more about SAAS, go here.
The Bicycle Club of Irvine: "The Friendliest Bike Club in Orange County"
Midnight Ridazz: a good resource for finding and announcing bike rides in Southern California.
Ovarian Psychos (LA)
CityNightShift (LA)
SoCalCycling.com lists performance-oriented clubs and rides around Southern California, ranging from bike shop club rides to professional races.
Meetup.com is a great way to find riding groups.
The Bicycle Tree hosts a group ride every Sunday, as well as regular special occasion rides. Find out more about our rides here.
Bike Skills
The Orange County Bicycle Coalition leads Urban Cycling workshops. Information can be found here.
The Orange County Wheelmen lead Traffic Skills 101, Ride Like a Pro rides, and other training rides.
Our friends in Santa Ana Active Streets (SAAS) are also involved with a variety of local bike education programs. For more about SAAS, go here.
Destinations and Routes
For a map of dedicated bicycle routes, lanes, and paths, check out the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Bikeways Map here.
Naturalist for You - with a naturalist from this non-profit organization by your side, you may explore the natural areas of our region and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diversity of life that surrounds us.
Video from our Bike to Nature bike ride and nature walk on June 9th, 2013, led by Naturalist for You and The Bicycle Tree.
In Orange County, there are many people, organizations, and agencies involved in our transportation system and various aspects of land use. Most surface streets are primarily controlled by city government, and implemented by the Public Works Department (which often has a Traffic and Transportation Division). Off-street bike paths are typically under the jurisdiction of the city’s Parks Dept.
Notable exceptions include:
- Roads in unincorporated areas of Orange County, which are managed by the Roads Division of the Orange County Public Works Dept.
- The Santa Ana River Trail, which within Orange County is primarily managed by the Orange County Public Works and Parks Departments.*
- Coyote Creek Trail, which is managed primarily by Caltrans.*
- The San Gabriel River Trail, managed by the Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works.*
* Note that these jurisdictions are somewhat complicated in that decisions may include discussion with city governments where the paths are, with regional planning committees, and with other agencies, such as Flood Control.
