Hi Everyone,

It is not really a secret, but once daylight saving is over, Orchard Hills becomes a very popular area in the cycling community. For a simple reason, perfect visibility in the evening almost no public traffic. It is a 2.5 mile paved road loop: 1/3 steady and easy climb (no traffic), 1/3 down hill for recovery (no traffic), 1/3 flat (on Portola, with traffic). Perfect for interval training in the evening, but we still ride on public roads, so LIGHTS are MANDATORY.

When: Every Tuesday, Roll off 6:00pm after a short introduction to safety rules. If you are late you can “blend in” the next time the group rolls by ….

Meeting point: 5:50pm parking lot in front of the CVS Pharmacy in the Orchard Hills Village Center (for your GPS: 3801 Portola Parkway, Irvine, CA 92602)

The Orchard Hills Loop (clockwise):

Culver Drive (at the very northern end) – Orchard Hills – Turn right on Portola Parkway – Turn right back on Culver Drive

The Pace:

The idea is to maintain a steady rhythm on the climb and recover on the downhill and high cadence spinning in the flat. So it is not about how fast you can make one loop, it is all about steady pedaling in a specific gear depending on your fitness and level of endurance. I suggest to ride at least 4-5 loops more experienced riders do probably 8 loops in 1 Hour. We will certainly split into different groups with different average speed.

As always, looking forward for a fun ride!

Matthias (matthias@teamvelosport.com)