Google has a nifty little feature, for those of you who don’t know, that shows many bike trails around the world.  Trails are broken down into whether it’s an actual bike trail, a road with a bike lane, or just a bike friendly street.

For my rant today, I would like to point out the somewhat non-revolutionary point that Orange County has been segregated into two worlds.

I live east of the 55 and work west of the 55.  As I began commuting on my bike I made a grim discovery.  There is no way to easily cross the 55/5 barrier from South Orange County to North Orange County.  I mean at some point you take your life in your hands and go for it, but there’s no simple way through.

Looking at the map, another observation becomes apparent to those of us that have spent a good deal of time out on the roads, what passes for a bike friendly road in North Orange County is a far cry from a bike friendly road in South Orange County.  Looking at the map some optimist decided the whole stretch of Taft from the Santa River past the 55 was cyclist friendly.  I understand taking that route, and I have on numerous occasions because of a lack of a safer route, but it not cyclist friendly.  It’s merely better than Lincoln or Katella.

The Santiago Creek Trail gets you past the 55 and the 5, but like most of North Orange County’s bike trails, it leads to nowhere.  You have to get off the Santiago Creek Trail prematurely and enjoy the fun that is Main Street in Santa Ana.  This problem could be easily remedied except for the fact that a small number of Santa Ana’s top 1% don’t want a bike path through public land in their neighborhood.

From the 55/5 junction down the 55 corridor to the backbay no one even pretends that there is a way across the concrete curtain.  You can go down Main St. in Santa Ana past the airport (and I have), but I would never call it bike friendly.

You could go all the way down to the backbay and take 22nd to Victoria (which I’ve done on occasion, but there’s a reason 22nd isn’t green, and for most people I know, it’s a long way out of their way, for a marginal solution.

I supposed someone could counter with the question as to what makes a bike friendly road.  At least two thirds of the people I see on bikes in Orange County are over 50 or under 20.  Most of the routes and bike options I see in North Orange County are not safe for a jr. high student or a senior citizen, but that’s what they’re stuck with.

I see signs on buses and on the occasional billboard telling people to ride their bikes, but Orange County is not serious about this.  It is not safe to ride your bike in Orange County, not really..