Yesterday during my evening commute I exited the SART (Santa Ana River Trail) at Chapman to test out a new route.  This was after getting rear whipped by a stinky guy on a crappy, heavy mountain bike!  The guy didn’t even have any calves.  I managed to keep pace but it seemed like I was working and he was cruising…

So yeah, I exited on Chapman which actually wasn’t half bad for a bridge with no shoulder followed by a freeway onramp.  Compared to Orangewood earlier this week it was actually enjoyable.

I then turned south on Flower which wasn’t particularly busy but the asphalt was pretty lousy.  From Flower I turned east on Almond Ave which turned out to be a nice ride.  The surface isn’t great, but it’s not horrible.  There were some cars parked in the right hand lane at times but not a ton of them.  From Flower to Cambridge I was only passed 6 times (and this was during rush hour), and the cars had room to pass me without having to cross the center divider.

The route also takes you right by Orange Cycle which I’ve been to, but it seems like a plus to have a bike shop available to you on your way home.  The route also takes you right by the Orange Circle if you wanted to take a break.

I ended the route at Cambridge which has a bike lane, allowing you to go south to Santiago Creek bike trail or north up to Walnut.

I don’t know that I’ll ever take this route again, but it’s not a bad way to go.