After cancelling all of our bike trips in 2020, we were ready to safely get out and do a little bicycle tour. When O’Neill Regional Park reopened for camping we reserved a spot right away. We packing up our panniers with gear and set off from our house heading towards Santiago Canyon. This wasn’t the shortest route to the campground but it was the most scenic. The canyon is recovering from the Silverado Wildfire that came through in October. The canyon is starting to green up with the small amount of rain we have had this season in Southern California. In Mission Viejo we stopped and got a turkey sandwich to share for lunch. Riding through Rancho Santa Margarita and down into Live Oak Canyon we made our final stop at the Trabuco Canyon General Store. They have been serving this small community since 1951. We picked up a few drinks and snacks and then continued for another mile to the campground. After checking in and setting up our campsite, we noticed it was quiet and there were only a dozen other campers. We walked around the campground and enjoyed the beautiful oak and sycamore trees. On this bike tour we were trying something different, no backpacking stove. Dinner consisted of beans, fire roasted corn, Hatch Chiles and hot sauce rolled into delicious burritos with flour tortillas. Making dinner was easy and clean up was a breeze. It got cold fast after the sun went down and the Ranger Station was sold out of their firewood. So, we retreated to our tent and the warmth of our down sleeping bags. We read our Kindles for the rest of the evening and reminisced about our fun day and how good it was to be out on the road again. In the morning we weren’t in a hurry to leave and took our time packing up. We took a different route home, making the entire trip a loop instead of an out-and-back. We had a chicken and rice bowl for lunch and relaxed before the final stretch home. We rolled into the driveway at 2:30pm. It was a short but refreshing mini tour. We have done 34 bike trips together and we see ourselves doing more of these mini tours until it is safer to travel longer and farther. We encourage you to get out there for your own mini trip. It really helps to add some normalcy into your life. Until next time…..
- February 2021
Commentaires