Aug. 5 Shady Canyon Sunday Glide (Orange County, CA)

[Segway Future]

Join us on August 5th for a group glide through the pretty, rolling terrain of exclusive Shady Canyon, in Orange County, California. The 11.5-mile scenic loop gets you behind the gates of one of Irvine’s most exclusive private communities, traveling across a varied landscape of gently sloping hills, a wilderness preserve, and past one of Irvine’s picturesque community lakes. The majority of the ride is on separated bike trails, including several miles of downhill gliding to help charge those batteries! Sandy and I do this loop regularly, and on our i2’s we typically have 3-4 bars of battery power in reserve. We’ll cap off the ride with lunch at Ruby’s in Irvine. It’s quite a pleasant glide that gives you a real sense of getting away from the city.

WHEN: Sunday, August 5, at 9 a.m.
WHERE: Parking Lot of Windrow Community Park, off East Yale Loop in Irvine, between Alton and Barranca Pkwys. Parking is free.
MEETING SPOT: Meet near the wooden pedestrian bridge at the left side of the parking lot.
DURATION: The loop route takes approx. 1.5 hours to complete, plus added time for lunch.

Hope you’ll join us!

[Mr. Protocol]

I'll certainly try to be there. Sounds great!

[flyoguy]

Sounds good to me. I believe I'm available

[jgbackes]

madeleine and I will not be able to attend :(

Hope you have a create glide!

[quade]

Count me in.

[Segway Future]

We have posted a page with the glide details and a map to the meeting location at:

http://www.segwaytoday.net/SegwayToday/Events/C8DF32D9-42BD-411B-81FE-50E2F019F186.html

We're looking forward to seeing everyone!

[jrvcd]

Gonna try to make this one sounds like fun.

[Segway Future]

6 confirmed so far!

[bentbiker]

6 confirmed so far!I was able to change my plans; count me in. I've tried to get the info to beachrider but she's having computer problems.

[outside]

I'm Going To Try To Make It. My Baby Is Still In Nh For Repairs. Almost Two Months Now.

[forcelite]

Me and the wifee will be attending, well me for sure.

[FrankP]

I'm looking forward to the glide.

Frank Peikert

[inewman]

Unfortunatly I have other plans for the weekend but with the glide at over 11 miles, my NiMh wouldn't make it anyway.

Please plan a shorter glide the next time. Thanks.

Ira

[quade]

Unfortunatly I have other plans for the weekend but with the glide at over 11 miles, my NiMh wouldn't make it anyway.

Please plan a shorter glide the next time. Thanks.

Ira

Ira! I got a WAY better idea! You should plan the next one. :)

What's the best route ya got?

[irvinegal]

We realize that the 11.5-mile length of the ride, despite the battery-recharging downhill stretches, might pose some challenges for NiMH; but it's a lovely route that we're excited to share with everyone. We do plan to arrange additional glides of varying lengths in the future, so please stay tuned for more!

Sandy
segwaytoday.net

[inewman]

Touche'

The best glides I've been on have been set up by people in other areas. Unless you are interested in gliding in downtown Van Nuys.

I joined Segsby on a glide in Valencia he set up. It was great, trails are set up all over the area, but no one showed up but the two of us. I think he'd like to do that again if anyone else would commit.

We do have Lake Balboa but it's fairly short and someone will likey shout polo at the mention of the word.

Also, I understand cmonkey scouted a downtown glide that I hope he might lead. I'd really like to see that area with a group.

To be honest, I haven't found any really interesting glides in the valley. I'm sure they exist. Anyone else have suggestions for a Valley glide.

Ira

[beckwm]

Jen and Bill will be there.

[Segway Future]

We're up to around 11 gliders so far for Sunday. Should be a good group!

[quade]

Should be a good group!

Should be . . . but I'll be there so that might bring down the average. :D

[jrvcd]

looking forward to a great glide and as usual i have been busy modifing the segway some more....got a lot to show to see how the new accessory stuff really does fit on and xt

[Segway Future]

Well, we're just 3 days away from our Shady Canyon glide! We hope everyone who has the opportunity will join us for this unique look of Orange County.

[Segway Future]

Tomorrow's the big glide. Turnout and weather look very promising! If you are in Southern California on August 5, please join us!

All the details can be found at:

http://www.segwaytoday.net/SegwayToday/Events/C8DF32D9-42BD-411B-81FE-50E2F019F186.html

A couple of additional points:

The parking lot for Windrow Community Park is accessible only from E. Yale Loop in Irvine. If you are approaching from Alton Pkwy, you will see the sign for the lot immediately after crossing over the drainage wash on your right. If approaching from Barranca Pkwy, it will be the last driveway on your left just before the wash.

We recommend you bring sunscreen, a water bottle and your appetite for a filling meal at Ruby's Diner!

If you have any questions feel free to ask

We'll see everyone Sunday!

[quade]

Wow. Thanks.

This, for me, sets a very high benchmark iin terms of quality ride. I can't wait until we see the next one you guys puts together.

Anybody that missed this one, missed quite a bit.

[cmonkey]

I got out to my seg this morning, and had the dreaded red battery light.
So one of my batteries didn't get charged last night. It's ok now, but I hope to make the next glide!

[outside]

This was without a doubt the best and most scenic glide to date. Thank you Todd and Sandy.

[quade]

I got out to my seg this morning, and had the dreaded red battery light.
So one of my batteries didn't get charged last night. It's ok now, but I hope to make the next glide!

This may give you an idea of what you missed. Google Earth file . . .

[Segway Future]

Very cool, Quade! What an interesting perspective of our glide today.

Sandy and I want to thank everyone who participated in the outing for making it a great day.

We hope everyone had as much fun as we did!

[jrvcd]

excellent gilde i enjoyed it very much!

[quade]

Some photos from the ride.

I was so taken by the scenery of the actual ride, I didn't really take too many photos. Pretty much just at the start and end. I'll go back and document the views from the trail at a later date.

Enjoy.

[quade]

One last one . . .

[bentbiker]

This may give you an idea of what you missed. Google Earth file . . .

Paul,

For somebody not from the immediate area and certainly not familiar with the trails, your ability to remember every turn is unbelievable. Did you have some kind of GPS recording device that wasn't in evidence? Great job.

I suspect that with all the video footage, we'll be seeing something from Todd and/or Frank to cover the scenic route itself.

[quade]

For somebody not from the immediate area and certainly not familiar with the trails, your ability to remember every turn is unbelievable. Did you have some kind of GPS recording device that wasn't in evidence? Great job.

No. I had foolishly not thought to bring along a track recording GPS and had asked several folks on the ride if they had been recording but to no avail. So, I did do it from memory. I had the route sheets that Todd and Sandy provided and that helped quite a bit, but it's pretty easy to remember the routing by zooming into Google Earth and just keeping your eye on the bike paths.

Also, I got lessons in running mazes years ago from a little mouse named Algernon. :D

[bentbiker]

I had the route sheets that Todd and Sandy provided and that helped quite a bit

I completely forgot Todd and Sandy had prepared multi-colored route slips for the group.

[polo_pro]

It's pretty easy to remember the routing by zooming into Google Earth and just keeping your eye on the bike paths.

I do much of my route planning for long distance glides like this. And after the glide, I'll post maps showing battery changes (and deviations from the planned route) again using Google Earth. Sometimes, I think I missed my calling by not getting into the NSA/CIA where I could make a living at deciphering pixels on a satellite picture!

On the flip side, by sticking to software, I didn't risk somehow being involved in the whole WMD fiasco in Iraq. Sheesh...

ps - Up here in Sac, I'm finding it more wooded, so following bike pathes by rivers isn't as easy!

[quade]

NSA doesn't get involved much with satellite analysis.
CIA . . . that's one of their bread and butter tools.

My wife is doing significant amounts of satellite remote sensing analysis of the meso-american corridor for her geography Phd at UCLA. I do most of her grunt work for her. :) I make extensive use of Google Earth for rough order of magnitude estimates. Pity most of the area she's working on has such lousy resolution.

As Segway enthusiasts, we're fortunate to live in better resolution areas. :)

One word of caution about finding routes via Google Earth, some of the imaging is pretty darn old. In fact the route we took just this last weekend had some very significant differences in it from the database. Part of the rough order of magnitude work you need to do is called "ground proofing"; you need to put somebody on the ground in the area imaged to ensure what you thought you saw actually still exists. Heck, my car's GPS map database is only 1 years old and it is already painfully out of date on some freeway exits.

[polo_pro]

You think that Google Earth is bad? You should have seen it when it was Keyhole. Back then, you'd be happy if the images were only 3 years out of date. Google Earth does a pretty good job of updating the satellite imagery. I'm not claiming they'll get fresh data for the heart of the Mojave desert. But for example, just after I did my trip down PCH, they got higher resolution pictures a few months later. I was pleasantly surprised!

[quade]

You think that Google Earth is bad? You should have seen it when it was Keyhole.

Hehe . . . There's Keyhole, the former web service, and then there's Keyhole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reconnaissance_Office#Spacecraft), the NRO satellites.

I'll admit one was kinda bad, but the other . . . pretty awsome! :D

Understand we could get MUCH better stuff than Google Earth for some things (but still not quite as awesome as the NRO stuff). Multiple wave lengths, sub-meter resolution . . . . For instance, my wife can not only tell you if there are plants and rocks in a field, she can also tell you what kind of plants and what minerals the rocks are composed of.

Still, it's hard to beat Google Earth for the price!

[bentbiker]

Frank Peikert, a member of Seg OC (maybe not a SC member?) provided the following one-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eopfnWQJdd4

[bystander]

Frank Peikert, a member of Seg OC (maybe not a SC member?) provided the following one-minute video: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=eopfnWQJdd4Some space characters snuck into your link. This should work better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eopfnWQJdd4

[quade]

Geebus Frank . . . pretty spooky music! Sounds like we're some kinda aliens about to take over Stepford!

Come to think of it though, we did sort of invade Ruby's. :D


Good job btw. Thanks for sharing that.

[SEGsby]

Yeah, a bit macabre sounding music. But the area looks a lot like Valencia, around the Bridgeport area

Nice video. :)

SEGsby

[bentbiker]

Some space characters snuck into your link. This should work better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eopfnWQJdd4

Thanks Bystander. Using copy and paste, this one is hard to explain -- guess I should have tested it. Just realized, I may still be able to edit it.

[quade]

Todd --

Do you have a .doc or .pdf file of the route slip you made for this? I'd love to include that in my Google Earth .kmz file.

I'm planning on making a collection of routes.

[hellphish]

I really liked the video with that music! It made it so much more enjoyable for me somehow.

[Segway Future]

Hi Everyone,

We have a short video and a few pictures of last week's glide at:

http://www.segwaytoday.net/SegwayToday/Events/Entries/2007/7/23_August_5th_Shady_Canyon_Sunday_Glide_(Orange_Co unty%2C_CA).html

Thanks again to everone who participated!

[quade]

Very nice! Thanks for putting that together for us.

[bentbiker]

Hi Everyone,

We have a short video and a few pictures of last week's glide at:

http://www.segwaytoday.net/SegwayToday/Events/Entries/2007/7/23_August_5th_Shady_Canyon_Sunday_Glide_(Orange_Co unty%2C_CA).html

Thanks again to everone who participated!

Todd/Sandy,


Nice work! Thanks.