If you live in Orange County, you’ve looked up at it more than a thousand times! Saddleback Mountain is the Eastern Backdrop to all we do. On a clear day, it's possible to see to San Pedro to the North and San Clemente to the South, as well as Catalina Island to the West and a clear picture of Riverside to the East, from the 4,000ft elevation. It's quite an experience to stand on this peak that we’ve all seen snowcapped in parts of Winter! Have you ever been up there? If so, please comment about how you got to the top. Our riders saw everything from a triathlete in training, to mountain bikers, hikers, Jeeps, New Electric Trucks and more.
Ascending Saddleback Mountain
July 05 2022 - Tustin Mazda
Recently a couple members of our OC Auto Team, grabbed their motorcycles, headed up through Silverado Canyon to the trailhead, in search of this amazing lookout. 18 miles later Chance Assue (Tustin Mazda Internet Director) and Robert Nelson (OC Auto Team Marketing Director) found themselves overlooking all of Orange County and enjoying a breeze on the 72 degree mountain top.
The road is mostly a single-lane dirt, fire road with a number of areas requiring a bit of technical control and a bike (or AWD vehicle like a Mazda CX-50) that can handle rocks and bumps. If the sheer drops at several areas of the road don’t intimidate you, and you know how to hit the whoops, it’s a straight forward ride with an hour or so of physicality to the top. Pack some water, maybe an energy bar and certainly that small first aid kit you hope to never use!
The view will not disappoint and here’s a few photos of the vista, the bikes, and of course our explorers themselves. If you’re interested in taking a ride up for yourself and are of adequate experience, a 250-500cc dual purpose bike seems ideal. Protective boots, goggles, gloves and a good helmet are a must and elbow pads + chest guard would be a good idea as well. You are welcome to join these mellow cruisers when they head out monthly, as the weather permits.
If interested about upcoming plans (or if you love to talk Mazda), you can reach Chance at our Tustin Mazda Dealerships. Robert, can be found at the recovery center for 55+ today, (and works for our corporate office)!
Kidding aside, our guys are healthy and exhilarated following yesterdays’ descent. You can watch for yourself, Chance posted the entire winding road on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/Hh64M77iAnc And added a few pics from the top of Orange County's original landmark, for your viewing pleasure.
Happy Trails!
Your OC Auto Team
Links to learn more from Robert and Chance at Tustin Mazda:
https://motorcycles.fandom.com/wiki/Whoop-De-Dos
Whoop-De-Dos, more often called whoops or sometimes moguls, are series of bumps about 3 feet tall found on many tracks and unmaintained roads and, when passing over them may cause one to exclaim, "Whoop-De-Do!”