Today is the Spring Equinox.  The first official day of Spring.  The beginning of the end to long, cold, dark winter!  This being Southern California, the long winter is not much different from the long Summer, but still the equinox marks a beginning of sorts.  And a new beginning always calls for a bike ride.   For the very first bike ride of this new spring,  I decided to ride to the nearby community of Yorba Linda and pay a visit to the memorial library of the 37th President of the United States – Richard M. Nixon.

I actually tried to make this ride once before – in October of 2011. I rode to the Library one Sunday.   Nancy had agreed to meet me there to tour the library and then have lunch.   She met me at the library as planned, but we had arrived about an hour before it opened.   So we decided to go to brunch first and then come back for the library tour.

Well, long story short, we found a lovely restaurant for lunch, with a bottomless Mimosa brunch. I ended up getting slightly drunk at brunch. So no library tour and no ride home. But I had a very nice brunch and a good nap.

Today would be different. The day started out cold – about 45 degrees.  It warmed up quickly as I began the long climb away from the ocean toward the communities of Tustin and Orange.   By the time I reached the highest point of the ride,  I had removed all my warm weather clothing and was cycling in shorts and a light shirt in perfect 72 degree weather.

The day was crystal clear.   The views from the top of Cannon Road along Via Escola were spectacular, with a sweeping view of the entire Santa Ana River Canyon. The San Bernadino Mountains in the background gleaming white with snow from last weekend’s storm.

From the high point on Via Escola,  a frolicking 35 MPH downhill to the Santa Ana River.   From there, it’s a just a few flat miles to the Nixon Library.  Nixon chose to locate his library on the site of his family’s home.   The original house,  built by Nixon father in 1912 still stands on the property.  The family operated a citrus farm on the property until 1922.  Richard Nixon was born in the house in 1913.

The library includes a museum with many artifacts from Nixon’s presidency.   It includes a display of the 1967 Lincoln Continental limousine used by Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford.  On permanent display outside the library building is the Marine Helicopter used by presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford.

After the visit to the library, I did a short ride through the neighborhoods of Yorba Linda. It’s a lovely, upscale, southern California community with large, old houses. Many people here own horses.  After 8 or 10 miles, I found myself back at the Santa Ana River.

Created along the banks of the Santa Ana River is the amazing Santa Ana River Trail.  One of the many river trails built in Southern California, the SART is a 26 miles, paved, off-road, class I bike trail running the length of the river.   I ride the SART westward from the Yorba Regional Park toward the ocean.

The SART passes through the city of Anaheim.  It runs directly past the Honda Center (home of the Anaheim Ducks Hockey Team), and the Angels Stadium (home of the LA Angels baseball team). The parking lots of both facilities are directly accessible from the trail. One could easily ride to games or concerts. I have often thought about doing this, but I don’t think I feel comfortable leaving the trike unattended in such a very public place.  And, of course, it would be necessary to ride home in darkness as the trail has no streetlights.