Yesterday morning's schedule left me with the opportunity to do what I wanted for five hours or more. I decided it was time to put on some decent miles and headed out on what turned out to be a perfect day for one of my favorite loops.
This ride takes you through some beautiful views of the farms, canyons, lakes and with no fog today the channel islands were spectacular. The route heads east out of Ventura out to Santa Paula, up the Hwy 150 through Ojai and back down to the coast at Rincon. From there it back along the coast to home.
The ride is just over 100km (70 miles) and 4250 feet of climbing. I was able to get it done in five hours and ten minutes, pretty respectable considering it has been months since I did anything over 20 miles. The weather was spectacular, warmer than I expected, no clouds and there was only strong winds on the leg out to Santa Paula. Spring has definitely sprung, the flowers: lupine, mustard, poppy and all the others, are starting to pop.
This is a popular route with the local cyclists and clubs. Today I seemed to be the only one going counter-clockwise as I crossed paths with plenty of other's going the other way. Clockwise lets you slowly work your way up to the Summit and 10 miles down to Santa Paula, I would rather slog up the climb so I can enjoy the twisty drop from upper to lower Ojai.
After the twisty drop it is small towns and rollers to the coast, with a couple of steep pitches through Casitas Pass and then down through the valley to the beach. Everything went better than you could hope for. No mechanical issues, great weather and plenty of time made for a perfect ride. The Roadeo with Jack Browns made me wonder if I will ever ride a skinny tire again.
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I ended up sleeping in a little this morning. Thankfully the slightly longer mornings and the unseasonable weather made for some wonderful light.
Headed up the coast a bit for a quick loop. The coastal range acts as a shield from the local mountain winds. A byproduct of the high pressure dominating our local weather is the wind that comes with it, 30-40 mph gusts my late morning. The wind it the price we pay for 45 deg mornings and 65 deg afternoons in the middle of winter.
Stopping on the way back to enjoy the view of the islands.
and then time to get home and back to work.
Out in the farm fields to see the changes warm weather is bringing. Spring seems to have sprung, lets hope it sticks.
Tomorrow it is hills.
Monday Blues February 07 2011, 0 Comments
It is not my intent to make all of you living east of the rockies in a block of ice feel too bad, but we are lucky out here. If it makes you feel better I will admit that it was almost 50deg and I needed to werar gloves.
I love living here - Happy Monday
Some time together while the baby plays with Oma and Opie
I will admit we are pretty spoiled here with the mountains and ocean back to back. Topping it off you can get into open ranch country just a few miles out-of-town. This morning I made the quick ride out to Canada Larga Rd. Only 7 miles from the house and I can be on empty country roads,
Right after this shot a coyote crossed the road, by the time had grabbed my other camera it had joined the rest of the pack on the hill,
Then the climbing begins, nothing terrible, but fun steady rollers perfect for a quick workout.
This is an amazing natural resource made accessible by a county road. Paving conditions are terrible, but the views make up for it, it is also a good reason to ride fatter tires.
Access extends back almost 4 miles. The region is very popular with birders, as many uncommon species migrate and nest here. I have been privileged on more than one chilly morning to see pairs of raptors hunting. Time was tight this morning and I only made it a couple of miles back before turning around.
Then the payoff for the climbing begins, spinning 50x13 the whole way back to the river trail.
While open and somewhat wild for the moment, this land is becoming an economic and environmental battle ground. The valley and over 800 acres of land that is currently part of the County of Ventura is possibly going to be annexed into the city and re-zoned for the development of mini mansions (equestrian ranches and executive homes). The most recent vote by the city council pushed this out further, spending more money to determine if this makes any sence. Bringing this region into the city will incur the burden of police and fire protection as well as all other city services. It is sad to see the city bowing to the allure of quick money, hopefully common sense will prevail. You can read more about the last council meeting here,
Ventua Hillside Preservation Blog.
I hope that by sharing my pictures and video to expose the natural beauty of the valley that it may help in bringing attention to the preservation of one of this regions more butifal and accessible open areas.
Dirt? February 01 2011, 0 Comments
A little dirt in the morning can really spice things up. Keep your eyes open for the little detours,
Even a few hundred yards now and then can put a bigger smile on after a ride around the neighborhood.
It was unseasonably warm again today with temps in the 55-60 degree range, not that I am complaining. The wind also calmed down a bit and rolling out of the garage I decided to head up the Ventura River Trail and shoot some pics. The light was fantastic this morning.
I made it out to Santa Anna Road in time to catch the sun rise hitting the mountains,
But played around too much with the cameras and gear to cover the distance I had hoped for. I had picked up some new batteries for my wireless camera trigger the other day, and the improvement in range and performance is incredible. More lonely-boy self portraits to follow soon. Heading home:
In time to play a bit with the family before getting back to work.
This morning there was only a bit 
time for a quick toodle around down town and to close the loop along the beach for a quick surf check. After yesterday's comment about living in a smaller town I thought about expanding a bit. 
Work brought me to the Ventura area four years ago. When it was time to find an apartment, a garage for the tools and gear, and close to town and the beach were the key criteria in the search. We ended up in a town house two blocks from My wife's work, a few blocks from down town and the beach. We are able to walk down town for dinner and shopping, there are at least four local bike shops within two miles of the house, the ocean is blocks away. Most of our produce comes from the weekend farmer's markets either up the street on Saturday or I use the Sunday market ten miles away as an excuse to put in some extra saddle time. Things like Costco or the nicer food markets are a bit further, but still very accessible by bike when you need to stock up on supplies. In the last few years my work was as close as a three mile pedal to the job site, and at worst 65 miles in the car down to Los Angeles.
The only downside, well I am having a hard time coming up 
with a downside. I did not even ge to expand on the mountains to the north expanding into the Los Padres National Forest, or the fact that if we did want to venture into LA it is only an hour or so away. This is not meant to be a sales pitch for Ventura. Think about what you do to live and work and how to structure your life so that you can do the things you want. For me that is getting out of the car, onto the bike, into the water and having maximum time to spend with my wife and daughter. 
Every time I take work that puts me behind the windshield for hours on end I regret it, I am trying real hard this time to not lat that happen again. It is possible to have things come together so that you can do it your way, though you have to do it and not wait for it to just show up.
If you find you current situation less ideal than you would hope, particularly from a transformational cycling situation, just get out and make the best of what you have. Things are probably better than you think. In my four years here in town I have discovered and been able to share more than many people who have lived here for decades. The key is getting started, get outside, commit to using your legs to get around town. When that gets boring, commit to not going the same way twice to get to the same places for a whole week or more. Most of all recapture your time and have fun.
This ride takes you through some beautiful views of the farms, canyons, lakes and with no fog today the channel islands were spectacular. The route heads east out of Ventura out to Santa Paula, up the Hwy 150 through Ojai and back down to the coast at Rincon. From there it back along the coast to home.
The ride is just over 100km (70 miles) and 4250 feet of climbing. I was able to get it done in five hours and ten minutes, pretty respectable considering it has been months since I did anything over 20 miles. The weather was spectacular, warmer than I expected, no clouds and there was only strong winds on the leg out to Santa Paula. Spring has definitely sprung, the flowers: lupine, mustard, poppy and all the others, are starting to pop.
This is a popular route with the local cyclists and clubs. Today I seemed to be the only one going counter-clockwise as I crossed paths with plenty of other's going the other way. Clockwise lets you slowly work your way up to the Summit and 10 miles down to Santa Paula, I would rather slog up the climb so I can enjoy the twisty drop from upper to lower Ojai.
After the twisty drop it is small towns and rollers to the coast, with a couple of steep pitches through Casitas Pass and then down through the valley to the beach. Everything went better than you could hope for. No mechanical issues, great weather and plenty of time made for a perfect ride. The Roadeo with Jack Browns made me wonder if I will ever ride a skinny tire again.
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