Quick ride out and back to get some air, crystal clear after the rain
Busy Days
Between Storms February 17 2011, 0 Comments
Knocking the dust off of the Traut, before dark and the next round of rain.
This morning was much colder than expected, with temps in the upper 30's and rain on the way, it looks like Old Man Winter may be on his way back to California. I headed out the Ventura River trail to Lake Casitas, up the 150 to Burnham and back home for a quick 26.5 miles and 1000 ft or so of climbing.
Fun rolling hills with flowers starting to show,
A little bit of climbing,
And the reward.
What a difference a day or two can make in the weather. Looking like rain again in a day or two more, enjoy it while it lasts.
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.
[gallery]
I have had the Grab On Grips on the Roadeo for 3 months now and a follow-up review is due. The
original review was favorable, and at this point I would still list them as a keepers.
They have been a nice touch of comfort on long cold descents. When underbiking, skinny tires on dirt, more time is spent on the brakes than would be comparable to a full suspension mountain bike. The little bit of added padding and grip eases the finger and hand fatigue on the multi thousand foot fire roads coming down from the mountains. Even with powerful brakes this can get tiring after 30 minutes or more of constant feathering of the brakes.
The durability is better than I expected for these simple thin foam rubber grips. Bumping into things, leaning against walls and a couple of minor lay downs in the dirt and no rips or tears yet. I still have my doubts that they will out live the bar tape, but for the couple of bucks they cost I would say it was money well spent.
I have enjoyed them through the cool winter, next follow-up will be after a few months of warm weather sweat.
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.
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
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.
Busy Days
Knocking the dust off of the Traut, before dark and the next round of rain.
Fun rolling hills with flowers starting to show,
A little bit of climbing,
And the reward.
What a difference a day or two can make in the weather. Looking like rain again in a day or two more, enjoy it while it lasts.
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.
[gallery]
They have been a nice touch of comfort on long cold descents. When underbiking, skinny tires on dirt, more time is spent on the brakes than would be comparable to a full suspension mountain bike. The little bit of added padding and grip eases the finger and hand fatigue on the multi thousand foot fire roads coming down from the mountains. Even with powerful brakes this can get tiring after 30 minutes or more of constant feathering of the brakes.
The durability is better than I expected for these simple thin foam rubber grips. Bumping into things, leaning against walls and a couple of minor lay downs in the dirt and no rips or tears yet. I still have my doubts that they will out live the bar tape, but for the couple of bucks they cost I would say it was money well spent.
I have enjoyed them through the cool winter, next follow-up will be after a few months of warm weather sweat.
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.
I love living here - Happy Monday
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, 
Even a few hundred yards now and then can put a bigger smile on after a ride around the neighborhood.
Now for my first shots at video raw from the camera without edit, the fun part is heading down.
Turn around and right back up.
Then down the first climb.
I have said it before, my inner racer never developed. These hill intervals are all about having the legs to make the days with 6000 - 10000 feet of climbing, the only way I know of there is to ride every day. This is not about being the fastest, just being able to do what you hope and dream on the bike.