A couple weeks ago, I received an email advertising the Ojai Valley Century. The ride promised great views, good weather, and manageable climbing. It sounded like an great combination (particularly with temperatures at home approaching 100 degrees), so this past weekend the Mrs. and I packed up our scooters and headed south.
We rolled out at 7:00 into a mist, overcast morning. The climbing started early, with the route taking us up to Lake Casitas. The cool weather made the climbing fun; the climb was challenging but never difficult. The route then took us into Carpinteria, west into Montecito, down Highway 1 to Ventura, up to Santa Paula, and then a final climb back up to Ojai. The last climb was challenging because of the heat (well, okay--maybe it wasn't that hot, but it did get up to 83 degrees) and because it came at mile 87. The climbing was supposed to be in the 3500' range, but turned out to be 5050'. I was able to complete the 101 miles with a 13.3 mph average, which was pretty good for the climbing involved.
This was a great ride, and it will be on my calendar for next year. Good route, great scenery, and solid support, including a very nice lunch stop) made for a good day in the saddle.
Mrs. SockMonkey rode the 30 mile route. It was an out-and-back from Ojai down to Ventura and back. A great idea in theory, except that it placed all the climbing on the inbound route, and she faced a considerable challenge in making the 16-mile, 1100' climb back to Ojai. But complete it she did, and we celebrated this achievement by having dinner at Cafe Firenze in Moorpark. We chose the restaurant because it had received great reviews--but when we arrived, Mrs. SockMonkey was very excited to discover that it was the restaurant of Fabio Viviani, a Food TV chef that the Mrs. recognized instantly. +1 for the weekend!
Up next: LA River Ride.
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