Road Ride Report RRR - Ventura to Pasadena

Friday September 11th I had a ride scheduled with Nick (Good Ol' Slappy). We decided to try riding from Ventura to Pasadena. Unfortunately Nick found out at the last minute he had to work on Friday, so I went solo.

I normally do this ride by leaving from my place in Pasadena, ride to Ventura, and take the train home. I must have done this trip 3-4 times now. I did some research on how to take the train to Ventura. It appeared I could get home several hours earlier doing the route in reverse. I seem to get home around 8PM when taking the train home from Ventura.

I left the house before sunrise and caught the Gold Line to Union Station; arriving about 7:00AM for the 7:30AM train. The train was an older model but luckily had a bike rack in the baggage car (unlike other older trains I've taken where they lay down your bike in the baggage car). Got me some coffee and bar and settled in for my 2.5 hour train ride north.

I was on the road home from Ventura about 9:50AM. On the northern outskirts of Ventura is a great bike path to Ojai that basically parallels Highway 33.



The bike path dumps you off on the main road through Ojai. Once inside Ojai proper I take a quick jog back to a much less traveled road, which goes past orchards.



Shortly outside of Ojai is the first of four sustained climbs for the day. Highway 150 climbs up and over the Black Mountain Range. This is a nice several mile sustained climb of 5%-7% grades. Traffic was very light and people were very respectful passing.









Highway 150 continues to climb past the crest of the initial grade but at much lower percentages. The route passes several ranches and is one of the more beautiful and peaceful parts of the ride.





The climbing ends at The Summit. A burger shop with mist spraying over the outside seating. This is a great place to get some what and take a quick break after the climbing. If I didn't have 70 miles left in my ride I would have love the burger with a slice of pastrami the guy in front of me ordered.



After The Summit is a nice several mile downhill run. The canyon is tree lined and beautiful.





Thomas Aquinas College is set back in this area.


Still on Highway 150 the route goes through Santa Paula and crosses the Santa Clara River. After the river the route and follows the river upstream.



After a few miles on this road the route takes a right up Balcom Canyon Rd. For those not familiar with Balcom Canyon Rd, it is about 2 miles long with a bit over 1,000 feet of climbing with grades topping out at 15%.











The backside of Balcom heads through rolling hills of orchards.



Balcom ends at Los Angeles Ave, which is a rural two lane road with an adequate shoulder. There are lots of big trucks but the stretch is not that long.



After this stretch the route turns right onto Tierra Rejada and into suburbia. The roads are wide with bike lanes most of the time. The route stays on this road all the way to Santa Susana Pass.



Santa Susana Pass pass is the third climb of the day. Pretty area but at this point of the day a flat road would have been nice.





From this point the route heads through the Valley on Devonshire to Van Nuys, past Hanson Dam to Foothill. Got to love riding in the city.



No more photos from this point. Too tired I guess. The ride on Foothill started out terrible. Huge bumbs like every foot. The climb on Foothill went on forever. I wanted to avoid La Tuna Canyon. The road doesn't have enough of a shoulder and it used like a freeway.

Once at the top of Foothill (finally) I was rewarded by mile after mile of downhill riding almost all the way to Pasadena.

I arrived home 7 hours of 46 minutes after leaving Ventura. Or about 6:00PM, two hours earlier than doing the route the other direction. All in all the ride was 105 miles.

Both routes have their pluses and minuses. Getting home by 6 is nice. Getting past two of the climbs much earlier was nice. The ride from Pasadena gets nicer and has less traffic as the ride goes, the opposite is true from Ventura. On a Friday afternoon there was quite a bit of traffic getting closer to home.

 

I don't have to be a roadie to appreciate a great road ride going through some awesome Ventura back country. The valley part isn't as glamorous but one needs to get home so whatever gets you back. Thanks, Brian.

BTW, SB is a huge SB'er and full of crap most of the time. Take 80% of what he says and throw it out. The 20% remaining might be the truth. :lol:

 

I've ridden to ventura many times, but never by that route. I usually have stuck to the coast. Your route looks a lot more interesting.

I'm still waiting on a 107mm BB and cranks to complete my road bike, but sometime starting in the next two weeks, I'll be able to join you on the pavement as well.

 

I recently purchased a Jandd Frame Pack from Bike Island based on Rob's successful use of the pack. The bag worked out really well. I guess the best thing to say about it was I didn't notice it was there. The weight didn't shift at all. It fit everything I needed to take, and actually a bit more. The weight is carried nice and low. I didn't try accessing the bag while riding but seems like it would be easy enough to do. There are double zippers on each side.

 

Nice RRR Brian. Sorry to have missed it.

How was the water availability along the route?

 

There was plenty of water options along the way. I usually buy bottled water on these rides. After watching a show on how much impact bottled water has I am tring to minimize my use. I didn't purchase water the entire day. I stopped at a public park once, got water from the folks at The Summit, and got water from the soda machines for free in gas stations and 7-11s. This worked out nicely.

 

I have a water bottle that has an activated charcoal filter built into the nozzle. Cuts out the chemical unknowns in water, but unfortunately doesn't fit in a normal water bottle cage. I'm looking for one that will fit in a water bottle cage for the road bike.

I also have a backpacking water bottle with a micropore and iodine impregnated filter. I used used it many times river rafting and just scooping water from the stream as we went. With it one can drink the dirtiest water straight from the bottle. Again, overkill for road rides, and doesn't fit in a cage. I have taken it on a few MTB rides though, in lieu of a pump.

But I agree.... bottled water is one of the most resource wasteful things we can spend money on.

The frame pack looks like a good investment. The one's i've seen won't fit on my small frames though.

 

Brian nice ride you and a few others rubbing it in while I work... guess its only fair I have to be on time out from my bike for a while.

That frame bag is good but wouldn't fit my alum fisher so its on the road bike now. Like previously mentioned the 2 pocket choice on this one is a great feature. It does make me feel like quite a nerd though... sorta like I should pull out my dungeons and dragons guide to bike riding during water breaks?

 

I agree but they are not as bad as the frame bags that fit in the seat tube/top tube junction.