Saturday: Ojai's Never-Ending Climb

Yesterday Bob, Gloria, Leslie, Peter and I decided to do a 'century prep' ride to help everyone make sure that they were ready for the Mulholland Century next weekend. The prep ride was simple- ride 40 miles up highway 33 from Ojai, and then turn around and come home. It was a spectacular ride, and as we climbed and got away from the ocean we watched the ecosystem change from coastal, to high mountain, and finally to semi-arid valley. It was the perfect time of year to do the ride; my bike computer registered low 50's near the summit, and mid 60's down in Ojai proper. if it was warmer we'd have burned up in the sun, and in the winter we'd have been fighting snow at elevation.

One thing to note: As we were coming down in the afternoon, the wind shifted, and we had a pretty severe headwind through all but the last 20 miles (when it was so steep that we didn't notice). As always, never forget: A headwind now doesn't guarantee a tailwind later!

Due to some confusion about eating after the ride, Gloria and I rode an extra few miles around Ojai, leading us to end the day with 90 miles and ~8,000 feet of climbing. It was a good ride, I look forward to doing it again, maybe in the fall.


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