Huntington Beach to Carlsbad
70 miles
2,086 elevation gain
12.3 mph average speed
hotstepper
1 day ago
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Day 18
Lompoc to Ventura
90 miles
2,649' elevation gain
14.1mph average speed
Climbing out of Lompoc-16 miles uphill to an elevation of just over 1,100 feet. Never too steep, just a long slog. The descent down to Refugio was fast-I don't think I touched the brakes for two miles! This took us back to the coast, and most of the riding to Santa Barbara was on the 101 freeway.
We veered off the ACA route through Santa Barbara, opting for the color of State Street. Between SB and Ventura, we used Alan's local knowledge and took a variety of back roads and bike paths through Carpenteria and Summerland. Back on the freeway at Rincon Point, the tailwind helped us speed through this section at 22 to 24mph.
We rode through the crazy traffic of Main Street and soon we at Chuck and Marlene house in Ventura, where we spent the night. Ellen came up from San Diego, and Alan treated the whole group (Chuck, Marlene, Liz, Mike, Gregory, Ellen, Janet, Jo, Alan and me) to dinner at the Peruvian Thai restuarant. We had a great visit with everyone and a great big thank you to Chuck and Marlene putting us up for the night.
90 miles
2,649' elevation gain
14.1mph average speed
Climbing out of Lompoc-16 miles uphill to an elevation of just over 1,100 feet. Never too steep, just a long slog. The descent down to Refugio was fast-I don't think I touched the brakes for two miles! This took us back to the coast, and most of the riding to Santa Barbara was on the 101 freeway.
We veered off the ACA route through Santa Barbara, opting for the color of State Street. Between SB and Ventura, we used Alan's local knowledge and took a variety of back roads and bike paths through Carpenteria and Summerland. Back on the freeway at Rincon Point, the tailwind helped us speed through this section at 22 to 24mph.
We rode through the crazy traffic of Main Street and soon we at Chuck and Marlene house in Ventura, where we spent the night. Ellen came up from San Diego, and Alan treated the whole group (Chuck, Marlene, Liz, Mike, Gregory, Ellen, Janet, Jo, Alan and me) to dinner at the Peruvian Thai restuarant. We had a great visit with everyone and a great big thank you to Chuck and Marlene putting us up for the night.
Day 20
Malibu to Huntington Beach
59 Miles
608 feet elevation gain
13.3 mph average speed
Jane prepared a gourmet breakfast for us and sent us off to navigate through Los Angeles. On the way through Marina Del Rey we met three local Santa Monica riders and rode with them to Hermosa Beach, where they showed us to the local Peet's coffee. Today's ride was so flat that about a third of our climbing was to get to the coffee stop.
The dreaded route through LA turned out to be pleasant and traffic wasn't too bad. The only scary part for me was two railroad crossings at acute angles with no room to maneuver. We got on a bike path on the south side levee of the Los Angeles River and followed that into Long Beach. It is remarkable how many miles of sandy beaches line the So Cal coast.
59 Miles
608 feet elevation gain
13.3 mph average speed
Jane prepared a gourmet breakfast for us and sent us off to navigate through Los Angeles. On the way through Marina Del Rey we met three local Santa Monica riders and rode with them to Hermosa Beach, where they showed us to the local Peet's coffee. Today's ride was so flat that about a third of our climbing was to get to the coffee stop.
The dreaded route through LA turned out to be pleasant and traffic wasn't too bad. The only scary part for me was two railroad crossings at acute angles with no room to maneuver. We got on a bike path on the south side levee of the Los Angeles River and followed that into Long Beach. It is remarkable how many miles of sandy beaches line the So Cal coast.
Day 19
Ventura to Malibu
54 miles
1,143 feet elevation gain
13.9 mph average speed
We left Ventura late, since this was scheduled to be an easy day. Marlene cooked us a scrumptious breakfast, then we only got as far as Channel Islands Harbor before deciding to meet Ellen, Liz, Janet and Jo for lunch there at the Persian Seaside Grill. The food was good but the Harbor area was dead quiet.
The ride through Port Hueneme was pleasant and this area seems to have improved over the last 20 years since I last visited. Then we had a lovely ride into Malibu - Kevin got yet another afternoon second wind and pulled us the last 5 miles at a brisk 22 mph pace to Duke's for a beer, before Jo picked us up for the ride up Las Flores canyon to her brother and sister-in-law's house for a fantastic dinner - thanks Jane and Jeff!
I only took one picture on this day, showing our crossover into Los Angeles County.
54 miles
1,143 feet elevation gain
13.9 mph average speed
We left Ventura late, since this was scheduled to be an easy day. Marlene cooked us a scrumptious breakfast, then we only got as far as Channel Islands Harbor before deciding to meet Ellen, Liz, Janet and Jo for lunch there at the Persian Seaside Grill. The food was good but the Harbor area was dead quiet.
The ride through Port Hueneme was pleasant and this area seems to have improved over the last 20 years since I last visited. Then we had a lovely ride into Malibu - Kevin got yet another afternoon second wind and pulled us the last 5 miles at a brisk 22 mph pace to Duke's for a beer, before Jo picked us up for the ride up Las Flores canyon to her brother and sister-in-law's house for a fantastic dinner - thanks Jane and Jeff!
I only took one picture on this day, showing our crossover into Los Angeles County.
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