Second Ride: A Santa Paula Loop

I’m not sure I can adequately describe how much better things seem when you have the ability to wake up in the morning and head out on a ride. Especially when you get to take advantage of the kind of perfect weather we had today in Southern California. It was absolutely beautiful. For the first time in ages it finally feels like SoCal again.

Right now, I’m physically exhausted, so this will probably be one of my shorter ride postings, yet I find myself still sitting in that wonderful afterglow period that occurs right after you have a fantastic ride. The ’05 is simply an awesome bike. I feel like I write that a lot about Ducati’s, but this time it’s truly different. From the simple pleasure of just looking at the bike all the way to how it reacts on curvy roads, it’s just something else. After covering roughly 200 miles on it today, I feel like I know her. It’s just an amazing experience on two wheels.

Around 7:30 this morning MotorMilt & I headed out towards Ojai – one of our favorite riding areas as many long time reader know. It’s been quite awhile since either one of us had been up that way and although we didn’t make it all the way out to Route 33, we did a really nice loop up that took us from Santa Paula, through Ojai, up around the backside of Lake Casitas to Carpenteria.

The Santa Paula Loop

Took PCH Route 1 North to The 101 North

Took 101 North To Highway 126 East

Exited at Highway 150 towards Ojai, California

Shoot through Santa Paula and got breakfast in Ojai.

After getting some eats, we picked up Route 33 out of Ojai – towards the 101 – and then popped off on the remainder of Highway 150

Took Highway 150 all the way until we hit a detour and were forced onto Route 192 towards Carpinteria, CA

Hit the 101 & took is South until Rose Avenue in Ventura

Got off at Rose Ave and headed towards the PCH

PCH Route 1 South, from Point Magu to Santa Monica

Unlike some of our other trips out towards Ojai, this wasn’t the most challenging ride – partly because we never made it to Route 33 and partly because of the remaining rain damage from the winter storms. Just about every route we were on, excluding the freeways, seemed to be under construction at various points. CalTrans seemed to be out in full force. Route 150 between Santa Paula and Ojai was perhaps the worst. There were four or five sections of the road where temporary traffic lights have been set up because the outside lane of the normally two lane road had vanished during the rainy season. During the 2 minutes between traffic light intervals I finally had some time to snap a pict of one of the new temp lights that dot the canyons across SoCal.

According to a few folks we chatted with in Santa Paula, Route 150 just reccently was reopened. So while waiting for the temp lights to turn green was no fun, it was better than having no road to ride at all. If you’ve never had the chance to experience Route 150, it’s a really nice gentile ride. Not nearly as tightly wound as some of the roads in The Santa Monica Mountains, but glorious none the less.

After stopping for quick bite to eat in Ojai, we started to head back towards our neck of the woods on the lower portion (read less exciting because it’s civilized) part of Route 33 that deadends at the 101. Realizing that this didn’t seem very exciting we ventured off and headed North on the remaining part of Route 150 that runs around the backside of Lake Casitas and eventually drops you off in Carpenteria. Outside of today, I believe I’ve only ridden that part of road one other time on a motorcycle. Wow did I forget what a great ride it is. It’s simply a joy. Not the best pave job in the world right now but once you get over that and start to enjoy the scenery and the swooping sweepers it just becomes a blast. We were enjoying it so much I actually forgot to stop and get some picts! From now on I have to remember to add it to my mental list of quality roads that are worth riding in SoCal….