Ventura County
Recumbent Riders

News and Ride Schedule
 [Last Updated September 15th]

Ride Schedule:

By popular suggestion, the Third Saturday VCRR Group Ride this weekend, September 18th, will be pretty much a repeat of the last, starting once again from the parking lot at the Ventura Mission in downtown Ventura, located between Main and Santa Clara Streets at the north end of Junipero Street. If there's no space available in the parking lot, there may be some overflow on nearby streets or at the western end of Main Street, just past the bridge. Please plan to meet at 9 AM, hoping to ride away at about 9:30. Public restrooms may be limited to portapotties.

Once again, Gerry will probably act as coordinator this Saturday. The temperature forecast for Saturday is the lowest for the last month or so, peaking in the high 60s, with a nice tailwind for the return. Most of our Pokey Patrol, including Kay and me, will miss this ride for various reasons, and most of the folks who are likely to show up have declared a preference for climbing Rincon Hill to Carpinteria for the turnaround. Anyone who wants to do a shorter, but still somewhat sociable, ride should probably start by parking (FREE!) along the Old Coast Highway between the bottom of the railroad overpass at Emma Wood and Hobson Beach Park, avoiding the more serious climbs of this route. Lunch stops will be chosen by the folks who show up on Saturday.

As usual lately, it will be up to each person who visits this site to choose whether to join the group for this ride, with your own (hopefully apropriately updated) individual preferences for masking and social distancing, meet the group for lunch, drive by and wave 'Hi', or meticulously avoid the venues. If any of this confuses or doesn't work for you or if you need any more info please contact me by phone or email using the data below.

This is a brief listing of preliminary plans for upcoming rides:

  • Saturday, September 18th: Third Saturday VCRR Group Ride – Ventura Mission to Carpinteria
  • Saturday, October 2nd : First Saturday VCRR Group Ride – PLEASE INPUT ANY INTEREST OR SUGGESTIONS!
As always – PLEASE! – if you have any suggestions for an upcoming ride date, share it. We're still especially eager to hear from anyone who's been aching to plan, coordinate and/or lead the gang on his, her or their favorite venue.

Recent History:

Summer 2021: The First Saturday VCRR Group Ride of September started (again) from the Ventura Mission. Since a 95 degree temperature was forecast for the last climb up the hill to Ojai, the group of about eight opted for a cooler out-and-back cruise up the coast. Since there were no Pokey Patrol people again this weekend, this gang chose to turn around after their lunch stop at Pizza Man Dan's in Carpinteria, racking up almost 40 miles round trip – to the delight of folks who have been eager for a longer ride with a larger group.

On the Third Saturday of August, seven riders, including one newby on a hand trike, met at the Ventura Mission, and most rode up the coast, turning around at the top of Rincon Hill. Since Hobson Beach was experiencing a power failure, most of the group dropped (literally!) down to the snack bar at Faria Beach before those final few miles back to the mission.

Our First Saturday Ride in August started from Harbor Cove Beach, and we rode down to the Channel Islands Marina before taking a slight detour for a lunch stop at Pizza Man Dan's near the Oxnard Airport. Eight folks showed up to take advantage of yet another inexplicably pleasant Summer day, with temps peaking in the low 70s and a light west wind. The group stayed together for the whole route, and there were no mechanical or routing issues.

For the unusual Fifth Saturday of July, a small group of us rode from the small public parking lot in the Seabridge Marina, located just south of Wooley Road between Harbor Boulevard and Victoria Avenue. We looped around the Seabridge and Channel Islands Marina MUPs, enjoying the cool overcast morning and light sea breeze of early afternoon. We met Deena as she completed her puppy prep school and went to Seafresh, a new location for us, for a very satisfying lunch.

Meeting on the BeachClick for More PixOn the Third Saturday VCRR Group Ride we pedaled up and back on the coast northwest of Ventura. Kay and I met riders coming from both directions at our unique landmark on the Old Coast Highway just northwest of the end of Omer Rains bikepath. We rode about 16 miles, with a turnaround at Rincon Beach Park, but most other folks in the group racked up a bit more distance. Most of the group of almost a dozen riders popped down to Hobson Beach Park for lunch on our return. Weather was again almost ideal, starting with a coastal overcast, clearing to a peak temp in the mid-70s with very light winds as we returned to our midivan.

For the First Saturday of the Summer (and July) we opted to start from a new venue: Windrow Park in the Riverpark area of northern Oxnard. Since only a few Pokey Patrol people showed up, we changed from our original plan to ride to east Ventura, making a few loops of the MUPs around the large pits near the river and The Collection instead, before popping into the food court at The Annex for lunch. We had a nice ride (and lunch) on a great early Summer day in SoCal.

Rolling Thru College ParkClick for More Pix 6/19/2021: On the Third Saturday this month, ten of us rode from College Park, down the Bubbling Springs MUP to the lighthouse at Port Hueneme. Our Faster Folk added a longer loop out to the southeast so that we all arrived for the lunch stop at Steak & Hoagie together. Barb and Bob logged a few more miles after lunch while the rest of the group pedaled (no motorized cycles this time!) more directly back for a partial tour of College Park before loading up for home. Gerry had ridden over to the start from Camarillo and completed his 18-mile add-on after the group ride. Temps rose into the low 70s with a light west wind sweeping away the last of the morning mist in the afternoon.

Barb & BobClick for More Pix 6/5/2021: On the First Saturday this month, a dozen folks showed up to ride beginning from the parking lot at Harbor Cove Beach. We first rode down the coast to Oxnard State Beach, and after a brief but very welcome pit stop we rode back up Harbor and the Arundell Barranca MUP to have lunch at Main Street Restaurant. With tummies full and freshly hydrated we started our return by going west and then zooming down Seaward, through the Pierpont residential area and back around the marina to the park. Weather was almost ideal, going from morning mist to light sunshine, in the 60s with a light west wind in the afternoon.

Early Spring 2021: Our First Saturday ride in April began at West Channel Park in the Channel Islands Marina, with eight riders, all on tadpole trikes. We rode down to the harbor outlet, then back up through Oxnard State Beach, turning inland on 5th Street. Our original intent was to ride further up the coast and the Arundell Barranca MUP to have lunch at Main Street, but the group pretty much unanimously decided on a shortcut with lunch at Pizza Man Dan's near the airport. We had some confusion with straying sheep as we waited for the restaurant to open, but eventually we all got back together for a nice lunch on PMD's patio. After lunch we rode back down Victoria, then over and under the Channel Islands bridge back to the parking area. Temps for the ride were almost perfect with mild midday winds, and there were no mechanical complications.

Our Third Saturday April ride, the first VCRR Group Ride this Spring, launched from Pitts Ranch Park in Camarillo. Only a half dozen folks joined us this weekend, as we cruised along the Calleguas Creek bikepaths, aroound the Village at the Park and down to Camarillo Courtyard for brunch. The ride this weekend was relatively short, but it was a great day to be out on the trails.

Other recent group rides also turned out to be relative no-shows, with minimal participation. Our first ride of May was especially unusual, in that Kay and I started the ride up the old Coast Highway alone, but we met two other riders on the way, and three more folks joined us for lunch at Hobson Beach Park, just as the sun broke through the heavy morning overcast. Our last outing in May was very similar to the first ride in April, with six folks doing the short version of the marina MUPs and lunch at Pizza Man Dan's near the airport.

Other News:

RIDE VIDEOS AND OTHER PIX: Rolly has posted videos from several recent VCRR Group Rides for public viewing on YouTube at this link. We are hoping to post more videos over the next few months, and, of course, your feedback is eagerly solicited. There is also a series of older video clips posted on YouTube, on 'TheVCRR' channel, at this URL. There is a VCRR photo archive on Flickr; to view it, start at this URL. Vincent has posted some of our ride pix to the Recumbent Trikes Group on Facebook (one of several).

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T FORGET!: COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE EAGERLY[!] SOLICITED FOR OUR REMAINING GROUP RIDES IN 2021, AS WELL AS FEEDBACK FOR THIS WEBSITE, RIDE NOTICES, PHOTOS, RIDE VIDEOS, ROUTE SHEETS, MAPS, CUSTOM VCRR SAFETY FLAGS AND/OR VIDEO FLYOVERS. We are seriously looking for suggestions for VCRR Group Rides for this year, either in person, by phone or email. We plan, contingent upon feedback, to continue sending email notices a few days before each upcoming ride, at least for the next couple of months. Please let me know if you want to make any changes to our email list.

If you newbies or folks who haven't ridden with the group for a while need help or more information for getting to any of our rides, please email or phone me. Our home phone number – usually the best way to talk to us – is 805-981-0339. If we're not home you can also try my NEW CELL PHONE: 805-612-7662. Text messages will not work on our home phone, and are slightly discouraged for the cell phone. Don't even think about Facebook or Twitter! For convenience my email link is: