Ventura County
Recumbent Riders

News and Ride Schedule
 [Last Updated May 11th]

Ride Schedule:

SURPRISE! Since our First Saturday ride was scrubbed last weekend, we're offering a chance for makeup socialization this weekend. This Second Saturday, May 13th, our VCRR Group Ride will start [AGAIN!] from Marina Park in Ventura. Marina Park is located at the eastern end of Pierpont Boulevard, about a mile from the Seaward Avenue off-ramps (Exit 68) of US-101. Please plan to arrive at 9AM as usual, expecting (or at least hoping) to ride away at 9:30. Kay and I expect to be there with snacks and mocha for whoever shows up in the mood for morning munchies.

This venue is set up to favor VCRRians who want to go a bit faster and farther than some of our recent rides. After a quick pit stop at Surfer's Point, more energetic riders will continue on up the Class I Omer Rains bikepath and the old beachfront highway. The turnaround point(s) this weekend will probably vary, depending upon the speed and endurance of individual riders or subgroups, somewhere between the fire station near Seacliff (about 25 miles round trip) and the top of Rincon Hill (about 35 miles). Semi-serious climbs are strictly optional. On the way back, some riders will probably try to hook up for lunch, at a location chosen by the group, maybe at Hobson Beach or Pizza Man Dan's in downtown Ventura. Temps should be in the 60s, with early overcast and a light tailwind after lunch.

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

  • Saturday, May 130th: SECOND Saturday VCRR Group Ride – Marina Park, Ventura
  • Saturday, May 20th: Third Saturday VCRR Group Ride – SUGGESTIONS?
  • Saturday, June 3rd: First Saturday VCRR Group Ride – SUGGESTIONS?

Recent History:

4/15/2023: This ride started from Marina Park in Ventura and we rode up the coast and back. The Pokey Patrol, just Kay and I that weekend, flipped at the fire station near Seacliff for about 25 miles. The turnaround point for the larger subgroup was the top of Rincon Hill (about 35 miles). We had a bit of unscheduled drama at the park when I discovered that I had lost the key to our van, and the backup key was locked up at home 10 miles away. House keys were locked in our van. While the rest of our group indulged in lunch at Pizza Man Dan's, Kay and I rode back to Surfer's Point, vainly hoping to spot the wayward car fob. Finally Gerry rescued us, giving Kay a ride home in his truck whle I racked up a bit more than 40 miles for the day. Our neighbor Pete had a backup house key, which we had all forgotten, and we retrieved our van and trikes. On Monday Kay and I retraced our Class II route, and the guys at the Fire Station handed us our lost key, which some other rider had apparently found and left in their public access bathroom.

4/1/2023: This weekend our ride started from the Seabridge Marina, on a fairly direct loop down to the Channel Islands Marina harbor entrance, then up the coast past Oxnard State Beach, continuing up Harbor Boulevard to the Arundell Barranca on our way to lunch at Main Street Restaurant in Ventura. The weather was great and even though only a few folks opted to join us, we had a nice ride with no serious issues, and a fun chatty lunch.

3/4/2023: A small group of us met at Barranca Vista Park, and separated into two subgroups as we cruised up to the bike path beside the CA-126 freeway, riding east to Saticoy and then returning for lunch on the food court at the Gateway Shopping Center. The faster subgroup added some miles by zooming down to the Riverview Linear Park along the river, then up to Telegraph Road for the rocket ride down Brown Barranca.

2/18/2023: We started from Channel Park in the Channel Islands Marina, and after the usual morning munchies and coffee, we rode off in two subgroups with intermingled ride venues, both looping to the northeast, then returning to turn around at the Port Hueneme lighthouse. The longer route was 25 to 30 miles long, looping up to Olivas Park Drive; the Pokey Patrol took a more twisty and entertaining shortcut through the MUPs of Seabridge Marina for a ride of about 20 miles. Our groups hooked up again as we rode down J Street and rode together down the Bubbling Springs bikepath, past the pier and as close as we could come to the lighthouse, which was blocked by a road closure. We had a nice lunch at Pho Saigon on our return to Channel Islands, making the most of a cool, sunny Winter day in coastal SoCal.

Marina ParkClick for More Pix 2/4/2023: In accordance with our commitment to 'Socialize Before Exercise', this weekend's ride started with a mini-surprise birthday celebration for Ann at Marina Park in Ventura. About 12 folks, happily including some relative newbies plus a few VCRR-eterans we hadn't seen for awhile, rode our usual up-the-coast-and-back cruise. After a quick pitstop at Surfer's Point, we separated into smaller subgroups with diferent speeds and continued on up the beach and by the river. We encountered a huge pile of post-storm debris blocking the trail and had to detour near the end of Main Street. The riders spread out as we pedaled up the Old Coast Highway to our different turnaround points, but most of the group reassembled for lunch at Pizza Man Dan's in downtown Ventura. Alan had to deal with some minor mechanical issues, but there were no other serious difficulties; the weather was cool with bright sunshine.

1/21/2023: Our second VCRR Group Ride of the year started from Barranca Vista Park in eastern Ventura. Ten folks showed up this weekend, including two new trikeys. We split into two groups, with the faster riders racking up more miles and climbs on a cruise out to Saticoy. The subgroups met on our return to visit on a pit stop at Chumash Park, then rode together for a mile or so before separating so that faster riders racked up a few more miles. We managed to coordinate our timing so that all the riders and a couple of folks who opted to sleep in a litte longer got together again for the group lunch at Ventura Gateway Shopping Mall's food court. After lunch, the gang fragmented as everyone returned to Barranca Vista.

1/7/2023: Our first VCRR Group Ride this Winter was on the most common – and most popular, at least historically – venue: Marina Park to Rincon Hill. Like most of our rides over the last few months participation was pretty minimal, but the guys who did the full route had a good ride on one of the rare weekends when the weather was a bit more inviting than those before and after. We were intending to arrange for more non-riding folks to meet for lunch, but the logistics bogged down for that effort. We're hoping for a better turnout and much better coordination the next time we opt to cruise up the beach.

Other News:

RIDE VIDEOS AND OTHER PIX: We're hoping that Rolly finds time to add his videos from this year's rides to the older VCRR Group Rides for public viewing on YouTube at this link. 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). We are always eager and hoping for more, newer videos, and, of course, your feedback is eagerly solicited.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T FORGET!: COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE EAGERLY[!] SOLICITED FOR OUR GROUP RIDES THIS SPRING, 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 semi-desperately looking for suggestions for new, different or retro/classic VCRR Group Rides for this year, either in person, by phone or email. We are seriously considering, contingent upon feedback, discontinuing sending email notices before each upcoming ride, but for now at least, 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: