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Yesterday I rode the Cool Breeze 200K, for the second year in a row, and it was ... a great ride. Starts in Ventura, up the river along the bike trail, back into the quiet neighborhoods East of Ojai, then the climb above Lake Casitas and descent into Carpinteria, through Montecito, up into the hills above Santa Barbara, down into Goleta, and back along the coast via Hope Ranch, downtown Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, the 101 Freeway (!), and the coastal bike path. The weather was perfect, and I rode most of it with some good friends from the Conejo Valley Cyclists which made it even better.
Some pictures, of possible interest:
the route: 126 miles, 8,100' of climbing, and yeah a cool breeze along the coast
self portrait in the early morning light of Ojai
my CVC compatriots Jim, Richard, and Gary climb the Lake Casitas grade
above Lake Casitas - wow! - all the climbing pays off
view of Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean from East Mountain Road
paceline through Hope Ranch - amazing properties
bike path along the Four Seasons in Montecito ... a perfect day
Rincon Beach checkpoint - all I needed was a book and a beer
riding the 101 is not my favorite part; traffic to the left, ocean to the right, paceline ahead
feeling great on a perfect day
And when I was all done? I'd done it in 7:12 riding time, the fastest 200K ever for me. Yippee.
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