This circular ride appears in Don and Sharron Brundige's "Bicycle Rides - Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties".
The ride starts in Ventura and follows the off-road bike path as far as Foster Park. Here the route climbs above the Ventura River on Casitas Vista Road to the junction with Santa Anna Road.
From Santa Anna Road the massively folded rocks of Sulphur Mountain can be seen across the Ventura River Valley.
The road then turns westward and views of the man-made Lake Casitas open up.
The northern shore is lined with a number of recreational sites which are relatively quiet at this time of year. A snack bar here is the last source of refreshment for the next 15 miles or so.
The road gently undulates around the lake's northern shore with views to the north-west of the snow capped Santa Ynez Mountains.
Road signs warn of rock slides on the steeper slopes ahead - these were to prove prophetic in the days ahead.
The route finally reaches the Casitas Fire Station on the eastern edge of the lake and begins the steady climb up to East Casitas Pass.
"In about 1¾ miles of steady pumping from near lake level, you reach the pass and take in the astounding view of distant Lake Casitas below."
East Casitas Pass is about 1,150' above sea level.
After the pass the route dips into the Casitas Valley and a further twisting climb leads up to West Casitas Pass at 960'.
At the western pass views open up to the Pacific Coast. Santa Barbara and Carpinteria could be seen ahead with the cloud capped Santa Ynez Mountains above.
These clouds preceded the storms of the next three days which dumped upwards of 20" of rain on the mountains and were to cause numerous floods and land-slides.
"This is a joyous occasion to relish the 4½ mile downhill spin to U.S. 101 which follows."
From the Pass the route descends all the way to sea level to join the Pacific Coast Highway (101).
Throughout the route I was regularly overtaken by cyclists clearly out on training runs.
The one exception was a cyclist who kindly stopped to help when I was investigating the source of a rubbing noise. He had been a 'wrench' in a previous life and was all too willing to offer assistance.
At this point the mountain sides come down almost to the sea and the Pacific Coast Highway and the Amtrak rail line are squeezed onto a narrow shelf.
This leaves precious little space and for some four miles the cycle route is on the edge of the Highway. For the most part the shoulder is relatively wide - but there are a few pinch points.
In one of the wider points sits the small town of La Conchita which the following Monday was engulfed in a massive land slide in which ten people lost their lives.
The land-slides were so wide-spread that all the roads that I had ridden on this day were closed the following week.
Further along the coast at Punta Gorda an oil terminal is disguised as a tropical island.
All along this coastal strip are world-class surfing spots.
Off-shore the Channel Islands can be seen. The five islands are a National Park renowned both for the surrounding sea life and their unique flora.
After the busy ride along the 101 the bike path switches to the old Highway 1 which runs alongside the Ocean on the way back to Ventura.
Along the shore line are enclaves of individual houses fronting the Ocean. In the summer the whole of the old highway is lined with RVs, but at this time of year only a handful of keen campers are out and about.
The last mile or two back to Ventura are on a custom bike path which delivers you back to Main Street.
Aerial view of one of the landslides on Santa Ana Road near Casitas Springs posted on the Channel Island Bicycle Club's website.
Photo of La Conchita taken by Doc Searls on Friday 14th January 2005 - some four days after the slide.
Close-up photo of one of the mudslides on Santa Ana Road taken by Brian Dallas of Shoreline Bikes two weeks after the slide.
Kirby James
