This ride appears in Don and Sharron Brundige's "Bicycle Rides - Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties".
An off-road bike trail leads all the way from down-town Ventura to Ojai. The trail is an old Southern Pacific Railroad track-bed and follows the line of the Ventura River. A leaflet is available describing the points of interest along the route.
The trail runs parallel to Route 33 and soon leaves the industrial side of Ventura behind. On the way there are a number of sculptures some of which are topped with relics of the oil industry. These are used to indicate distance both in miles and, surprisingly, kilometers!
Before Foster Park there is much evidence of the declining oil industry - but a few nodding donkeys are still operating to suck the last of the oil from the Ventura Syncline.
The route climbs gently inland and after Foster Park views open out over the Santa Ana Valley to the west.
The off-road trail ends on the outskirts of Ojai.
The Chumash Indians were indigenous throughout most of southern California and they believed the Ojai Valley to be sacred. The name Ojai (which is pronounced O-hi) is thought to be derived from a Chumash word meaning 'moon'.
In the 1920s Ojai was home to Krishnamurti and in the 1960s it attracted various new-age activities.
In 1937 Ojai became Shangri-la in Frank Capra's film 'Lost Horizon' in which the victims of an air crash found themselves in a fabulous lost Tibetan city.
Ojai hosts a gem of a bike shop in an ordinary house in Canada Street. Each room is packed with gear - bikes, components and clothing.
I took a sandwich on board to prepare for the hills ahead. At the Sports Bar the main occupation after eating and drinking seemed to be watching American Football.
Many American homes have decorated their mailboxes ... and in Ojai the Fire Station have joined in.
The road east from Ojai climbs up into the Upper Ojai Valley over the Dennison Grade. This road is Highway 150 and, apart from a few narrow points, has a reasonably wide shoulder for bikes.
Dennison Grade zig-zags up some 400' giving excellent views of where you have come from but hides the slopes still to come.
Near the top a view point has a tablet showing the names of the mountains visible to the north across the valley
These mountains rise to over 5,000' and include Topatopa Peak which is supposed to become a pink colour during sunsets.
At the top of the Grade is Dennison Park which is open in the summer months to picknickers.
After reaching the top of Dennison Grade the road descends into Upper Ojai Valley. This is enclosed by the Topatopa Range to the north and Sulphur Mountain to the south.
The valley contains numerous farmsteads and orchards - which looked rather dry in the late summer heat.
A final climb led to the very welcome Summit Cafe which was serving the local kids who had just emerged from the adjacent Summit School.
After the summit there is a long 800' descent towards Santa Paula.
Close to Santa Paula is Steckel Park where signs warn you about rattlesnakes. The Park provides welcome shade after the open Upper Ojai Valley.
Descending into the centre of Santa Paula I passed the Fillmore and Western Railway Station and found an excellent café in an antiques store at the junction of Main and 10th Street.
Santa Paula is at the centre of an agricultural area and benefits from having up to 20' depth of topsoil.
After leaving Santa Paula the undulating Foothills Road is followed to the outskirts of Ventura.
Foothills Road passes through citrus orchards with the bulk of Sulphur Mountain to the right and the flat plain of the Santa Clara River to the left.
Many of the adjoining fields were full of pumpkins ... ready for the approaching Halloween celebrations.
Kirby James
