AustinBike

Used to drive through there on our way to fishing trips in Canada. Beautiful.

It is an inconvenient 2 day day (2x11 hours) or, if you are stupid, you do it in 3 days. Did 3 out and 2 back both times. Both suck. But the problem with 3 days is bringing the bikes in and out each night and getting to the hotel early and then having wasted hours in the hotel. Did the math and in the month we were there I rode ~560 miles and did ~60,000 feet of climbing.

Temps were generally in the 80's most days. They had a "heat wave" and I think it got up to ~95F at the peak. But it was back down in the upper 70's by 7PM every night. Trails were really safe. Saw 3 rattlesnakes, 2 coyotes and 0 cougars or bears. I did have dinner with a friend and she said an acquaintance up north saw a cougar grab a pit bull and take off with it. That is pretty hard core. I rode solo 95% of the time and never had a single issue.

Last ride out here before heading home. Hit Wildwood Park for the second time. Keep getting messed up on the routes. There is a TON of climbing here and it is literally located right in the center of the town. Think of it as BCGB with lots of elevation. Plenty of chunky downhill and switchbacks as well.

Decided to to an urban/gravel loop around town, nothing fancy. Still managed to pick up some massive climbing even though, for the most part, I never left the city limits.

Met up with old Austin Rider Bart to do a ride in the Encinal Canyon area. The Backbone Trails run the full distance of the Santa Monica Mountains, probably over 200 miles of trails. We were treated to some singletrack that wraps along the mountains for miles with incredible views of the ocean. On the way back we had a phenomenal 3+ mile downhill run back to the trailhead.

If you are a fan of the old TV show M*A*S*H you can take a gravel ride around the area that takes you through the Malibu Creek State Park where the series was filmed. Having biked in Korea I can understand why they filmed here, the mountains and trails are very similar to the actual locations in Korea. As a bonus, they also filmed Planet of the Apes here. And when we went to the beach we were sitting in the location where the beach scenes for that movie were filmed; the Statue of Liberty was long gone.

I have a granite strap on my top tube with a MTB tube. I used the seat pack for urban rides with my wife, it held a gravel tube for me (I swapped wheels for urban/gravel) as well as a 26" tube for her cruiser and a couple tools. I also brought a Dakine fanny pack and everything is in there now. While the seat pack was more convenient, the fanny pack is a better choice when constantly reconfiguring the bike for whatever ride is happening that day.

This was on my ride from the rental house. Nothing like stopping ~6 miles into the ride to look at the Pacific Ocean. Was just pissed that I left the saddle bag on from the gravel ride and every time I tried to use the dropper it would not go the full way down.

This is really sad. Wes made so many people happy in Austin with great bikes at great prices.

Third one in 3 weeks.

A friend recommended this as a "recovery" ride so I put the gravel wheels on my mountain bike and took it for a spin. It's funny to think that for them recovery is still a pretty intensive experience. This drops down a massively long twisting road section that was pretty harrowing, a quick jaunt through the CSU Channel Islands campus (go Dolphins!) and then a long gravel stretch along the Camarillo farm fields. Eventually you pop out on the PCH and after you jump through the traffic, you're sandwiched between high speed PCH traffic on your left and incredible ocean views on your right. Eventually you get to Sycamore Canyon and ride the gravel trail back up to the top of Point Mugu State Park.

Totally decided that the drop bars are not for me. First off, with the exception of today's beach cruise, everything has been MTB, so no need for gravel at this point. I did start with older Ergon grips on my bike but brought along some Ergon's with the stubby handles for climbing. I put those on after 2-3 rides and never looked back. Gonna get an extra sets for my other bikes when we get out here. GREAT for climbing leverage.

The Dos Vientos open space is nestled right in the middle of Newbury Park and extends out toward the Pacific. It was an easy 1 mile ride from the house and there are plenty of long miles to ride. The climbs are not as long as others so it is a good place to ride if you are looking to spin your wheels after work. I have ridden this with a guy out here that I met online after his work day. We were able to get a greenbelt-length ride in right from his house and still be back before dark. The sections all fit together nicely with a few street crossings to get from one section to another. It's nice to stop mid ride and see the ocean or look out over the agriculture of Camarillo.

Point Mugu is a state park. There is a long (paved) park road down to the trails, and after you have all your fun on the stuff down there which is locally called "Sycamore Canyon", you still need to climb back out. There are some great long downhills and on one of the rides with an old Austin friend, we made a wrong turn and were treated to a great ocean view.

Cheeseboro Canyon is about a 15 minute drive from Newbury Park, it was a rare day that I had access to a car. There is a big loop on the south and a spider web of trails to the north that I plan to hit on my next trip out there. Came across a huge rattler early on and set a few PRs after that encounter.

Los Robles is a ridge that runs from Westlake Village to Newbury Park. There are steep climbs up and some massive downhills that run for miles. Space Mountain is fun connector between the different sections of the Los Robles system. And any time there is a trial called "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" you always have to ride it.

We have decided to move out here in the near future so we are spending a month in the area checking out life, checking out houses, and, for me, checking out trails. There is a TON of riding here. For this trip we are based in Newbury Park, which is a mountain biking Mecca. Think of it as Bentonville, but with massive elevation from real mountains. I have been doing 20+ mile rides from the house to different trails every day, generally getting 2,000-2,500 feet of climbing per day. Taking the car opens me up to another dozen or so close areas, and if you want to extend the ring to cover things as far away as RPR or Muleshoe from Austin, the list is even longer. Ventura County riding is full of climbs, rocky downhills and even plenty to gravel options. Nestled in amongst a list of mountain ranges, there are plenty of options. Remember the opening scenes of M*A*S*H when the chopper flies in over the mountain range? Yeah, that was filmed in the Santa Monica Mountains. Conditions are dry and dusty, you'll want to rent a place that has somewhere you can hose your bike off. It is like the moon dust of Walnut Creek. I finally figured out why someone would have a fork lockout. If you are doing mile-long sustained climbs it suddenly makes sense. But those long climbs give way to equally long downhills. There are places where you might descend for a mile or two, with awesome views of the mountains and an occasional peek at the Pacific. This map should give you a snapshot into the magnitude of the riding opportunities out here. We're staying at the far end on the left and the trails go all the way out to the right. Driving to Santa Monica is ~45 minutes, not in traffic so that should give you an idea of the hundreds of miles of riding that is available in the area. Malibu is the tip at the bottom center, great beaches, incredible seafood and sunsets to die for. It's paradise out here. You don't get the traffic of LA, traffic is actually better than Austin most days and the cost of living is not dramatically different than if you live in Central Austin (though it is more suburban). Cost of living is offset a bit by the fact that pretty much everything you can ride is free. Nice trailheads, lots of signage, ample free parking. Just think of the extra cost as a cover charge for all your activities.

I am hoping to get another ride in with him before we leave. Logistics on this trip have been crazy. For so much time out here to relax our schedule is jammed.

Apparently everyone in Austin couldn't bother to ride because of the weather. Out in Ventura County the weather was in the 80's and I managed to ride with an old R&I compadre that is living out here now, Bart Bombay. Did about 28 miles and over 3000 feet of climbing, it was a great ride. We made a wrong turn and ended up with a nice Pacific Ocean view.

I know exactly where that is. The sucky part was that they did not move it, they just busted it up.

Thanks for the offer, I replied.

Yes, do not get anything under a 14 based on the satellite capability of the 14 and beyond for satellite communication.

Yeah, that was an excellent article for cutting through the hype. It really boils down to the use cases. Hoss is out doing the Tour Divide so relying on a phone is a fool's errand, he needs a dedicated unit like a Garmin. I will be doing the occasional jaunt outside of cell coverage, so a phone would be perfect for me. The portable GPS market is like the camera market. For years, when I would travel the world, I carried a point and shoot camera. Then smartphones came out, but the camera still took better pictures. When the smartphone's capability surpassed the point and shoot camera capability, I ditched the camera, carrying one less device. But plenty of people still use cameras today, but their needs surpass mine, which are pretty basic. GPS units will go the same way. I believe the market for individual devices will shrink, *a bit* because the number of people that owned them that did not need the full power of one of those dedicated devices is probably pretty small. It's not the cost of the device, it's the monthly service that kills it. You can justify spending $350 to make sure you are always safe, but when they stick their hand out and ask for another $10-20 month for that, you start looking at how often you actually use it. I believe the real use case is a rugged device and the service plan is initiated by the device. You pay your $350 and you are done, until you need it. Activating it out on the trail has a $40-50 monthly cost, but it is a pay as you go. If you are stranded or injured, $50 is nominal, you'll pay it in a heartbeat. And then if the device sits around for the next 11 months, you're fine. However, I do not believe that a business model like that is tenable, I think you need a more regular revenue stream, even if it is smaller. It is really difficult to manage a spiky revenue stream.

Interesting product. I chose a Garmin 840 but did not go with the solar option because it did not seem to add much time to the battery vs. the drawback of the solar panel being the screen. That left the solar versions with a much harder screen to read. I'd take the bigger size to get the solar function without compromising the screen. I am skeptical of the dial, it looks like something that could get hit a lot in mountain biking. I think this would be one to look into in the future when my 840 is near the end.