Trail Mix

The bike path that stretches from the Ojai Valley to the Pacific Ocean offers a good way to exercise away some of the holiday weight that doesn’t come from the credit card statement you’ve been hauling around.

Following a bike path is an idyllic outdoor experience, free of many of the aggravating features of modern life. There are no traffic jams, no tickets to purchase and no experience necessary. You don’t even need a bike--one can walk or jog, and this outing is free.

Bike-path etiquette is pretty simple: Travel to the right, pass to the left. Call out when passing someone. No motorized vehicles. Keep the trail clean. Hours are dawn to dusk, and dogs are allowed only on leashes.

Although one can hop onto the bike path anywhere, starting in Ojai is recommended because it’s mostly downhill all the way to the ocean. Either get a ride or take a bus, most of which have bike holders. The path--the Ojai Valley Trail, connecting to the newly opened Ventura River Trail--are about 15 miles total.

The Ojai Valley Trail begins in Ojai and stretches about nine miles to Foster Park, where the Ventura River Trail begins and continues to the Pacific. Construction began on the Ojai Valley Trail in 1977 and was completed a decade later. It actually starts at Soule Park, but the first few miles are for equestrians only. The bike portion begins at Fox Street near the parking lot of the Ojai Valley Athletic Club.

*

The trail winds through the city past Libbey Park, along the golf course, then halts at the red light at the “Y” shopping center, where Highway 33 meets Highway 150. Cyclists must cross Highway 33 before the trail resumes near Eggs ‘n’ Things. As the path continues, every cross street has a “You Are Here” map, with various distances noted.

Near the entrance to Villanova Preparatory School is a very large meadow along the west side of Highway 33. Past the bustling hive of Mira Monte, the trail drops away from Highway 33 and becomes rustic and very quiet for a mile or two between there and Oak View.

There are wooded hollows and scarcely a soul to interfere with your interaction with the natural world as you go wheeling past. At one point, there’s a great panoramic view of the Ventura River--pretty much just rocks right now--and the green rolling hills in the background.

The next touch of civilization is the Oak View Little League diamonds.

The best part of the ride is from Oak View to Casitas Springs, where the trail runs behind the mountain near Rancho Arnaz. At this time of year the trees are wintry and leafless, and one can smell nature, mostly anise (or licorice, as we used to call it as kids).

Almost directly across from Rancho Arnaz, the trail crosses San Antonio Creek, a mild little waterway these days but a raging torrent in wet winters.

Trees and silence are the prevailing sights and sounds on this part of the trail, except when it nears the highway. It’s just a mile or so to Foster Park, a place that always seems to be in the shade and where the county park of the same name looks suitably wintry, with bare trees and a deserted parking lot. But civilization intrudes along the slope of the freeway offramp, which is covered with litter, mostly those plastic supermarket bags.

*

The Ojai Valley Trail ends at Casitas Vista Road, and the Ventura River Trail, open for about a year now, begins across the street. This trail is about six miles long and takes cyclists to places many locals have never been, basically following the route of the old railroad tracks. This is a trip through Ventura’s past, including the old oil fields.

At several spots, the distances are painted on the asphalt in kilometers--odd, since the metric system doesn’t seem to be in use anywhere else. The path is also dotted with sculptures--mostly hunks of oil-field metal attached to pedestals with some sort of inscription, many of them obtuse definitions or phrases.

The trail soon winds past the Ojai Valley Sanitary District facility. The place doesn’t even stink, and a number of bignonia vines have been planted along the chain-link fence, which should shield the thing entirely in another year or so.

Not far away is a quarry, with the boulders segregated by size and packaged in large wire baskets. Because river rocks and seashells can still be found on the hillsides, it’s clear that once upon a time, the Ventura River was a real river that covered the entire Avenue area.

*

Next, the trail narrows and winds behind the old Petrochem plant, where, decades ago, junior high school kids went on field trips to learn about the joys of urea. Now the place is heavy metal to the max, silent and rusting. Soon, one comes to the oil fields on Ventura Avenue as the trail winds through the OST Pipeyard and beyond. A few miles later, the trail ends on Dubbers Street not far from Art City and Vons. The path resumes a couple of blocks away at the Ventura River, ending up at the river mouth and the county fairgrounds.

If your timing is right, you can arrive to see one of those incomparable Ventura sunsets with all the pink streaks in the sky, even as the cold wind chills your bones and your now-healthy body.

DETAILS

Ojai Valley Trail and Ventura River Trail, open dawn to dusk.

Bill Locey can be reached by e-mail at blocey@pacbell.net