20 Teams to Compete in Mountain Rage

Twenty teams are expected to kayak, bicycle and climb their way from the ocean to the mountains above Ojai this weekend in the first Mountain Rage adventure race in Southern California.

The teams, each consisting of two to four people, are scheduled to compete across a 100-mile secret course that comprises water paddling, mountain biking, hiking, climbing, rappelling and orienteering over a period that could stretch as long as 36 hours.

“People are looking for a new challenge,” said Bill Lionberger, whose company, Four Winds Adventure Co., is sponsoring the race. “They’re learning team dynamics, equipment, water, food, safety and pulling them all together in a way to get to the finish line.”

The event was expected to begin at about 4 a.m. today with a paddle up the coast from Ventura Harbor to Hobson Beach. Kayakers were to begin arriving there between 7 and 8 a.m., Lionberger said.

From there, competitors were to bicycle through Ventura to Sulphur Mountain Road in Ojai, before starting an overnight mountain climb in Rose Valley.

They are then supposed to return to the main base of operations at Camp Comfort in Ojai.

“We wanted the Pacific Ocean and the Ojai mountain range,” Lionberger said. “It’s the perfect segue.”