Tag: Santa Clara River

Farmer’s Market Detours

I was on my way to get the vegetables when I decided to pull into McGrath State Park and explore some of the trails along the south side of the Santa Clara

The winter rains have kept things flowing, the estuary is drained out a bit and everything nearby is green and blooming.

Explored some of the trails through the canopy

Then back to the mission at hand, well stocked for the week and heading home.

New Years Eave Morning

Back out to the canyons on what was a bit colder than I expected morning.  Temps at home were around 37, but out in the fields and back in the canyons there was frost.  The wool worked and the wind breaker never came off.  The only things that suffered were my feet, next time I will pack some extra socks. 

The star of the show today is my new GoPro® Helmet HERO™ Wide Camera. In my quest to better capture the rider point of view on my cycling adventures, I opted into one of these little power packs.  The angle of view is about 170 deg and grabs a far wider line of sight than the lenses I currently have for my other cameras.  Out of  the box impression is really good.  I want to use it a bit more to form a better review later next week.  The two biggest plus points are the wide-angle and waterproof for the rain.  The only downside so far is the signal to noise ratio, using the camera for still captures there are a lot of throw aways while the camera is running on autopilot strapped to your helmet.  So here are today’s light grabs.

Looking back towards Point Mugu

Frigid and frosty in Wheeler Canyon, I was not really prepared for this and my feet are still a bit chilly..

I still am amazed at times how many miles of near empty back roads there are.  It is particularly nice when they are freshly re-paved…

Island views for the ride home, crystal clear weather before the next storm

Have a fun and safe New Year, enjoy the weekend and get outside.

Rain In the Santa Clara River Valley

Back into the rain again this morning.

I have been spending most of my time up in the Ventura River Valley the last few weeks as my coastal rides have been plagued with mud flows. This morning I decided to set my sites east and head back up into the Santa Clara river valley and start exploring some of the tributary canyons I have previously ridden past. The rain makes this a little more fun since there is water in the creeks and rivers. Today’s particular target was Wheeler Canyon.

The rain through the night and into the morning was pretty heavy and hopes were high for some water in the creeks, lighter traffic in nice too.

Not raging rapids, but better than dry creek beds.  The ride home was wet all the way with the clouds starting to break up as I worked through the foothills back into town.

I did not cover the amount of ground I had hoped for in the time window.  I would like to blame it on tires, rain or 45 deg weather, but my legs are lagging a bit after the Holiday.  I look forward to sharing some of the beauty and resources we have in this region.  There is a long history in the river valley, with the native peoples, agricultural  and ecological changes over time should give me plenty to learn about and share within the context of cycling exploration.

Get out and enjoy you home town, find something new to you this week.