Cool Breeze Century - Aug 2012

Start Line in Ventura
This is the premier charity ride in Ventura County, although the bulk of it is in Santa Barbara County. Usually 2,000 riders participate and the ride is hosted by the Channel Islands Bike Club and the Ventura Kiwanis. The support is always great, and the atmosphere is always fun.
The route runs from Ventura to Goleta and back. Starting at the Ventura School District Headquarters on Stanley Avenue on the Ojai Valley Trail down to Emma Wood State Beach, north on Rincon Highway to Carpinteria. The first rest stop is at Carpinteria State Beach. Then it is onto Rincon Hill Road (the first hill of the day, a Category 5), onto Highway 150 to Highway 192. The route goes along the backside of Carpinteria to the Santa Barbara Polo Fields. A left turn takes riders to Via Real and Summerland. Before reaching Summerland proper, the route goes to Greenwell Ave and the first real climb of the day, a Category 4 climb, with short stretches of 10% grades. Then there is a long downhill, with a short climb to the second rest stop in Montecito. Then the route goes up San Ysidro Road to Mountain Drive. The route goes to Santa Barbara along Mountain Drive, which is 800 ft above Santa Barbara. Up here just over the city line, many bikers stop at Theodore Roosevelt Gardner II's Cyclist sculpture/mailbox and take pictures of this landmark. The lunch stop is at Stow Grove Park in Goleta along Cathedral Oaks Road. Then its back to Santa Barbara, through Hope Ranch and along the beach back to Montecito and Carpinteria. By this time, the wind should be coming off of the ocean, from west to east, a cool tailwind back to Ventura, this is where the ride name comes from.
One stretch, both ways, to be aware of is the portion of the ride along Highway 101. This is a major north-south highway with high speed traffic, unlike Highway 192 and Highway 150. The state is in the middle of adding lanes and a separate bike path. This project is due to be complete in two and a half years.
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