Gallery - Grand Tour Double 2009
06/27/09
2009 Grand Tour Double - the Highland route
early morning fog shrouds the coast
Sycamore Canyon, a mountain biking haven
the giant sand dune South of Pt. Mugu
Pt. Mugu rock - far away...
... and much closer
mile 25: exit from PCH
obligatory shot of the ammo arrayed at the Marine Base
riding through the fields to Port Hueneme
mile 35 - checkpoint 1
starting to smile
on the road again
passing over route 1
back riding through the fields, Potrero Canyon way off in the distance
traffic!
beautiful fields of flowers (achoo!)
entering Potrero Canyon
yikes
doing laundry :) time to rig for climbing in the heat
just before Potrero gets nasty - that last mile is
tough
mile 51: checkpoint 2 - whew made it up Potrero, all downhill from here :)
Hidden Valley - I've ridden this about a million times...
Lake Sherwood
descending Erbes Road
Olsen Road into Simi Valley, passing the Reagan Library
to Moorpark via Tierra Rejada (not pictured: headwind)
McDonalds - no time to eat :)
Spring street up the Moorpark highlands
rollers on Broadway through the citrus fields
turning onto Grimes Canyon
the top of Grimes
incredible view - an all-too-short winding descent
down Grimes we go...
Sespe Road from Fillmore to Santa Paula
the Ojai Mountains - we're headed to the other side :)
(not this time)
bridge into Santa Paula
the Santa Clara River during the summer
somebody had a [much] worse day than I did
okay here we go - 8 miles of climbing until Sisar, then 7 miles of flat + descent
route 150 has some single lane sections...
climbing along the aptly named Sulfur Creek
nearly there - entering Sisar... man what a hot climb this was!
the beautiful high plateau above Ojai
view down into the Ojai Valley
the all-too-short but really cool winding descent
mile 115: lunch! in the shade no less
some cycling hardware on display
on the road again - crossing the Ventura River
bridge to Casitas and beyond
the always picturesque Lake Casitas
yikes - there will be climbing
nearly to the top - road winds at left, with amazing views to the right
cresting the climb, whew
and a bombing descent down the backsize
do not try this at home (pictures at 30+ mph)
where 150 meets 192
mile 135 checkpoint 5 - tired but this got a smile out of me :)
riding back to Port Heuneme - the fog descends, leading to some amazing views
iconic view of Channel Islands harbor
onward! - Mugu rock from the other side, heading for home
nearly there, darkness descends, and we are blessed with a nice tailwind
mile 202 finish! - and a great jazz band happened to be there to complement the chili...