I'd like to share a recent ride I took on one of my favorite roads.

I thought it would be fun to begin at the beach and ride to the top of the mountain. My route would take me from the beach in Ventura to the top of Pine Mountain , elevation 6,650 feet, above the village of Ojai via Hwy 33. If I had chosen to, I could ride 33 all the way to Taft, CA and taken 166 all the way to I-5 which will take you to Bakersfield to the north, or back to Los Angeles to the south. As an alternative, with a little back tracking you could also take 166 back to the coast and end up in Santa Maria. Taft is a good refueling stop as you decide which way your want to go.

For those not familiar with Hwy 33 you will see bumper stickers on local vehicles in Ojai that read, “Pray for Me-I Drive 33”. It is a favorite road for people who get an adrenaline rush carving up the twisties. Every weekend riders from across the state test their skills on this infamous road. Every weekend there are crashes and every season there are fatalities. From Ventura to Taft it is 90 miles of dangerous road.

I am not one to push the limits of my bike, nor my skills, on treacherous roads. On these mountain roads there are just too many unpredictable obstacles. Everyone who crashes was going to fast for the conditions. There is always gravel on the road where it meets the base of the mountain. I see sport bikes leaning into the curves like they are professional racers. They can also become an obstacle when they leave their lane and enter the oncoming lane. I’ve had that happen and it is very unsettling when you don’t have much space to go to.

As I made my way up the mountain I saw a bike on the back of a flatbed tow truck. A rider had gone too fast through a curve, lost control, and went over the mountain. He was lucky that he only went about 200 feet down the mountain. He was air lifted to a nearby hospital. There are places on this mountain that if you go off, you will plummet a couple of thousand feet and not survive.

Being mindful of the seriousness of this stretch of road can yield a fantastic ride through some gorgeous wilderness!

I left San Diego early in the morning. Unfortunately there was a mild rain. I was dressed for the weather and slowed down to the conditions and after about an hour the skies began to clear and all was good.

Ventura is 188 miles north of San Diego and I made pretty good time. My first stop was in Westlake Village to a small event going on at the Ducati dealer. They had an awesome live blues band playing and some good food laid out. Free lunch!! My roommate is interested in a Ducati Diavel so we spent some time with a salesperson and sat on the bike. We will test ride that one at a later date. It seems like an awesome bike.




I left Westlake Village and continued north on Highway 101 dropping down via the Conejo Grade into the Oxnard plains. It is strawberry season and through my full faced helmet I got a nice wiff of strawberries on the breeze. Yum!! I suddenly had a craving for strawberry shortcake. As you pass through Camarillo the traffic always seems to slow way down near Los Posas Road. We affectionately call that the Camarillo Crawl. I’m guessing it has something to do with the large factory outlet complex nearby.

Just before reaching Ventura you will pass Ventura Harley on the east side of the freeway. I always stop to see what bikes they have, sales, and maybe an event of some kind. There is a gas station on the corner, which is convenient for refueling.



There was a group of guys leaning on the building just staring as I got off my bike. You would think they’ve never seen a blonde on a Rocker before. I went inside and checked out the sales. The day was shaping up beautifully so I pressed on.

Located in Ventura, “The Shop” is a very cool motorcycle shop that specializes in Indian Motorcycles. Unfortunately they are not open on Sunday’s so I couldn’t go in. But I could gaze through the windows and some of the really old antique bikes. Very cool!







Ventura has a large dealership called Cal Coast Motorsports which sells Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Polaris, Can-Am, and Sea Doo. They usually have a lot of bikes and an excellent selection in gear. Their parts department is very well stocked. They are located on Walker St. just off the Victoria Ave exit.



When in the Ventura area and if you’re in the need of a mechanic and don’t want to pay dealership prices, then Howdy’s Cycles is a good choice. Howdy is a great guy and employs excellent mechanics.




Main Street in Ventura has a nice assortment of restaurants as well as the side streets branching off of Main. The Pacific View Mall is a very nice shopping experience.



Most people go to Ventura to hit the beach. I decided this would be the starting point of my Hwy 33 adventure. Hwy 33 begins just a few blocks from the beach.




Ventura Pier and Eric Ericcsens for sea food!







“Hey what are you looking at?” I think this guy wasn’t happy to see me.

Ventura to Ojai is 24 miles. As you leave the beach for the mountains you will ride through a couple of small towns.



First is Casitas Springs, a long time residence of Johnny Cash and June Carter. You can just see the house about half way up the photo right behind the six cypress bushes to the right of the flags. Next is the small village of Oak View just before you reach Ojai.



Ojai is an interesting little village. Known for it’s tree huggers, meta physical studies, art galleries, private schools and gathering spot for all types of bikers. With a population of 8,000 people it is interesting to note that it has 13 private schools. It is nicknamed “Shangri-La” by the locals. Ojai boasts many fine restaurants and will satisfy your taste buds for any type of food. The Ranch House was Paul Neuman’s favorite restaurant in the world. I lived there for eleven years so I know a little about Ojai. No, I am not a tree hugger, I prefer to climb them.

The downtown area has beautiful Libbey Park taking up most of one side. The shops are always fun to go into and the Ojai Coffee Roasting house is a must!







For today I turned left to remain on Hwy 33 and make my trek to Pine Mountain. I topped off my fuel. If you need to grab a snack or water there is Attitude Adjustment right across the street. Hwy 33 is also called Maricopa Highway.

 

As you leave Ojai to head up the mountain you will pass by The Deer Lodge. It is very biker friendly as evidenced by the mob of bikes you always see there. The food is wonderful and often there will be live music. I stopped to have a cup of chili and a Sprite as well as relax for half an hour or so before making the climb. Teresa Russell was playing that day and she is a fantastic guitarist of all styles of music.









As I continued I passed through Wheeler Springs. Not a town really but it does have the worlds smallest post office. There is a campground here as well as a Ranger station. Wheeler Gorge is known for its hot springs.




Passing through a couple of tunnels you begin to climb the mountain and experience the beauty of the high desert with it’s rocks, chaparral, and more. At this time of year the temperature drops significantly as you climb. By the time I reached Pine Mountain it was at least 20-25 degrees cooler. Several places along the ride I passed through clouds. Brrr!













About 30 minutes out of Ojai you can take a short detour to Rose Valley. There are a couple of small lakes there, a campground, and lots of hiking trails. There is also a pit toilet should you need an emergency stop.











Ojai to Pine Mountain is 38 miles and takes about an hour to get there with no stops. I like to stop and admire the view in several places. There is a new biker friendly restaurant about to open called the “Pine Mountain Inn”. Their parking area is full of gravel so that is noteworthy.









Pine Mountain has an elevation of 6,650, over a mile above sea level. It has a nice picnic area. The four mile road to get to the picnic area is very narrow and covered in sand and gravel. Since it has been raining in the mountains I chose not to take my Harley up that tiny little road for fear of getting stuck or dropping the bike with no one with me to help. It is extremely remote and that would be a bad thing!







Watch out for gravel!

 

The view from Pine Mountain.





Don’t go too fast around the curves!












The trip back down takes about 45 minutes and of course Ojai is a lovely place to stop again before heading back onto the highways.



The Ojai Hospital, although beautiful, you don’t want to have to go there!

 

Wow, very impressive, beautiful country and great photography.

 

Great pics!

 

Great write-up and pictures. Excellent way to spend an afternoon!

 

Thanks for a wonderful ride along and beautiful pictures. A great way to start my day. Thanks for posting Sarah!

 

Very cool, great write up and pics, thanks for sharing

 

Very nice ride report, good to see some of California's other roads.

 

Sarah I loved living your day with you, thanks so much.