Ojai – CA-33 to Rose Valley to Pine Mountain Summit (& Beyond!)
Posted: July 18, 2010 at 11:43 pm | Tags: 33, Meiners Oaks, Ojai, Pine Mountain, Pine Mountain Inn, Pine Mountain Ridge Road, Pine Mountain Summit, Rose Valley, Sespe Creek33 North from Ojai is one of the most beautiful cycling hill climbing routes ever created. While never all that steep, the route is incredibly scenic and offers lots of changing scenery if you ride it all the way to Pine Mountain Summit. Going all the way to Pine Mountain Summit along Route 33 means a 30 mile (one-way) ride that takes you up to a max elevation of 5160 ft. With a starting elevation of ~800 ft and some rolling sections, this means an overall elevation gain nearing 5000 ft. Pretty solid. If that is too easy, you can also ride up Pine Mountain Ridge Road to get to the real Pine Mountain itself, another 2000 ft higher (and a very tough and rough 2000 ft!). Also, if you go beyond Rose Valley Summit, bring a Camelback as there were no water sources that we could find.
Stats:
Anyway, the climbing starts just north of Meiners Oaks along Route 33. From Ojai, head west along 150 (Ojai Ave) for about 1 mile before turning right (& heading north) on 33. At about 4.5 miles in, the climbing starts in earnest as you pass by Matilija Lake. This first section, before the real climbing, is quite pleasant:
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| From 2010-06-25 – Ojai Cycling – CA-33 to Pine Mountain Summit (& Up Pine Mountain!) |
Nearing Matilija Lake:
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| From 2010-06-25 – Ojai Cycling – CA-33 to Pine Mountain Summit (& Up Pine Mountain!) |
As you approach Matilija Lake, the actual climbing begins:
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| From 2010-06-25 – Ojai Cycling – CA-33 to Pine Mountain Summit (& Up Pine Mountain!) |
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| From 2010-06-25 – Ojai Cycling – CA-33 to Pine Mountain Summit (& Up Pine Mountain!) |
Me..getting ready for a long climb..
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| From 2010-06-25 – Ojai Cycling – CA-33 to Pine Mountain Summit (& Up Pine Mountain!) |
Just a bit north of this point, I elected to throw in a touch of brief, steep climbing. Matilija Canyon Road presents an awesomely steep section of road:
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| From 2010-06-25 – Ojai Cycling – CA-33 to Pine Mountain Summit (& Up Pine Mountain!) |
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| From 2010-06-25 – Ojai Cycling – CA-33 to Pine Mountain Summit (& Up Pine Mountain!) |
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| From HQ Panoramas |
Crazy, no?
