Channel Islands Bicycle Club

COVID Vaccine Appointments for those over 65 years old available this week in Ventura, Ojai, Oxnard and Camarillo!! Click 65+ in the following link, then submit and then choose your location and date and fill in your information. I did this last week in Oxnard and it took less than an hour. Get Vaccinated!! https://www.venturacountyrecovers.org/vaccine-information//

Awesome e-mail (below) sent to the Ojai City Council in support of the separated bike lanes on Hwy 33 near Nordhoff High School. This was sent by CIBike member Paula P. Ojai City Council needs to hear from you too! This Wednesday, February 10, at 6pm the Ojai City Council will hold a special meeting to receive feedback on the new bike lane. Please e-mail them today: https://ojaicity.org/contact-all-council-members/ Greetings, ... I am currently a resident of Meiners Oaks. I attended Ojai Schools, including Nordhoff, as did my two children, three nieces, and five siblings. I am in favor of making the HWY 33 Demonstration Project with separated bike lanes permanent because: 1. It improves safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. I know first hand how dangerous it is to ride a bicycle in front of Nordhoff because my daughter was hit by a car as it was exiting the Nordhoff parking lot. Thankfully, a fire truck was parked in the parking lot and responded immediately after witnessing the collision. My daughter got a gash in her shin from the car's license plate but was otherwise okay. My son had a collision with a car on this stretch on his way to Matilija Middle School. Fortunately he was not hurt. A separate bike lane clearly marks where cyclists should be riding and keeps them off the side walk and separates them from the cars. Walking on the sidewalk is a much more pleasant experience also. 2. Traffic is more manageable. let's face it, HWY 33 is a glorified passing lane with cars speeding to get to the traffic light at the Y ahead of the next motorist. It is difficult for motorists turning onto HWY 33 from side streets to gauge the speed and distance of oncoming traffic across four lanes of traffic making left and right turns more dangerous than if there were only two lanes. As the only 4-lane section of road between Ojai and Ventura, or Santa Barbara, or Santa Paula, this section does nothing to improve safety for anyone in the valley. It only encourages speeding in front of a public school, hospital, and major shopping area. This section of road is out of character for the Ojai Valley. 3. Separating the bike land and reducing traffic lanes is the right thing to do for the environment and our community. A separate bike lane results in a more pleasant experience for cyclists, pedestrians, and it will slow traffic. It also provides more space for planting roadside vegetation and trees. Roads lined with trees cool the street, ameliorate wind, take up CO2, and make communities more desirable places to live, shop, and visit. Do the right thing for our community, for the people who call Ojai home, and for the people who visit because the valley is such a special place. Make the HWY 33 separate bicycle lanes permanent.

This Veterans Day, we're remembering the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps. In 1896, 20 Buffalo Soldiers rode 800 miles from Missoula to St. Louis on bicycles. Read m...ore about their impressive - and often overlooked - journey in this Adventure Cycling Association article: https://www.adventurecycling.org//201105_BicyclingBuffaloS See more

Thank you CalTrans! Their folks are working through the night so that this busy bike path can be open for use during the day. MUCH Appreciated! CALTRANS NEWS RELEASE Coastal Bike Path Closed on Two Nights for Construction... Bike Path is along State Route 1, Pacific Coast Highway, in Ventura County VENTURA The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) plans to temporarily close a popular bike path in Ventura County on the nights of July 30 and July 31 for construction. Crews will construct smoother and safer shoulders on the recently repaved bike path along State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) between the city of Ventura and Emma Wood State Beach. The bike path will be closed at the following times: Between 7 p.m. July 30 (Thursday) and 6 a.m. July 31 (Friday), and Between 7 p.m. July 31 (Friday) and 6 a.m. August 1 (Saturday). The temporary closure involves 1.2 miles of the coastal bike trail. The western end of the project is the State Beach Access Road north of Emma Wood State Beach. The eastern end of the project is the park access road to Emma Wood State Beach’s Ventura River Group Camp, just west of the Ventura River.

Chris Horner shows how to do an easy and quick bike wash and maintenance:) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__bQLdqoOHc

Ride your Bike to Downtown Ventura for "MAIN STREET MOVES" Celebrate downtown Ventura. Main Street (4 blocks) and part of California will be closed to cars in order to create space for outdoor eating, walking, and cycling. We asked for it! Let's show Ventura that we support our local merchants, we support outdoor dining, and we support car-free spaces.... I will be biking from the Ventura College/Loma Vista area to downtown on Wednesday. Starting at 5pm. Anybody who is comfortable riding on city streets is welcome to join the Bike Train! Riders can jump on as we roll by. The Route: Loma Vista (near Ashwood) westward to Main Street. Cross Main to Katherine. Right on San Nicholas. San Nic to right on Chrisman. Left on Main to downtown. 3 1/2 miles one way. I will social distance and follow the "rules of the road." You can do whatever you want downtown and return when you wish. Don't forget to bring a lock, and bike lights (it is getting darkish by 8pm). More info here: https://downtownventura.org/main-street-moves-downtown/

Thank you CalTrans! Their folks are working through the night so that this busy bike path can be open for use during the day. MUCH Appreciated! CALTRANS NEWS RELEASE Coastal Bike Path Closed on Two Nights for Construction... Bike Path is along State Route 1, Pacific Coast Highway, in Ventura County VENTURA The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) plans to temporarily close a popular bike path in Ventura County on the nights of July 30 and July 31 for construction. Crews will construct smoother and safer shoulders on the recently repaved bike path along State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) between the city of Ventura and Emma Wood State Beach. The bike path will be closed at the following times: Between 7 p.m. July 30 (Thursday) and 6 a.m. July 31 (Friday), and Between 7 p.m. July 31 (Friday) and 6 a.m. August 1 (Saturday). The temporary closure involves 1.2 miles of the coastal bike trail. The western end of the project is the State Beach Access Road north of Emma Wood State Beach. The eastern end of the project is the park access road to Emma Wood State Beach’s Ventura River Group Camp, just west of the Ventura River.

Mountain Drive now open:)

City of Ventura has a temporary protected bike lane on Telephone Road between Kimball and Victoria Roads. The protected lane allows the many local residents to access Kimball Park, Ventura County Government Center, and many businesses by bicycle. Telephone will still have two car traffic lanes in both directions (similar to, and adequate on, Telegraph Road). Your support is needed to ensure that the protected bike lane becomes permanent. City Council will make a decision on June 29th. Write them ([email protected]) an email in support, or plan to make public comment at that meeting virtually.

Ride your Bike to Downtown Ventura for "MAIN STREET MOVES" Celebrate downtown Ventura. Main Street (4 blocks) and part of California will be closed to cars in order to create space for outdoor eating, walking, and cycling. We asked for it! Let's show Ventura that we support our local merchants, we support outdoor dining, and we support car-free spaces.... I will be biking from the Ventura College/Loma Vista area to downtown on Wednesday. Starting at 5pm. Anybody who is comfortable riding on city streets is welcome to join the Bike Train! Riders can jump on as we roll by. The Route: Loma Vista (near Ashwood) westward to Main Street. Cross Main to Katherine. Right on San Nicholas. San Nic to right on Chrisman. Left on Main to downtown. 3 1/2 miles one way. I will social distance and follow the "rules of the road." You can do whatever you want downtown and return when you wish. Don't forget to bring a lock, and bike lights (it is getting darkish by 8pm). More info here: https://downtownventura.org/main-street-moves-downtown/

You don't have to travel to Portugal to bike a country road with a herd of goats. Sonia and I ran into this group of goats (and their ever vigilant herd dog, a friendly yellow Labrador retriever) on upper Canada Larga Road. The Lab was guiding the goat herd back to the ranch for the night after a tough day in the field munching on plants.

Goathead plants are reappearing on the Ventura River bike path. The plants are small and don't yet have mature, nasty seeds. The Goathead plants occur between Ventura Spirits Company and the entrance road to the Ojai Valley Sanitation District. We pulled all of the plants we could find. Surprisingly, we didn't find that many plants (maybe 20). However, the tap roots don't pull up easily and they will probably resprout. The Goathead plants have small yellow flowers, smal...l flat green leaves, and send out flat runners on the ground from the central tap root. Hopefully we can avoid a repeat of the massive number of flat tires that we had last year if we regularly search and pull the goatheads. A single flat tire may be all it takes to discourage people who are new to, or rediscovering, the joys of bike riding. Let's get those Goatheads!

May is National Bike Month. It is also the month that we recognize the Ride of Silence, a national event that focuses on bicycle safety and rules of the road. It is the time we remember our fellow bicyclists whose lives were tragically lost in collisions while riding their bikes including fellow club members - Walt Hayes, Jim Dillingham, and Matt O’Neill. In past years, CIBike participated in a Ride of Silence event held in Oxnard, but sadly, this year group events are cancelled because of the pandemic. However, the message is clear: remember fallen cyclists, ride safely, advocate for safer streets.

Take the survey please:) We need to give positive feedback on this as the motorist public will be opposed:)

From our friends at BikeVentura and the City of Ventura:) Good Job Toby, Benicia, Maverick, Alex, Joey and Nate:)

Northbound bike path alert! Caltrans is kicking off a long-awaited and much-needed improvement project. The bike path from Emma Wood Group campground, at the end of Main St, to Emma Wood State Beach campground at Highway 1, will be getting repaved. The project will begin Sunday, May 10th, at 7 pm. The path will be closed nightly from 7 pm until 6 am for the duration of the project. It is anticipated the project will last approximately 10 days. Caltrans and the contractor will be signing the closure in the Carpinteria area, as well as at each end of the path, to let riders know.

Casitas Vista Road is getting a Class II bike lane and the construction is underway. Casitas Vista is the connector road between the Ventura River Bike Trail and Santa Ana Road. This project is part of the initiative by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to create more bike lanes and enhance safety and comfort for people on bikes. So, the next time you see your friendly County Supervisor, give them a thanks and let them know you've noticed the new bike lanes on our rural two lane roads.

Cyclists are finding closed parks and closed roads but bike trails still open. Nice day to social distance on your bikes!