Thursday January 1 12:00 p.m. («««OR««««)................... First ride of the year - Space Mountain

Saturday January 3 9:30 a.m. (««««)...................................... Tamara: Chumash/Hummingbird

Sunday January 4 9:30 a.m. («««½)................................................................... Bob: Wood Ranch

Tuesday January 6 6:00 p.m. («««)................................................................... Charlotte: Cheeseboro

Thursday January 8 6:00 p.m. (««««).......................................................................... Alan: Grasslands

Saturday January 10 9:30 a.m. (««««). Randy: Cheeseboro -Test your Metal and your Mettle

Sunday January 11 9:30 a.m. («««)...........................Tamara: Rosewood/Space Mountain Loop

Tuesday January 13 6:00 p.m. («««).................................................................... Charlotte: Lang Ranch

Thursday January 15 6:00 p.m. (««««)................................................................. Alan: Space Mountain

Saturday January 17 9:30 a.m. (««).......................................................... Joanna: Sycamore Canyon

Saturday January 17 9:30 a.m. («««½).................................................. Tamara: Sycamore Canyon

Sunday January 18 9:00 a.m............................................................... Charlotte: Hike location TBA

Tuesday January 20 6:00 p.m. («««)....................................................................... Charlotte: Sycamore

Thursday January 22 6:00 p.m. (««««)........................................................................ Alan: Cheeseboro

Saturday January 24 9:30 a.m. («««½)................................ Randy Grasslands/Las Virgines View

Sunday January 25 9:30 a.m. («««½)............................. Bob: Space Mountain (aka Los Robles)

Sunday January 25 9:30 a.m. («½).............................................. Ginni: Sycamore from the Beach

Tuesday January 27 6:00 p.m. («««)..................................................................... Charlotte: Grasslands

Thursday January 28 6:00 p.m. (««««)....................................................................... Alan: Lang Ranch

Saturday January 31 9:30 a.m. («««««).............................................................. Tamara: Ojai - Gridley

RDR = Ride Difficulty Rating:

One star represents an easy ride for beginners.

Five stars represents a difficult ride that is for advanced riders.

News for everybody:

Thursday, January 1^st: Space Mountain. What better way to start the New Year than with an easy ride up Space Mountain? If the trails are dry we can go all the way to Potrero and back. If not, then we can just do a trip to the picnic tables and back. No matter what your riding level, this is a good way to start the year. RDR = ««« OR ««««

Directions: Exit the 101 Freeway on Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks, head south for about a mile until the road ends. Park on the street or in the dirt parking lot. Meeting time is noon so we can sleep in.

Randy's Renowned Rides:

Saturday, January 10^th: This near death experience was everybody's favorite last year. Would you like a ride to test your suspension? Want to be bounced until you drop? This is your ride. We start up Cheeseboro (smooth enough), cross over to China Flats (still smooth), descend down Dead Cow Road (should jar your brains out), cross over on Rocky Oaks (the final leg is worse than Dead Cow) and then cross back to Palo Camado. Then we bike up to the connector trail and then a fun descent down Cheeseboro to our cars. Whew! Are you a man or a mouse? Come test your mettle and your bike's metal on this ride. RDR = ««««

Directions: Exit the 101 Freeway at the Chesebro off ramp in Agoura, go north for about a mile and turn to the right when you get to the park entrance. Go up the short road to the dirt parking lot. This is the place. Meeting time is 9:30 a.m.

Saturday, January 24^th: Grasslands/Las Virgines View. We have ridden the Grasslands Trail a fair amount but have you yet gone on the Las Virgines View Trail on the east side of Las Virgines? A few of us hearty folks have done this and it is a new 100% singletrack ride. The plan is to meet at DeAnza Park, ride into Malibu Creek State Park and on the way back ride to Mulholland Drive and then cross over to the new trail. It is an out and back and then retrace your steps to the cars. RDR = «««½

Directions: Take the 101 Freeway to the Lost Hills Road exit in Calabasas. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south toward the ocean. Park in the lot for DeAnza Park located on the northwest corner of Lost Hills and Las Virgines Roads. This is our meeting spot. Meeting time is 9:30 am.

Tamara's Titillating Treks:

Please contact Tamara if you are interested in guest leading a ride. If you have a favorite trail that we’ve not done before and you’d like to share it with the group let me know and we’ll work out the details.

Saturday, January 3^rd: Chumash/Hummingbird Loop. This ride will probably be a bit reminiscent of man first walking on the moon due to the fires a short while ago in this area. We will make a moderate to difficult climb up a fairly technical singletrack, a.k.a. Chumash. When we reach the fireroad at the top we will descend the Rocky Peak fireroad a few miles till we meet up with Hummingbird. The descent down this singletrack is lots of fun but can be rather technical and steep in some sections. This is a loop ride that is approximately 13 miles round trip and should take about 3.5 hours to complete. Meeting time is 9:30 a.m. and ride time is 9:45 a.m. RDR = ««««

Directions: Take the 118 Freeway to the Yosemite Avenue exit in Simi Valley. At the end of the off-ramp proceed north to Flanagan and make a right. Park on the side of the road at the end of Flanagan. We will assemble there.

Sunday, January 11^th: Rosewood/Space Mountain Loop. This is a fun loop ride with lots of singletrack and switchbacks for your biking enjoyment. We start with the connector trail and Lynn Road that leads to the base of the Rosewood singletrack. From here it’s a moderate climb up to the top where we’ll take a break at the picnic table. Then we’ll continue riding along the Los Robles Trail to the very fun Space Mountain downhill and on to the Whoop De Doo Trail that leads back to the cars. This ride is approximately 12 miles round trip and should take about 2 ½ hours to complete. Meeting time is 9:30 a.m. and ride time is 9:45 a.m. RDR = «««

Directions: Take the 101 Freeway to the Moorpark Road exit in Thousand Oaks. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south toward the ocean. Take Moorpark till it dead-ends at Greenmeadow Avenue and park. This is our meeting spot.

Saturday, January 17^th: Sycamore Canyon. We start off on the connector trail that leads to Big Sycamore Canyon Road. We’ll descend down into the canyon and take Sin Nombre over to Sage and make the climb up to the water tower. From here it’s a fast and fun decent down Wood Canyon. Then it’s another climb up to the top via Guadalasco. We’ll ride the fireroad over to Backbone and enjoy another great decent. After a short jaunt on Two Foxes we’ll head up the main fireroad and climb up the dreaded asphalt hill. From the top it’s just a short ride back to the cars. This ride is approximately 20 miles round trip and should take about 3 ½ hours to complete. Meeting time is 9:30 a.m. and ride time is 9:45 a.m. RDR = «««½

Directions: Take the 101 Freeway to the Wendy exit in Newbury Park. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south on Wendi until it dead-ends at Potrero Road. Park in the adjacent dirt parking area.

Saturday, January 31^st: Ojai – Gridley Trail to Nordhoff Peak. This is a beautiful out and back ride on 99.9% singletrack that affords some spectacular views along the way. The ride begins with a fairly technical and difficult climb up a short connector trail. The first half of the main trail is a moderate climb and passes through several avocado groves. The second half of the main trail narrows and steepens a bit with many switchbacks. At the top of the saddle we’ll cutoff onto a fairly short but very steep fireroad that leads to an old lookout tower. The views from the top make the climb up worth the effort. Since this is an out and back ride, those who tire can turn back at any time and coast back to the cars. This ride is approximately 15 miles round trip and should take about 4 hours to complete. Meeting time is 9:30 a.m. and ride time is 9:45 a.m. RDR = «««««

Directions: Take the 101 Freeway to Highway 33, just a bit west of Ventura. Continue north on the 33 for approximately 13 miles until the road branches and take Highway 150 to the East. Pass through the town of Ojai and make a left (north) onto Gridley. Park at the end of the road.

Bob's BackHills & BackHills Plus Rides:

Sunday, January 4th, 9:30 am: BackHills Plus, Wood Ranch, Simi Valley. We start with a gradual climb out of Simi. Then a short (0.1 mile) steep climb that turns into a gradual climb up to the start of a singletrack. Then down the singletrack to a fire road, through a wooded area, then up a fire road to China Flats in Cheeseboro Canyon (yes, they do connect). After doing a loop around China Flats, we’ll come back mostly the same way but then over to another fire road & up some steep single track. Then we drop down to the parking area via some more singletrack. The ride will last about 3 hours, give or take 15 minutes. Meet us at 9:30 am and we'll get rolling by 9:45 am. You can call me, Bob, before the day of the ride, for any questions, at 805-584-6831. Check out the Wood Ranch area map at:

Wood Ranch trail maps RDR = «««½

Directions: Page 527, E-1, of Thomas Guide for Ventura County. From the 23 fwy, take the Olsen Road exit in Thousand Oaks. Go east for 1.8 miles until you reach Wood Ranch Parkway & turn right. Go about 2 miles, to the end, where it meets Long Canyon Road. Park in the dirt parking area on the south west corner of Wood Ranch & Long Canyon.

Sunday, January 25th, 9:30 am: BackHills Plus, Space Mountain/Los Robles. Let's begin by climbing the switchbacks up to the picnic table. After our break, it’s more single track over to Potrero Road. Then, we retrace our tracks back to the parking area. The ride will last about 3 hours, give or take 15 minutes. Let's meet at 9:30 am and we'll get rolling by 9:45 am. You can call me, Bob, before the day of the ride, for any questions, at 805-584*****. Checkout the Los Robles area map at:

Space Mountain trail maps RDR = «««½

Directions: Page 556, E-2, of the Thomas Guide for Ventura. From the 101 Fwy, take the Moorpark Road exit in Thousand Oaks and go south for about half a mile. The road dead ends at the dirt parking area where we will meet.

Ginni’s Gentle Get-Aways:

Sunday, January 25^th, 9:30 am: Sycamore Canyon from the Beach. We’ll begin at the parking lot and ride up Big Sycamore Trail to the infamous blacktop, then backtrack to the Sin Nombre singletrack & the Two Foxes singletrack trails & then back to the main fireroad & back to the parking lot. This ride is approximately 15 miles round trip. Meeting time is 9:30 a.m. & ride time is 9:45 a.m. RDR = «½

Directions: Take PCH to Big Sycamore Canyon State Park, about 4-5 miles northwest of Kanan Road. If you don’t want to pay the $5 fee for parking in the lot you can look for parking on PCH. We’ll meet in front of the bathrooms, located just off of the main parking lot across PCH from the beach.

I’m only scheduling one ride this month due to my still having problems with my shoulder. Check the e-group for unscheduled - ½ rides during the month. Happy New Year Everyone!

Charlotte’s Crusades:

Sunday, January 18^th, 9:00 am: Hike – Location to be announced. Contact Charlotte for details.

Tuesday’s 3 Star Night Rides. Meeting time is 6:00 p.m. and ride time is 6:15 p.m. The length of all rides is between 10 & 15 miles with ride times of 1.5 – 2.5 hours. The specific route taken will be determined at the trailhead.

Charlotte’s Cell #: (805) 890-1234

Charlotte’s e-mail: Twirlygal2@aol.com

Tuesday, January 6^th : Cheeseboro. Meeting place: lower paved parking lot at Cheeseboro.

Tuesday, January 13^th: Lang Ranch. Meeting place: trailhead at the north end of Westlake Blvd. (W.B. ends at Autumn Ridge Drive.)

Tuesday, January 20^th: Sycamore Canyon. Meeting place: Steve Clark’s house. 3168 Holloway Ct. (Take Wendy Drive towards Sycamore Cyn…about a mile after Kimber is Holloway at the stop sign…turn left…Steve’s house is on the right.)

Tuesday, January 27^th: Grasslands/Malibu Creek. Call or email to verify ride is on! Meeting place: paved parking lot at De Anza Park in Calabasas.

Joanne’s Joyous Jaunts:

Saturday, January 17^th: Sycamore Canyon. Meeting time 9:30 am, ride time 9:45 am. Meet at the end of Wendy Drive, South off the 101 freeway. We will ride the Wendy connector trail down to the Big Sycamore Trail. From there we will take the Big Sycamore Trail to the Beach, then loop back. Ride time approximately 2 ½ hrs. Rain cancels. RDR = ««

Alan’s Afterdark Adventures:

Thursday’s 4 Star Night Rides. Meeting time is 6:00 p.m. and ride time is 6:15 p.m. The length of all rides is between 10 & 15 miles with ride times of 1.5 – 2.5 hours. The specific route taken will be determined at the trailhead.

Please call or e-mail Alan before all night rides to confirm. (Otherwise, risk not being notified of any changes to the ride.)

Alan’s Cell #: (805) 405-1331

Alan’s e-mail: alan.sturm@verizon.net

Thursday, January 8^th: Grasslands/Malibu Creek. Meeting place: paved parking lot at De Anza Park in Calabasas.

Thursday, January 15^th: Space Mountain. Meeting place: dirt parking area at the south end of Moorpark Road.

Thursday, January 22^nd: Cheeseboro. Meeting place: lower paved parking lot at Cheeseboro.

Thursday, January 29^th: Lang Ranch. Meeting place: trailhead at the north end of Westlake Blvd. (W.B. ends at Autumn Ridge Drive.)

That's all for this newsletter. Say Happy New Year’s, Bob. "Happy New Year’s, Bob!"

Hey Tam, are you and I going to do it this year? "If “it” means to bike together – maybe not even that!”

And I will see you in the saddle,