It started much like any other motorcycle ride, looking at maps for
the twistiest of roads, planning, seeing how far between gas
stations. Unfortunately what was supposed to be a great road turned
into a hiking trail! In a fraction of the time it took to plan the
ride, I realized that my desire to ride an extremely twisty road was
gone! What to do?
Luckily, I remembered that HWY 129 aka E Valley Rd connected to HWY
150 which connects to HWY 33.
HWY 129 is tucked away a few miles off the coast of California and
runs somewhat parallel to the 101 freeway. We had ridden from LA on
the 101 and stopped in Carpenteria for a highly recommended burger
place called The Spot. Eh. Burgers were good but $8.50 for a burger
combo??!!
Once we gassed up we hit the road to meet our defeat! When we got to
Romero Rd, which was supposed to run all the way to Jameson Lake, we
met a WWII veteran who was 94 years old! This guy was hiking and in
great shape!
A few miles later, Romero road dumped us onto the 192 which is a very
scenic but slower ride. There are some twists and turns, some
residential, and some farmland. We ended up getting the tail end of a
slower touring group and let them go ahead of us. Hwy 192 ends at Hwy
150 which will take you to Lake Casitas - very nice! There's an old
barn just off the road that has a putting green attached to it. Some
truly scenic stuff! The rest of the ride from Lake Casitas is scenic
but boring in my book! Being so close to Ojai, It just has speed trap
written all over it!
When we got to Ojai we gassed up at the usual spot. This would be the
second time in 3 days of riding HWY 33. A few days before we rode to
Latigo canyon then to HWY 33 unprepared for the cold (we started too
late). This time, my Hayabusa was ready- saddle bags full of clothes
and gear.
We headed up the familiar road, letting my friend ride his Yamaha R6
in front of me so I could shoot some more exciting footage than an
open road in front of me. My friend did not dissappont! 2 minutes
later, he hugs the center stripe , takes a turn too wide, and
miracously keep his bike from going in the dirt. You can clearly see
his rear tire to the right of the white stripe off the side of the
road! Motorcycle accident avoided!!
The rest of the ride went without a hitch! When we got to Pine
Mountain Summit, we didn't have to turn back! When you continue on
HWY 33 you end up riding on some twisty road, crossing cattle bridges,
some nice straights, and 3 streams that you must cross! For this
reason, HWY 33 is one of my favorite places to ride and just got
better-we found a great road from Santa Barbara that connects the
whole thing.
If you are looking for a ride that has beautiful scenery, great
twisties, backroad sweepers, lakes, and streams this is it!!! You
really get the sense of touring (280 miles RT from LA) without ending
up in another state. Sure we could have ridden to Vegas but that's a
very straight=boring ride. I prefer touring for twisties!
