Bony Pony Ranch

Mission: 4+ Hour ride in considerable heat at an endurance pace. Make it through without blowing up or getting cramps.

Variables encountered: 15-20 mph headwinds. No breeze on exposed mountain roads. Closed road in the middle of ride due to a large murder investigation.

Left the house around noon and headed out towards Moorpark. Once I dropped down Pleasant Valley the headwinds hit like a truck! No matter what gear I put it in I couldn't seem to get my heart rate below 150. I slowed way down with my end goal in mind and tried to push through. Once I made it through Camarillo and was heading towards the beach I started to encounter police galore. Once I got to the road I was to turn on I realized that it was closed and there were news vans everywhere. With not many other options I rolled up to an officer and asked if i could go through. He said that they were just finishing up and let me ride on!
Once to the beach I was hoping that the wind would be at my back and it kind of was! I was feeling pretty good as I hit the 2 hour 40 mile mark. So good in fact, I made the call to climb Yeurba Buena! Probably not the brightest decision that I had ever made, but I thought I could keep a manageable pace. Soon I turned away from the ocean and started the climb. Yeurba is a 8.5 mile climb with about 2600 ft of elevation gain. What makes it worth it is the 2.5 mile descent down Little Sycamore! It is bar far one of my top three road descents.
A little more climbing before dropping down Decker Canyon into Thousand Oaks. Once back into town the heat was high again and I was feeling some pain in my foot. I took my shoe off and shook it out. I was at the 60 mile mark at about 4 hours and was feeling the effects of the ride. No cramps and not blown up, I pushed my way home!
Ride Stats:
Distance: 65.79
Time: 4 Hours 24 minutes
Average Speed: 14.9 MPH
Max Speed: 47.2 MPH!!!
Average Heart Rate: 151 BPM
Max HR: 179 BPM
Ascent: 4279 ft.

Mission: ACCOMPLISHED

Ride Hard,
Lucas