This is the info webpage for an ongoing series of regularly scheduled rides set up by a very loosely structured group of recumbent cycling enthusiasts in the coastal area of Ventura County, California, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. It's set up and managed by Wayne Leggett, part-time shepherd, cheerleader and web monkey for our group, and hereafter referred to as 'I' or 'me'. If you have any questions or would like any other information beyond what is posted here, please send an email to the address at the bottom of the page.

Who Are These People?

Well, aside from living in the same general section of the state and our (un)common interest in recumbent cycles – bikes and/or trikes – it's probably fair to say that we are a reasonably diverse group. By actual record, ages of our riders range from 1 to 80-something at least. Many of us are married, some with spouses who also ride, but others have more varied (and possibly more interesting) lifestyles. Most of our riders live in the coastal region of Ventura County, but we also have folks who come up here from the San Fernando Valley for the much more cycle friendly environment, as well as other regulars from the Santa Barbara area, the Santa Clarita Valley, greater Los Angeles and beyond. There are – as you would probably expect – most often more boys than girls, but an all-male ride is a very rare event. If you are a female cyclist thinking about joining us, I'm sure I speak for both our male and female regulars when I state that the group would love to see more women turn out, either solo or in the company of spouses or other significant others.

The group has no formal membership list, no dues, and no dress code. Politically, we are probably somewhere between casual democracy and congenial anarchy. Our only social standard – recommended rather than required – is at least a minimal sense of humor.

Basic Ride Info:

Some – or well, sometimes just a few – of the folks who consider themselves part of this group get together about twice a month for a casual cycle ride with whoever else shows up. These rides are non-competitive, non-peloton, no-rider-left-behind type outings, from about 15 to 35 miles long, with everyone riding more or less at his own pace, cruising and chatting with whomever for however long. There's usually one stop for brunch and a couple of quickies to regroup or maintain fluid balance as required. As a rule (well, not like a rule rule, of course, but you know...) we meet about 9 AM, and try (sometimes not very successfully) to start riding at about 9:30 AM.

Just as you might expect, most of our regulars ride recumbikes or trikes, but we very often also have a few folks on more conventional cycles, as well as some fairly esoteric high-quality customs, tandems or borrowed recumbents on trial runs. In any case, in keeping with the open spirit of the group and the rides, anyone is always welcome on whatever contraption he or she would like to bring along. There's almost always a bit of cross-pollination, with people trying out each other's cycles, or folks who are somewhat intrigued by the idea of riding recumbent, who show up just to see some in the wild and talk to the strange creatures who ride them. This ride series may be the best opportunity in SoCal to see or sample a broad range of alternative cycle designs in one place at one time.

First Saturday Rides:

About half of our group outings are normally scheduled for the first Saturday of each month. These First Saturday rides are likely to have a varied range of starting points and/or 'character'. My wife Kay and I usually bring free coffee and munchies; most often some other cookies and goodies mysteriously appear. When there are enough riders and a destination that makes it practical, we're likely to have two alternative courses: one about 20 to 30 miles for riders going 15 MPH or so, and a second route (for newer or 'less enthusiastic' riders) of maybe 12 to 20 miles at 10 MPH, some even slower. Typical destinations for these rides are the Port Hueneme pier via the Bubbling Springs bikepath, Channel Islands and Seabridge Marinas, the Calleguas Creek bikepath or somewhere in the open farm country inland on cool winter days. This series of rides is recommended as the best 'test drive' for a new or physically challenged recumbiker, or for anyone who's more interested in group cycling for its social or sightseeing aspects rather than as an athletic challenge.

Third Saturday Rides:

The other half of our regularly scheduled monthly group outings are normally planned for the third Saturday of each month, with roughly the same kind of kickoff. These rides are quite often along the (mostly) Class I Ventura River bikepath from Ventura to Ojai or Lake Casitas. As an alternative in warmer weather, we may ride down the coast to Sycamore Canyon, or up into the Carpinteria, Santa Barbara or Goleta areas.

How Do We Know Where to Meet When:

We maintain a page on this site (full URL link shown below) with an (almost always) up-to-date listing of our upcoming rides, with full info (venue, distance, difficulty, meeting place – with full street address if practical – and sometimes driving directions) for our next group ride. At almost all of our rides, unexpected drop-ins are welcome; it isn't necessary to give any advance notice, unless you may need special assistance or have concerns about any unusual conditions for that outing. Of course, if you need any help, have specific questions or want more information, please contact me either by email or telephone. We try very hard to start our rides where parking for the day is legal and free, with (sometimes unappealing but utilitarian) bathrooms located within easy walking distance. Even though we publish a preliminary destination for our rides, the actual route for the group, subgroup or each individual is almost always a democratic (or anarchic) choice, and it's fairly common for the group to split up for lunch, some forgoing that (guilty?) pleasure altogether, or eating at different places.

RECUMBENT CYCLES AND SUCH FOR SALE:

Late Breaking and Other News:

To see brief descriptions of our last few rides, some snapshots, a frequently updated local ride schedule and other current information, you can click onto this webpage:

We also have a local cycling humor section called Poetry on Wheels; the active link with the URL fully spelled out is:

How Do I Make Sure I Get the Latest Info?

We maintain an email list of about 100 folks who are interested in these rides. Although we currently do not email ride notices a few days or so in advance of each upcoming Ventura County recumbent ride, we do occasionally still send notices for special rides or pertinent information about this series of informal outings. If you want to be included in these mailings, please send an email with your contact information (at least your first and last names, email address and city of residence) along with whatever you'd like to tell us about your cycling interests and/or any suggestions you'd like to make to me:

This webpage is updated (somewhat infrequently) with the latest information about the VCRR group. Please check back or pop onto our VCRR News and Photo pages, whenever you feel the urge. Most folks in our group Bookmark the link above as an optimal starting point. We welcome any relevant feedback about our group or any of our rides – historical, current or future – as well as our periodic mailings and/or these webpages. Thanks for perusing and enduring this e-treatise, and probably much more importantly, we hope to see you riding with our gang whenever you have a chance to join us!