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. 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 the demos from our small trike shop. 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'. Our trike shop (3·2·GO – website: http://www.32go.us/, aka Kay and I) will usually bring free coffee and donuts, good water and other munchies and drinks. When there are enough riders and a destination that makes it practical, we usually have two alternative courses: one about 20 to 30 miles for riders going 15 to 20+ MPH, and a second route (for newer or 'less enthusiastic' riders) of maybe 12 to 20 miles at 10 to 15 MPH. Typical destinations for these rides are the Port Hueneme pier via the Bubbling Springs bikepath, Channel Islands or Ventura Marina, or 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, usually starting at the Ventura County Museum near downtown Ventura. You can click one of these links for a map with routing indicated from both directions of the Ventura Freeway (US-101) or driving directions. Of course, again, if you need any other help or more information, please contact me either by email or telephone. Parking for the day is legal and free in the sometimes crowded city lot, with (unappealing but utilitarian) bathrooms located in the grassy field to the east. The destination for these rides is almost always a democratic choice, but the riders often head off either on the Rails-to-Trails bikepath climbing to Ojai, or up the coast to Carpinteria.

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, which is hosted on the 3·2·GO website. 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 120 folks who are interested in these rides. If you would like to be notified a week or so in advance of each upcoming Ventura County recumbent ride and kept abreast of any changes or other pertinent information about this series of informal outings, please send an email – with your contact information 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 website is updated reasonably regularly 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. 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. Probably much more importantly, we hope to see you riding with our gang whenever you have a chance to join us!