The third day of the Cycling BC Warm Weather Camp saw Team BC ride through the town of Santa Paula and climbing through steep switchbacks of Grimes Canyon.
This is the third day in California so far having ridden about 250 km in nice, warm sunny weather. We rode through the charming town of Santa Paula continuing on through nice roads going through farm and with fields containing orange trees. The oranges looked invitingly delicious but with yesterday’s bad experiences with cactus pears, we decided just to enjoy the view. We rode up a twisty canyon proceeding to go down and going up another one ending with a very nice view on top making the climb worth it. Coming back we encountered some headwind, having some tunes helped us power through home, home sweet home. Thank you to the coaches Steve Lund and Jeff Ain for their time and energy, not to mention putting up with the girls. A very big thank you to the sponsors who helped with making this wonderful experience in California happen, every moment of this camp has been wonderful and appreciated! – Sophie De Boever
Today was our third day of riding here in Ventura. We woke up with some tired legs from our first 100 km day yesterday, but by the time we got rolling we were ready and excited for the day ahead. We started off by riding to the town of Santa Paula, where Steve had left the van earlier this morning. After dropping off some layers in the van and filling up our bottles at a local bike shop, we started up the first canyon of the day. The rolling foothills soon turned into switchbacks up the side of Grimes canyon, peaking with an incredible view of the valley. After a fun twisty descent, we headed up Balcom Canyon. It was a shorter climb, but the last pitch was so steep my Garmin was auto pausing! The view from here was equally as breathtaking as the first. After a short break and photo op, we headed back into Santa Paula where a few of the riders hopped into the van, and the rest rode back to Ventura concluding another 100 km day! The opportunity to train in warm weather and experience living on the road has been amazing! Thank you too all the sponsors and coaches who make camps like these possible! -Clara Mackenzie