It’s been a big couple weeks for Birthdays! My good friend Deb Hoffman had her 40th birthday, and she wanted to do a girls weekend in Ojai. We decided to visit the Ojai Valley Inn to do some rides and spa time. I hadn’t been on a “Girl’s Weekend” in a long time and it was long overdue.

I grew up in Ojai, so it was somewhat of a reunion tour for me. I took the girls on a few of my favorite rides. The first day we rode from the Inn to Santa Paula and back up to Ojai. It’s about a 50 mile loop, but there is a fair amount of climbing. I was a bit concerned because we had a big range in ability and I was concerned that it might be hard to keep us together. But, it turned out to be no problem. We had no big attitudes, and everyone was just interested in enjoying the day, and seeing the beautiful scenery. It was also cool because I could show them where the Tour of California went on the same roads.

After our ride, we went to the spa. We sat by the pool and enjoyed the sunshine. We all had massages and mani/ pedis. It was an incredibly relaxing afternoon. I have had a lot of pedicures, but this one was by far the most decadent I had ever experienced. I think it was even better than the massage! They put you in this chair that actually ends up with you lying down, and wrapped in warm blankets. It was unbelievable.

Ojai is known for the “pink moment” and we were outside watching for it before Deb’s big Birthday dinner. The sunset did not disappoint, and our evening was a perfect extension of our day. It was great to unwind and bond with girlfriends especially basing our whole weekend on the riding.
The next day we rode one of my favorite rides of all time. It is the loop from Ojai to Lake Casitas, down into Santa Barbara and back through Ventura to Ojai. Not only is this one of the most beautiful rides in the area, but it is the first ride I ever did on a road bike. I had borrowed a bike and shoes when I was 12 and went with our junior cycling team around the lake just like I did with the girls. I loved the challenge then, and I still love the ride now. I never go to Ojai and not ride the Casitas Loop.

There were a couple good climbs on the ride and I told the girl to go for it. They all pushed themselves super hard, and really surprised themselves. We worked on descending too, and everyone finished feeling like they had learned something new to help their riding.

We had to get out of our rooms by 1pm, so we hurried back and got on the road. We wanted to miss the afternoon traffic. It was a great few days, and we all came back more relaxed and happily tired from working out. It was the perfect vacation