Friday, July 22, 2005
Hot hot heat in Ojai
It's my birthday, work was under control, and I needed mileage to try out some new accessories and clothing before the big trip in early August. A ride was in order, even though it's 100+ today.
After apheresis, I put in a couple of hours at work trying to figure out my database locking problem. At 11:00am I decided that no further progress was likely. I suited up with all my mesh, and headed out into the heat - SR2, I210, SR118 to Moorpark, then SR23 into Fillmore for lunch at Yanni's, who had the AC absolutely cranked. SR126 west to Santa Paula, the SR150 northwest to Ojai.
The sign at the bank in Ojai said 104, but with the humidity it felt worse. I wandered over to SR33, heading for Lockwood Valley Rd. and Frazier Park. About 12 miles up the road, a flagman told me there would be a 30 minute wait to go through, and had no sympathy when I told him the closure isn't listed on the CalTrans website I consulted before leaving work. I pulled into a gravel and dirt turnout, but after five minutes knew that waiting was not a realistic option. I headed back into Ojai, then down SR33 towards Ventura.
The closer I got to the beach, the cooler it got - thankfully. I toyed with the idea of going back on PCH, but the traffic was horrendous starting at the pier in Ventura on US101, and the backup at the transition to PCH convinced me to stay on the 101. I got to work on my lane-splitting skills pretty much the whole way home.
I stopped at a Jack-in-the-Box at Kanan for a root beer float and lots of water, and headed back into the fray. I stopped at Anderson's to check on the Caddy, and made it home around 5:00pm, with sweat pouring off of me.
