It takes strong legs and an enthusiastic heart to bike up Ventura’s Ojai Valley Trail to the picturesque town of Ojai. You’ll pump hard along some stretches of the 12-mile pathway as you ascend 746 feet, passing through several climate zones. But there’s plenty of lovely scenery to enjoy en route, and you can take comfort in knowing that the return trip is a breeze. A couple of regulars started from the beach at 9:30 a.m. one Sunday, pumping a tandem bike. By 11:30 they were looking for the ice cream store in Ojai. Then they coasted back down.

The full text of this article is in the print edition of Coast & Ocean.