11th Amgen Tour of California Returns to Thousand Oaks at Stage 3 on May 17, 2016

The 2016 Amgen Tour of California, presented by AEG, will kick off this spring in the heart of San Diego for the first time in its 11-year history and conclude in Sacramento for the first time. Competing across nearly 800 miles of quintessential California terrain from May 15-22, the course will lead World Champions, Olympic Medalists, top Tour de France competitors and other elite professional cyclists south to north for only the second time since the race began in 2006, with 12 cities to host starts and finishes along the way.

The 2016 Amgen Tour will return to Thousand Oaks for a fifth time. Thousand Oaks will host the start of Stage 3 at Amgen’s campus on May 17, 2016. This stage will finish in Santa Barbara, up Gibraltar Road to the finish at 3,997 foot La Cumbre Peak.

The starting line of Stage 3 is at 1 Amgen Center Drive. It starts at 11:15 am. After a small loop at the start of the race, it will follow Rancho Conejo Blvd south and continue to Borchard Road west until the cyclists reach South Reino Road, where they turn left (south) to Potrero Road east towards Hidden Valley. Then on to Westlake Boulevard/Decker Canyon southbound to Mulholland Highway down to PCH north. From there, PCH to Las Posas Road north to  Hueneme Road westbound to Ventura Road north, then West Channel Islands Blvd. Then, North Harbor Blvd to Sanjon Road, then East Thompson Blvd to North Ventura Ave, around Lake Casitas, then onwards to the finish on Gibraltar Road to La Cumbre Peak in Santa Barbara at an anticipated time of 3:48 pm.

In addition to the men’s event, top professional women cyclists from around the world will converge during the latter half of the race to compete in the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race, the most expansive women’s event in race history. The race will be the first U.S. event on the first-ever UCI Women's WorldTour (WWT).

The Amgen Tour of California is regarded as the most internationally respected and esteemed stage race in the U.S. and one of the largest sporting events in the country.

The 2016 Host Cities for the Amgen Tour of California include:

Stage 1 (5/15/16) – San Diego
Stage 2 (5/16/16) – South Pasadena to Santa Clarita
Stage 3 (5/17/16) – Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara County
Stage 4 (5/18/16) – Morro Bay to Monterey County
Stage 5 (5/19/16) – Lodi to South Lake Tahoe
Stage 6 (5/20/16) – Folsom Individual Time Trial & Women’s Team Time Trial
Stage 7 (5/21/16) – Santa Rosa
Stage 8 (5/22/16) – Sacramento

More details at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.

Amgen has been the title sponsor of the race since its first year as a platform for Breakaway from Cancer®, its national initiative to increase awareness of important resources available to people affected by cancer – from prevention through survivorship. To learn more, visit breakawayfromcancer.com. 

About the Amgen Tour of California

The Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race created and presented by AEG that challenges the world's top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding course that traverses hundreds of miles of California's iconic highways, byways and coastlines each spring. The teams chosen to participate have included Olympic medalists, Tour de France contenders and World Champions. Amgen Tour of California is listed on the international professional cycling calendar (2 HC, meaning "beyond category"), awarding important, world-ranking points to the top finishers. More information is available at amgentourofcalifornia.com.

Dave Grohl Makes Another Guest Appearance with Chevy Metal at Conejo Valley Days 2016

The 60th Annual Conejo Valley Days continues through tomorrow, Sunday, May 15th. Today's entertainment lineup included, among other great bands, 70s rock cover band, Chevy Metal, featuring Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

For the 2nd year in a row, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl made an unadvertised guest appearance with Chevy Metal. Fun times! Another photo of Grohl on the CVG Instagram feed.

A happy, low key crowd on hand for Chevy Metal

Dave Grohl and Chevy Metal at 2015 Conejo Valley Days

These folks perhaps caught fleeting glimpses of the band from this vantage point at the 2016 Conejo Valley Days

Listen To or Read Thousands of Free Public Domain Audio Books, eBooks at LoyalBooks.com

There are thousands of books, music and other works that are in the public domain of the United States, meaning, they are available to anyone for free as they their copyright no long applies. 

Copyright laws have changed frequently over the years; here are some examples. Works created prior to 1923 are in the public domain. Works copyrighted between 1923 through 1963 expire 95 years after publication date of the copyright was renewed. For works created after 2002, they become part of the public domain 70 years after the death of the author. More details at copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm.

That said loyalbooks.com provides over 7,000 books free to the public that have become part of the public domain, both in eBook and audio book format. Books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Moby Dick, Great Expectations, Treasure Island, The Odyssey, Gulliver's Travels, War and Peace, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Bill Nye's Comic History of the United States and so many more.

The site also has books in foreign languages, including Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and others. Visit www.loyalbooks.com to access books immediately and without registration requirements.

There are 542.84 Miles of Roadway in Ventura County as of April 2016

In May of each year, California counties are required to report any changes in roadway mileage to the State Department of Finance. This report is required per Section 2121 of the State Streets and Highways Code in order to apportion gas tax funds.

In a report to present to the County of Ventura Board of Supervisors next week, the County of Ventura reports that road mileage in the county covering the period May 2015 to April 2016 is 542.84 miles. This is 1.23 miles greater than last year's total (taking into account several adjustments).

That said, in its letter to the Board, the County indicates roadway mileage actually has no bearing on the amount of gas tax funds received under the Code because funds received are actually based on the number of vehicles registered in the County.

Go figure. www.ventura.org

The Bench to the East of Angel Vista Peak in the Conejo Open Space

The 1,530 foot Angel Vista in Newbury Park may well have the most spectacular views of the Conejo Valley. Angel Vista can be accessed via the Rosewood Trail off of Lynn Road (just west of Regal Oak Ct) or the Los Robles Trail (either the Thousand Oaks side accessible at South Moorpark Road and Greenmeadow Ave or Newbury Park side off of Potrero Road).

The unforgetable view from the Angel Vista Peak bench, facing towards the Conejo Grade

There is a slightly higher peak steps away from Angel Vista Peak that with a bench that has panoramic views that stretch from Hidden Valley to Boney Mountain to the Conejo Valley.

Facing southeast from Angel Peak, head up this short, moderately steep trail.

And soon you will see this secluded, old looking bench at the top of the hill.

A sturdy bench it is, that has withstood the test of time...and the unfortunate etchings of vandals.

The view looking straight ahead into the Conejo Valley

The view towards Hidden Valley

GREAT TRAILS AND HIKING THROUGHOUT VENTURA COUNTY

Spring Recipe "My Big Fat-Skinny Greek Salad"

CVG 2016 spring recipe: "My Big Fat-Skinny Greek Salad" courtesy of Ms. Conejo Joe, 

(Note: Measurements are not used. Just eyeball the amounts per your taste.  Make a large batch like we did so you can enjoy the leftovers.)

Ingredients

• Trader Joe's triple washed spring lettuce mix or a bag of organic arugula
• Trader Joe's prepared tabouli or a box of Fantastic Foods Tabouli you can prepare
• Trader Joe's steamed lentils
• Trader Joe's thai almonds
• Trader Joe's California estate extra-virgin olive oil
• Chopped red onion
• Chopped organic carrots and/or chopped orange bell pepper
• Trader Joe's jar of Greek Kalamata olives
• Freshly ground black pepper and Himalayan sea salt
• Dijon mustard
• Balsamic vinegar
• Miso paste
• Parmesan crisps
• Fresh parsley as garnish

Apparently we have a Trader Joe's fan in the house.

Directions

Grab a pretty plate and gently tear chilled lettuce leaves into it. 

In a glass jar mix one part Dijon mustard, one part miso, one part balsamic vinegar, coarsely ground pepper to taste and three parts olive oil. Give it (the jar, and your booty, for good measure) a good shake and set aside.

Gently toss tabouli with steamed lentils and chopped vegetables.

Grind Thai almonds in a food processor or chopper just a couple of times so you get big chunky pieces and smaller pieces mixed.  (If you don't have a food processor just put the almonds in a Ziploc bag and smash it a couple of times with a can or any hard object.)

Layer the tabouli mixture onto the lettuce leaves and garnish with olives and Parmesan crisps; drizzle on your homemade miso dressing.  Add the Himalayan salt as needed.  You may also add sliced heirloom tomatoes if you wish.

Now ENJOY and look for another happy healthy recipe in the near future from the Conejo Valley Guide family!

Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons Still Beautiful in Late Spring

Local resident Barbara Syfacunda enjoyed a hike in Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons yesterday and sent over these great photos via the CVG Facebook page. She remarked that although most of the green is gone back there, it is still beautiful. Indeed it is.

Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons cover over 4,000 acres in the northernmost section of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, in the Simi Hills. The Chumash occupied these canyons for thousands of years, until ranchers came into the area in the 1800s. The natural landscape changed as a result to accommodate the needs of grazing cattle.

The National Park Service (NPS) acquired Cheeseboro Canyon in the early to mid 1980s and Palo Comado Canyon (formerly known as the Jordan Ranch), in 1994.

Folks frequently ask, why is it called Cheeseboro when the road that gets you to the trailhead is called Chesebro? According to a knowledgeable NPS Ranger, the original owner of the land in the late 1800s was Oscar Cheesebrough (yet a different spelling). The NPS adopted the U.S. Geological Survey spelling, while Caltrans adopted the name Chesebro.