On Wednesday I returned home from leading a 6-day 105 mile mountain bike trip through the Los Padres National Forest with 5 students and an alumnus of the Thacher School (it was part of our bi-annual week-long camping trips) in which we rode from Sisar Canyon in Ojai to Romero Canyon in Santa Barbara. A little map work revealed a total gain of over 33,000 ft for the trip. We started up Sisar, down the Lion Canyon Trail and spent our first night at Patton’s Cabin where we picked-up our gear (packed it in the day before). From there we road asphalt to Chorro Grande and up the trail to Oak Camp (2nd night). Then on to the Pine Mtn saddle where we rode to Don Victor Valley via the Loma Pelona-Victor Fire Access Route (3rd night in DV Valley). We continued to Rollins Camp (4th night), then on via the Loma Pelona and Pie Canyon Fire Access Route to Mono Creek . We thrashed a bit down Mono Creek to Mono Camp, then on to P-Bar Flat for our last night (5th). The next day we climbed to Romero Saddle and descended Romero Canyon to Summerland, then pedaled to the Padaro Beach Grill for burgers and our pick-up/shuttle back to Thacher. I am especially proud of the students on the trip and their incredible attitudes and appreciation for the adventure, but most importantly want to thank Weston Richardson, Thacher alum, for his companionship and wonderful energy. In addition, my twin brother, Kevin, helped us out hugely by riding into P-Bar Flat with a spare wheel to replace a student’s cracked rim — which means he rode up Romero and down to P-Bar, then back again before returning to the office by the early afternoon. All-in-all, it was an awesome mountain bike adventure in our local backcountry.