Registration went smoothly this time around. Looks like they hit over 900 riders in 25 minutes. Who's going?
Just saw posted on the Amtrak comments board there are 2 spots left on train option and 23 spots open on the no train option. It was posted in the last 5 minutes.
**RANT ALERT! RANT ALERT** Feel free to ignore. A big finger to the OC Wheelmen, as a matter of principle... From their website: "Many Pirate riders decide to ride Amtrak and may or may not utilize the rest stop services. OCW will no longer tolerate this practice....cause increased traffic and congestion on the route. The pirates can ride any other Saturday... This can no longer be allowed,..." Emphasis added by me. Attention, OC Wheelmen! Attention! The roads upon which you stage your rides are known as a "public right of way." You cannot restrict who rides them or when. As long as I don't use the services others have paid for - and I wouldn't dream of doing so; there are plenty of places for me to refuel and refill the water bottle - you have absolutely no say in where or when I ride. I may choose to do the route that weekend simply because there will be 900 other riders that day and it's safer for me. They have the same "warning" on their Ride Around the Bear page. Yeah, I get it that some riders will cheat and use the food stops, port-a-potties, etc., without paying the registration. But many, nay most, won't. I will never, EVER, pay to participate in a ride put on by these clowns. Who in the heck do they think they are? It's exactly this kind of elitist bovine excrement that will come back to bite them in the gluteal region. I wasn't going to ride that route that particular weekend, but I think now I will. And I'll bring company. **RANT CONCLUDED. YOU MAY RESUME YOUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING**
I'm in!!! I got on the wait list about 24 hours after the deadline somewhere around 50th. Now I need to get my fat butt on the bike and ride!!!
Here's a few words on my day. I had a great time and was in better shape than last year's. The weather was perfect in my opinion but many complained about the heat. I only felt a couple warm spots going up Torrey Pines--my mtb'ing in the recent heat must have made me immune. Anyway, my buddy and I were doing really well to the Oceanside lunch stop but after that he suffered multiple hammy cramps. We slowed our pace to 15-16 mph and I pulled him 22 miles to the base of Torrey. After regrouping at the ice cream rest stop at the top, he said I should go ahead as he didn't want to hold me up anymore. I was getting a bit antsy by then, so I went. I set a PR on Torrey so I was happy. Anyway, the roads were in great shape. They fixed the stretch through Encinitas and made a lane into a sharrow, so that was nice being able to hug the coast vs swinging inland like last year. The was a detour on the road before Torrey--we had to swing inland and go thru the state park beach lot up back to the road. The road into SD proper was gnarled as ever with heavy traffic in spots but what can you do? Going into SD is bad no matter what route. Overall, everything was great--my friend recovered somewhat and finished only 15 minutes behind me, we had no crashes or flats for us (we saw a gal on Irvine get bumped by a squirelly guy and crash as a result) and they gave out finishers medals as you crossed the line--nice!
Nice Fongster! Any ride with a PR and no flats is a good ride! What happened to the "thanks" feature? I thought it was cool!
Thanks Mr. B, the thanks feature just up and disappeared when the forums went weird a week-plus ago. I don't know if it's coming back but it is/was a cool feature.
It was a great day! The high temperatures inland were not an issue here. Leaving Irvine early in the morning, it was perfect weather, no need for a jacket or sleeves. I left at 6:57AM, as it was advertised to start at 7:00. but there were already hundreds of bikes on the road ahead of me. At the first rest stop in SJC, I saw a woman on a 30 year old MTB with worn knobbies. and flip-flops on her feet. I first thought she was someone from the local neighborhood checking out the activity. Shortly thereafter, I noticed she was wearing the wristband and had the bike-band on the MTB!! She must have left waaaaaaay early to get to that point, about 25 miles. I wondered throughout the day how she was doing. This was the 5th time for me for this ride, and as usual, I found you can make great time up to the Oceanside lunch stop, then it is slow going to the finish due to traffic and difficulty passing slower riders on the narrow shoulder. Unlike prior years, the train left right on schedule and the bikes were waiting for us in Irvine when we arrived. Thanks to OCW for putting the time and effort for this classic event.
You can leave as early as you want if you get your packet on Friday night. Pick up on event day was open 5:30 to 6:45, I think. The 7 am time is the latest they want you to leave but obviously you can leave anytime after as long as you make the train. We left at 615.
