I'm going to do the LA Wheelmans Grand Tour again this year. I'll sign up for the Triple Century but if I'm not feeling it I'll bail and just do the double. Last year when I did the triple I swore once was enough but I guess the pain has faded from my memory and I'm going again. Anyone else doing this? http://www.lawheelmen.org/grantour.htm
I am in, going with a neighbor and a couple of friends it will be their first century.... Agree / Couple thoughts...yeah that course is a little more bumpy than it looks on mapmyride. Some of the route is a bit odd ...Through live oak?.... Laguna / Gleneyre etc..not sure I woudl have picked that. Also I have warned my friends, not sure how many people in the ride...but mass start instead of tricckle start and some skinny roads...not to mention SART...all please be carefull! People do silly things on these rides...get too hyped up...I say...Enjoy!...and...it should be a fun day! Look for me I just got that new bright Orange / Copper Giro lid I should stand out!
Re-Route Hopefully you all got the Re-Route notice, I think this is for the better. Some pretty major re-routing Took out Live Oak...up RSM Blvd.... Took Out PCH Through Laguna now up Crown Valley ...etc. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/64796850/ Have Fun see ya out there
They've still got some bad freeway crossings. Lincoln at the 55 and Lake Forest at the 5. Both could have very easily been avoided. Taft is a much safer crossing of the 55 with no on/off ramps then just hang a left on Santiago to Nohl Ranch. Lake Forest has no bike lane and tons of traffic trying to get on the 5. They should have taken Jeronimo down to Bake then back to Moulton/Irvine Center and avoided all of that. Good luck out there.
So how was it and how was the new route? I was planning on riding along with some friends for part of it, but I discovered a frayed shifter cable on Friday night so that was the end of that plan.
I had a lot of fun despite the extreme mental and physical pain of the last 50 miles. I almost tapped out at mile 60, but pressed on. I did take a short cut from Alicia to avoid the freeway on ramps on Lake Forest. So I did the "Hotchkiss Century", 97.1 miles. I actually took the short cut at Alicia and Aliso Woods because I knew it was the flattest route back to the finish line. By that point I was done. I'll be there next year, and hopefully on the bike enough until then to enjoy it a little more.
It was very well run and marked, with people at all the tricky places / intersections. Route was pretty good only a couple funky places. It was hot climbing back up out of Dana point but it was nice through Santiago Canyon. Very good overall. Saw Darin ... Missed Mr Hotchkiss by a few... \/\/\/ Saw You Guys..at different stops \/\/\/
Good ride and good route, ride support was good as well. A 7 am start would have been nice to avoid some of the heat and traffic. Hooked up with fast group and we cruised into the second rest stop in 2 hours. I lost the wheel of the small group I was with through Santiago Canyon. Regrouped with them at the third rest stop. We pushed pretty hard through RSM, suffered up the little wall in Dana Point. I cramped up on Crown Valley and tapped out of the group I was in. Still finished the 100, just at a slower pace.
There are some pretty cool pix up http://bigringcentury.com/?page_id=733And and they are free to download... Hmmm Looks familiar...before My Crew....after If you look at the pix...pretty clear much fun was had by all...
