Tour de Camp Pendleton Bike Ride this Saturday - Nov 2, 2013.

Discussion in 'The Roadie Hangout' started by ARGAMA, Oct 30, 2013.

  1. ARGAMA

    ARGAMA Member

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    Hi folks,

    I am not sure if you know but there is a road bike event hosted by the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton this Saturday, Nov 2. There are many different distance options to choose from: 100 Mile, 75, 50, 25 and event a 5.5 Mile Family Fun Ride for adults and kids (6 and over). This is not a race as it will not be timed but they do offer the Mateo Mountain Challenge which is timed.

    You can follow the link below for more details about this event.

    http://www.hardcorpsraceseries.com/tour-de-camp-pendleton

    If you never been to Camp Pendleton, I would strongly recommend you sign up for this event as you don't normally get to ride there and the scenic is very nice there. I am going to sign up for the 50 Mile ride.

    Cheers,
     
  2. emejay

    emejay most annoying avatar

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    So, how was it? Years ago they had the San Clemente Challenge go through Pendleton on those back roads, and it was spectacular scenery...unspoiled California.
     
  3. ARGAMA

    ARGAMA Member

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    It was great riding there and the weather was perfect for the occasion! It was my first long road ride as I never rode longer than 23 miles on the road before. Now that I have experienced my first 50 Mile road ride, I really have to give it to the roadies where they go long every day and every weekend. I thought climbing on the mountain is tough but climbing on the road is just as hard. There was a steep climb right at the beginning of the ride at Mile 1.25 mark and it goes for .5 mile at an average grade of 12.5%. Man, just knowing I have to climb that wall from far away was demoralizing and it just felt it's a never ending climb while at it. There are several other climbs for my route but they are less steep than the first one. To me, climbing on the road is tough because you can be climbing for miles and there is little to no break during the climb. It's just you, your bike and your mental focus on getting to the top.

    The scenery there is beautiful as mountain range on the far end as backdrop and sometimes on both sides. The route we took is just miles and miles of open road with very little traffic. There are few areas that has more traffic but there's plenty of bike lane on the side of the road. There was a section of the road where a group of LAVs (Light Armored Vehicle) passed us which was pretty awesome to see especially at just the opposite side of the road. There is a section where we rode very close to 5 Fwy near Oceanside so we get to see the ocean which is very nice.

    I do have to give a big thanks to the Marine Corps as they have done a great job on hosting and running the event. They have put in several aid stations with plenty of food and water throughout the route. There is a major aid stations where they also serve lunch for all participants. The Marines are also at major cross roads, intersections and even fast downhill sections to make sure you safely cross the road and also alert you to watch your speed while descending at high speed. You get a warm welcome at the end when you cross the finish line which is always nice and also a nice cool "Dog tag" to show you are a finisher at the event! I will definitely go back to their future cycling events for sure!!

    Here are couple of pics with me at the Start/Finish area and the "Dog tag"!

    1393578_3481440370591_986784097_n.jpg 603080_3482093786926_134857150_n.jpg

    Cheers,
     
  4. fongster

    fongster Active Member

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    That sounds fun. Thanks for sharing. There were a bunch of events this past weekend, none of which I could ride. I think they do a mtb ride/race there as well.
     
  5. Chopper

    Chopper The Ancient One

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    It was a nice ride but they could use some energy bars or trail mix or pretzels at the rest stops. Apparently there was some food at the final stop but we missed it because it was off the course and from the road it just looked like more fruit. It was a great course and interesting to see some parts of the base that we had never seen before. The wife and I wanted to do the hundred but a triple loop didn't sound like much fun so we stuck with 50.
     
  6. BigTex

    BigTex Member

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    Thanks for the ride report. Was thinking about this one, but did the Bike the Coast Century instead. Will definitely put this or their MTB event on my calendar for next year.
     

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