RATE THE Wells Fargo Stagecoach Century

[caligurl]

Wells Fargo Stagecoach Century (http://www.shadowtour.com)
Ocotillo
January

rate using this format, please!
1 = Dismal, will never ride again and wouldn't recommend it!
2 = Not so great, but others seemed to enjoy the ride
3 = So-so, with minor improvements I'd do it again
4 = Darn good ride, I'd do it again and recommend it
5 = Outstanding on every level that matters to me! I'd suggest you do it next year for sure!

Please include the following:

Name of Ride:
Location:
When:
Type: (century, double, double-metric, metric)
Number of Riders: (Approximate)
Organizer: (name of bike club/organization)
Rating: (please use the 1-5 scale)
Comments on SAG support and Rest Stops: (what food was provided, SAG support presence etc.)
Comments on the route: (constructive thoughts, ideas, favorite aspects, etc.)

Name of Ride:Wells Fargo Stagecoach Century

Location: Octotillo, CA

When: January

Type: Century

Route: Organized

Organizer: Shadowtours

Rating: 3 this year due to weather, otherwise it would have been a 4

Comments on SAG support and Rest Stops: Excellent, the volunteers were wonderful and I was just fine with the food and water supplied. Lots of SAG vehicles along the route

Comments on the route: It's an out & back with a weird loopy thing in it. Not great, but I actually like the spread out climbing aspect of the roads there. I had great company along the way! :)

copied

[caligurl]

Name of Ride: wells fargo stagecoach century

Location: octoillo

When: January

Type: century (or shorter is you choose)

Route: paid organized

Organizer: shadowtours

Rating: 1

Number of Riders: less than 1000

Comments on SAG support and Rest Stops: Poor. I don't care for the food provided at the SAG stops. The people are nice enough. i just prefer something more than cliff bars and i don't do gels. they had bananas but they were green. the lunch stop was decent. i at some chili and grabbe some cheetoh's for the ride back. they had plenty of porta potties available for the number of people at the ride HOWEVER they were expecting 3000 to register and less than 1/3 of that showed up.

Comments on the route: out and back. the scenery is pretty. it's an easy course. some may not like the climb at the end, but it's short. there is a loop at the lunch/turn-around end but no route slip to tell the newbie's to do it. even with the loop at lunch it doesn't come out to 100 miles as advertised. you have to ride a couple miles at the end to get your century.

as i said, they didn't provide route slips. yes, it's an out and back, but it would be nice to know where the rest stops are, what the sag phone numbers are, about the loop at lunch, etc.

the organization of this ride is poor. i've done it two year and both years i've been disappointed. i will spend my paid organized ride money elsewhere.

[BigSean]

Name of Ride:Stage Coach
Location:Middle of nowhere
When:Jan 13th 2007
Type: Century
Number of Riders: no idea
Organizer:
Rating: 3 but then again this was my first so I dont have anything to compare too
Comments on SAG support and Rest Stops: It was good for me. I ate PB&J at every other rest stop and actually liked the Heed they were offering
Comments on the route: It was beautiful scenery for a while, then it all just appeared to be the same.

[blue_nose]

Name of Ride: Wells Fargo Stagecoach Century

Location: Octoillo

When: January 13

Type: century (or shorter is you choose)

Route: Out and back on County Route S2

Organizer: Shadowtours

Rating: 3.5

Number of Riders: Approx. 1000

Comments on SAG support and Rest Stops: Not bad. There were a lot of rest stops and plenty of port-a-toilets. I am not usually a big fan of solid food on rides, so I really appreciate getting Hammer Gel (like Gu). The ride was very cold so I did feel for a number of the volunteers at the rest stops. The chili and wood stove was well liked at the half-way stop.

Comments on the route: The best part of this ride is that you do the whole century without a single traffic light – only one stop sign at the beginning of the ride. I don’t understand why anyone (above) would complain about not having a route slip. Honestly a waste of paper and completely unnecessary. Personally, I think some people are still a bit grumpy because the ride was very cold ;)

Overall, I liked the ride. However, it is a bit on the expensive side if you do not register well in advance.

[Indolent58]

Name of Ride:Wells Fargo Stagecoach Century

Location: Ocotillo, CA

When: January3, 2007

Type: Century

Route: Organized

Organizer: Shadow Tours

Rating: 3.5
Comments on SAG support and Rest Stops: The rest stops were frequent and well stocked. I liked the Hammer Gels. The locals and staff were all very friendly. While is is true that the SAG vehicles were not marked, it was obvious to me who they were, and I saw them frequently along the route. A route slip was not provided, as it was hard to get lost, but knowing where the rest stops were would have helped.

Comments on the route: Out and back with a double loop at the half-way point to get to 100 miles. Some steep but relatively short hills spaced out along the course. Mostly uphill on the way out and down on the way back.