Southern California - Universal City to San Diego - March 10th

Okay, here's the revised date for our aborted San Diego route.

Here are the basics:

Ride: Sandy Eggo Sesquicentury
Date: March 10th
Total Ride: 158.1 miles in 12 hours
Departure Location: Universal City Station Metro Redline Parking Lot: Lankershim Blvd. just north of Ventura Blvd.
Departure Time: 5:00am, you'll need lights!!!
Train back: Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from San Diego (6:20pm) to Union Station; Redline back to Universal City (trains are allowed on the Redline all but during peak rush hour)

Civil twilight is 5:45am - 6:17pm so the start of the ride will be in the dark.

This is a 158 mile ride! Those involved have just under 12 hours to make the entire ride and get to the train in time. A good warm-up for those planning on the Solvang Double on March 31st.

Not a route for those not comfortable getting up early or those who aren't experienced at rides with heavily trafficked areas or 150+ mile rides.


Who's in:
magicant
merider1
scootcore
fixer

Doh I have a race that day:(

Unless I run into a scheduling conflict I am there !

I was wavering between the 3rd and the 10th, but the 3rd is the day before the LA Marathon, so I may need to work. And the Universal station will be a mess with preparation that day.

I'm in, of course, but why didn't you call it the Sandy-Eggo Century??? Just curious.

I may be in, but if so I'll just take the goldline home (if I can take my train on). ;)

It sucks working weekends! I have to watch all of you plan these great rides then I only get to read about them the following week, which happens to be my weekends.

Wish I could, but I'll be doing Solvang.

Wish I could, but I'll be doing Solvang.

See ya at Solvang!!!!

I'm in, of course, but why didn't you call it the Sandy-Eggo Century??? Just curious.Because it's not a century, silly. :rolleyes:

I was wavering between the 3rd and the 10th, but the 3rd is the day before the LA Marathon, so I may need to work. And the Universal station will be a mess with preparation that day.

I'm glad you didn't choose the 3rd. I will be in Death Valley that day doing the Death Valley Spring Century.

Because it's not a century, silly. :rolleyes:
Oh. oops...:o I meant Sandy-Eggo Sesquiecentury. :D

It sucks working weekends! I have to watch all of you plan these great rides then I only get to read about them the following week, which happens to be my weekends.
Can you come join on a night ride? :)

so there....!

Can you come join on a night ride? :)

Only if that night ride is on my days off. I work 4pm to 4am, which actually ends up being about 5 or 6 am. Are there any BF rides on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays?

Wish I could, but I'll be doing Solvang.Sorry Lee. Especially after you were the one who found out about the Surfliner closure.

If it goes well, I'm thinking of making this a 2x per year ride.

So, I mapped out in great detail on bikely.com last night (much easier than routeslip.com). Every curve of every bike path, etc.

Grand total distance: 161 miles - yikes. That's with the Palos Verde drive loop, which isn't as direct as PCH. And going through San Diego is a big ol' loop.

I'll see how it feels over President's Day weekend and what the timing is like. But I do think we need to get rid of the PV drive loop. It's longer and 500 feet of climbing - not a lot but enough to slow us down.

May need to shorten a couple of other sections, too. Like staying on Sepulveda until we get to Venice instead of heading to the beach in Brentwood. At that hour, there won't be much traffic to worry about.

Are we gonna ride the 5?

That's the current plan.

We can choose not to when we get there if our time is good. And I'm going to ride it next weekend to see how it feels (road condition, etc).

May also need to back up the starting time a little - but it's a really flat route. Sepulveda and Torrey Pines are the only real bumps in the elevation, other than the rolling hills through Newport and Laguna.

Ouch! Well, we'll be getting the miles in. I'm up for however the route turns out. :)

never killed anyone to start or finish a ride in the dark, right?????

Here's the elevation graph -- including PV Drive north. Imagine it without the bump at mile 35.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/magicant2000/sdelevation.jpg

i can easily imagine that...

never killed anyone to start or finish a ride in the dark, right?????Yep, I'm only worried about catching the 6:20 train. That's why I figure we may want to start off by 5:30, just to be safe. Will help if there are unscheduled needs to stop. Otherwise, it's hotel rooms for the night!

ive no problems starting before the chickens...

That's the current plan.

We can choose not to when we get there if our time is good. And I'm going to ride it next weekend to see how it feels (road condition, etc).
I rode the 101 this weekend, I'm up for the 5. I do have a conflict for the day, though, so I might not be able to make it or may have to cut my ride short.

I need the miles, though, as I'd like to do the Solvang Double and want to get an idea if I'll be able to complete it or not.

I can start at 5:30. I mean, I'm getting up at 3:30am this Saturday and again at 4:30 the following Saturday. At this rate, I should just teach myself how not to need any sleep. :p

I can start at 5:30. I mean, I'm getting up at 3:30am this Saturday and again at 4:30 the following Saturday. At this rate, I should just teach myself how not to need any sleep. :p

Sleep? Who needs sleep?

What ride are you doing this weekend? Palm Springs?

What ride are you doing this weekend? Palm Springs?
Yup. And I'm getting up between 3:30 and 4:45 to get ready and roll. It's a long drive!

Yup. And I'm getting up between 3:30 and 4:45 to get ready and roll. It's a long drive!

Why don't you just take a blanket and sleep at the starting line? :p

Why don't you just take a blanket and sleep at the starting line? :p
No, I'm just going to sleep in the car on the way there. ;)

Can you link to the route on bikely?

I may give this a shot from OC this weekend if the trains are running (where's Mussolini when you need him?) and I'm feeling adventurous.

No, I'm just going to sleep in the car on the way there. ;)

I never thought of that, but that kills two birds with one stone! I usually just sleep on the drive home instead!

Bummer!! I really need to get a job where I don't have to work on Saturdays !!

I'm still going to play with it a bit (particularly after I ride it next week) and I haven't added any of the turns or info yet. I am going to get rid of PV drive and San Vicente through Brentwood to make it more direct. I do want it to come in under 160 miles. With breaks, that's still moving at a pretty good clip to make the train.

But here's the basic route.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/16176

Can you link to the route on bikely?

I may give this a shot from OC this weekend if the trains are running (where's Mussolini when you need him?) and I'm feeling adventurous.

I'd suggest doing a search on a route slip from the Amtrak century. That'd be a pretty good reference for turns and such. It's basically what I followed for what I set up from OC on down.

Magicant:

I'm interested in this ride, but I think that 160 miles is a bit of stretch for my legs right now. I'm also a little worried about being able to catch the 6:20 train back. Just stop lights alone could eat up 30-45 minutes. Is this the last train back? Are there later trains in the summer? If so, it might make sense to shorten the route (like say, from Marina del Rey to San Diego) in the compressed winter days, and then do the longer one in the Summer. If the 6:20 is always the last train back, then it wouldn't make a difference.

Depending on whether there is a later train, I'll either ride with you guys from Playa Del Rey to SD, or just ride with you folks down to HB, and then turn back for home.

From the list of folks, it almost looks like a reprise of VN to SB.

Well, I'll be doing the ride next weekend so we'll see how long it takes. But I have ridden it before and it took 11 hours (with lights, breaks and all). And that was on a loaded touring bike, I was relatively inexperienced and made a couple of wrong turns. The route on that trip was about 8 miles shorter, though.

I'm confident 12 hours will be plenty of time for a group ride, but we will be moving quickly and the breaks will be brief, except for lunch. There won't be a lot of social time along the way, however (social time will be on the train ride back).

6:20 is the last train, but there are alternatives if we don't think we're going to make it (stopping in Solana Beach, for example). That's a last resort, though.

its gonna be great.....

its gonna be great.....
+ 1

I'm also going to come with the relaxed idea that I may be getting a room in San Diego for the night. From what I can tell, riding with others just takes more time. We can be as "brief" as we deem necessary, but the reality is, obstacles can pop up (like a tire blowing out!). So, that's going to be my "zen-like" attitude. But, of course, I don't have a spouse to get back to (or a dog, or a house plant even) so I can relax in that respect. I certainly understand that others may not be able to do that. Also, I'm all over starting as early as possible. Remember guys, this ride will be just 40 miles shy a double century! 160 miles is 160 miles...I'm just sayin' (or Bill can do that for me...:p)

im just sayin' as well.....

So, I'm supposed to be someplace at 5 pm on the day of the ride. Where should I turn around or catch the train back in order to make it to LA by, say, 4 pm?

plus, whats the worst thing that could happen???? either we catch the train at a more northerly point, or we stay in SD and head back early...

So, I'm supposed to be someplace at 5 pm on the day of the ride. Where should I turn around or catch the train back in order to make it to LA by, say, 4 pm?


hard to say....plus, if i remember correctly the train stops at union station, then you have to get wherever from there!!!!

Well, another thought is that those who want to could reserve rooms, stay the night and then ride back to Solana Beach or Oceanside the next day (recovery ride) and take the train back. If I did that, I'd wear my camel back and just pack a very light T to sleep in, wash out my cycling clothes at the hotel and head out the next morning. In fact, maybe I will do that! :p

hard to say....plus, if i remember correctly the train stops at union station, then you have to get wherever from there!!!!


I can take the Gold Line to Pasadena from there if I end up coming back on the train. Right now I might just loop back up the SGRT. Otherwise, I guess I need to catch a train around 2? Any idea where we should be by then?

So, I'm supposed to be someplace at 5 pm on the day of the ride. Where should I turn around or catch the train back in order to make it to LA by, say, 4 pm?

Even if you were to cut your ride short and hop on the train at Oceanside, you won't make it by 5 pm, mostly due to the train schedule. You can try cutting short at San Juan Capistrano and catch an early afternoon train if there is one.

hard to say....plus, if i remember correctly the train stops at union station, then you have to get wherever from there!!!!

It makes more sense for me to get off at Union Station and ride back home as I only live a couple of miles away. But if I do that I need to ride out in the morning and meet you guys at a rendevous point somewhere along Sepulveda Bl in west LA....

I can take the Gold Line to Pasadena from there if I end up coming back on the train. Right now I might just loop back up the SGRT. Otherwise, I guess I need to catch a train around 2? Any idea where we should be by then?


id say lagunaish....

id say lagunaish....


Hmmm... That isn't the best place to catch a train. I'll probably have to turn around early and hit the SGRT instead.

Using a direct route from Van Nuys to Seal Beach I get about 45 miles, so I'm going to guess more like 60+ with coastal meandering.