Southern California - Solvang Ride Reports

okay, I will start....
The day started out foggy and COLD. I had brought a sleeveless jersey and shorts to wear.
Ended up wearing long sleeves and Knickers...it was cold to start.
Saw some BF's at the start..NYgirl, and her two friends, Tiffanie, BigSean and Flipflops briefly.
Sorry we didn't ride with you guys, we are all supposed to start together, Tony and I took off, thought everyone else was behind but they had waited.
Ran into everyone at the first rest stop. I was riding with Tony.
It was VERY WINDY all day....OMG..headwinds and crosswinds, and me being so light with a very light bike had a hard time just staying upright!!
I struggled with the winds, tryed to draft off Tony, but keep loosing his wheel....
Saw Lee (scvroadie) at the 3rd stop( or the 2nd) can't remember which one.
He was riding with some of his Santa Clarita friends. Good to see him and chat with him for a few.
The stops were okay, but the lines were sooo long for the food. Dummy me didn't eat enough and I was struggling towards the end...at mile 80, then after the last stop, mile 90, there was a BIG climb...I slowed WAY down, I could barely pedal 4 mph up the hill, I felt nauseous and sick...Tony literally had to PUSH me up the hill, this got a lot of comments from other riders! If it weren't for Tony's push, I would have been forever trying to make it up the hill. I think the winds took all my energy, plus the fact that I didn't fuel properly.
The scenery was awesome, lots of cows...I love seeing all the green hills and the Cows...!!
I was surprised that as much as I struggled, I made an okay time..
101 miles, Ride time 6 hours 42 min...ave speed 15.1
My GPS said 5800 ft of climbing, Tony's said 4800 ft.
Why are they soo off?? Weird...I liked what mine said better!!
Until next time....

Karen :)
P.S. of course my pink bike got lots of comments and remarks too!!

Tony literally had to PUSH me up the hill, this got a lot of comments from other riders! If it weren't for Tony's push, I would have been forever trying to make it up the hill.

Karen...I've been there done that with the physical pushing. Sometimes you just have to accept the help...just be glad that you were on a hill at the time. George had to push me on a flat during the Butterfield Double. :o

My friend Andy was there. He said the wind sucked and there were lots of crashes, including a guy who touched his wheel and went down right behind him.

SONYA, SHNUDDY, ALAN ( SHNUDDY'S HUBBY ) , BIG SEAN, TIFFANIE, CHICKIE = DINNER
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/bfgroupatdinner.jpg
BIG SEAN, TONY, TIFFANIE, KAREN, SONYA, CHICKIE
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/bfgroupbeforeride.jpg
FLIP FLOPS
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/flipflops.jpg
TONY, TIFFANIE, KAREN
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/tonytiffkaren.jpg
SHNUDDY'S HUSBAND ALAN
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/shnuddyshusband.jpg

BIG SEAN AND KAREN
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/bigseanandkaren.jpg
SHNUDDY
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/shnuddyclose.jpg
COWS
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/cows.jpg
SHNUDDY AND ALAN
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/snuddyandalrearview.jpg
REST STOP
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/reststop2.jpg
TIFFANIE
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/tiffanie.jpg

Doesn't look like you guys ended up at Patricks. Be thankful the ride wasn't today (Sunday), it's 92 degrees, although not as windy as yesterday. Looks like you guys had a great time! Don't you just love the scenery around here?

Doesn't look like you guys ended up at Patricks. Be thankful the ride wasn't today (Sunday), it's 92 degrees, although not as windy as yesterday. Looks like you guys had a great time! Don't you just love the scenery around here?


No we ended up eating at a mexican restaurant. We ordered, then waited and waited, and waited some more, half of the orders were right and the other half, well lets just say we were to hungry to care.:rolleyes:

What a great ride. The scenery was great, the amount of riders incredable, and the food? I finally ate some of there's at mile 60.:rolleyes: The lines were so long that I kept skipping theirs and eating my bars and gel. Overall it was a great ride. The winds were brutal, but I was able to keep going pretty well. It seemed like we were just a few minutes behind Tony and Karen all day. Chickie crashed early on and by the second stop her elbow was looking really bad, I hope she is ok.

The best part was the 2XU jackets being on sale for $117. 4 of us bought one, for me its my second one in 2 weeks, but at that price I had to do it. Chickie seemed more concerned about her new jacket then herself after the crash.:D

It was nice meeting you all.

Lee, sorry I missed ya at the finish but it was nice meeting you at the top of Balcom.

I thought it looked like there were a couple of people sporting "my" jacket. :p So...did you get black so we match? :D

I thought it looked like there were a couple of people sporting "my" jacket. :p So...did you get black so we match? :D


I have one of each now. Just couldnt pass on the chance. They have some really nice stuff.:D

I still don't have one of those jackets. :cry: :p

Great day yesterday! It was great to meet/see/ride with everyone! :D I found myself a little dehydrated and didn't properly fuel through the ride so I had some touch and go moments but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Beautiful scenery and great weather (well, except for that dang wind).

Solvang Ride Report:
I arrived in Solvang around 3pm Friday afternoon. The hotel that I lucked into was the Wine Valley Inn. It turned out to be gorgeous acccomadations. I will definitely stay there again. My friends Sonya and Chickie also arrived in around 3:15. We didn't ride together because I had planned on leaving after the ride and driving back to Vegas. I had promised several people I would be back for the club ride...me and my big mouth. Anyhow we strolled around Solvang checking out all the shops. Around 6pm (registration opening time) I called Tiffanie who was with Big Sean already and they were heading over to check in. I called Shnuddy and as we were talking on the cell I noticed so was the woman 2 feet ahead of me......duh it was Shnuddy. She was there with her husband Alan who agreed to do this ride to support his wife. All of managed to hook up shortly after registration and plan our eating excursion. Since hunger always prevails we went to the closest joint which was The Meadows. It was half empty but we were told we would have to wait at least 30 minutes and even then she would have to split us up. So we ventured on to the Mexican joint Rancheros or something like that. Dinner was pretty darn funny. The waiter decided for himself what half of us were going to have. I was fortunate enough to get exactly what I ordered but Sonya, Chickie and Alan weren't. The food took a long time to come so they weren't sending it back. The meal was actually pretty good. So we all parted ways and agreed to meet at 6:30am at the start.
Well since everyone alreadys knows that I am greedy I will throw this out there. Before any ride of 70 or more miles my husband and I usually go to IHOP or DENNYS. So I explained that to Sonya and she and Chickie were a little puzzled by me wanting to meet at 5:30 in the name of breakfast. So at 5:25 I was at Paula's Pancake House....which Gsup suggested. It was fast and tasty...cuddos to Gsup. Oh and by the way Sonya
and Chickie showed up for breakfast.
The 3 of us arrived at the start and saw Tiffanie, Big Sean, Karen, Tony and Flip Flops. We were waiting on Shnuddy and her husband Alan. They called to let us know that Allen was having some tire stem issues and would be there shortly. We waited til about 7:15 I think and then we assumed they must have just started without us. So off we were.
Mile 4.5 Chickie rubs her front tire against Sonya's back tire and down goes Chickie....the rest of us were up front and just heard the crash. We waited a few minutes to finally see Chickie emerge all scraped up. Big Sean adjusted her brakes and off we were. Everyone kind of separated but would catch up from time to time at rest stops. Chickie's bruises were really starting to bother her and her wrist and arm were swollen. So at rest stop 2 which was around the 40 mile point, she called it quits. Since she was heading back it gave Sonya and I the opportunity to give her all of our unwanted clothing :)
The scenery was absolutely stunning. We hit up the rest stops for fresh pineapple and canteloupe. The winds were really starting to get on my nerves around mile 70. We decided that we would just haul tail to the end. Well that was a fantasy. The last 2 hills kind of put us back in our place.
I must admit this was still a fantastic ride, headwinds and all. I will definitely do it again.
A HUGE THANKS to Big Sean for persuading us to get those flashy jackets that were on sale. I got at least 5 different positive comments on it and others kept saying to me that they have seen several people with those jackets on that morning. Yeah me,Shnuddy,sonya, sean and chickie :) If I would of only had it for stagecoach....well I will be prepared next year.............It was great meeting Shnuddy and Alan, the 2 of them together will have you in stitches and falling off your bike. I finally met Tiffanie, she is soooooooooo cute and soft spoken. And her and Big Sean were on a mission. If you stopped pedaling for a second to take a picture or enjoy the scenery those 2 were a mirage :) Big Sean goes up and down those hills like they are nothing. I finally met April aka Flip Flops. She was at the start with us and left with her boyfriend never to be seen again. You go girl !!!! And Karen and Tony ( in my NY accent -- forget about it ) those 2 are mirages from the moment you leave the start. If you're lucky you will roll up on them at the rest stop as they are about to leave.

BACK OF THE WINE VALLEY INN
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/backofwinevalleyinn.jpg

What a great ride. The scenery was great, the amount of riders incredable, and the food? I finally ate some of there's at mile 60.:rolleyes: The lines were so long that I kept skipping theirs and eating my bars and gel. Overall it was a great ride. The winds were brutal, but I was able to keep going pretty well. It seemed like we were just a few minutes behind Tony and Karen all day. Chickie crashed early on and by the second stop her elbow was looking really bad, I hope she is ok.

The best part was the 2XU jackets being on sale for $117. 4 of us bought one, for me its my second one in 2 weeks, but at that price I had to do it. Chickie seemed more concerned about her new jacket then herself after the crash.:D

It was nice meeting you all.

Lee, sorry I missed ya at the finish but it was nice meeting you at the top of Balcom.


Just so you know not only was Chickie okay afterwards she was seen fully showered and dressed and hanging out with some good looking guys at the BBQ.

Just so you know not only was Chickie okay afterwards she was seen fully showered and dressed and hanging out with some good looking guys at the BBQ.


Good, that bruise wasnt lookin so good.

Good, that bruise wasnt lookin so good.

Yeah today is another story. Lucky for her she is a passenger. But she and Sonya hooked up with Shnuddy and Alan last night for dinner.....so she was still in good spirits when I left.
Oh and she told me to tell you that she is putting that Solvang patch over her ripped section of her 2XU so no one will be the wiser.

Just so you know not only was Chickie okay afterwards she was seen fully showered and dressed and hanging out with some good looking guys at the BBQ.

What time did you finish, Asia? I was looking around as I was enjoying a post-ride beer (:D) but didn't see any of you. Good to hear Chickie was feeling ok!

What time did you finish, Asia? I was looking around as I was enjoying a post-ride beer (:D) but didn't see any of you. Good to hear Chickie was feeling ok!

We rolled in about 20 minutes after you guys.....We couldnt find you. So we sat down and ate and listened to the music for awhile. And I finally got my soda. I was dying for one around mile 50.

Did you guys notice in the picture at the restaurant how the waiter is like a mirage :)

OK, what are these 2XU jackets you guys speak of?

EDIT: I googled. Very nice! They are $180 at the first place I found online.

We rolled in about 20 minutes after you guys.....We couldnt find you. So we sat down and ate and listened to the music for awhile. And I finally got my soda. I was dying for one around mile 50.

Oh me too!!! I ended up stopping at a Taco Bell to get my soda fix mid-ride. :o

OK, what are these 2XU jackets you guys speak of?

EDIT: I googled. Very nice! They are $180 at the first place I found online.

Yeah I almost want it to be cold enough so I can wear mine again....................NOT.

Oh me too!!! I ended up stopping at a Taco Bell to get my soda fix mid-ride. :o

Oh man I almost stopped there......but then I thought ordering a soda might turn into ordering a soda and a soft chicken taco so I kept going :rolleyes:

Oh man I almost stopped there......but then I thought ordering a soda might turn into ordering a soda and a soft chicken taco so I kept going :rolleyes:

:roflmao:

Did you guys notice in the picture at the restaurant how the waiter is like a mirage :)

That's exactly what he was! :D

That's exactly what he was! :D

I know......that is hysterical. I'm not sure who was worse the mean hostess at the Meadows or the pathetic waiter at Rancheros.

Yeah I almost want it to be cold enough so I can wear mine again....................NOT.

Asia...the great thing about that jacket is that it breathes...I love mine!

Asia...the great thing about that jacket is that it breathes...I love mine!

and it looks good on :) Big Sean told us you had one and wore it to the Stagecoach. So while we were freezing our bazookas off you were warm. :(

and it looks good on :) Big Sean told us you had one and wore it to the Stagecoach. So while we were freezing our bazookas off you were warm. :(

I don't know that I was every warm at Stagecoach, but that jacket and my 2XU base layer certainly took the edge off! :D

I don't know that I was every warm at Stagecoach, but that jacket and my 2XU base layer certainly took the edge off! :D

Good thing I didnt see you there cause I may have wrestled you to the ground for that baby. I was delusional and it could have happened :p at least that would have been my statement to the police.

Good thing I didnt see you there cause I may have wrestled you to the ground for that baby. I was delusional and it could have happened :p at least that would have been my statement to the police.
:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: That ride is just one big, cold blur to me. It's funny...Tiff was complaining about the scenery and I had nothing to say...I was tucked into pacelines all day long, just hoping to get it over with as quickly as possible. My scenery was just ass after ass after ass. :p :D

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: That ride is just one big, cold blur to me. It's funny...Tiff was complaining about the scenery and I had nothing to say...I was tucked into pacelines all day long, just hoping to get it over with as quickly as possible. My scenery was just ass after ass after ass. :p :D

Lucky you! :p :lol:

Lucky you! :p :lol:
:D :D :D :D It's my preferred view on any ride. :p

Lucky you! :p :lol:

Scenery ????????? I dont remember a single thing except that hill which warmed me up and lunch where I almost caught my cycling clothes on fire by leaning on that heater.

I rode this one with TnT. I'll make another thread with my thoughts on TnT, but since this is a ride report thread, here's the deal...

We started at 6am from the hotel in Buellton about 3 miles from the official start. This put us ahead of the crowd all day which made for some peaceful riding. Up until the first Sag stop, we were the only one's on the road. Riding through the beautiful rolling hills and fog filled canyons almost made me forget about the cold. Like a moron, I kept seeing 80 degrees in the forecast and forgot to bring a jacket!

We rolled through the first 2 sag stops before groups of riders starting catching up with us en masse. The wind kicked up fiercely after the second sag stop. The paceline group I rode with barely managed 12 miles an hour between the 2nd and 3rd sag stop, harsh. The group made it a pretty easy if slow ride though.

We rolled along without any problems, very happy that we picked up the wind after the fourth sag stop which marked the beginning of the climbing (at mile 73!). 8 miles of 'false flats' on foxen canyon preceded a sharp pitch which I admit, caused me to stop for about 30 seconds mid climb. Ouch!

After that climb, we had a bumpy descent to the final sag stop which preceded the wall. A short steep climb around mile 90. I didn't have much left for the climb, so dropped it down to the granny gear (30) for only the 2nd time all day. I limped up the hill, and thought all the climbing was behind us, but no! The switchbacks hit, and back to granny I went, grrrr....

All in all, a great day and a great ride. I had a great group of riders in my paceline, we were well matched in skill and for the most part, we pacelined almost the enitre day when we weren't climbing or descending.

We rode the century in 7 hours riding, and just over 8 hours on the road. Though that's a little slower than my goal. It was WINDY and we rode at a casual pace for good stretches in the middle. I finished happy, and wasn't exhausted.

My garmin elevation wound up at 5800 also.

At the end, I bumped into flip flops and her boyfriend. They came in about an hour after my group. I missed the rest of the BF'ers.


Oh yeah, that was my first century. go me, blah blah, on to pictures...

Milling about at the start, civil twilight whatever, it was dark!
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g87/ronjon10/Solvang07/DSCF0256.jpg

Sag #2
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g87/ronjon10/Solvang07/DSCF0264.jpg

No crowds at sag #3, good to start the day early
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g87/ronjon10/Solvang07/DSCF0265.jpg


At the top of the Foxen canyon climb. I rode for my mom and others stricken with cancer and blood diseases.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g87/ronjon10/Solvang07/DSCF0269.jpg

I rode this one with TnT. I'll make another thread with my thoughts on TnT, but since this is a ride report thread, here's the deal...

We started at 6am from the hotel in Buellton about 3 miles from the official start. This put us ahead of the crowd all day which made for some peaceful riding. Up until the first Sag stop, we were the only one's on the road. Riding through the beautiful rolling hills and fog filled canyons almost made me forget about the cold. Like a moron, I kept seeing 80 degrees in the forecast and forgot to bring a jacket!

We rolled through the first 2 sag stops before groups of riders starting catching up with us en masse. The wind kicked up fiercely after the second sag stop. The paceline group I rode with barely managed 12 miles an hour between the 2nd and 3rd sag stop, harsh. The group made it a pretty easy if slow ride though.

We rolled along without any problems, very happy that we picked up the wind after the fourth sag stop which marked the beginning of the climbing (at mile 73!). 8 miles of 'false flats' on foxen canyon preceded a sharp pitch which I admit, caused me to stop for about 30 seconds mid climb. Ouch!

After that climb, we had a bumpy descent to the final sag stop which preceded the wall. A short steep climb around mile 90. I didn't have much left for the climb, so dropped it down to the granny gear (30) for only the 2nd time all day. I limped up the hill, and thought all the climbing was behind us, but no! The switchbacks hit, and back to granny I went, grrrr....

All in all, a great day and a great ride. I had a great group of riders in my paceline, we were well matched in skill and for the most part, we pacelined almost the enitre day when we weren't climbing or descending.

We rode the century in 7 hours riding, and just over 8 hours on the road. Though that's a little slower than my goal. It was WINDY and we rode at a casual pace for good stretches in the middle. I finished happy, and wasn't exhausted.

My garmin elevation wound up at 5800 also.

At the end, I bumped into flip flops and her boyfriend. They came in about an hour after my group. I missed the rest of the BF'ers.


Oh yeah, that was my first century. go me, blah blah, on to pictures...

Milling about at the start, civil twilight whatever, it was dark!
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g87/ronjon10/Solvang07/DSCF0256.jpg

Sag #2
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g87/ronjon10/Solvang07/DSCF0264.jpg

No crowds at sag #3, good to start the day early
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g87/ronjon10/Solvang07/DSCF0265.jpg


At the top of the Foxen canyon climb. I rode for my mom and others stricken with cancer and blood diseases.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g87/ronjon10/Solvang07/DSCF0269.jpg

I was wondering who the group of riders were that had gotten such an early start! I was hoping to see you out there but never did, obviously. Congrats on your first century!!! :beer:

Yeah today is another story. Lucky for her she is a passenger. But she and Sonya hooked up with Shnuddy and Allen last night for dinner.....so she was still in good spirits when I left.
Oh and she told me to tell you that she is putting that Solvang patch over her ripped section of her 2XU so no one will be the wiser.

We had a much more successful experience at dinner Saturday--Angelica's--remember for next year! Still on the road, I'll post my report when I get home.

Yeah today is another story. Lucky for her she is a passenger. But she and Sonya hooked up with Shnuddy and Allen last night for dinner.....so she was still in good spirits when I left.
Oh and she told me to tell you that she is putting that Solvang patch over her ripped section of her 2XU so no one will be the wiser.


Thats a great idea.:)

Ronjon, your first century? Congratulations! I had no idea.

Oh yeah, that was my first century. go me, blah blah, on to pictures...


Congrats on your first century.:D :D :D

We had a much more successful experience at dinner Saturday--Angelica's--remember for next year! Still on the road, I'll post my report when I get home.


Vicki and I have been to Solvang several times for get-away weekends. We really like Angelica's....great food.

Sheldon

Hell, everyone I just wanted to check in and let you guys know I signed up!!!!!!! Yippie. Real short (because my legs are broken from the ride and I'm very tired). Props to Asia for cutting the wind like a knife for me. I loooove taking a wheel when I can. hahahahah Chicky is doing real good and I might have her talked into the 100ml. for next year. We caught up with Allen and Deb ( I remember thier name after Asia had to tell me about a thousand times) and we had a great dinner at a place called Angelica's. It was Italian food and was really good. The hostess was much nicer there. We tried the Meadows again and the same cranky lady told us that it would be and hour. Chicky asked if there was somewhere else and she told us about this place.

Thanks to Asia and all her fabuluos friends for make this ride so much fun....
Sonya

Ohhh It's me Sonya....Asia's friend from Vegas.

Hell, everyone I just wanted to check in and let you guys know I signed up!!!!!!! Yippie. Real short (because my legs are broken from the ride and I'm very tired). Props to Asia for cutting the wind like a knife for me. I loooove taking a wheel when I can. hahahahah Chicky is doing real good and I might have her talked into the 100ml. for next year. We caught up with Allen and Deb ( I remember thier name after Asia had to tell me about a thousand times) and we had a great dinner at a place called Angelica's. It was Italian food and was really good. The hostess was much nicer there. We tried the Meadows again and the same cranky lady told us that it would be and hour. Chicky asked if there was somewhere else and she told us about this place.

Thanks to Asia and all her fabuluos friends for make this ride so much fun....
Sonya

Don't try and throw that disclaimer out there "" the legs are broken"" it's not going to work !! Glad you guys made it home safe. Also I'm glad you found a good eating spot :)

Ohhh It's me Sonya....Asia's friend from Vegas.


Welcome to the forum and congrats on a great ride. Sorry we missed ya at the finish. Hope to see ya again sometime. Glad to hear dinner was better then the night before.:rolleyes:

Asia, How does this work? Can I recieve emails when people post?

The only BF'er I saw all day was scvroadie (Lee) and that was only for a moment as he went flying past me! I started late (8:00 AM), and avoided pacelines so the wind really killed me. The ugly stats: actual ride time (bike time) 7:48:35, ave. speed 12.9.

By far my worst speed ever for Solvang (8th or 9th time). After the wind kicked my ass I was slow until the hill at the end of Foxen, which I went up fine, passing several folks, including some who were walking. Then I got the last of the Spiz at the final checkpoint, really hammered up the wall (feeling great by this time), flew down the descent, hammered up the swithbacks on Ballard and carved the following descents, passing lots of riders, feeling better all the time.

So I did finally recover, but far too late.

Food wise we dined Pea Soup Anderson's the night before, Gino's Pizza the night after and Mother Hubbard's this morning for breakfast. Good food at fair prices and great service. I agree Angelica's is great food, since we ate there last year, but the high prices scared us off so we didn't go back!

Plus we were based in Buellton (Motel 6) so all the above resturants are in Buellton.

Guess I'll have to start earlier to ride with the BF peloton next year!

Best Regs,
Rick / OCRR

= Congrats on your first century!!! :beer:
+1 way to go, Ron!!!! :beer: - and congrats to all of you! No matter the timing, great ride (especially with the head winds :eek:) Great pics too. :)

Ohhh It's me Sonya....Asia's friend from Vegas.

Hi again Sonya. Glad you were true to your word and signed up :)

I agree Angelica's is great food, since we ate there last year, but the high prices scared us off so we didn't go back!



I agree, Angelica's was a little pricey, but after our other food experiences and, oh yeah, the ride, we figured we were worth it. :D :p

Oh yeah, that was my first century. go me, blah blah, on to pictures...


Congrats on your first century.:D :D :D


exactly!! go you!!!! congrats on the first of many to come ron, great job man!!!!