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04-25-10, 08:56 PM
Disclaimer: old folks on tandem
Wife and I rode the Mildflower 100K this morning. Definitely a tandem-suitable event, but the Honey Run climb (only climb on the Mildflower) was a long grind for us. We were passed by too many singles to count. I'm very pleased we didn't have to stop; 6 months ago we couldn't have made this climb non-stop. The downhill from Paradise had us pulling 3 singles at speeds up to 48 mph, but from now on we're going to save our energy on downhills since I was toast the last 15 miles (into somewhat of a headwind)
Swag: tote bag, water bottle and cool map. Who could as for more.
Staff: uniformly friendly.
Parking: no problem at the start - we got there about 6:45.
Registration: We registered Saturday afternoon so can't comment on Sunday am crowd. With a last name beginning with "T" I was able to walk right up to the registration desk.
Vistas: didn't know the area around Chico. Some very pretty terrain. The last bunch of miles through the orchards would be fine without a headwind. Word has it that the Table Mtn. climb, while shorter, is exposed and can get hot for the Century riders. We hope to find out next year.
Rest Stops: Organization was fine. Food was ok, but not comparable to the Tierra Bella. Still, we're just looking for some palatable calories. There was a "lunch stop" right after the downhill. I don't know why they diverted the 100K folks to this stop; it's placed there to support the century riders who will have ridden the Table Mtn. loop prior to this stop.
Route Marking: No problem with the arrows, but even though the route is simple a route sheet would be nice for checking mileage. Still, the cloth map is pretty cool. They did have flag people at some critical junctures.
SAG: didn't really see any SAG and didn't find a cell phone number, but we didn't have any problems.
Post Ride meal: Big diversity of tasty food: tri-tip or veg. tamales, salad, black beans, pasta (x2), fruit, etc.
Ride Statistics: We averaged 14.4 mph. We're desperately in search of slow tandems to draft. Haven't looked at the ride data yet, but we were doing ok until the flats.
Anyone else ride this?
Wife and I rode the Mildflower 100K this morning. Definitely a tandem-suitable event, but the Honey Run climb (only climb on the Mildflower) was a long grind for us. We were passed by too many singles to count. I'm very pleased we didn't have to stop; 6 months ago we couldn't have made this climb non-stop. The downhill from Paradise had us pulling 3 singles at speeds up to 48 mph, but from now on we're going to save our energy on downhills since I was toast the last 15 miles (into somewhat of a headwind)
Swag: tote bag, water bottle and cool map. Who could as for more.
Staff: uniformly friendly.
Parking: no problem at the start - we got there about 6:45.
Registration: We registered Saturday afternoon so can't comment on Sunday am crowd. With a last name beginning with "T" I was able to walk right up to the registration desk.
Vistas: didn't know the area around Chico. Some very pretty terrain. The last bunch of miles through the orchards would be fine without a headwind. Word has it that the Table Mtn. climb, while shorter, is exposed and can get hot for the Century riders. We hope to find out next year.
Rest Stops: Organization was fine. Food was ok, but not comparable to the Tierra Bella. Still, we're just looking for some palatable calories. There was a "lunch stop" right after the downhill. I don't know why they diverted the 100K folks to this stop; it's placed there to support the century riders who will have ridden the Table Mtn. loop prior to this stop.
Route Marking: No problem with the arrows, but even though the route is simple a route sheet would be nice for checking mileage. Still, the cloth map is pretty cool. They did have flag people at some critical junctures.
SAG: didn't really see any SAG and didn't find a cell phone number, but we didn't have any problems.
Post Ride meal: Big diversity of tasty food: tri-tip or veg. tamales, salad, black beans, pasta (x2), fruit, etc.
Ride Statistics: We averaged 14.4 mph. We're desperately in search of slow tandems to draft. Haven't looked at the ride data yet, but we were doing ok until the flats.
Anyone else ride this?