blue_nose

From the Celo Pacific web site:

4/23 - San Luis Rey Course Change - Unfortunately we are going to have to alter the SLR course this year. Old 395 is out, but staging will remain the same at Sullivan Middle School. Stay tuned for updated flyer and course details.



Anyone have any details on the updated course???

igoyippy4skippy

the course is going to start off at the middle school but you are going to be going down the hill the other way to camino del rey to 395 and then u turn back. It was the best my club could do on short notice. So there will be a lot less climbing. The downhill part should be fun with the turns and no bridge gap to jump.

blue_nose

So who pulled the 395 from the race - the city, police???

I undertstand the short notice, but I think the big problem here is that both sides of the road are going to be used for the race. Isn't this going to cause problems with traffic?

BTW - I will not miss the expansion crack on that fast decsent.

Chucklehead

The county! Someone crashed going over the bridge and sued.

Cleave

I have the same concern.

OCshark

Bad idea to have people speeding down a twisty road while others are going up it the other way.

I'll be passing on SLR this year.

Cleave

I'm having my doubts too.

1265 Lombardi

I'll be out there. This is my first time so I would not know the difference. Hopefully things will go smoothly.

umd

During the race?

agoodale

Descending W. Lilac is fun in a small group. Racing down with 100+ Cat 4s is a little frightening. There are a few tight turns that require heavy braking to stay on 1 side of the road. I will definitely be fighting to stay in the top 20 to avoid the almost certain crashes on the first descent.

That being said the rest of the race should be fun. The field will be very strung out after the first climb.

igoyippy4skippy

oh yeah for sure it is going to be tough going down in a pack.. my plan is to take off from the start and make it past the two switch backs alive.

umd

Will you and I racing down with 100+ cat 3s be better or worse?

esammuli

I really don't see why people are making a big deal out of that descent. I've been on it with large groups quite a few times and I've never had (or seen) any problems. Remember, it's at the very beginning of the lap. The race won't be won or lost there so people won't be quite as on edge as they otherwise would be. Besides, its no where near as bad as the Bakersfield descent. That's a (potentially) dangerous descent.

blue_nose

The only problem here is that the other 99 riders have the same plan

agoodale

You & I know the race won't be won or lost there. But what about all the other cat 4s I'll be racing with? If the leaders decide to take it easy it will be fine. If a few guys decide to go for it then anyone mid-pack & back is going to be in trouble.

agoodale

Good question...It seems like the 3s have just as many problems as the 4s (but for different reasons).

The problem is that you can go all out for much of the descent except for a few turns. Riders in the middle to back who don't know the course will really have to be on their best behavior the first time down.

agoodale

It might be better if we got a group together up front to block the road and descend at a reasonable pace on the 1st lap.

umd

I was thinking you upgraded too but was confusing you with someone else...

agoodale

Not yet. I'm going to submit after Manhattan Beach.

Chucklehead

No, just some random rider. It was probably Skippy. He commutes through there almost daily.

igoyippy4skippy

I was riding up 395 today and it is in pretty bad shape. Looks like they started to patch up the road but then stopped. They also kind of fixed the expansion gaps but I don't know if they made it better. The bolted metal plates over it but the heads of the bolts are exposed and not counter sunk into the metal plate.

redal

Have you done it in groups of 60-80? That's how many we've had in the pro/1-2 field the last couple of years. I've done this race for close to 20 years and seen the finish in 3 different places and I have always loved it, but I'm not too keen on it this year. The thing I don't like about the descent is that there will be groups going both ways on the course as well as car traffic. I don't have any problems with dangerous descents (Gila, Bakersfield etc..), however, what worries me is races going two different directions as well as automobile traffic. I know the automobile traffic is minimal, but there are homes on that road so I don't think they can close it.
I think I may pass this year. Pre-reg. closed last night and the only course confirmation I could get was from you guys on here (thanks!) How come the website is not publishing any course details? With pre-reg. closed the entry is now $50! Fifty bucks for a $1500 race? What is up with a $10 late fee?

edit:There's a map there now that I'm having trouble pulling up. I love this race. I'm sorry they had to change the course.

merckx_rider

I hope they close the road to car traffic, cars and races don't mix

agoodale

I rode the new course today a few times today. Going down Lilac I was averaging 30+ with a 90% effort. The two switchback turns I had to brake down to approx. 25 to hold a consistent line. A small group could take those turns much faster with a more aggressive line. It's not as bad as I remembered but I still don't want to be 4 abreast going through there in cat 4.

The bigger impression I got of the new course is that there will be very little time for any recovery per lap. As soon as you crest the hill you'll have to turn around and hammer back down. The descent isn't steep enough to coast. Then it's out and back on a relatively flat Camino Real for 11 miles which can be a grind depending on the wind.

umd

I get to do 5 laps