Originally Posted by
Gary12000
I would absolutely do it again.. i would absolutely recommend it to other riders.. this was the first ECA since pre-covid, and where it is true we got medals and posters from 2020 ok, should they throw those away and charge all those who had paid for previous years for a new registration instead of giving the full credit for the cancelled events?
I have a friend in the UK that has done Tuscany and Britannia and he said they were very well organized and well ran. i see the cup at 3/4 full, The organizers are 80% of the way there..
G
I'm glad to hear that you had a good time there, it can be a fun event. I did not attend this year's Eroica CA but I have been to every other edition. While I agree with some of your points, I don't agree with others.
1. Great location with good hotels and food, and great coffee....
2. Great riding location, at least the Piedras Blancas short route was fantastic.
1. Compared to Paso Robles (where Eroica CA was held prior to 2019), Cambria has few hotels and no real low budget options. This is a big downside IMO. It's understandable due to the fact that Cambria is a much smaller town but it's hard for some people to justify the cost of lodging.
2. I though the Piedras Blancas route was terrible.....though of course that's just my opinion. I hated spending nearly the entire ride on the highway and the lack of gravel....the gravel is a big part of the appeal of Eroica. The short route out of Paso Robles was much better IMO because it had more options if one wanted to ride more. Due to how it was routed, you could either shorten or lengthen your ride if you felt worse/better while riding. That option doesn't really exist with the short route from Cambria due to the location.
3. It used to be better. yes i agree reminiscing isn't what it used to be...things were always better in the past right, rose tinted monocle and all that.
Understand that 'the past' was as recent as 2018. The Paso Robles years weren't perfect, but if someone ended those rides thirsty or hungry it was the own fault. The stops had plenty of food and water and the support was infinitely better than the 2019 edition, which was the first year in Cambria. From all accounts the 2022 version was pretty much a repeat of 2019, perhaps even worse. (Eroica CA did not happen in 2020 or 2021.) You should also understand that during the Paso Robles years Wes Hatakeyama was running the show and he was removed from that position once it went to Cambria. He was very passionate about making it a great event.
And since this is a thread about Cino vs. Eroica, I'll just say that you should make the effort to attend Cino at some point. It's well worth the trip. At this point I doubt that I'll ever go to Eroica CA again unless some major changes are made, but I'll go to Cino every time I'm able.