Has anyone been to the pre-race day dinner in previous years? This will be my first time, and I don't really know anyone in the "scene" other than some new friends on here (I know it's a big "catching up" time). Is it not to be missed, or much ado about nothing (and I should eat elsewhere)?

If you have to ask, you can't afford it.



Or, how about a more gung-ho aphorism: In for a penny; in for a pound!

I'll probably never make it to that ride, so I have to spend your money vicariously, instead.

That is a good question. I'm looking forward to the answers. If I decide to go, I hope I decide before it sells out.

Too late, it's sold out.

The pre-event dinner is a fun time, well worth the investment.

Sold out? Already?

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Edit: I stand corrected, this was for the 2016 dinner.

They let in those voracious non-vintage riders for the Coastal route and they took every dinner spot.

Moral = Once you go clipless, everything goes faster - even the dinner invitations.

How about we just make our own pre-event BF dinner? We could pick a nice restaurant, plenty in the area...

I'm pretty sure that is last year's dinner that is sold out. 50 bucks sounds ok. I'll make my wife sit next to the guy who brought the Di2 Madone.

Couldn't find anything about 2018 dinner. Link? Or not available yet? I'm a noob at this Eroica stuff.

The official site isn't fully updated yet. Still lots of 2017 content.

A link to purchase is available on your 'Eroica page', which means you have to be registered for the ride. The cost is $40...I don't know if that's also a special price for early registrants.

My wife and I went last year and didn't know anyone in the "scene" or anyone otherwise and I enjoyed it. Helps get one into the mood of the whole experience. Can't say I would call it "can't miss" but I'm glad we went. We were able to get tickets within the last month, I think, so I gotta think the sold out is for 2017 not 2018 dinner. The food itself was fine. About what one might expect for a huge dinner.

The dinner did sell out last year before the event. I thought the food was excellent, both years.
Nice premium carb preload! Plus the auctions are fun.

Jeez, you guys had me worried about stuff being sold out so early in the registration process, so I tried it myself.

From the main Eroica California page, hover over the Registration box to find the links about regulations, registration, accommodations, and volunteering.

REGISTRATION. EROICA CALIFORNIA | PASO ROBLES CA | 14-15 APRIL 2018

For registration now and links to the early bird reg. Process to save $20 till Sept. 30 plus student and military registration.

more info registration

"REGISTRATION INFO
The cost to participate in Eroica California varies according to the following dates:
Registration fee Sept 15th through 30st Sep: $130
Registration fee from 1st October through 15th March: $150
Registration fee from 16th March through 31th March: $175
Registration fee from 1st April through 7th April: $200
The registration fee includes:

• Event Entrance and Ride
• Special Event Souvenirs and Gift for ride finishers
• Viewing of the movie (Title to be announced)​
• After-Ride Food and Drinks
A portion of all entry fees & event tickets will be donated to Hospice of San Luis Obispo County (Hospice SLO). "

I want to emphasize how much value you get in this.
Your choice of 4 ride lengths, difficulty, and support. Each ride has at least two stops where food and drink, sometimes wine, is provided by sponsors and Eroica. In addition, those stops also have mechanical support for any issue you or your bike may have. You can linger as short or as long as you like at the stops. There is also a sag wagon and on route support if needed.

Post ride there is a free valet bike park service while you come in for provided food and drink and you can share stories and adventures with finishers. Last year they had sandwiches, pasta salad, chips, cookies, lots of drinks, and plenty of sunshine for all us weary finishers.

Pre-race there is registration and festival setup on Friday at the PR Main Park, and of course, the Saturday free festival with vintage and some modern vendors, swap tables, concours, bicycle displays, and other fun activities, all brought together by Eroica. There have been screenings of bike related films with stars and/or famous riders on Friday and tech sessions held on Saturday.

For me, the fun part was meeting people from Bike Forums and Classic Rendevous, and probably other Internet forums, along with folks from all over the world, and admiring all the bikes and having your bike recognized and/or admired. That's the best way to make new friends and acquaintances. Your bike doesn't have to be the highest end classic, just an interesting bike that jogs people's memories and interest. My Italvega was literally the only one I saw there (except for a frame for sale) but was recognized by at least a dozen people who liked it, had one when they were younger, or had some connection to it. Plus I got to see so many bikes and people that were really interesting. In fact, one of the judges used my bike to explain some differences in Campagnolo parts types and ages to some bystanders.

IMO, the pre-race dinner was a lot of fun. It allowed some time to understand the enormity of the participant numbers (over 600 at the dinner and I think over 850 were registered to ride), get to meet your new friends and make more at the dinner tables, learn a little Italian, and see some famous riders like Andy Hampstead who sat at our table with his family. The food was excellent, pretty unlimited if you wanted it to be, and there was beer and wine and lemonade to keep you quenched plus desert, bread, and more food. Easy to get stuffed. So IMO, well worth the $40 fee. Last year I signed up in January after a bit of procrastination, but I think the dinner sold out in late February or early March as the event deadlines approached. Not sure how big a tent Wes is planning for this year but it was a lot of fun.

For sure if you're coming in on Friday or Saturday, there is a limited time to get together with friends and there are lots of nice restaurants and eateries in and around Paso Robles (let alone over 250 wineries) so getting together for lunch and dinner is also great fun. I'm already planning to come in Thursday to have an Extra day and leaving Monday so as not to rush and deal with weekend traffic back to LA.

So yes, the dinner is still available, purchase after you have registered and your personal reg pages comes up. You can also order some previous event clothing and I suspect some new clothing may become available soon too. Watch your wallet, credit card and PayPal as its easy to spend a bit more. I couldn't resist getting the Eroica blue track jacket at a significant discount from last year to go with the jersey I previously purchased.

Let me stress also that a significant portion of the reg and dinner fees plus Aucction proceeds are donated to Hospice SLO so bring your generosity too. OH, and there is a fun raffle that made for some great laughter and anticipation. I was lucky enough to win a pair of Conti vintage looking tires.

Aha! I went back to my email and found my personal page, clicked on that, and the various options came up.

Thanks!

Question: what size jersey to get? [MENTION=114373]northbend[/MENTION], gotta recommendation? Sez runs one size small. Back in the day I was a large, now I'm an XL. Should I go XXL?

Probably, unless you want that tight, euro racer look . I believe the jerseys are made by Santini, and are typically euro sized. I'm about 42" around the chest, after losing about 20 lbs. Euro xl jerseys are just now starting to fit non-comically. (Well, depending on who you ask. My wife still thinks they're pretty funny looking)

I went to my personal Eroica page, and was able to register for the dinner there. After thinking about it, you all seemed right...as Hunter S. use to say, Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride. Perhaps there's a time/place that everyone from BF can meet on Saturday to say hello IRL (that's in real life as the kids say...)?

It depends on how you want it to fit....IME the Santini jerseys are a bit bigger than typical Italian sizing. I normally wear a medium t-shirt and I have a medium Eroica jersey...it might be a hair tighter than the t-shirts but not too much. For background, I also wear a medium in Woolistic jerseys and in Castelli I'm a large.

If nothing else, contact Steve at Santini US (contact info here)....he's a nice guy and should be able to give you some advice.

Thanks for the info, email sent to Steve.

I went 2 years ago. The food was pretty good, the guest presentations (from what I could hear over the muddled sound system) and improvisational Italian songs were memorable, the tableside company was excellent, the wine was exceptional, and meeting Andy Hampsten was priceless.