jonwvara 

It sounds like a fun event. I am thinking I might reserve vendor space next year and show up with my Campagnolo- and Stronglight-pattern triplizers. Or would that be sacrilege? Maybe truly heroic riders would never stoop to anything smaller than a 42-tooth chainring.

The only thing is, I'd probably be pretty frustrated to be there without actually riding.

djkashuba 

There were many riders with compact doubles, triples, modified/ modern rear mechs. Lots of race bikes with 28/32 rear cogs. Even saw some lycra. And many riders who qualify for AARP. Quite a few guys on the long route must have been 60 plus yrs old. Inspiring really. Very inclusive ride.

-D

davester

Well, I stooped to riding with one of your triplizers (and I passed a lot of heroic walkers on the steepest hills). The way it was set up, the vendors displayed their wares on the saturday at the Concours, while the ride was on sunday. Some of the vendor booths were still open on sunday, but I doubt if they had many sales because everyone was out on the course for most of the day. In fact, several of the vendors ran out our wares. You could sell on saturday and ride on sunday!

unworthy1

Next year...next year for sure

jonwvara 

Next year maybe I can hire you to scatter leaflets as you ride by the uphill walkers.

non-fixie 

No, it's: 'pass everyone on Sunday, sell on Monday!'

dck

The entire weekend was a great experience. I thought it was well organized and except for a few minor glitches everyone had a great time. Thanks to all the hard working organizers, volunteers, sponsors and to the City of Paso Robles. The hospitality was great.

I rode the short course on my 1963 Schwinn Superior. I've owned this bike for 52 years, but except for a few short rides, it's been hanging from the rafters for the last 40 years. I pulled it down, lubed all the bearings, put on new tires, adjusted the brakes and drive train and did a couple 20 +/- mile warm-up rides over the last month or so. The bike held up better than me. I had to walk it up a couple of the steeper climbs, but finished the short route in just over 5 hours with stops at the winery and olive farm, plus a couple other stops for water and photos along the way.

I found the ride a challenge, but would do it again with more training and conditioning, especially for the hills. I look forward to next year. I hope this becomes an annual event since I'm sure it's popularity will grow.

Drillium Dude 

Thanks for the reports and FANTASTIC pictures! Having done Cino last year, I could get a taste for what I missed out on here

Next year...

DD

Alex Moll

Hey Oldairhead - loved your moto and your bici, but afraid I did complete the long route on my 1956 Holdsworth Whirlwind.

Here's a pic of my bike @ Cass Winery, along with the blur aka Northbend with his Bruce Gordon:

[IMG]My last glimpse of Matt . . . by amoll68, on Flickr[/IMG]

And here's my route card with all it's stamps @ Firestone Walker pub:

[IMG]Wine is fine, but . . . by amoll68, on Flickr[/IMG]

unworthy1

Not to drop names, BUT a friend-of-a-relative works for Firestone Walker, so not only will I plan to make that a stop next year, BUT I'll see if he can set up some kind of 'event' to tie into the ride..couldn't hurt to ask!
I mean: wine is fine but we all need a pint at the end of a long slog...am I right?

delicious

Yes…there was a distinct lack of beer at the end of the ride :|

Oldairhead 

Sorry that I missed your Holdsworth. I am also a Holdsworth guy with a 1980 Mistral in the stable. It looks like you were at Cass Winery a little later than I was since it appears to be a little more daylight.

The long route was hard and I finished along with my riding partner in 12 hours 30 min or so. We did have a great day on the bike and the weather was perfect. Sorry that you weren't able to finish it off but there is always next year.

I am hoping to support the event on my moto next year so perhaps if you come back we may have the chance to meet again. I would jump on any opportunity to get back to Halter Ranch Winery!

BTW, Luciano liked my moto.

Straightblock

I rode the medium route and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. The weather was perfect and the route was beautiful and challenging. I had to switch from my first choice Olmo Firenze when I realized I had tire clearance problems, and barely got my Univega Gran Premio ready the Thursday before Eroica. I hadn't even ridden any gravel until Sunday morning. If I were to ride Eroica again tomorrow, I don't think I'd change the bike at all.

I thought it was a good first effort from Wes, the staff and the volunteers, and plan to do it again next year.

kroozer 

How could you guys drink a water bottle full of wine and still ride that route? I would be in the ditch...

smontanaro 

I wasn't there, but the list of photo collections has grown beyond what I can keep track of. I put together a Google Doc:

Eroica California Photos

After posting the above link to Classic Rendezvous, I was told that Dale Brown is also maintaining a list on the CR front page. So, there's no excuse not to OD on bike porn and beautiful scenery...

Alex Moll

[QUOTE]
We left the start @ 0545. The sun wasn't quite up yet @ Cass (Matt is a blur because the exposure is opened up.)

I did finish the long route, but it took me over 13 hours - I made a wrong turn and added bonus miles and hills I didn't need. Got a bit demoralized, and nearly switched to the medium route. Glad I didn't - it's always good to accomplish the goal you set out to do.

Here's a better shot of the '56 Holdsworth at home before the ride:
[IMG]Eroica California bound by amoll68, on Flickr[/IMG]

Oldairhead 

[QUOTE=Alex Moll;17724273]Sorry I misread your post, congrats! Your bike is set up perfectly for that ride. Are those tires 35's?

Alex Moll

[QUOTE=Oldairhead;17724494]34mm tubulars: 60 psi rear, 50 psi front. Very cushy in the rough stuff. The bike rode and handled wonderfully, and the original Weinmann sidepulls worked quite well with Koolstop pads. The only thing that was dodgy was the shifting. The steel Record rear D is worn out - the pivots are very sloppy, and they don't shift all that great when they are tight. The front also stopped going to the small ring - I had to stop and get off every time . . . The pivots got some grit in them, and probably the cable housing (it's the old style with integrated cable stop.)

For next time, I'll run the front D through an ultrasonic cleaner, and clean and lube the cable housing. I'll also try to find a fresher rear D, or find someone that can replace the pins in this one.

lv2runnv

Nice to know there were other Univegas at this fabulous event! I rode the short route on an '83 Competizione. Will use the same bike if we do the event next year. Will also spend the whole week in the area and not just a a few days for the event. Gorgeous place and wonderful people.

Bikegeek1968

A little over 6 months ago, I was sitting on some sun warmed pavement just past the arrival area in Gaiole. My friend Robert and I had just finished the 209km version a bit before 3 in the afternoon. Giancarlo Brocci approached us and asked how we did. I said we finished the long ride in 9:55 as the 9[SUP]th[/SUP] and 10[SUP]th[/SUP] finishers on the day. He looked me up and down, and told me I was too fat. Thanks. He also told us that there was going to be an Eroica event in California in 2015, and being Californians, asked if we would do it. I said sure, just don’t call me fat again.

6 months later, I find myself back at work having spent the weekend in beautiful Paso Robles, the 207km of the long route now a couple of days behind me. It was a lot of fun. Nice bikes, great scenery, challenging roads and friendly riders were found aplenty. For those of you who have read my ride reports from past Eroicas, this may all seem familiar, but I’ll write it all anyway.

My preparation was not as intense as it is for the October version, as during this part of the year I am usually racing USCF masters events. But I managed to fit in a fair amount of time on my vintage bike in the two weeks leading up to the event. I rode a Vitus 979 with a full Mavic group, Cinelli bar/stem, Matric ISO C rims and 28mm Continental GP400 All Seasons. The bike ended up being flawless. I cannot stress how important it is to be familiar with your bike ahead of time, and also making sure it is 100 percent ready to ride. Pulling an old bike out of your attic the day before the event is a sure way to end up stranded on the side of the road.

I started the ride with the first wave of cyclists at 5:30 in the morning. I would guess 40 or 50 people started first thing, and all told I think about 80 riders signed up for the long route. It was cold, but not unbearable. I dressed as light as I could, for temps in the low 80’s were predicted. One of the hardest things about riding in California is the wide temperature swings you can find during the day. I had a t-shirt under a wool jersey, arm warmers and a wind vest to start. After a few words from Wes, we were off.

I won’t go over every mile of the ride, just a few of the more interesting points. The hill coming just after the rest stop at mile 12 was probably the toughest in the sense that it was the one you most likely would have to walk. Short, steep and covered with gravel and some loose sand. The only other climb that had some technical bits was the Kiler Canyon climb after mile 40. I found the rest of the gravel and dirt roads to be almost as smooth as the paved sections. Much better than Italy. The paved descent into Cambria was a bit of a shock. It started out with two hairpins that, despite all of the warning sign, I almost overshoot and ended up in the scrub. I really gotta get some new brake pads.

High points of the ride were the human powered smoothies in Cambria, the two awesome climbs over the Santa Lucia Range, the fantastic people at all of the support stations, and the other riders themselves. As with any event, there are a few lows, but I won’t even bother to mention them, with one exception. On the last dirt section, some jerk in a large raised pickup came at us going at least 50, along with a huge cloud of dust and rocks. I don’t think he was targeting cyclists, as he brought that to the other cars and pedestrians. Still, it was not a nice way to end the ride.

All told, we rolled back in to town at 3PM, for a total ride time of 9:30, and a moving time of 8:30. A bit of gelato and a nice shower, we headed back to the OC, ready for our return next year.

Alex Moll

Well done! That's a strong ride. Too early in the season for this Seattleite - but even later in the year, I wouldn't be anywhere near your time. Just wouldn't have suffered as much .

whatwolf

@northbend 's bike got a little bit of coverage on the radavist: A Weekend at Eroica California - The Radavist

confente

This is a post on the CR list from Wes about the reckless driver. --Chuck

FYI, the driver that caused the accident was a 17 year old girl with a provisional license. It means she can not have any occupants in her car for a year except for her immediate family member who must be over 21 years of age, but my understanding was that there were 3 others in the car with her and two were minors.
The rider sustained a cut to his right leg and it was attended to by an EMT. I spoke to her and she said he has a cut, but nothing serious. She said he will need to get it stitched up at the hospital after the ride. He refused to get on the ambulance (as it is his choice) and he insisted on finishing the ride. After he was looked over by this EMT he got back on his bike and finished the ride. I went to look for him after he finished the ride and found him and his wife in the main tent as he was eating pasta. I stayed with until he was finished and saw them off as they were going to the local hospital to get the cut taken care of. He was limping, but in very good spirits.


Wesley Hatakeyama
Eroica California
Paso Robles, CA

vintagepedals

look like the guy with the number 172 is Andy Hampsten. He was the 1988 Giro de Italia champion & the king of the mountain that year. He was even a 4th overall finisher in '92 Tour de France - his best place in all his TDF appearance.

mountaindave 

Hey, I see @northbend! Report! Report!!