Solvang Century
 

I just sent in my entry form. :D Is anyone else going?
I am in Pasadena and am planning on just going up early that morning. Anyone want to travel together?

This will be my first century. Any advice********** It is amazing how excited I am about it.

Hey there.. I've heard this is a great century to ride... a little hilly in parts, but not too tough... I've also heard that it can be pretty cold in the morning, and pretty warm by the afternoon...

I'll probably skip this years... hopefully get a century in later on in the year

Jeff

Congradulations on doing your first century! If you can comforatably do 60-70 miles on your own you will breeze through a century. It is amazing how you forget about the pain that you are experincing when you start talking to new people and are constatly passing people along the ride. Also, this ride has several sag stop (I think every 25 miles) which have power bars and stuff like that so do not worry about bringing your own food. If you have not done it already you need to get a hotel. You might want to try to find one in Lompoc, due to the fact that Solvang hotels are all sold out. Good Luck and drink plently of fluids several days before the rids.

I'm going Avalanche! Glad to meet somebody else that is doing it.

If this is your first century, some advice - especially with the Solvang Century: Go out slow! Hydrate well throughout the ride! Take advantage of the rest stops! If you haven't worked on your climbing, you will want to! There is a climb at about 82 (ish) miles that is called the Wall! It isn't all that big, but if you push to hard during the ride (especially heading towards Lompoc), you will potentially bonk! Again, drink plenty of fluids and just not water. Good Luck and enjoy!

Ditto
 

I'm going. This will be my first Century.
2 weeks ago I did 76 miles w/ no soreness or problems...
So guess I'm OK.

So, with all the support stops, should I bring a camelback? Or just two bottles?

Yeah, the profile looks a bit scarey with that 1100ft climb at the 80+ mile point. So I will concentrate on pace. I do tend to ride aggressivly, so I will have to keep it under control. I have no problem with 50 fast paced miles. I will try to do some longer distance slower miles in the next couple weeks.

I am planning on a Camelbak with water only. Two bottles with Gatorade and a few power bars.

I plan on hitting the SAG stops (maybe skip the first one) for 5-10 minutes max.

I think a camel back is just going to be extra weight. Two water bottles should be plenty. There are sag stops approx. every 25 miles, so 2 water bottles and a camel pack for a 25 mile stretch of road may be a bit much. My buddies that I am doing solvang with have done it for many years and they all took camel backs there first year and never used them once.

The last time we did the ride, the weather up to Santa Maria was nice and pleasant. It started to turn overcast on the loop back and when we hit the wall, we were caught with a heavy downpour just on that section of the ride! You never know what the weather is gonna be like up in that area this time of the year so check before you leave. BTW, don't worry about the wall....it's not that bad.
Two water bottles is plenty as you'll come across several sag stops with lots of fooooood!
We left LA the night before and found a motel room just outside of Solvang. Drove into Sovang very early Sat morning, found parking, and started our ride before 7am. It'll be very cold in the morning.....but will warm up quickly by mid-morning.

George

Actually, I use a Camelbak regularly. The water bottles would be the extra for me. Maybe I should just put some very diluted Gatorade in with the water to get some calories and potassium.

I was planning on getting to bed early and just driving up that morning and trying for a start before 8:00am.