Good Centuries out West
 

I'm from the East and I've never been out West before. I'm looking for a good century as an excuse to make a road trip this summer. There are really only three rules to this game:

1. It has to be sometime between mid May and early August.
2. Registration must be relatively cheap.
3. I don't care how big or small the ride is. This doesn't have to be the most well known or most popular century there is....just something with good support and beautiful surroundings. Actually, some of the lesser known centuries might be more interesting to hear about.

Let's hear your suggestions....

Centuries are fine and all, but if you want an EVENT, come to the Northwest for the STP. (Seattle to Portland)

206 miles, 1 and 2 day options, 8000 of your closest friends, all on the weekend of July 9th and 10th.

http://www.cascade.org/EandR/stp/index.cfm

55/Rad

~15 centuries listed -- http://bcn.boulder.co.us/transportat....cal.html#CENT
narrow down when and where and we'll advise ya further :)

see, that's what I prefer... not just a ride, but an event.

The Skinny Tire Fest in October in Moab is event. I prefer going somewhere for more than just a ride :)

55/Rad, did you see any of those 28 riders under 10 years old? When I was 10 I was picking my nose and playing video games.

Did you do that in one or two days?

Here is a nice list of centuries and events in the Pacific Northwest. Small ones I like are Covered Bridge Century, Peach of a Century, and the Blackberry B-ramble.

RAD is right on the STP, big fun, sign up soon, it fills fast. ya'all

http://www.peak.org/~mvbc/NW_rides/index.html

This might be a bit early.

http://www.cvcbike.org/cruisin/index.html

Sheldon

I did it in 1 day because I believe it is easier to keep going after 100+ miles than it is to rest up and do it again the next day. Plan to do the same this year.

I saw several kids under 10 or so but all of them were on the back of tandems. I didn't see any one riding solo.

55/Rad

I never thought of it that way. Why stop when you're in the groove, right? Usually when I do a century I want to lay around like a bum the next day.

STP seems pretty cool. $80 isn't bad, either. I bet hotels are packed.

There is one family that does the STP with 4 kids, they have a quad and a tandem, 3 kids and Mom on the Quad when I saw them. That's a good percentage of the total sum of kids.

I've done many centuries, and one of the best routes around is the one on the Heartbreak Hundred. Truly fantastic scenery. It's also a very challenging ride.

http://www****anetultra.com/

http://www.bbcnet.com/RideCalendar/RideListDate.asp

Too bad you had your cut-off in mid-August. The Tour of Napa Valley is a nice ride at the end of August, through the wine country. The Almaden Cycle Touring Club, www.actc.org, puts on "Sierra to the Sea. It's a ride from the Sierras to the ocean, and takes 3-4 days. I think it costs a couple hundred dollars.

Here's another vote for STP. Did it for the first time last year over two days. The ride organization has links to organizations that house riders at private homes as fundraisers, which is what we did. It wasn't too bad climbing back on the next day as the course is pretty flat. The last 30 or so miles heading to Portland is somewhat dreary though, but the rest is great.

Triple Bypass in Colorado. Markleeville Death Ride near Tahoe.

I may have to ride some of these rides

I wanted to do that, but the logistics of getting out there and back w/ my bike are just too much $$$. I tried to convince the wife that we could combine it into a family vacation and I'll just be gone 1 day...but still it's hard to get the details worked out enough on how you are getting to Seattle and back from Portland if you fly out. :(

Someday though...I'll just fly into Seattle do the 1 day ride, and leave the next day from Portland. :)

I know what you're saying. STP is looking really tempting to me.

That's the only problem. The flight from IND to Portland is $290 (driving would cost about $300 and take 34 hours), and I found a hotel for $48. The ride is $80 and they have various fees for taking you from place to place. All together that's a $500 trip. It sounds like a really cool ride, though. Very tempting.

Then RAIN (Ride Across Indiana) is the next weekend. That would be a great 2 weeks.

That's the source I use for centuries. From that list I recommend:

Wine Country Century (200k): beatiful countryside, the coast is spectacular at that time of year.
Sierra Century (200k): quiet roads in the Sierra foothills
Climb to Kaiser: huge topography, simply huge

Speaking of "Events"

http://www****anetultra.com/easternsierra/index.html

Uh...not sure why I can't post the link...after the site is "planetultra.com"

Too bad you won't be here in March for Solvang.

Ironhorse Classic. Memorial day weekend. Be there or be square.

Check out the calendars on this site:

http://www.bikecenturies.com/

Also if you're looking for a real challenge, the Davis Bike club is putting on the Gold Rush Randonnee - 1200K brevet/audax event in late July.
http://davisbikeclub.org/goldrush/default.htm

would it be dumb to ask about EASY 100's?? not the "challenging" rides, but the flat but pretty ones? I don't think challenging is in my vocabulary, but it does sound cool to do a long ride...

Oh! that's a great one, Durango parties the whole weekend and great racing too!