Zapdaba

A century firde is on my bucket list and I'm thinking of doing the Wildflower Century in San Luis Obisbo County this April. I belive it is about 5600 ft elevation gain total. My situation is being a type 1 diabetic, the challenge is to keep my metab regulated for an extended period. I do plan on training, of course, and specifically on this point. With my new Brooks C-17 saddle, I am sure the ride will ride itself as long as I can hold on

Anyone do this ride and can you weigh in on its difficulty relative to other centuries. I know there are harder ones and easier ones. Just wondering where this one sits in the grand sceme of things. Thanks!

bt

pretty nice area this time of year.

the route is sure a funky one crossing over itself and whatnot.

think about doing a shorter loop unless you're ready fitness wise.


could be a little toasty out there in april.


good luck , have fun

DXchulo

Which specific ones do you want to compare it to? Do you have a few others in mind?

Heathpack 

I rode the Wildflower last year. It was my first ever "goal" event, although it was my second century because I rode the Palm Springs Century to prepare. My Garmin data says it was 7100 feet and that seems about right. Last year there was a lot of wind and that made it way tougher than the stats would seem, lots of headwind climbing. I rode it with four friends and I was the most trained by far. I got ahead of them but eventually they all bailed at the 70 mile mark, which is easy to do on this particular course. The part of the course in the morning, before the first two rest stops, is really really beautiful. Hilly but no huge climbs. After lunch there is a long flat section with very poor road surface, pretty much all the way to the next rest stop, maybe 20 miles? Very open area, prone to winds and for us it was windy. Between the road surface and the winds, this stage was pretty grueling. After lunch there were some longish climbs into more headwinds to rest stop four. Then some nice descents and a long stretch sheltered from the wind until stop five. Then maybe the final 15ish miles back into the winds again.

Very well-supported ride, nice area. You can bail out at the metric century mark pretty easily. But otherwise its a rural route, not too many commercial buildings/convenience stores etc on the route.

Our start temp was 41 degrees and max temp for the day was 77 degrees.

Its a pretty good "first" century. You could consider Palm Springs or a similar "easy" century as prep, that worked very well for me.

PhotoJoe 

Also, keep Cool Breeze in mind.

jimincalif

I did the OCW Amtrak century as my first last September. MMR shows this was about 3800 feet and wind was light and mostly abeam or behind. Next month I am planning to do Palm Springs. I'd love to do the Wildflower, I have family on the central coast and like the area. Unfortunately I have a previous commitment for the last weekend of April. May do the Cool Breeze too.

bt

tic. lukhyd.

ttyl

ReLLiK75

The last 28 miles or so (after all the smart riders break off to the finish point at the 70ish mile mark) is all up hill and always in to a nasty headwind. I've done this ride twice and I've now sworn that if I ever do it again I will only do the 70 mile course. And the posted elevation is definitely not correct. Someone else mentioned 7100 ft. That definitely more accurate.

The start is almost always cold and finishes off fairly warm in the afternoon. Also there is a 20ish mile stretch after the 3rd rest stop (as you head towards the lunch stop) that is pretty flat but also presents you with a pretty nasty headwind.

Beautiful but challenging ride.

Zapdaba

Something in my general locale (Pasadena, Southern Cal) that might be better suited to a first timer.

big john

The Cool Breeze in Ventura is closer, (no motel needed) and nicer in my opinion. Another SLOBC ride is the Lighthouse, easier than the Wildflower, closer drive and the same support. Then there is Solvang, easy drive and a nice ride but lots if riders.
I've done Solvang 9 times, Cool Breeze 10 times, Lighthouse 5 times, and Wildflower only once. It's a 200+ mile drive for you.

valygrl

I did Solvang as my first century, a very long time ago. It was pretty easy, same time of year, same general area. Not sure if it still exists.

TrojanHorse

Solvang (March) has tons of rolling hills, but it's not too bad. They limit the number of riders now. Palm Springs (February) is downright easy except for the rather stiff head wind to start your day and Cool Breeze (August) is also excellent (that was my first). Cruisin the Conejo (May) is another good one - there's one big hill to start it off and then some rollers but certainly doable. Tour de Cure (April) .... first half is great, and hilly, second half should be called tour de stop sign and generally sucks. Amtrak (September) is very difficult to register for but certainly one of the easier routes with a prevailing tail wind and only one decent hill near the end.

Zapdaba

Wow. The riches of crowd-sourcing experience. Thank you all!

Michaelnoaka

I personally know that you can do it. Azusa Canyon/Long Beach loop can be your first easy century and the rest will be history mi compadre. After the Wildflower we can do Tour De Arrowhead Metric, Cool Breeze and than of course the Eastern Sierra Fall Classic.

goenrdoug

Solvang and Conejo are both great.

Markj61

First time.
Century.
7000' climb.

IMO, it seems crazy to combine more than 2 out of those 3.

Zapdaba

I can always bail at 50 or 70. Or maybe ride my age: 66 (miles).

nesdog

I did the 70 mile route a year ago. Temps soared to over 100 degrees on the road that year! It was dry as can be. Middle section of road was like riding Paris-Roubaix, pretty bumpy.

As mentioned, Palm Springs, coming up soon, is a good one for first timer. Flat courses and lots of other riders to cheer you on. I've done Cool Breeze in Ventura (August) multiple times. Cruising the Conejo is our club ride. I rode it as my first century years ago...wasn't easy!