2seven0

Wife & I heading up this afternoon. We'll be doing the 70 mile route & the Poker Run tomorrow afternoon. Weather looks to be nice & sunny! Should be a great time. Anyone else going?
Ride is sold out!!
West

CAT7RDR

Still cannot put much weight on my shoulders so maybe 2022 for me or bust (pun intended).

Looks like a blast!

2seven0

Well our weekend was spectacular. We left @ 1 on Thursday so we were able to check in that afternoon.
Went for a warmup ride around Baldwin Lake Fri morning then rode up to the new ride location at the Bear Mountain Ski Resort- at the top of the golf course on Moonridge/Clubview- to check in for the Poker Run. This new location was much better suited for the crowds vs. the downtown Pine Knot area used in the past. Poker Run this year was self-paced with road signs set out to mark the course.
We rode the 70 mile course but started at 0700 with the 100 milers. The SAGS were well placed- new this year was the SAG at the school at North Shore & Stansfield. Because of the staggered starts of the 100, 70 & 50 mile routes the SAGS were not crowded at all for us even though the ride was sold out. The route was slightly changed from prior years but we liked the changes.
As usual it was run very well. The weather was beautiful all weekend. I made it up & over Onyx no problem (for a 59 yr old novice) my wife turned off at 38/Zaca to complete the 50 mile route.
I know some on the board aren't too keen on organized rides but if you ever consider doing one make it this one.
West
P.S. my wife drew a pair of 6s and I didn't have crapola so no prizes for us. We were told 3 aces was high hand so far.

MikeEckhaus

I also did the 70 with a bunch of friends. The new course is great, better for both cyclists and cars. It was really nice that they closed the north shore road to non-local cars since we were using it in both directions. My only (small) complaints are that the ribs seemed pretty tough this year, not as good as usual, and there was little to no shade by the start/finish area. The home-made energy bars (drops, lumps?) that they had at stops two and four were really great, and the staff at stop four even asked if we wanted to take some with us. I still hate the climb to the finish, which they have done for years, but that is not the fault of the ride organizers. I just need to save a little more energy to be able to get up it more easily when tired. ;-)

Didn’t do the poker ride. I did rent a kayak the next morning, which was a lot of fun.

mattcalifornia

Did anyone do any of the gravel rides? I had considered trying that this year but didn't get my act together. Wondering how the courses were.

doubravsky 

I did the gravel with a few friends. It was fun... interesting that the south of the lake loop and the north of the lake loop were like two totally different rides. South side- pretty smooth with lots of ups and downs. North side- way more chunky and technical. I brought the bigger bike with 2.35" tires... made the north side more manageable.