Originally Posted by BigSean

You did great, matter of fact I think your on the borderline of sandbaggin.

Originally Posted by BigSean

You did great, matter of fact I think your on the borderline of sandbaggin.

Originally Posted by nygirl777

Hmm thats interesting every time I looked to the left you were there......looked to the right....guess what...sonyas there THEN AT MILE 90 YOU SAY YOU WANNA MAKE YOUR MOVE You are funny girl.

Originally Posted by flipflops

hmmm-- still deciding-- any ideas? solvang taught me that i need to spend more quality time with my local hills.

Originally Posted by sonyaj87@hotmai

Ok! will you except....I was trying check out the scene? or I was saving it for the end?

Originally Posted by ronjon10

I rode this one with TnT. I'll make another thread with my thoughts on TnT, but since this is a ride report thread, here's the deal...

We started at 6am from the hotel in Buellton about 3 miles from the official start. This put us ahead of the crowd all day which made for some peaceful riding. Up until the first Sag stop, we were the only one's on the road. Riding through the beautiful rolling hills and fog filled canyons almost made me forget about the cold. Like a moron, I kept seeing 80 degrees in the forecast and forgot to bring a jacket!

We rolled through the first 2 sag stops before groups of riders starting catching up with us en masse. The wind kicked up fiercely after the second sag stop. The paceline group I rode with barely managed 12 miles an hour between the 2nd and 3rd sag stop, harsh. The group made it a pretty easy if slow ride though.

We rolled along without any problems, very happy that we picked up the wind after the fourth sag stop which marked the beginning of the climbing (at mile 73!). 8 miles of 'false flats' on foxen canyon preceded a sharp pitch which I admit, caused me to stop for about 30 seconds mid climb. Ouch!

After that climb, we had a bumpy descent to the final sag stop which preceded the wall. A short steep climb around mile 90. I didn't have much left for the climb, so dropped it down to the granny gear (30) for only the 2nd time all day. I limped up the hill, and thought all the climbing was behind us, but no! The switchbacks hit, and back to granny I went, grrrr....

All in all, a great day and a great ride. I had a great group of riders in my paceline, we were well matched in skill and for the most part, we pacelined almost the enitre day when we weren't climbing or descending.

We rode the century in 7 hours riding, and just over 8 hours on the road. Though that's a little slower than my goal. It was WINDY and we rode at a casual pace for good stretches in the middle. I finished happy, and wasn't exhausted.

My garmin elevation wound up at 5800 also.

At the end, I bumped into flip flops and her boyfriend. They came in about an hour after my group. I missed the rest of the BF'ers.


Oh yeah, that was my first century. go me, blah blah, on to pictures...

Milling about at the start, civil twilight whatever, it was dark!


Sag #2


No crowds at sag #3, good to start the day early



At the top of the Foxen canyon climb. I rode for my mom and others stricken with cancer and blood diseases.

Originally Posted by flipflops

Did anyone else think it was so cool to see the names painted on the pavement along Ballard Rd?! I loved it! It was kinda inspiring.
There were tons of porta potties and tons of water and snacks. Having the police at the big interesections was key. Kudos to the organizers.

Originally Posted by G_Sup

You must be referring to Ballard Canyon (where Rusack is). You get flying down that road...almost the whole way until it turns into Chalk Hill Road...a good 7 miles of pure speed. What did you guys think of Santa Rosa Rd? That's the one you catch in Buellton that takes you to Lompoc. It's also at the very beginning so it was probably dark and cold. A beautiful ride in the daylight though.

Originally Posted by Tiffanie

Where is Santa Rosa Rd.? I was just following the crowd and don't remember paying any attention to the names of the roads we were on.

Originally Posted by big john

Santa Rosa Road comes early in the ride, you go out of Buelton and cross the freeway, then make a right onto SR road. It winds around past some wineries and farms and ends at Hwy 1, before Lompoc.

Originally Posted by Dial_tone

Looks like fun and better weather than last year. I need to get my bike put back together.

Originally Posted by Glewis333

Thanks Asia for the registration, I picked it up at 7:30. I pretty much agree about what's been written regarding the Solvang ride. The wind was a real A@# kicker. My average speed really dropped, after the first rest stop when the wind really began to howl. Those cross winds coming down Harris grade were something. Lucky I hooked up with a group and we pulled each other into Santa Maria. I thought the climb up Foxen Canyon, especially the last long hill was much harder then "the Wall" , those downhills sure made up for the climbs, I'm not sure if its correct, but my bike computer recorded a max. speed of 54.9 mph. coming down the hills and people were passing me.
If you liked the Solvang scenery and area look into The Windmill Century July 21. It's put on by the Santa Maria Tailwinds Bike Club Starts in Los Alamos, north of Solvang, the route follows some of the Solvang route, i.e. Foxen Canyon, Clark Ave, and the Santa Maria Valley. Hills aren't to bad, lots of rural riding, vineyards, and cows. Wind can be a problem, but it usually starts about 11:00-12:00 so for most riders its a tailwind. They also furnish a good lunch and a BBQ dinner all for $40.00. Website is https://www.tailwindsbc.org/WindMill/...htm#Directions.
No riding for the next week I'm , leaving for D.C. for a week, when I get back I'll be getting ready for The Wildflower Ride.