Mr. Beanz

Hmmm, out of curiosity, what section do you not like? I'm local and ride all the roads of the course of which seem to make up a pretty nice course....I jsut can't see myself paying to ride from my front door!

One more thing to add..... OHHHHH MYYYYY GAAAAAAAAAAAAAWD! Was the person that designed the bib graphics eating 'shrooms!

SoCalWheels

Being that this is my first Metric Century (just for you Mr. Beanz), I struggled with the idea of purchasing the jersey/bib. I chose to wait and see it on Saturday; get an up and close personal prospectus.

I know they will have limited supply, but I'd rather miss out than get stuck with a $100 "Land of the rising Sun/Foothill" poster board.

Mr. Beanz

Well, it doesn't look that bad, just a bit on the groovy side. When it comes down to it though, I'm crazy enough to wear the design! I actually like, just funky funky!!

jtbooth

All -- I'm ready to roll! I'm not going to make the Friday night event, but will be at the 7 am start, checking in a bit before that. and likely will be wearing a yellow/black wind jacket/vest, on a yellow/black Serotta. I'll have a cycling cap with a yellow/white stripe on under my helmet. Say hi if we cross paths at the start or on the road. I'm going to ride solo, but look for a cycling group I can find that matches my pace and take turns on pulls. ciao, Jeff

jtbooth

Completed the Tour de Foothills 65m/100km metric century on Saturday, my first try at this type of thing. Went pretty great actually. Finished in 4 hrs 20 min total time, with short stops at all the SAG stations. I think that's decent (15mph avg including stops) but what do I know! It certainly felt like a fast start. I tried not to get sucked into a race mode right away, but, I did. That said, I liked getting our in the front 1/4 of folks. Just felt less crowded. I tried to pick a few folks that had matching jerseys or some such since I knew they'd be pulling/pacelining a lot and I could slip in. I think I did my fair share of pulling other folks too. The big climb around mile 40 was slow but honestly not THAT bad. I mean, it wasn't like doing GMR. Overall the route was goood. Felt like a reasonable amount of up and down mostly, and mostly wide street space on good pavement. Honestly spent less time noticing the scenerey than focusing on the road/wheels/pace in front of me. Last 1/3 or so hooked up with 2 strong riders (and a 4th joined us) and one guys just nailed the pace on the flats. I worked like hell to stay with him, AND to take pulls on the front to give him a break (just about the only person to do this I noticed). Draining but fun too.

Oh, and no ugly bibs. Just say no to garish jerseys folks! It's ok to have a fashion sense and ride a bike!

thanks to all the organizers, I had fun, and see myself doing more.

SoCalWheels

The Tour de Foothills was a fun event, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a moderately challenging first (organized) ride.

The beginning of the ride was nicely paced with a "lets see who's in shape" hill thrown in to keep you engaged. The mostly flat course turned uphill for a short but steep gradient. More flats until the final long gradual climb toward Mt. Baldy. This is where I really felt the burn

The hill was a great experience, for me at least, as it was the first time I have tackled a hill of that distance and gradient. It was refreshing to see it level off and to find the SAG station at the side of the road, cow bell and all.

The rest of the ride was mostly downhill with some easy uphills and long straight aways. There was a cyclist behind me who clipped the rear heel of another rider and crashed hard to the ground. I was told that he got up and was OK.

The final 20+ miles I caught the tail end of a fast moving group and we all pushed it hard to the finish line.

The TDF jersey looked good.

jtbooth

SoCalWheels -- I think we must have been in the same group for the last 20 miles or so. I heard there was a crash just behind me when someone's wheel crossed. I was up ahead at the next light so didn't see anything though. But I was with a few other guys and we were really setting a fast pace (mostly this other guy was and I was sitting in and trying to take turns pulling once in a while), and eventually we got a nice big mini-peleton going on. I finished at 11:20. When did you pull in?

Tango6

You are right about the quick pace at the very first, but it enabled me to warm up quickly and get moving. Whole ride was great except for the flat I got just past the first rest stop. I finished about the same time, around 1120. I missed the turn near Victoria Gardens. I was going too fast to stop and the light turned, and I didn't see the turn arrows. Luckily, some riders who were at the light were able to get my attention.

Does antone have links to some of the pics people were taking?

vladpop

Great ride. Finished with the front pack, believe 5th overall, though, of course it wasn't a race anyway. 3 hours 10 minutes.

SoCalWheels

To be honest, I didn't eve realize there was a clock

I began to make up time on the down hill and caught the fast group at a light, 5 miles from the Baldy SAG station. I was right behind a tandem (guy in front, woman in the back) when the accident happened.

The Solvang Century is next on my goal list. I realize that I need more hills in my training session.

Congratulations on completing the Tour de Foothills!

jtbooth

vladpop -- damn, that seems fast! No SAG stops? I may have actually put in about 3:45 of bike time, but I also added some stops in.

SoCal -- I'm eyeing Solvang too!

Noryen

Here are the pics from the official ride photographers:
https://www.backprint.com/view_event....NTID=58295&PWD