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  #16  
Old 03-06-2022, 03:57 PM
Jeff N. Jeff N. is offline
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BIG disappointment. Far less than satisfactory all the way around. Poorly marked. SAG unremarkable. Was going to do the metric but with the HORRIBLE conditions on Santa Rosa Road (beat me to death) plus the howling/cold headwinds, I decided to do the 50. Got lost, ended up doing 60. There used to be CHP monitoring major intersections, tables and chairs at the end, chicken dinners, beer tap cart from Firestone Walker, one big party. NONE of that this year. All I can say is, if Planet Ultra ever hopes to bring this ride back to it's former glory, they have LOTS of work to do (it'll get poor reviews, I assure you. Talked to many po'd riders). No matter. This was my Swan Song for this formerly fantastic Century. Done. Nothing good lasts forever, I guess.

Last edited by Jeff N.; 03-06-2022 at 07:30 PM.
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  #17  
Old 03-08-2022, 11:53 AM
prototoast prototoast is online now
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Email from the ride organizers (emphasis theirs):

Quote:
We also had some challenges, learned a lot, and look forward to implementing upgrades and improvements for our 2023 event and beyond. Please know, we recognize where we stumbled. We appreciate your kind and constructive feedback; especially if you have specific suggestions.
I wrote them back asking them what they thought they stumbled on, and what they would do differently next time, and they gave me an evasive reply. I don't think they recognize it, and I don't think they'll do anything differently.
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  #18  
Old 03-08-2022, 06:19 PM
Jeff N. Jeff N. is offline
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I told them they have a LOT of work to do if they ever hope to bring this once magnificent Century back to it's former glory and left it at that. They thanked me and said they were aware.
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  #19  
Old 03-08-2022, 06:53 PM
EliteVelo EliteVelo is offline
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Originally Posted by Jeff N. View Post
I told them they have a LOT of work to do if they ever hope to bring this once magnificent Century back to it's former glory and left it at that. They thanked me and said they were aware.
Sad to read this thread Jeff. This was on my bucket list to do with you. Hopefully they will get it right.
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  #20  
Old 03-08-2022, 07:11 PM
Jeff N. Jeff N. is offline
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Sad indeed.
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  #21  
Old 03-08-2022, 08:38 PM
prototoast prototoast is online now
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Originally Posted by Jeff N. View Post
I told them they have a LOT of work to do if they ever hope to bring this once magnificent Century back to it's former glory and left it at that. They thanked me and said they were aware.
When they said they were aware, did they actually say anything specific? When I talked to some of my buddies (who weren't there) after the ride, they said that this was the M.O. for Planet Ultra.

Saying "we're aware" without specifics on what they'd do differently is an easy way to not do anything differently.
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  #22  
Old 03-08-2022, 09:08 PM
klasse klasse is offline
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Was the route any different than it has been in the past? I think it was the same exact route, no?

SAG #1,3,4,5 were well done with cold COKE at #4 and 5.

Their budget was likely constrained compared to that of the previous organizer, SCOR. I think there were many fewer riders compared to years past. Also seemed to be many first-timers. There was a lot of tradition with SCOR, Randy, and all the regular volunteers from SCOR that you would see year after year.

The student volunteers from local high schools were still out there in the bitter cold. I found a way to be inspired and grateful and had a memorable ride. For those of us who toughed it out past mile 50, the weather really cleared up. It was a beautiful finish.
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  #23  
Old 03-08-2022, 09:22 PM
klasse klasse is offline
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^^don't get me wrong, I won't do it again. I think the criticism of Planet Ultra is unfair, given the size of the shoes they had to fill. The challenging weather was really out of their control - and a limited budget compared to SCOR days.
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  #24  
Old 03-08-2022, 09:50 PM
Jeff N. Jeff N. is offline
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There was a total lack of fanfare. No folks lining the street with their cowbells cheering riders coming back into town (SOLVANG!), 3,000+ riders, tables and chairs at the end with a DJ, chicken dinners, raffles, vendors, a beer tapper wagon from Firestone Walker or Figueroa Mountain Brewing...a BIG party, in other words. There was NONE of that...riders pretty much just put their bikes in their cars and drove off. Plus the roads (especially Santa Rosa Road) were in terrible disrepair. Route marking was less than stellar. The weather? Heck, back in '06 we rode the Century in hail, snow and rain and still had a blast! Plus, I got the feeling that the locals hate cyclists; practically every car that passed groups were laying on their horns! I think that maybe the good ol' days are long gone...but time will tell.

Last edited by Jeff N.; 03-08-2022 at 09:53 PM.
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  #25  
Old 03-08-2022, 10:01 PM
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cgolvin cgolvin is offline
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Haven’t ridden the event but plenty of time in the area, and I’d be hard pressed to put together a century there that didn’t traverse a lot of crappy surfaces since most of them are atrocious.

I’d guess that events like these are such small tourism potatoes that the locals don’t think it’s worth the annoyance of MAMILs clogging up “their” roads (sarcasm intended). Same thing happened with Paso Robles & Eroica from my understanding.
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  #26  
Old 03-08-2022, 10:17 PM
Blue Jays Blue Jays is offline
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Holy Cow! How unfortunate to see these results after hearing so many great things in the past.
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  #27  
Old 03-08-2022, 10:49 PM
prototoast prototoast is online now
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I have never done the event before, let alone ridden in the area. I was hoping to explore someplace new.

The route was dog****. I don't mind bad pavement, but from the end of Santa Rosa Rd (mile 18.1) to the start of Foxen Canyon Rd (mile 66.8), the route was exclusively the sketchy shoulders of busy highways or the sketchy outskirts of dumpy cities. That's 50% of this supposedly scenic ride on roads completely unfit for biking. I don't know if riding on the highway is normal for you socal folks, but where I come from, it's not. At least the 30 mph crosswinds were coming from left to right, so they blew us away from the cars traveling at 75 mph. And they also didn't have any flaggers to help the riders out when the route called for us to cross a busy highway.

The provisions at the rest stops were dog****. Maybe I'm just spoiled from doing rides that aren't put on by horrible promoters, but it was basically just costco granola bars and water. The closest thing they had to "lunch" was half pb&j sandwiches, and the post ride meal was an extra charge. They didn't have energy drinks, they didn't have sunscreen. And they charged the same as other events in California that include all those things. I overheard one of the volunteers at one of the rest stops asking about a broom, because they had made a mess and wanted to clean up after themselves, and they didn't even have that.

So I paid a lot of money for an awful route and couldn't even get the ride organizers to pretend that I was getting something for my money. And the "Solvang" Century didn't even touch the actual city of Solvang.

And when the ride organizer writes after the fact to say they're aware they made mistakes, then refuses to articulate what mistakes they think they made, nor do they articulate what they will do differently next time, that sounds like a hollow copout as they plan to offer the same miserable ride next year. These are people who are putting on 22 separate rides this year, and they claim to offer the "best rides, races, and tours on Earth."--"oops, it's my first day" just doesn't cut it.
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  #28  
Old 03-09-2022, 08:53 AM
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AngryScientist AngryScientist is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prototoast View Post

The route was dog****. I don't mind bad pavement, but from the end of Santa Rosa Rd (mile 18.1) to the start of Foxen Canyon Rd (mile 66.8), the route was exclusively the sketchy shoulders of busy highways or the sketchy outskirts of dumpy cities. That's 50% of this supposedly scenic ride on roads completely unfit for biking. I don't know if riding on the highway is normal for you socal folks, but where I come from, it's not. At least the 30 mph crosswinds were coming from left to right, so they blew us away from the cars traveling at 75 mph. And they also didn't have any flaggers to help the riders out when the route called for us to cross a busy highway.

.
This is particularly good and useful criticism. I travel a lot and in the back of my mind this route was one I wanted to knock off solo or with a small group, simply because so many have mentioned it was a great route, but the above makes me think no. Accidents can happen anywhere, but anytime you have a big speed differential of 75mph cars and cyclists, the potential for a major catastrophe is higher. I can accept a mile or two of highway here or there if it is the only connector to great roads, but it's not pleasant for much more than that, and the risk goes higher than i'm comfortable with.

It's too bad to hear about the rest of the shortcomings also. it could be a death spiral if less riders do the ride, which means less $$ available, which means less amenities, etc.

Oh well. Plenty of other good roads in California to plan on!
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  #29  
Old 03-09-2022, 10:54 AM
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RudAwkning RudAwkning is offline
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Planet Ultra are a joke. And the owner is one of the surliest people I've ever met. The only time I've ever enjoyed a PU ride was the one year that the owner was not present (Eastern Sierra Double in 2013).
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  #30  
Old 03-09-2022, 04:24 PM
klasse klasse is offline
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Originally Posted by AngryScientist View Post
I travel a lot and in the back of my mind this route was one I wanted to knock off solo or with a small group, simply because so many have mentioned it was a great route, but the above makes me think no.!
The last 20 miles roughly through Foxen Cyn is really nice, but the rest of the ride is best to avoid. I hear that Alisal Cyn (I saw Alisal Canyon Rd. about 10 miles from the finish) is also really nice. If you pass through Santa Barbara, try Gibraltar Rd. up to La Cumbre Peak.

Solvang Century is not what it used to be, that's for sure. It was really good around 8-10 years ago back when they also had the Solvang Prelude ride.
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