Well, the 2009 Solvang Century is now in the record books. It was a massive peloton including riders from MVV, LGBRC, SJBC and a handful of riders who are free agents.
This is a three day event for most riders:
Day 1: The ride down and a regroup at the Best Western, Big America in Santa Maria. After a few beers and a lot of trash talk, we head into Solvang to register and pick up our packets. Then it is back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at The Olive Garden around the corner. This, of course, is a pasta feast which includes several sides of wine with each meal.
Day 2: We start with a massive breakfast at the hotel, and then a drive to Solvang to start of the race. Next comes 105 miles of the most beautiful country you can ever imagine. We have the post ride festivities at the Bundy Van and then head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at the Far Western Tavern in Gautalupe, CA. The Far Western is a great Santa Maria BBQ joint that has the most fantastic Rib Eye steak you have ever had.... and did I forget to mention lots of wine? The eating ends at some point but the drinking continues way into the night until you end up looking like this:
Day 3: This is a recovery stage for most people, including myself. It starts with dragging yourself out of bed, going to breakfast, packing what you can still find, crawling someone's car and driving back. Of couse, the ride back usually includes a stop at In'n'Out Burger or something like that to cover lunch. If you are lucky you get to sleep when you get home. If you are me, you have to engage as a payback for abandoning the family for the weekend... but it is always worth it to go to Solvang with the boys :-)
The Starting Peloton that joined the weekend festivities:
- Paul "Yetiman" Desmeth, Free Agent
- Jon "Feel Good" Simms, MVV
- Mark "Switch" Jongsma, MVV
- Aline "Lead Dog" Cincu, MVV
- Steve "HammerSchlagen" Stewart, LGBRC
- Mark "Fletch" Fischer, SJBC
- Kyle "The Drill Master" McElroy, SJBC
- Bill "Sledge" Nowlin, MVV
- Marc "The Cannibal" Moisson, MVV
- Markus "The Kaiser" Brockmann, MVV
- Betina "Banana-Rama" Brockmann, Free Agent
- Calvin "The Spanish Climber" Darling, MVV
- Paloma "Senora" Lucas, Free Agent
- Mike "BroSchlagen" Whitlach, LGBRC
- Becky "Cool Hand" Whitlach, Free Agent
- Paul "Clank" Hartrey, MVV
- Jon "Jon-Bon" Null, Free Agent
- Bryan "The Flying Dutchman" McLean, LGBRC
- Mary McLean, Free Agent
- Chris "Never Lost" Paxton, MVV
- Mike "Freight Train" Aberg, MVV
- Steve "I Stop 4 Bagels" Pratt, MVV
- Kevin "The Energizer Bunny" Fox, LGBRC
- Aaron "Sneak Attack" Lowe, MVV
- Neal "Any Beer" Motta, MVV
- Peter "Crossing Guard" Marcotullio, SJBC
- Cindy "Go-Go" Woverton, Free Agent
- Dave "Spaceman" Sloan, LGBRC
- Meg "Spacegirl" Sloan, LGBRC
Since videography is one of my many hobbies, I prefer that media in giving my ride reports. So, from Broken Spoke Productions, here it is...
The Ride Report With A Beat:
2009 Solvang Century from Break Away on Vimeo.
Ride Stats:
- Distance -- 105.39 miles
- Climbing -- 5,562 ft.
- Ave. Speed -- 20.2 mph
- Max Speed -- 45.3 mph
- Ride Time -- 5:01
- Calories Burned -- 6,395 cals
- Temp -- 60-65F and clear
This year was the fastest pace we have ever done for a Solvang Century race! In general, the weather cooperated and was nice and cool, the pace was blistering fast and the sag stops were excruciatingly long - kind of the turtle and the hare story only on bicycles. We kept passing the same folks over and over and over again, all day long :-)
Hope you enjoyed the entry - stay tuned for more cycling action...
Every Ride Counts!
No comments:
Post a Comment