CommanderChuff
Devout Dirtbag
As the time gets closer to my first ever Eroica ride I was wondering the forum members who will be attending the California event would like to meet up at the venue?
Eroica California 2017 - a Roll Call of RetroRoaders
- Thread starter CommanderChuff
- Start date
dirttorpedo
Senior Retro Guru
I'll be there with my wife. I figured I'd be checking out the Saturday events if I can talk the Mrs into it or doing some winery tours if I can't. What are you thinking?
CommanderChuff
Devout Dirtbag
Re:
Hi,
Pretty much similar to your plans, although we will be making a holiday of several days to see the local sights. In the event that there is a presence of retro bike forumers then I was going to suggest a team selfie at the start line or in the festival.
David.
Hi,
Pretty much similar to your plans, although we will be making a holiday of several days to see the local sights. In the event that there is a presence of retro bike forumers then I was going to suggest a team selfie at the start line or in the festival.
David.
dirttorpedo
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
Looks like its just us so far.
Looks like its just us so far.
CommanderChuff
Devout Dirtbag
Re:
Yep, looks like it, but perhaps the UK Eroica might produce more response,
BTW - the bikes in your signature do not appear to be Eroica ready, I think that from another thread that you are prepping another machine?
Yep, looks like it, but perhaps the UK Eroica might produce more response,
BTW - the bikes in your signature do not appear to be Eroica ready, I think that from another thread that you are prepping another machine?
dirttorpedo
Senior Retro Guru
Re: Re:
Ha, yes I need to update my signature block. I initially bought a Bianchi Rekord 910 and was planning on using it, but it was slightly too small for me. So I purchased a late 70's or early 80's Apollo Gran Sport (the Canadian Apollo, not the Australian one). Its a lovely bike and much more in character with the Eroica ethos I believe.
CommanderChuff":24iqq5zc said:
Ha, yes I need to update my signature block. I initially bought a Bianchi Rekord 910 and was planning on using it, but it was slightly too small for me. So I purchased a late 70's or early 80's Apollo Gran Sport (the Canadian Apollo, not the Australian one). Its a lovely bike and much more in character with the Eroica ethos I believe.
dirttorpedo
Senior Retro Guru
Bump to see if any other retrobikers are attending Eroica California in April.
dirttorpedo
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
*Bump*
Registration closed. Saturday dinner sold out. Ride this Sunday. Long range forecast is for sun. Anyone else riding it?
*Bump*
Registration closed. Saturday dinner sold out. Ride this Sunday. Long range forecast is for sun. Anyone else riding it?
CommanderChuff
Devout Dirtbag
The Eroica ride went well, heavy rain in the days before cooled the air down making it very pleasant ride, the first climb of the day was Kiler Canyon (aka Killer Hill) and this was truncated before the very trickey off road muddy section towards the top 1/3rd, however the alternative route was difficult enough on the upside where the gradient was mostly 16% (same as Sun Rising Hill). but the downside bit was a real backside, with potholes and ruts lurking to catch the unwary out, the brakes were on all the time giving severe muscle pump in the arms and hands, the ride along the coast was less fun when the wind had changed to a head wind, but the return to Paso back over the mountain ridge was straightforward. It was a great experience and the local riders were great fun, very friendly and always charming. Security at LA airport was no joke but we enjoyed staying on the Queen Mary (very rundown and $250M away from scrapping), Getty museum, USS Iowa and some other sights. The Holdsworth performed without fault, and I was very pleased that new H Plus alloy rims on NOS Campy hi flanges were proved to be an excellent investment, and a 31 tooth rear gear was essential. Lots of lovely bikes on show, and many happy riders.
90 miles, 7,500 ft, 7.5 hours, 1,000 riders, hours of fun.
My next Eroica's are Britannia (with Birmingham Velo 100 later) and next year South Africa, Limburg (with Classic 24 hr Le Mans) and Tuscany.
90 miles, 7,500 ft, 7.5 hours, 1,000 riders, hours of fun.
My next Eroica's are Britannia (with Birmingham Velo 100 later) and next year South Africa, Limburg (with Classic 24 hr Le Mans) and Tuscany.
Attachments
dirttorpedo
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
I know this is a bit late, but haven't been to the site much since April.
Due to a horrendously cold and snowy winter/spring in coastal British Columbia, our training plan was shattered. My wife had done nothing but spinning on the indoor trainer and I'd only managed one long ride of 80km on the roads before the event. Nevous about our conditioning, we spent two days driving down from Vancouver - beautiful drive, but we hit some nasty rain in southern Oregon in the dark. Checked into our AirBnB and was quite pleased at the set up. Owner even let us keep our precious bikes inside. We went out for a walk and checked out downtown Passo Robles - very nice - and had a nice (and fairly pricey) dinner at the pub. Gave the bikes a quick looking over and got to bed early.
Woke up to a pleasant but cool and cloudy morning so started off with arm warmers & wind breaker. As David indicated due to the unseasonably rainy spring, the organizers changed the route to avoid the first dirt climb through Kiler Canyon which added a bit of distance to the ride (maybe another 5 k?). Unfortunately my wife's knee started hurting shortly after we started climbing towards Halter Ranch. The alternate route pushed us onto the shoulder of the highway for a few kilometers, but once we entered the country roads things quietened down and the ride became quite pleasant. The Halter Ranch stop is very scenic, but unfortunately they skimped on the portable toilets. The Tuscan bean soup was tasty, but maybe better served later in the day. Despite the pain in her leg my wife gamely keep on going but it was a long slog even though I'd lowered her gearing to a very civilized 36x28 granny. David was correct the descents - even the paved ones - were very rough with uneven pavement and tight blind corners frequent. We crested the cypress mountains after a long dirt climb that would have been more suited to a mountain bike to revel in the sun with an amazing view of the Pacific - the scenery on this ride is truly out of this world. We saw Luciano and the rest of the Eroica crew at the summit. I had thought we would make up for our slow climbing on the descent, but I soon learned that my wife is uncomfortable with descending quickly so I had to check my normal instincts to let it fly down hill.
We arrived at the fruit stand where they fed us Burritos. Yum! I had the mechanic look at my rear wheel which went out of true due to the rough roads and we stripped off jackets, arm warmers, etc. He did his best and we road off to the Coast highway. Nice tail wind as we made our way south in the sun. I had (possibly foolishly) repacked my pedals prior to the ride only to find that my left pedal seized up about 3 km out of the next stop. fortunately I had a good selection of pedals and was able to undo the nuts and adjust the cones so that it spun smoothly. Arrived at the next stop to enjoy some massive chocolate covered strawberries and appetizers. Then we were off to climb back over the cypress mountains again. This was a much nicer climb than the first - the road while dirt was in better condition and the grades were more manageable without a mountain bike gearing. Got short on water, but the sag wagons were passing by regularly offering a lift or water/snacks. Last rest stop at the summit. Stopped for a much needed toilet break. Again, not enough toilets at the stop. Was suffering the ill effects of riding a brand new Brooks saddle by this point. After faffing about the rest stop much too long we made our way back down to the country roads traversing the vinyards surrounding Passo Robles. Started getting worried we'd miss the cut off, but kept gamely peddling along. Route became a bit tricky to follow as we approached the highway crossing.
Arrived back to a very quiet finish line 11.5 hours after starting. Grabbed a sandwhich and beer while the staff started tearing down the tents and whatnot. We weren't quite DFL, but it was a near thing. Don't know if I'd do it again, but I'm glad I went.
I know this is a bit late, but haven't been to the site much since April.
Due to a horrendously cold and snowy winter/spring in coastal British Columbia, our training plan was shattered. My wife had done nothing but spinning on the indoor trainer and I'd only managed one long ride of 80km on the roads before the event. Nevous about our conditioning, we spent two days driving down from Vancouver - beautiful drive, but we hit some nasty rain in southern Oregon in the dark. Checked into our AirBnB and was quite pleased at the set up. Owner even let us keep our precious bikes inside. We went out for a walk and checked out downtown Passo Robles - very nice - and had a nice (and fairly pricey) dinner at the pub. Gave the bikes a quick looking over and got to bed early.
Woke up to a pleasant but cool and cloudy morning so started off with arm warmers & wind breaker. As David indicated due to the unseasonably rainy spring, the organizers changed the route to avoid the first dirt climb through Kiler Canyon which added a bit of distance to the ride (maybe another 5 k?). Unfortunately my wife's knee started hurting shortly after we started climbing towards Halter Ranch. The alternate route pushed us onto the shoulder of the highway for a few kilometers, but once we entered the country roads things quietened down and the ride became quite pleasant. The Halter Ranch stop is very scenic, but unfortunately they skimped on the portable toilets. The Tuscan bean soup was tasty, but maybe better served later in the day. Despite the pain in her leg my wife gamely keep on going but it was a long slog even though I'd lowered her gearing to a very civilized 36x28 granny. David was correct the descents - even the paved ones - were very rough with uneven pavement and tight blind corners frequent. We crested the cypress mountains after a long dirt climb that would have been more suited to a mountain bike to revel in the sun with an amazing view of the Pacific - the scenery on this ride is truly out of this world. We saw Luciano and the rest of the Eroica crew at the summit. I had thought we would make up for our slow climbing on the descent, but I soon learned that my wife is uncomfortable with descending quickly so I had to check my normal instincts to let it fly down hill.
We arrived at the fruit stand where they fed us Burritos. Yum! I had the mechanic look at my rear wheel which went out of true due to the rough roads and we stripped off jackets, arm warmers, etc. He did his best and we road off to the Coast highway. Nice tail wind as we made our way south in the sun. I had (possibly foolishly) repacked my pedals prior to the ride only to find that my left pedal seized up about 3 km out of the next stop. fortunately I had a good selection of pedals and was able to undo the nuts and adjust the cones so that it spun smoothly. Arrived at the next stop to enjoy some massive chocolate covered strawberries and appetizers. Then we were off to climb back over the cypress mountains again. This was a much nicer climb than the first - the road while dirt was in better condition and the grades were more manageable without a mountain bike gearing. Got short on water, but the sag wagons were passing by regularly offering a lift or water/snacks. Last rest stop at the summit. Stopped for a much needed toilet break. Again, not enough toilets at the stop. Was suffering the ill effects of riding a brand new Brooks saddle by this point. After faffing about the rest stop much too long we made our way back down to the country roads traversing the vinyards surrounding Passo Robles. Started getting worried we'd miss the cut off, but kept gamely peddling along. Route became a bit tricky to follow as we approached the highway crossing.
Arrived back to a very quiet finish line 11.5 hours after starting. Grabbed a sandwhich and beer while the staff started tearing down the tents and whatnot. We weren't quite DFL, but it was a near thing. Don't know if I'd do it again, but I'm glad I went.
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