What a GREAT day for a double!!!

Congratulations to the five riders who finished in under ten hours: Jim Fischer, Ken Philbrick, Ben Larson, Graham Pollock and Keith Brodsky. That's quite an accomplishment!

Kudos to all of the rookie double century finishers! Here's a list of the riders who told us it was their first time: Vince Bessera, Mark Glenesk, Anthony Johnson, Marcia Morrison, Ben Reiter, Steve Robinson, Robert Thietz, Kirsten Wolfe and Michael Yambrovich.

We're honored that both David Clemes and Mark Kaufman came to Solvang to complete their lifetime 50th Doubles! Congratulations David and Mark! We're proud of you and honored that you completed this milestone at a Planet Ultra event!

Special mention to our most senior rider, Mary Allen, and our youngest rider, Brad Alvarado!

A million thanks to our awesome volunteer staff, who made it a superb day for all the riders!
Rider Check-In: Brian Bowling, Deborah Bowling, Alan Darnell, Mike Joyce, Gary Ward
PB&J Crew: Yvonne Darnell, Mike Green, Kerin Huber, Doug Patterson, Jon Shellenbarger, Jennifer Sieve, Tanith Thompson
CP#1: Kerin Huber, Louise McCracken, Mark Patten, Jon Shellenbarger, Jennifer Sieve, Tanith Thompson, Gary Ward
CP#2: Mel Cutler, Ginger Kuhn, Shelly Lewis, Brooks Reid, Kathryn Reid, Marion Reid
Morro Bay Sticker Stop: Kevin Kay, Nikki Kay
CP#3: Dee Dee Devin, Lauren Ellsberry, Louise McCracken, Jon Shellenbarger, Jennifer Sieve, Johanna Spitzer, Trevor Thorpe
CP#4: Tim Eichenlaub, Kerin Huber, Mark Patten, Tanith Thompson
CP#5: Keith Evans, Louise McCracken, Jay Nelson, Michelle Nelson, Jon Shellenbarger, Jennifer Sieve, Gary Ward
Finish: Deborah Bowling, Keith Brodsky
Roving SAG: Brian Bowling, Deborah Bowling, Rick Burneson, Keith Evans, Linda Hopkins, Willie Hunt, Gary Ward, Jim Watson

We're very disappointed to report that some riders were DQ'd for private SAG; and many, many more would have been had our staff been able to get the names or numbers of the riders associated with the countless private SAG vehicles on the route. This was the worst year ever for this blatant rules violation. Some of the vehicles, including several SUVs and mini-vans, were repeatedly seen on the route all day; but were savvy enough to not park at checkpoint locations so as to allow identification of the riders that were being assisted.

Private SAG is a huge liability problem; which is why it is not allowed at most of the California Double Century events, including those not hosted by Planet Ultra. Private SAG is expressly forbidden at Death Valley Double, Devil Mountain Double, Central Coast Double, Alta Alpina Challenge, Davis Double, Terrible Two, Mt. Tam Double, White Mountain Double and Bass Lake Powerhouse.

Just to reiterate, our website specifically states: "The definition of a personal SAG is any non-staff motor vehicle that is providing any type of aid, assistance, or motivation to any rider, or taking photographs, or simply out cheering. Please understand that our permits simply don't allow dozens of extra vehicles on the roads or at the checkpoint locations. Imagine the traffic from all those cars!"

Besides the fact that having private SAG is cheating, many private SAGs are seen taking pictures from a moving vehicle on the wrong side of the road, failing to pull all the way off the road when stopping, impeding traffic by following riders at a pace below the speed limit, and doing other illegal and stupid things that are unsafe for other riders.

All of the event organizers are very clear about this. NO PRIVATE SAG. Period. Planet Ultra states this rule both on the Information Page on the website and also on the bulletin board at each event. There's absolutely no excuse for breaking this rule; and our policy is zero tolerance. If you come to an event and want your friends or family on the route, please have them join the official staff. For the majority of the riders who play by the rules, we thank you and apologize for having to bring this up.

Greatly appreciated rider feedback:

"Thank you one and all for a superb day of riding! I made new friends, caught up with old ones, and thoroughly enjoyed the pitch perfect weather and scenery!!!

I'm sorry your organization gets a reputation for (at times), not being supportive enough for some riders. Although I understand and respect their opinion, it's clearly based in part by either not reading your site (where you explain the route may not be marked at all), or the fact that the rest stops and final check-in don't offer a feast.

What they miss, (perhaps) is that clubs such as mine (Santa Rosa Cycling Club - The Terrible Two Double), have a massive roster, volunteers, and funds to pour into the events they choose to produce. The California Triple Crown offerings would be smaller, and poorer if not for Planet Ultra stepping in (from another STATE NO LESS), and filling a serious void!

For those who believe these doubles are somehow "profitable cash cows," for the organizers, you need to understand that most of the clubs that sponsor these often must subsidize the actual cost beyond the registration fees.

The ride exceeded my expectations! I was prepared for zero route markings, I think I only needed to look at the route sheet twice! Now that I know the course, I'll see how much I can shave off my 11'-8" next year....." - Garth Powell, Santa Rosa, CA

"Thank you for a really well-supported event." - Kevin Griffin, Woodside, CA

"I wanted to take a minute and thank you guys again for a wonderful event. In my experience, you've always done a great job supporting us so
that all we need to do is pedal and enjoy. But, there are a few things I'd like to make special note of.
1) Sag support. I don't think I've ever seen so many sag vehicles on the road. It may have been that they were "signed", but they were everywhere! 2) Ice. It sounds kind of simple, but the ice chests you had for us to fill our bottles were fabulous. In my opinion, this may have been the best part of the sag. 3) Chili. Mmmmmm. Rocket fuel! Thank you guys and your herd of volunteers. Please do pass along the personal thanks from all the Bullshifters to all the volunteers. We appreciate your (their) support and know that you're the only reason we can come over and ride these marvelous events!" - Mike Sturgill, Phoenix, AZ

"Thank you for all the great friendly volunteers and staff. I, like many, had heard bad things about Planet Ultra. This way my first Planet Ultra event. Wow, was I impressed. Top Notch Job! Food was great, varied and just what a veteran ultra distance rider would want. Again, Planet Ultra people were great." - Daniel Butler, Concord, CA

Solvang Double Century Results
50 riders started in the 7:30am group and rode for time:

393 riders completed the course within the 17 hour time limit: