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A spectacular 200 mile route in Southern California's most scenic and most popular cycling region!
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4 Rides / 800 miles:  Step up to the plate! |
This is a double century only. No century
option is available!
We do have an awesome century in November!
Click here to learn about it!
Registration for the 2012 event will open
in April.
General Information and Ride Rules - Please Read!
Click here to see the 2011 Results
Click here to view the results from prior years.
Click here for the Carpool and Room Share blog
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Here's the new design for 2011! Jerseys ($70) and t-shirts ($15) will be available in limited quantities at the event. We're not doing pre-orders; as we're simply going to sell what was left over from the Spring events. |
Solvang Spring Tour: Don't just spend the day in Solvang, spend a week!
Click here for all the info.
Entry Fees
Double Century - $105, HOWEVER, take advantage of our EARLY BIRD
SPECIAL and save $15 by registering six weeks before the event! Online
registration ends two weeks before the event. Thereafter, you may make
an online reservation with a last minute registration code (which will
be posted here when regular registration closes).
Start/Finish Host Hotel
• Our
host hotel is the
Santa Ynez Valley Marriott located at
555 McMurray Road in Buellton, 800-638-8882.
Reservation information will be available in the spring!
Check-In
All riders
must check in Friday evening from 7pm to 9pm or Saturday morning between
5:30am and 6:30am in the Marriott. Please do your
best to check in Friday evening, not Saturday morning, especially if you want an
early start time.
Come
Prepared
Please be in shape for this event. If you cannot complete a
moderately hilly century within 7-8 hours, you'll struggle finishing this
ride within the time limit. An "I can do it" attitude is a wonderful
plus, but only if you're already conditioned for this type of challenge.
Start Time
"Mass" start at
6:45am. Riders who expect to take more than 14 hours may
opt for the early start at 6:00am*. If you plan to start early, please
remember that the checkpoint opening and closing times are generally
based on the "mass start" time and are calculated using an average speed
range of 11 to 20 mph.
*If you start at 6am and finish the ride in under 14 hours - you will be
listed as DQ in the results. We're serious folks - the early start time is
for riders who really need it.
Time Limit
Regardless of start time, the course closes at
midnight. The 18 hour time limit will be strictly enforced.
No exceptions. Riders who fail to
make the time cut-off will be listed as Unofficial Finishers.
Twilight
Twilight
begins at 6:46; Twilight ends at 18:44. Sunrise is at 7:11; Sunset is at 18:19
Breakfast
Paula's Pancake House, just
down the street from the Royal Copenhagen Inn,
opens at 6am. If you like a meal before you ride, their food is
delicious!
Coffee
The very best
coffee, chai and hot chocolate in town is at the Bulldog Cafe, 1680
Mission Drive - just a few blocks from the Royal Copenhagen. Their pastries and brownies are amazing
too! They open at 6:00am. Wireless internet also available.
Lights and Clothing Drop
If you leave your lights at the start, your bag will be waiting for you
at the second-to-last checkpoint, in Guadalupe. We do, however,
encourage you to carry your lights yourself. That way if you need
them, you're guaranteed to have them. Rest assured that it is a MYTH that an
extra pound on your bike will slow you down in any significant way for this type
of riding.
If there is any chance that you’ll be out past sunset, you MUST have both a headlight and a taillight attached to your bicycle, and you MUST wear a reflective ankle band on both legs. Please do not under estimate the time you will need to complete this event. Come prepared with a very good light and backup bulbs and batteries, plus at least one non-blinking taillight and lots of reflective gear. We repeat: BRING LIGHTS. We're serious. Read the rules!
Routing and Navigation
Planet Ultra route sheets include lots of useful
information to help riders navigate the course. For example, we'll
let you know if a turn is at a stop sign (SS), traffic light (TL) or
T-intersection (T-int). We know that riders like to have the course
marked. However, many of the towns/cities/counties specifically
request that no markings are placed in the road. Our permits are
contingent on NOT doing this. Further, Planet Ultra events are held way far away from
where we live - and we travel to the destination the day before the
event to make everything happen. We can't mark the course in
advance. If
we have the manpower to send someone out
before the riders in the morning to mark the course, we'll do our
best to make that happen (unless it's forbidden by our permits,
otherwise illegal, somewhere that locals
would be really upset about it, or the turn is at a place that's
very obvious, like a big green highway sign). Our experience is that
riders get lost whether the course is marked or not - because
they're not paying attention. Fewer riders get lost when they're
mindful of where they are on the route sheet. Please understand and
take responsibility
for navigation. Make it part of your
experience.
Personal SAG Vehicles
Not allowed! If you bring one,
you will be disqualified from the event
without a warning. The definition of a personal SAG is any vehicle
(motor or otherwise), anywhere on the route, operated by someone
other than Planet Ultra staff, 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! If you're
bringing someone with you who wants to be out on the course helping, please
have them contact us and join our volunteer staff. We can always use extra
help out on the course.
Come
Prepared
Please be in shape for this event. It's late in the season; and folks
don't train as much at the end of the summer as they have been in the
Spring. If you cannot complete a moderately hilly century within 9 hours,
you'll struggle finishing this ride within the time limit. An "I can do it"
attitude is a wonderful plus, but only if you're already conditioned for
this type of challenge.
Support Provided
We will have at least five checkpoints along the course: Sisquoc (mile
41.2), Hwy
166 (about mile 70), San Luis Obispo (mile 105), Guadalupe (mile 145) and Lompoc
(mile 175). At these checkpoints, riders can expect to find bananas, PB&J sandwiches, granola/fruit/energy bars, Hammer Gel, Sustained Energy, Endurolytes, and
an electrolyte drink, plus other wholesome edibles. Subway sandwiches will be served at the
"lunch" checkpoint in San Luis Obispo.
Route Description -
NOTE: Route sheets will be available as an excel file to registered riders if so
requested via email between two weeks and five days before the event.
However, we cannot guarantee that the route sheet will be 100% accurate.
Though not anticipated, last-minute routing changes may be required.
Riders
will do a quick, easy warm-up on the back roads of Solvang, Ballard and Santa Ynez
before joining the traditional route on Foxen
Canyon. After the first checkpoint in Sisquoc (mile 32.1), the scenery changes!
The first big climb of the day is Tepusquet Road. This is a meandering 9
miles of climbing - with a few steep pitches in the 8-10% range. The five mile descent is
a blast! Enjoy the ride! At the bottom riders hang a left on Highway
166, where they'll roll along to the second checkpoint and fine
refreshments. The route continues down 166, then hangs a right on Thompson
Road, heading towards San Luis Obispo via Nipomo and Arroyo
Grande. This part of the route will be familiar to veterans. After the third
checkpoint ("lunch") at our usual park in San Luis, riders
will continue straight onto Tank Farm Road, and then work their way south
via the quiet and
beautiful Prefumo Canyon Road. This is the second big climb of the day - and
it's a quad buster! Bring some gears - as you'll need them for the
occasional 12-16% grades. Less than a mile down from the summit, there's an
unpaved section of road that's totally ride-able, with an abundance of
caution (meaning "slowly"). About a mile later after the pavement resumes,
comes a very
rewarding descent. Then the route once again meets up with the original route at
San Luis Bay Road, winds back down Avila Beach Road, ultimately continuing
south through Pismo Beach,
Shell Beach and on to the fourth checkpoint at Guadalupe.
The route then diverts off Hwy 1 on Black Road which becomes the awesome Lompoc-Casmalia Road.
Then comes the third big climb of the day, up Hwy 1 and the challenging Vandenberg Grade. After a
nice descent to the edge of Lompoc, riders come to the last checkpoint at
River Park Campground. From there they'll make their way back via the beautiful,
rolling Santa
Rosa Road (usually with a super strong tail wind), and Hwy 246 back to
Buellton.
1911 miles with about 10,300' of climbing. This route is significantly more
challenging than the Spring route - with substantially more climbing and
many steep pitches. Riders should expect to require a bit more time on the
bike between checkpoints. As such, if a rider is concerned about riding 40+
challenging miles between water/food stops, then a camelbak or other
hydration system is recommended.
Click here to see the route Delorme Topo. Courtesy of Eric Smith, who entered over 1,200 data points so the distances matched the route sheet within a 1/10th of a mile for the entire ride.
Local Weather
Click here for the weather in and around Solvang.
Parking
If you are staying at a hotel in Buellton other than the Marriott, please
leave your car there and ride to the start. If you are driving into
Buellton on Saturday morning for the event, please be very careful how and where you park. Also, allow more than enough time to find proper parking. Do not park at the
Marriott unless you're staying there.
Directions
Use Hwy 101 to get to Buellton from either north or south. Exit Hwy 246
and head towards Solvang. Make a left on McMurray. The hotel is on the
left about 1/2 mile down.
Click here for the Carpool and Room Share
blog
