Tour of Two Forests Double Century

Registration for the 2012 Tour of Two Forests brevet-style double century will open in January 2012.

Start/Finish Hotel
Hampton Inn, 25259 The Old Road, Santa Clarita, California 91381. (661) 253-2400. The hotel has a heated swimming pool and hot tub, fitness center, and 24-hour coffee and tea service in the lobby. We don't have any arrangement with the hotel; but it's a nice place. Great restaurants nearby, including Chili's, Claim Jumper, Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden, Woodranch Steak House, and more!

Check-In
Saturday morning from 5:00 am to 5:30 am in the lobby of the Hampton Inn. Please bring your lunch-bag size drop bags with your name and address on each bag. We will not take bags that don't have your address on it. We do this to make sure you pick up the back at the designated drop location and not leave it on the ground as illegal litter.

Come Prepared
Please be in shape for this event. Riders will be expected to be primarily self-supporting/self-sufficient. There will be minimal support and no roving SAG.

Time Limit
ToTF has traditionally had a 19 hour time limit, based on the earliest starting time. However, since this is leap-frog support, it's not possible to provide support if the spread is too great which is why we ask that only riders who think they'll complete the course in 15 hours or so sign up. If you're too far back, plan on riding with little or no support. This is NOT a standard double century - and there is NO SAG. If you quit, as stated above, you must find your own way back.

Twilight, Sunrise, and Sunset
Twilight begins 5:36; Twilight ends 20:07. Sunrise is 6:04; Sunset is 19:39.

Lights
You are welcome to drop lights/gear at the start for pick-up along the route at a point designated by the support driver. Please bring your lights to rider check-in in a bag marked with your name. We do not provide bags. You must pick up your stuff at designated location, as it will not be brought back to the finish. The charge for mailing stuff back to you is $25. So pick up your stuff.

If you start in the dark, plan on carrying your lights all day. We do 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!

Bring a Camelbak!
Tour of Two Forests is held on very remote roads and has the potential for major extremes in weather conditions, not to mention the very challenging route. Since on-route support will be minimal, we absolutely, positively, strongly and most assuredly encourage everyone to bring, wear, and use a Camelbak with at least 50ox of water, plus two full-size water bottles. Running out of water is a bummer at the very least.

Ride Description - NOTE: Route sheets will be available to registered riders if so requested via email between two weeks and four 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.
Classic Doubles are more than challenging alone. They are "tours" in the true sense, an opportunity for discovery and adventure in an area not often ridden.

The Tour of Two Forests has been such a classic since its first edition in 1980. It starts and ends in Santa Clarita and traverses parts of L.A., Ventura, and Kern Counties, plus the name-giving Angeles National Forest and Los Padres National Forest. It begins with an easy cruise through Piru and down South Mountain to Santa Paula and then the easy climb up into Ventura County’s sleepy hideaway of Ojai. Next you’ll ascend 30 mile Pine Mountain and enter the heart of the ride: rugged and beautiful mountain country where a lone cyclist feels very small. Next comes Lockwood Valley (home of the "Heartbreak Hill") to Gorman and then a rolling finish through Pine Canyon, Three Points, Elizabeth Lake, Leona Valley, and down, down, down Bouquet Canyon to the finish back in Santa Clarita.

This is a big ride in more ways than one: It has at least 13,220 feet of elevation gain and is 193.5 miles long.

It's one of the most scenic courses in Southern California and is almost free of traffic lights. The logistics are easy since it starts just 30 miles north of Los Angeles.

This is a great event with a whole lot of history in the California cycling scene. We really encourage you to ride this classic event!

Volunteers
We always need volunteers!!! We can only put these events on with the help of loyal, trustworthy, motivated individuals running the checkpoints along the way. To provide a little incentive, we offer one free entry into any Planet Ultra event for each time you volunteer at a Planet Ultra event. It's a simple formula: "work one, ride one free!" So please contact us to let us know when and where you'd like to help. Please note that the intent of the "work one, ride one free" offer is to encourage riders themselves to give something back to the sport they love. However, we also appreciate when riders bring along family and friends who they've recruited to help out, so we're offering a one-half ride credit to the recruiter if the volunteer doesn't want the ride credit. Ride credits must be used within a year of the date of volunteering.