Reedley Blossom Ride and Solvang Century: A Tale of Two Cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way...

On Saturday, March 5, I took part in the Reedley Blossom Ride for the first time.  I rode the metric, and had a great ride.  I understood that the route was a challenging one, and it turned out to be all that, but also one of the prettiest and most fun rides I've had in a long time.  The ride started out with a small mass start at 7:30 in Reedley, wound through the local orchards, and then headed into Wonder Valley for the first rest stop: good food, great staff, and a pleasant location.

After the stop, the focal point of the ride occurred, the climb up Ellwood Road--which started at the funkiest pig farm I've ever seen.  The climb was long and challenging, and was followed by one of the most fun descents I've ridden in a long time:  smooth, fast, and swoopy.  I rode with a couple guys from the Kern Wheelmen for a few miles and had a great conversation that just made things better.

Dorky me.

I understand that the route was run in the opposite direction from previous years, and also that it was perhaps a bit more challenging than in the past.  All in all, a fun and well supported ride that I will make an annual event. Mrs. SockMonkey rode the 25 mile route, and had a great time as well. 

Mrs. SockMonkey in her official Sock Monkey Cycling Club jersey.  She's in the car because it's warm there.  I'm outside in the cold because I'm stupid and getting ready for the ride.

The numbers:
5:45 total time from start to finish
4:44 total ride time
2529' of climbing
61.97 miles
13.10 avg speed



On Saturday, March 12, I rode the metric route for the Solvang Century.  I rode the 50 mile route last year, and swore at that time that I'd never ride Solvang again--the wind was particularly brutal that day, and I struggled mightily to finish the ride.  A couple weeks ago, though, my sister invited Mrs. SockMonkey to bake and decorate cookies at her home in Santa Barbara.  With Solvang just a bit up the road, I decided to give the ride another shot.

This time, I rode the 70 mile route.  I thought it was a 61 mile route--at least, that's what the ride website said it was.  I didn't figure out that the ride was longer until I got to the rest stop at mile 51 and saw that I had 19 more miles to go....

A bit of pre-ride drama:  I was having problems with inconsistent shifting, and my chain gauge said it was time to replace my chain, so I did so the night before heading to Santa Barbara. (I know--not a smart thing to make a component change before a major ride without going for at least a short ride to make sure things work properly, but it fixed the shifting problem and I didn't have any issues at all.  I'm just that kind of daredevil.)  In putting my bike in my workstand, I took off my seat bag--and forgot to replace it when I was done.  Soooooo.....sitting in my sister's living room, looking at my bike the night before the ride, I discovered that I didn't have my seat bag/security blanket full of tubes and tools.  Major threat to ride confidence.

The event festival included a tent for a vendor that happened to be open at 6:30, when I arrived at the start area, and I was able to buy a new seat bag, a couple tubes, some tire levers, and a CO2 inflator.  Good to go!

This is what $45 looks like at 6:30 in the morning in Solvang.

The ride started out cool and clear.  I struggled to figure out what to wear, and ended up with a long sleeve shirt, a jersey, and my yellow jacket.  A complete Fred uniform.  The sun popped out pretty early in the ride, but spots on the ride were still pretty chilly, so the jacket stayed on for about third of the ride, and the sleeves came off at the last stop. 

With 4000 riders, the rest stops were pretty busy.  This is the first stop.  Food was good, and the kids who helped out did a great job.  (They were from Grizzly Academy, which is a great local program for at-risk kids.)   A couple minutes after I arrived, some knucklehead started yelling and working up to a fight with another rider in his group.  A little Rodney Dangerfield was in order, it seems:  "I went to a bike ride the other day, and a hockey game broke out."

The wind was not a factor at all for the first half of the ride, and I really enjoyed the trip down Santa Rosa road and the spin uphill to Vandenberg AFB. 

I didn't get much sleep before the ride, and didn't really eat right that morning, so I started to fade.  I had strong thoughts about riding the century, but at mile 35 my knees were starting to hurt, and I knew that, while I might be able to do the distance, the climbing would kill me, especially if the wind kicked up.

Judging my daring:
Deep in thought at the turnoff from the century to the metric.
In this instance, logic rightfully overcame emotion.

So I took the turn for the metric century, and, in retrospect, it was absolutely the right decision.  The ride took us down some pretty roads with some truly crappy surfaces.  I know that it is the hallmark of the novice to complain about the condition of roads, but I'll take advantage of that status to openly bitch about the rotten roads.  These are farm roads, and, clearly, they are used by heavy farm equipment.  Suffice to say that the prostate got a thorough massage for the second half of the ride.  I do know that rough roads are part of the deal.  Some roads, like Foxen Canyon Road on the Solvang Prelude, are rough for a mile or two, and then improve; it seemed that these roads, however, had crappy surfaces that went on forever.

Shortly after the last rest stop, when I discovered that the ride was 70 miles and not 61, the last and most significant climb started.  Drum Canyon was, as a guy who passed me said, "a cruel climb:" a lengthy, consistent climb that ranged from 5 to 10%.  Challenging, but certainly do-able, but my knees were sore and at one point I had to walk about 100 feet up a short, steep section.  Pretty pissed about that; it was the first time that I've had to walk my road bike up a hill.  (I walk my mountain bike up just about every hill, but that's a different story.)  At least I was able to unclip and avoided falling down.

The downhill on the far side of Drum Canyon should have been an exhilarating ride:  it was pretty, steep, and swoopy.  The surface was about as rough as I've ridden, and it didn't get better until I got to Highway 246.  Wrists hurt, knees hurt, and cussing all the way.  Thankfully, the last few miles were on the smooth shoulder of the highway. 

If I had posted this right after the ride, it would have been filled with #$%!ing and a promise to never ride Solvang again.  I've lightened up a bit on that, but this event is clearly not at the top of my fun list.  I would like to conquer this century, but I'm gonna need a bit more training and zen to do so.  And I would think that with 4000 riders who paid what they did for the ride, someone could put a couple bucks into paving the roads.

On the plus side, the support from local law enforcement at major intersections was superb.  Thanks to those folks for making the ride safer and more fun.

And, on the way out of town, the Solvang Traffic Jam!

The numbers:
6:05 total time from start to finish
5:27 total ride time
3315' of climbing
70.82 miles
12.90 avg speed

So, a tale of two cities:  A great little ride close to home, and an frustrating big ride that had potential but really didn't pan out.