# Santa Barbara Century - good roads?



## MJCBH (Nov 25, 2002)

Anybody planning on doing the Santa Barbara Century on Oct. 23, 2010? I'm from out of state and am thinking about coming down for the ride. I'm not familiar with the route and am wondering what the route is like, in regards to traffic and road conditions. From the pictures that I've seen of the route, it seems like the climbs are on quite narrow roads. Seems like a very picturesque route though! 

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...451086,-119.682312&spn=0.348788,0.637207&z=11


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## Retro Grouch (Apr 30, 2002)

The Santa Barbara Century is my last training objective before I tapper off my riding for the winter.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=20790

I met Bill Lindberg, the director of the ride, last July at the Windmill Century in Santa Maria, CA. He was handing out business cards and talking about it. At that time he said that about 130 riders were registered. This will be the inaugural event, so it may take time to gather momentum and become a staple on people's ride calendar. I do like the fact that it's a small century with lots of hill climbs involved. This may scare off a lot of less "hill inclined riders" from participating. Those folks can have all the fun they want at the Solvang Century in March.


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## thedago (Sep 30, 2009)

small roads yes, but most are low traffic- amazing views, lots of climbing. interesting thing is i know a lot of local riders that arent participating- myself included, but for other reason than its a crap load of climbing


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## CJSB (Oct 15, 2008)

The roads are in great condition. I biked the the route last weekend, as I was curious of the condition too. The first 1/4 is the same route as the SB Tri, so those roads are great. Gibraltar is narrow, but not bad at all. Just dont get too caught up looking over the edge!


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## CJSB (Oct 15, 2008)

Oh, and I heard there were over 400 people signed up now, so it looks like word is getting around finally.


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## Retro Grouch (Apr 30, 2002)

I plan to do a recon ride to Gibraltar Rd this Saturday. I may use this route as a guide:

http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/363541


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## Retro Grouch (Apr 30, 2002)

*Partial Ride Report*

I rode up Gibraltar yesterday, down Painted Cave and out to Isla Vista and back (appox 42 miles). Gibraltar is indeed a bear of a climb and going down Painted Cave for the first time in wet conditions and fog made it very gut wrenching experience. According to last report, 700 riders are registered. Large groups of riders having to slowdown to stop and cross the 154 should be interesting.


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## CJSB (Oct 15, 2008)

What will not be fun is all of the riders on BIKE PATHS....everything else sounds great.

Email I received this morning:

_Last minute instructions

Registration pickup Friday 4 to 8 pm at Hotel Santa Barbara
During registration you can pick up your bib number and route directions.
Also your jersey if preordered in time. And, for the Century Riders, your
timing chip and attachment. You will then be ready to go Saturday morning:
no further check-in is necessary. Note that there is no parking at the
hotel and you will need to park in one of the city lots a block or two away:
however you can bring your bike to registration. Enter through the side
entrance to the hotel on Cota St., not the State St. entrance. Riders who
have signed up to ride one of the free Giant bicycles can pick their bike up
at Open Air Bicycles at 1303 State St. during the day or evening.

Day of event walk-on registration
This will be available. Cost is $85 (check or cash). We currently have
over 760 riders registered with contingents from 14 states and 2 foreign
countries.

Parking at Leadbetter Beach
The best option will be one of the two City College parking lots just off
of the intersection of Shoreline and Loma Alta (fee for all day parking is
$5). From Shoreline turn onto Loma Alta (rather than entering the Leadbetter
parking lot) and then within 30 yards turn right or left into the City
College parking lots. All day parking at Leadbetter is more expensive.

Bathrooms at the start/finish
The waterfront restroom (about 50 yards away from the start) will be open.
In addition there will be 6 portable restrooms next to the start/finish
area.

Aid stations
For the metric riders there will be aid stations at Carpinteria High School
(mile 14), Mountain Drive (mile 28), and Sandpiper Golf Course (mile 44).
For the 100 mile riders there will be aid stations at Carpinteria High
School (mile 22), Mountain Drive (mile 36), Mid Gibraltar (mile 42), Camino
Cielo (mile 45), Camino Cielo again on the return trip (mile 58), Painted
Cave (mile 67), and Sandpiper Golf Course (mile 82). At each aid station
there will be water and an electrolyte drink, fruit (bananas and oranges), a
variety of gels and energy bars, trail mix and cookies. At Sandpiper Golf
Course there will be sandwiches for lunch. At the finish there will be ice
cream bars and soft drinks.

Aid station hours
Carpinteria High School - 7:30 to 10:15
Mountain Drive - 8:30 to 12
Mid Gibraltar - 9 to 1
Camino Cielo - 9:30 to 3
Painted Cave - 10:30 to 4
Sandpiper Golf Course - 10 - 5
The course closes at 6 pm.

Saturday morning start
For those who did not register Friday, you can pick up your bib number and
route directions at Leadbetter Beach after 6 am.

The first 2+ miles of the route is on a bike path, and with over 700 riders
this could become congested if everyone tries to start at the same time.
For that reason we encourage the Century riders to start whenever they wish
after there is adequate light (around 6:30 or so). We will not be
announcing times at the start, so simply start riding anytime before 8 am.
We ask that metric riders not start until after 8 am unless the bike path is
free of congestion (and fast metric riders should not start early as the
Sandpiper aid station will not be open until 10). . At the request of the
police department if there is congestion on the bike path we may need to
briefly hold up and space out riders. Consider the first two miles of this
ride a prologue: an opportunity to ride easily and enjoy the views of the
harbor and beaches.

Breakfast/coffee at the start
Next to the starting area is the Shoreline Café that will be open for
breakfast starting at 6 am: you can also pick up a cup of coffee ($1).

Bicycle maintenance
There will be minor bicycle maintenance available at the start, at
Carpinteria aid station. at Mountain Drive aid station, and at the Camino
Cielo aid station.

Sag wagons
There will be sag wagons that travel the course to provide assistance if
needed. At each aid station there will be available on request a route
sheet showing the shortest route back to the start should you need to
abandon the ride. This will be a fairly easy thing to do as you are never
a long distance away from the start and it will generally be downhill.

Changing from the 100 mile route to the metric route
Should you make a decision some time after starting that you want to simply
complete the metric route feel free to do so: simply follow the metric route
markings. If you complete the metric course you will receive a metric
finisher's award, although it may not be available at the finish line, in
which case it would be mailed to you.

Bib punching
Well it turns out that this is a misnomer. We thought we would be punching
bibs at different aid stations (Carpinteria and Sandpiper for the metric
riders, and Carpinteria, Romero Canyon turn-around, Painted Cave, and
Sandpiper for the century riders). But after experiments with punching this
was determined to be too slow, so stickers will be applied instead. Make
sure you get a sticker applied at the appropriate aid stations, as this will
be necessary to receive a finisher's award.

Course markings
The course is marked by arrows on the road (Yellow for the Century Route,
Blue for the Metric Route). There will also be signs at different points,
some to apprise you of road conditions, and others to let motorists know of
the event in progress.

Weather
The ride will proceed rain or shine. The last week or so it has been foggy
in the morning persisting sometimes all day (although the Century riders
will climb above the fog). For what it's worth, rain is forecast for Monday
and Tuesday of this coming week with sunny skies forecast for Saturday (but
don't blame us for whatever the weather is!)

Event Timing
Times-7 Sport will be providing timing of the climb up Gibraltar road for
Century riders (a 6.5 mile section of road with 2550' of climb). If you
would prefer not to be timed, simply don't pick up a timing chip during
registration. Results of the climb will be posted at the finish and later
on our web site. There will be modest age-group awards for the following
classifications: M20-39, M40-59, M60+, F20-39, F40-59, F60+.

Photography
New Wave Visuals will be providing photographers to capture the ride at
different locations. Participants may go to
www.NewWaveVisuals.printroom.com/SantaBarbaraCentury to find their pictures
from various vantage points along the course and they will be available to
purchase. It is recommended that you wear your bib number on the front of
your jersey so that the photographer can see it. At the finish there will
be an opportunity for each rider to have their portrait taken as well as
viewing your photographs online.

At the finish
If you are a Century rider with a timing chip, make sure it gets removed
and returned. If you have completed one of the courses, go to the awards
table to receive your finisher's award. Age-group winners of the Century
ride timed section will receive their awards there as well. You can then
pick up your jersey (or order one), purchase a Santa Barbara Century T shirt
(limited supply), pick up some items from some of our sponsors, and enjoy a
soda and ice cream. Stopping at the Shoreline Café next door and unwinding
with its ocean views is a pleasant finish to a hard day.

Thanks for joining us for the inaugural Santa Barbara Century!

Kalon Kelley, Co-Director
Bill Lindberg, Co-Director_


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