# Wine & Cheese Century or Condor Classic



## I3erto (Jul 23, 2007)

Thinking about doing one of these rides. Wine & Cheese is out of Modesto (actually Riverbank) and the Condor Classic is out of Hollister. Anyone riden either of these? Both are Oct 11. Any advice on one over the other? I dont really know much about either area, so I dont know really know the pros or cons of either. Thanks!


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

Normally, given a choice between Modesto and Hollister, you gotta go with Hollister. Modesto is just a farm town in the middle of the Central Valley. Hollister isn't much more exciting, but the topography around town makes for more interesting riding. But, looking at the Modesto route, it could be an interesting ride, once you get off the flats and into the Sierra foothills. I'm not that familiar with some of the roads, so I can't say for sure, but it looks interesting enough that I might give it a try someday.

On the other hand, I know all the roads on the Hollister ride pretty well. It's a cool route, definitely hilly in parts, and you can expect it to be windy. I've only ever driven it, but every time I do, I wish I had my bike so I could ride it. It would be a much better ride in the spring, when the wildflowers would be out.


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

Hmmm, lets see...I've ridden Cheese and Wine 3 times and Hollister - Pinacles - Hollister maybe 7 or 8 times. Both are good rides. Both can be hot and brown before the rains start. Hollister - Pinacles - Hollister travels down the butt crack of the San Andreas fault and is the more scenic of the two. I liked the Cheese and Wine because I'd never ridden any in the Central Valley before. Cheese and Wine is well supported; I don't know about the Condor. I'd probably choose the Condor, but I live much closer to Hollister than Riverbank.

Edit: As Mohair mentioned, the north wind of H-P-H can be very strong.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

We're doing the Condor Classic on tandem, not that that helps at all...


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## Cruzer2424 (Feb 8, 2005)

thinkcooper said:


> We're doing the Condor Classic on tandem, not that that helps at all...



Do you pay once or twice for that?


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## Gimme Shoulder (Feb 10, 2004)

I'll be doing the Cheese and Wine for the fourth or fifth time this year. Flat in the beginning and end with hills in the middle. Tops out just under 2000 ft, just before it drops down to 1000 ft in about 1.5 mi. Probably +/-4000 ft total climbing. Parts of it are really in the back country of the Sierra foothills above Lake Don Pedro. The Red Hills area is like riding onto a Star Trek set. Very well supported. It's actually 110 mi, so can be a tough finisher if it's warm, or if you left too much in the hills.


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