timed century experience?

Howdy! I'm all signed up for my first century in a few years, Levi's Gran Fondo in Santa Rosa CA. Super excited, looking forward to a summer of riding!

Now, I've only done recreational centuries before. More or less. I'm pretty recreational. So, what can I expect to be different? You know, besides the time limits. I know we have three hours to hit the first checkpoint, 30-some miles up a hill. And 10 or 11 hours to finish. And I know that this particular ride is HILLTASTIC.

Any experience with this kind of ride? Do tell...

At around 35 miles on King Ridge Road the longest climb of the ride is a 4 mile up to 12% grade climb. On Willow Creek Road at around 75 miles there is a 3 mile up to 13% grade climb. I’d find something equivalent to those climbs to ride a few times before the century. That should give you the confidence (if you even need it :)) to also do the other smaller steep climbs on the ride. If for any reason you don't make the morning time check there is an alternative road they make you ride that takes 30 or so miles off the route. That road joins the main route again at the Ritchey Ranch food stop.

The good news is after the rest/food stop at Ritchey Ranch (around 60 miles in) there is the 4+ mile Meyers Grade descent with great ocean views. The second good news is around 80 miles it’s mostly downhill and then flatter (with just some small climbs) with probably a tail wind into the finish.

DO you really have 10 hours to finish? How much actual climbing is this in total? is it 9,500? I would be doing some climbing LOL. That would be quite a ride. I am never sure how much time the descents help in a century like that? Does it really help a lot on the timing?

I think the only timed rides I've done were the Livestrong rides. With them, if you miss the cutoff on the course they drive you for part of it and drop you off near the finish so you can still ride across the finish line.

I focused on average speed while riding as well as total ride time including rest stops to make sure I was on pace when I trained. And yeah, do as much climbing as you can.

Good luck!!

Yep, 9k of climbing for the full century:

What are my route options?

Gran Route: 103 Miles, 9,000 feet, 7 rest stops
Medio Route: 65 Miles, 4,000 feet, 4 rest stops
Piccolo Route: 32 Miles, 1,500 feet, 1 rest stop

Here are the times:

Are there cutoff times? / Is there a time limit?

YES. There are cutoff times to ensure your safety. We have found it mandatory to enforce cutoff times simply due to a lack of available daylight hours in the fall. You will have until 6:00pm to complete the entire route. It takes approximately 30 minutes for the riders in the back of the staging area to cross the start line. Because of this, all riders will have between 9.5 and 10 hours to complete any given course and still have their time recorded.

The 11:00AM Gran route cutoff: If you have not made it to downtown Cazadero by 11:00AM, CHP will direct you to the left of the intersection at King Ridge Road and up an alternate climb on Fort Ross Road. You will reach the ridgeline adjacent to the Ritchey Ranch rest stop where you can fuel up just before the steep descent back down to the coast. Fort Ross Road is a beautiful ride with tough climbs and lovely descents, but it’s not as long or difficult as King Ridge.
6:00pm: The course is officially CLOSED at 6:00pm, at which time we stop recording finishers and start the work of tearing down the FondoSonoma Festival. You will not be recorded as having finished the event, but we will make sure to keep some food and beer around for those of you rolling in that late. We don’t want you going home without at least some reward for your efforts. Like the Fat Cyclist/Elden Nelson, Fondo Comrade Numbero Uno, says, “I always take the medium-distance course as fast as I possibly can to get to the finish line early, where I hang out and have time to talk with everyone as they cross the line.” Guy’s a prince. You can be too, with just a bit of planning…or training.

All from the race faq: http://www.levisgranfondo.com/faq

on that note, off to train...

It might be helpful to find out how crowded the rest stops are. My general rule for 100+ miles is to keep my stops as brief as possible. When I did the RAIN ride in 2007 and 2008 (a 160-mile ride across Indiana), I spent all of about 45 minutes at the rest stops, including lunch. There are only four official stops (and one unofficial one), so that sort of makes it easy, but it also helps that they have enough port-a-potties to get in an out fast. Remember that you don't have to stop at every rest stop. So, think about using them strategically. Seven rest stops for a 103-mile ride doesn't strike me as excessive, but I, personally, likely wouldn't stop at every one of them. I find it especially hard to stop frequently on hilly rides as my legs have a tendency to turn to lead when I stop.

This is a fun, well supported ride. I've done it 3-4 times (the full route). The cut off times are pretty generous. It's really pretty flat to Cazadero (the first cut off).

Like other timed rides I've done, the mass start is very crowded. You should be confident riding among other people. The crowd doesn't really thin out noticeably til Cazadero, and even then it thins to large bunches. The first part of the ride is very flat, and so there are a lot of people really trying to get an advantage. If you haven't done a lot of pack riding, I suggest lining up toward the back.

Last time I did the ride (2 years ago), I found the ride crowded even on the climb of Kings Ridge, which I really hadn't noticed in prior years. I suspect that it might be a little less crowded this year (post doping revelations), which would be good.

The rest stops are great. Though crowded, they are well stocked and amply volunteered.

Any specific questions? Are you local? - I forget (sorry).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rebeccaC

On Willow Creek Road at around 75 miles there is a 3 mile up to 13% grade

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Willow Creek is an option - the main route is Coleman Valley Rd. I've never done Willow Creek, but hear it is beautiful. Coleman is lovely - I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Sarah, thanks! I've been hearing a bit of intimidating talk about this ride, so it's nice to see a positive tone about it. I'm sure I'll have more specific questions as it gets close, but your post helps. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tangentgirl

Sarah, thanks! I've been hearing a bit of intimidating talk about this ride, so it's nice to see a positive tone about it. I'm sure I'll have more specific questions as it gets close, but your post helps. :)

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That's good. One of my 2 bike clubs (SRCC) is also very involved in the ride, providing course marshalls, etc., and that's a good thing too as it is a great club. Do let me know if you have any specific questions.

I should mention - be careful of the descent down Kings Ridge on Hauser Bridge (after the Kings Ridge rest/lunch stop). It is a pretty technical descent for a road bike (steep, twisty) and there will inevitably be people stopped along the way down (yes). At the bottom, there's a sharp left onto the metal bridge which freaks a lot of people out but the bridge itself is completely fine and has a negligible effect on the handling of your bike as long as you keep moving straight and steady. The last year I did the ride it was very rainy on this stretch and there were a lot of crashes I was very grateful for my disc brakes. :)