metroliner... errrrrr amtrak century

[caligurl]

i tried to post in the snack thread... but it kept freezing!

it was.... interesting! my "metroliner century"! lol!

so we get up at 1:30 (yes a.m.) to get ready to leave and get to irvine at a decent time... uh..... wrongo.... we shoulda arrived at least 45 min to an hour earlier! parking was horrendous and it was packed by the time we got there around 5:30! people were already leaving and it was still pitch black (and no lights!)

anyways... we get parked way out in BFE! and get ourselves ready and tote our coolers and clothing bag waaaaaay over to the registration/start! that was well organized and so was the taking of our bags! we took off around 6:50 i think.... (forgot to check!)

had issues with my HRM before the first rest stop i had cadence, speed, etc.. but no heart rate! i guess it was underground or overhead stuff.. cuz after the rest stop... hubby's started acting up a bit too! (mine came back... so i have my actual miles and ave speed but not the "actual" calories burned cuz you need your HR for that!)

the rest stops were well stocked and at a good/workable distance apart.... lunch was almost a fiasco! the line was HORRENDOUS but some good-thinking sag volunteer started going up and down the line with the sadwiches... then others joined in.... and they even brought the cookies! by the time we got to the food itself... we had already eaten! the next line they couldn't move any faster though... the porta potties... definitely not enough for 1000 people!

the torrey pines grade was "nothing".... it's only 1.5 miles.... i train on a similar grade but longer (3 miles) hill on an almost daily basis... so it was easy for me.... hubby left me and blasted it! i figured he was nice and rode all the rest of the ride with me.... he could have his moment! lol!

they had ice cream at the top! yum! rode the remaining 20 miles and arrived at the cruise ship place....

our bags were all staged and the trucks were ready and loading our bikes.... they had extra jerseys available so i didn't have to order them and wait! yay! they are so pretty this year!

i didn't like the walk to the train station while lugging our clothing bag (and coolers)... some people were changing at the cruise ship place in porta potties... EWWWWWW we chose to change at the train station (almost as bad! lol) the train arrived early and they began boarding while i was changing... so i hurried so hubby could change and we could board and get a quiet car! uhm.... i was disappointed to find out we were riding.. not and amtrak... but a metroliner!

the first car i got on.. i asked if they were quiet or partiers.. they said quiet... then i went exploring and found the next car had seats open with the little table.. so we moved... good thing.. the car we left ended up being so ROWDY!

the ride was long and slow.... at some points you coulda walked faster than we were going! we ate while waiting for the rest of the people to show up... i don't know if several missed the train or if there were more than 800 seats available.. but we had 8 empty seats in our section!

we got back to irvine and had to wait a while for a train to leave the station... then we had to wait for the first 8 cars to de-train before they moved ahead for us.... a LOT Of waiting! then we had to wait for them to unload the bikes from the trucks.....

all-in-all a nice ride... but since i'm not a partier.. the train didn't thrill me all that much (nice to re-see the ocean and a lot of the route we took)

since we have such a long drive... we always pretty much ride... eat.. and leave... in the time we were waiting...we coulda been 1/2 to all the way home! there's nothing "wrong" with this century.. but because of where we live.. i'd put it at the bottom of the 9 organized centuries i've done so far.... if we lived closer.. it'd move it up a few notches! as of right now... i may not try to sign up for next year.. but then... if they have another pretty jersey.... i'm sure i'll forget the waiting and sign up anyways! (poor hubby! he gets stuck driving while i fall asleep!)

the dogs (or specifically my piglet, brie) were ticked that they didn't get dinner til after 10:00!

so there you have it..... the metrolink... errrrr i mean amtrak century!

[CorsairMac]

so what did you end up packing in the cooler??

[caligurl]

lol! ya... i meant to answer that!

subway.... subway club to be exact! yum! hadn't had subway in almost 2 years.. it was yummy but a tad bit soggy (even though i ziplocked them and the ice!

water... diet pepsi... gatorade... and a 7-up... i drank water... hubby drank the pepsi and gatorade! oh.. and small packaged of nutter butters (4 cookies per) i ate one of those! YUM!

we ended up taking a cooler each (but they weren't full... just had LOTS of ice.... if we do do this again.. we'll take one cooler and two clothing bags instead! that sucker was heavy!!!!!!!!!

people had all sorts of stuff.. brownies... cookies... veggies... beer.... bottled marguaritas... (ya.. a bunch of people on other cars that i hope weren't driving! )

[Jo-n-NY]

caligirl, this sounded like an adventure, but a fun one except for the waiting around. i don't like wasting time on lines either.

since it takes so long to get there, and decide to ride it again next year, maybe you can get a near by hotel room for the night before you ride it. at least you can sleep later before riding. of course this is not a good idea if you cannot leave your dog with anyone.

thank you for sharing your ride. it was a fun read.

joann

[caligurl]

actually... the staying overnight doesn't work for us... cuz of our four-legged children... specifically the dogs!

i can't bring myself to kennel them.... so if we stayed in a motel overnight..... we'd have to stay at a dog-friendly place (few and far between) then leave them in their crates in the room while we ride (which is ok... per se... cuz they stay in their crates inside while we work)... however.. being a strange place... not sure they wouldn't bark at every little noise!

so we limit ourselves to 3 to 3.5 hour drive time.. even if leaving in the middle of the night (the dogs stay outside in the yard when we are gone that long.. but it's still not overnight and they get to eat breakfast before we leave and evening breakfast (you know how dogs learn certain words.. well ours eat "breakfast" for both meals! ) when we get home!

i'm still contemplating vegas which mapquest says if 4.5 hours but that means it's really 4 hours... ??????? it's kinda up to hubby since he'll get stuck driving while i fall asleep!

the waiting that mostly "bothered" me was the waiting for the train... waiting of the other train to leave.. etc.. the lines are all a part of the bike ride.. (but still annoying! lol!)

[bcipam]

Glad to hear you did well but I did remind you about 1) parking and 2) taking too much stuff.

Next year, if you plan to do it again, park right across the street from the station, off ADA. Go check in, drop off the cooler and clothes bag, check in and then walk back across the street to get the bikes and take off. I've learned to take just one backpack. It has shorts, a ball cap and a tshirt and a Coke (I can drink it warm but I freeze it first and its usually cold) and some small snacks, crackers, string cheese, cookies.

The train can be a nightmare. This year I heard it left right on time 4:30 leaving some folks still stranded on the docks. Last year, in 100 degree heat, we had to wait 2 hours for a train so consider yourself lucky. The folks on the train do get rowdy. One reason why I don't enjoy the ride anymore. I just can't stand the stupid behavior (there is alot of drinking involved). Alot of my friends ( I live closer - in Irvine) bypass the train ride and have friends pick them up at the dock and they drive home. You get home sooner and have some control over the stops.

One nice thing this year was the weather. You were real fortunate. Plus I heard lunch was better organized (it has been real awful in the past).

Next year, forget AMTRAK and plan instead on doing COOL BREEZE. You'll have to got he night before (so find an hotel that will take pets). Absolutely perfect century. You get great sags, a great lunch, awesome BBQ after and the best views in California. It's my favorite ride.