Fredwina ... yah, I knew registration was 6/15, I just said it wrong. But thanks for clarifying anyways, cause it would have sucked to miss registration day completely had I not known!

I've done that Torry Pines climb on the tandem. It SUCKS! But I'm guessing it's the worst part of the ride and, at least I'm familiar with it. I heard about that climb back when I was a kid and mom and dad did it. They called it "Killer Hill" and have pictures of their friend at the top having conquered it! I didn't know exactly where it was or that it was Torry Pines, but when I rode it with DH last Fall I told him this HAD to be the infamous "Killer Hill"! And I was right.

When you said the climbing in Coolbreeze is underrated, do you mean it's more difficult than people think? Because DH just said that very thing. He said it's a tough first century and that Tom and Sue just said the other day that this not a century you don't train for.

Thanks for the other tips about Amtrak. I was thinking it seemed like you had more than 8 hours when I saw the starting times and the train departure time, (even with being there an hour early) but I thought maybe I was missing something and didn't want to take any chances. The site says it's a good first century. Would you agree?