How was the Tour de Palm Springs??

[bcipam]

Having done PS several times, I can say the flat and lunch problems this year are not unique. It's the same complaint every year. One year they didn't even have the PBJ sandwiches. We had to complain and two years ago they served baloney sandwiches for lunch!!! Or well, it was food.

It's not the most organized and well sagged ride which is why I never recommend it for a first century. Something like AMTRAK or COOL BREEZE is better because of the great sags and support.

And there is the fact the Century is early in the year when it gets dark early. I remember my first one years ago - I finished around 5:30 and it was dark!!!

To those ladies that struggle to stay with friends - I say good for you. My riding partner and I have had this discussion before. We can both ride fairly fast and hard and neither like to stay long at sags but... we always run across a friend who is struggling and needs the support and we have to slow down our ride (and those sags stops - ugh - anything over 10 minutes is way too long for me!). I don't always like it but I hope if I ever am having a hard time, someone will be patience enough to wait for me. Like he tells me "you won't leave those people will you...?" I say "no" "Then quit complaining, that's the way it is"... always like a man's perspective on thing. Practical and to the point. ie quit whining!

[Bike Goddess]

BikerChick- That must be Homey- AKA Bernie! He's a great guy. Hope you will support him on the RAAM fundraiser. I met him at the Furnace Creek 508.

[caligurl]

i actually had a good time! i've read reports on the other two forums that are either good or bad... my ride as good!

my most lasting impression of the ride... the sheer number of riders fixing flats! NEVER have i seen that many flatted riders on a century (including palm springs last year when i rode and the year before when i drove it, as i wasn't riding yet, then.. but went from stop to stop to cheer hubby on/take pics) ! i just kept praying that i wouldn't get one.. cuz even though i can change my tire.... it takes me a while

plus.. i had already had my time consuming adventure.... as i was climbing up the hill (if you can call it that).. before the first SAG stop... i realized my right cleat was moving around.... so i unclipped as i was riding and looked and sure enough... a screw (or screws) was missing.... now silly me... i had taken the multi-tool out of my bag for this ride.. thinking i wouldn't need it... i knew my bike shop was going to be at the first SAG stop.. so i figured i'd get there and let chris (owner) fix it... but then it seemed to be getting worse (not sure if it really was or i was just paranoid at that time)... so then i stopped.. couldn't unclip that foot at first and started asking riders as they sped past: "does anyone have a tool?"

some really nice guy named victor stopped and fixed me up! i got to sit on the side of the road, shoeless watching tons of riders whizz b.... i finally got back on the road... had chris check my cleats at the SAG and he deemed them good enough to get me throgugh the century!

my only other "adventure" was my self-imposed stress over the battery in my new edge.... i had just gotten it the day before... and for whatever reason.. it lost part of its charge overnight (or wasn't completely charged like it said it was) and i was down partially on my battery.. i just KNEW i was gonna lose it and not have my computer for the remainder of the ride.. fortunately that never happened.. and i made it back to the end with a bit of power to spare! PHEW! (but i still stressed about it the whole way!)

other than that.. it was an uneventful century.... as always the sag stops were loaded and with stuff i actually liked! (there were tons of sandwiches when i got to lunch and NO LINES!! YAY!) the park sag had put their orange slices on ice and were even icing the water! nice touch since it had gotten so warm!

i started out with armwarmers, leg warmers and a light windbreaker.... lost the windbreaker when i stopped to get my cleat fixed... finally got rid of the arm and leg warmers at lunch! (was holding out as long as i could with the arm warmers cuz i HATE tanlines from shortsleeves.. so was trying to avoid them i did end up with a little sunburn on my legs)

and of course... the infamous "cobble" section of road in coachella (airport road).... nope.. they didn't fix it in the past year! .... i wonder what the reason is for having 1 side nice and smooth and the other so crummy.. guess they ran out of money?????? the only other 2 really bad road spots were the downhill on dillon (where the paramedics were with a rider putting him on a backboard... a sign warning of the potholes sure woulda been nice) and then at the end again right before varner.. the "new" part that was a change from last year's route.. pretty bumpy (even with carbon fiber) other than that... i thought the roads were typical of other centuries i've ridden....

oh... right after the park SAG stop... it was in a construction area where the road itself wasn't bad.. but there was an obvious 1-2 inch higher section along the side of the road... well two guys in front of me were talking.. but they were one in front of the other... i guess the front guy got distracted.. hit that section.. and down he went.....

the riders taking up the whole road were annoying.... there was no need for it and stuff like that is what gives all cyclists a bad reputation... even at the beginning where there was even a whole lane specifically blocked off for us... there were riders going into the other lane... at one point on dylan.. some jerk tractor trailer driver started honking.. scared the bejeesus out of me! kept honking and honking.. of course if he encountered hordes of riders blocking the road.. i guess i can see why he felt like he had to blast us

plus the trash! plastic water bottles! tire tubes! sheesh! they'll be lucky to get permits to do the rides again if too many people that live around there complain about the mess left!

but other than that.. i enjoyed myself.... had a good ride... did it faster than last year even with the 30 minute side of the road camp out! (6 hours 39 minutes/15.4 mph average) so i'm happy.... i did push myself near the end cuz i was playing "beat the battery" since i was sure my edge battery was gonna die on me (it never did thank goodness!) plus i was riding alone.. no group... not pacelines.. just me, by myself!

i wish i had gotten to meet/see more people.... considering the number of bikejournal folks listed in the rides section (34)... the ones here.. the ones from bikeforums.net... and i'm sure that riders from the other forum must have been there.. but i have no idea who was planning on coming from there!

i got back... browsed the expo (lame) went to my bike shop to get a new saddle to try (a serfas terrazino or something like that?) and then went to in no out! (bad, cali!!!)

OH.. my gps said an average of 73.3... low of 55.9.... high of 82 so all in all a gorgeous day for a ride!

[bikerchick68]

BikeGoddess... yep, Bernie and his son Casey... he really is a heckuva nice man! Casey suffered... truly suffered and Bernie had to push him for about 20 miles... so HE suffered too... then at the 90 mile sag, Casey came in with a broken crank... (we actually had 96 miles) so they had to shuttle in... Bernie offered to sweep in case we didn't make it in before dark just to see to our safety... just an all around decent human being ya know?

cali- the number of flats were amazing this year... makes me glad I switched to Gators! what time did you get into lunch??? We didn't leave the start til 7:40 but we were at lunch before noon... I was actually appalled that they ran out of food. They KNOW how many people paid to ride! To me, not having a sandwich, even PBnJ at the LUNCH sag was inexcusable. I'm pretty easy going, and not much ruffles me... but I was mad.

And I agree on the trash... I was just shaking my head at my fellow riders...pretty disrespectful to throw your clifshot/gu wrappers in the street... and I dropped my water bottle once but stopped to pick it up! You don't just leave them there for someone else to 1) crash over or 2) have to pick up for you!

as to the temp... are you SURE it was only 82? I am positive that's low... it was at least 87 and is the same right now today... I actually used 50SPF... unheard of for me... but even I was getting pink! I tan pretty easily so don't usually burn like that! you probably LOVED those warm temps huh?

on the way home my car broke down too... yep, calamity weekend...

[caligurl]

lol... no.. not sure of the temp! only quoting what my gps said! or rather the weather it posted at motionbased (however i believe they got it from the palm springs airport.. palm desert, indio, and coachello could have very well been hotter! and yes.. it felt hotter than 82! but i assumed it was cuz i was in the sun.. no shade.. and working! lol!)

i'm not sure what time i got to lunch.. passed photocrasy at 9:54.... so what... maybe 10:30?????????????? 11:00????

i woulda been soooo ticked though.. if they had run out of food! i know last year rest stop 2 was out of food since it did both the 100 and 55 milers... and i was ticked about that! lunch...i woulda been livid!!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE.. write and tell them the problems with the ride! i truly believe the more people that complain (constructively) that maybe they'll actually put some suggestions into play!

heck.. even my bike shop guy was complaining about the way it's run! he wasn't happy at all! with the number of people that attend.. it should be a much better event! i mean i had fun and all.. but it wasn't perfect! although it was better than last year in some ways!

[ACG]

As in one of the other discussion boards, this was my first. I finished in around 7 hours, avg speed, well I'll check my bike when I get home. I could not believe the flats! I did not get one. But everyone in my group did. I also saw some dead jackrabbits. I felt that I was pretty slow the first 40 miles, but I picked up steam after that. Met a lot of nice people. Every SAG stop had plenty of goodies when I got there. Gave some people a cheap thrill by pouring water over my top several times. I was pretty grumpy the last 10 miles. We seemed to have to stop at every red light possible. Will definitely be there next year.

[caligurl]

tprevost.... for most organized rides... i ride my own pace.. so alone... he rides a few with me.. he picks which ones... he rode my first metric with me (tour of borrego)... but this year we each did our own ride... rode my first double metric with me (actually.. it was his first double metric too).. the next double metric he rode to the first sag with me.. then took off... hmmmmm he rode angeles crest with me.. it was a climbing century... i'm not sure how he picks in his head which ones to ride with me and which ones to go off on his own... he's riding the mardi gras century next weekend with me (sounds like a nice century.. they claim only 2200 climbing! but he's already warned me he's going to push me.... (but if he pushes too much.. i'll just back off and ride what i can do! lol!) i always tell him he's mean to push me.. but i know he's just trying to make me a better rider... we just have different goals! (i want to ride for fitness and to burn calories.. he wants to get faster and stronger!)

and don't decide again palm springs because of some of the reports.... do it and make your own decision! there were 8000 riders... and only a handful of us reporting! they wouldn't keep coming if they didn't really enjoy it on some level!

oh... and i try to start as early as i can... if it's a set time.. i leave when it starts.. if its an open time.. i leave at the earliest time! especially for climbing rides... i need all the time i can get!!!!!

[purepink]

Hi, I'm purepink aka Bikerchick's female friend. Yeah, I crashed. It was amazing how it happened so fast and so slow at the very same time. As I lay in the road a bit stunned, I realized that if the guy in the truck hadn't been paying attention, I would have been roadkill!! I was obviously a bit shaken by the whole incident and my shoulder really hurt. All I could think about was getting to the finish line. I wanted that 100 miles on my computer. Computer broke from the crash so I didn't even get that! All in all, I'm okay. Still a bit sore but very proud of my sheer determination to finish. It was a great day, my hubby did his first 55 after being off the bike for 6 months and I made my 100 even after a crash! I came home from work today to find bows on my pretty pink bike. Hubby had taken her in for a going over and she's all better now and ready for me to ride. That was a great Valentines Day present!