timed century experience?

[Skippyak]

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?

[ny biker]

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!!

[tangentgirl]

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

[tangentgirl]

on that note, off to train...

[indysteel]

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.

[maillotpois]

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).