L'Eroica California
 

I just received this:

> You are all invited to come and be a part of this historical inaugural
> event.
> Here is the basic information about the event and more info will follow soon
> after.
>
> This L'Eroica is partly hosted by and will benefit Hospice of San Luis
> Obispo County (non profit, 100% volunteer based Hospice)
> www.hospiceslo.org | A Volunteer Hospice Organization Since 1977. Proudly Serving San Luis Obispo County
>
> Dates: April 10th, 11th and 12th. (The ride is on Sunday, the 12th),
> This will be our pilot event.
>
> Location: Paso Robles, California (San Luis Obispo County)
>
> Routes: Three routes will be offered for the first year event. 35 miles, 50
> miles and 107 miles (Tentative and the actual distances may change without notice).
>
> Rider Limit: 1000 (we are aiming to have between 500 to 1000 riders for this
> pilot event).
>
> Bicycles: Same eligibility rules will apply from the Italian L’Eroica.
> The bicycles used in the two longer routes must meet these rules.
> (Road racing bicycles of 1987 or older, exposed cable housings above
> brake levers/handlebar, no clipless Pedals Except for the Cinelli M71 Pedals,
> No electrical assist shifting, Steel tubed frames and forks (exception for Alan and Vitus glued/bonded
> Aluminum frames). **full elibibility info is available on our website
> en.eroica.it/regulation <http://en.eroica.it/regulation> under "Regulation,
> Article 6". We may open the shortest route to other types of bicycles
> (Cross bikes/mountain bikes) for the first year to let more people share the
> experience and feel of L’Eroica ride and the white roads.
>
> We will be offering (event schedule may change without notice except for the ride on Sunday):
> Vintage Bicycle Concours d' Elegance with judging (May split the classes by
> Age/Restored/preservation, all depending on the number of entries)
> Screening of a classic cycling film at the city Theater located just a few steps from the event venue.
> Vintage Bicycle Fair/Swapmeet
> Wine Tasting Tours
> Preride Dinner/Award ceremony for the Concours winners.
> The ride (Sunday, April,12th)
> After ride Pasta Party
>
> Registration will be handled via central website and it will launch in
> February 2015 (TBA).
> We are in the final negotiations with the local hotels to secure the best
> possible room rates for the participants.
> When we secure the hotels and room blocks we will send out the list and
> promo codes if needed.


Brent

So is it invite only, then?

Could be very interesting.

I really doubt it. This was pretty widely distributed.
Brent

First I have heard of it.

The event web site hasn't launched yet, but will provide all the details. Pretty exciting! I hope to attend....

Sounds good. Great riding area.
Helmets optional, right?
No plastic modern helmets as well.
Ride like we did BITD... NO HELMET.

Yo también. (Trying to learn a bit of Spanish, having nothing to do with this event...)

Dang this sounds pretty interesting. The question would be what bike to bring? Haha!

If it's anything like the Italian and British versions, I suspect swap meet, bike show, general merriment...

The rules say the event is for road racing bikes built before 1987 . Since the rules also exclude cross bikes built before '87, I guess it would exclude touring bikes as well. Pre-1987 sports touring bikes are probably OK since they are more or else racing bikes.

Boy, riding L'Eroica in 2015 will involve a complete world tour!

Is 1987 included or excluded? I'd love to ride the '87 Guerciotti.

Not invite only. This event was announced on the Classic Rendezvous list. Open to everyone, but will likely follow the same registration guidelines as the main L'Eroica (i.e. a limit to the number of registrants, now set at 1000).

Personally, I'm really excited about this event. L'Eroica in Italy is one of those "bucket list" dreams, but the CA is more doable. I'm curious to see the routes. Unfortunately, I need to fly to London on April 12th (the day of the ride). Wonder if there's any way I can do the ride in the morning and still make a red-eye from SFO that night...

Depends how fast you ride!

My guess would be the spirit of the event should be upheld, 1987 is after indexing arrived, but if the bike was traditional, (toe clips and straps, friction shifting, non aero brake housing, etc.) that might work.

It's a full C-Record friction group, but the levers are aero, so I'd probably have to switch them out. Probably a question best posed to the organizers.

Roadtrip! I will be going....

If I had an appropriate bike I'd strongly consider it.

Sounds like the Great Western Bicycle Rally, even the route distances, but with an emphasis on "antique" bikes. <--- which is all good!

Will we be allowed to park and set up camp on the Fair grounds?

"1987 or earlier", to me this reads as inclusive of 1987.

How about the Teledyne Titan, a non-steel (titanium) bike available long before 1987? I know the answer is "that is fine". It's not that I have one.

This is a seriously nice area to ride.

The British version is much more of a festival, with carnival rides, lots of food and drink vendors (beer, Pimms, Hendricks gin), vintage clothing sellers, mustache groomers, etc,in addition to a swap meet and contests for best costumes, bikes, etc. They really swung for the fence, and knocked it out of the park.

The original Italian version is much more subdued, with the swap meet and wine tent being the main attractions. It will be interesting to see what the CA version is like. The festival area is comparatively small (smaller than Britannia but bigger than Italy?), so perhaps somewhere in between?

Is this an officially franchised "L'Eroica" event or a knockoff event? I don't see the official logo used anywhere and there has been no official announcement from L'Eroica HQ.

So true! I loved them both however. I think it is cool that each location has its own character based on cultural influences. Will have to wait and see how the event is done here in the States. The US is sometimes a little lacking in the culture and tradition department. I'll be there regardless.

This is a seriously good opportunity for a C & V group hook-up on one of the days.

Yes, it is. It's just not officially announced yet. There is also a new version in the Rioja region of Spain.....

This will definitely be a great opportunity for a large-scale C and V get-together!

What about your Tempo? Put some non-aero levers on, and be ready to roll?