Originally Posted by
Andrew_G
Per Eroica rules (Article 23, Disqualifications) any deviation from the prescribed route can result in a disqualification and a subsequent 2 year ban from the event.
If you ride from Cambria to Cayucos in the morning while the longer rides are in effect, (and then turn around to catch the Piedras Blancas route) then you're also deviating from the prescribed route and become subject to disqualification.
You can do the 33 mile Piedras Blancas route in the morning, and then sign out at the start/finish line. Then, you can ride in the afternoon from Cambria to Cayucos and back. Eroica-CA will have left that route, and you can ride it then without issue. I did that in 2019.
I also recommend low gears, 34x28 = 33", or even lower.
Andrew_G
And you don't have to get up at o'dark hundred!
However, I'm sure if you didn't check in at Cayucas and get your passport stamped, this is one of those rules that is completely unenforceable. I imagine that one couldn't partake of the food at the Cayucas Pier without checking in, but if you rode down to the pier and turned around without your number on self or body, there's no way for Eroica, Inc. to enforce it. It's not a closed course, anybody can ride on Hwy 1. So, if you wanted to do Cambria to Cayucas and back in the morning, and didn't start at the official start (50 yards down the road would work), How would that be enforced?
I highly doubt anybody would care, even Eroica, Inc. Also, you're paying for all the aid stations whether you partake or not. Morally, legally, ethically, I don't see an issue.
But why not sleep in and do it all in the afternoon? A loophole that isn't likely to be taken by anyone. I'm not sure why you'd need a 33" gear on that route!