73StellaSX76

bikingshearer 

Thanks for the photos, @Straightblock. It was good to talk with you.


I did the short route to the lighthouse and back with @Kabuki12. We met at on the inland short route at the first Eroica CA and we've ridden together at every Eroica CA since - always a highlight of my cycling year. My friend Mark (@MarcoPolo) came down, but was felled by a nasty cold/flu/creeping crud and did not ride. I like riding with Mark a lot and only get to do so a couple times a year, so I was sorry to miss him.


This year's short route was much easier that the previous short routes. It had fewer miles, precious little climbing and the only dirt was the road between Hwy 1 and the lighthouse. I'm not complaining and would cheerfully do the same ride again, but some may have felt cheated by the lack of strada bianche.


This is a unique enough ride that I can't get that worked up about the food on the route, especially since the pasta at the end was both good and plentiful. I did miss the french fries at Olea Farms, although I did not miss the dirt road up to it.


The Saturday events provided the usual droolfest of C&V eye candy. It almost becomes overwhelming, kind of like being in the Louvre and having your eyes glaze over looking at the umpty-umpth priceless antiquity or breathtaking Rembrandt that day.

I want to compliment Wes on dialing up perfect weather, at least along the coast. Just as the headwind start becoming noticeable, I was at the lighthouse. Heading back, what a glorious tailwind.

I thought the vibe at this year's event was a lot like the vibe at the first one, with Wes & Co. seemingly feeling their way through a lot of first-time sorting out. Again, this is not a complaint. The next three years in Paso Robles felt more under control, including last year's at the fairgrounds. I expect that next year in Cambria will go smoother that this year, not that this year was at all bad, as far as I am concerened.

Darth Lefty 

What a great ride. Thank you all for reporting in. Maybe someday if my bum ticker heals up properly I'll be able to join you all on Dad's Paramount.

Kabuki12

The event was certainly a little lean on the bag 'o goodies , no poster , no Vintage Steel calendar , etc. That being said , and I say this almost every year, the best Eroica EVER!!!! Yes , the ride could have been more challenging for us short ride people, and the food at the lighthouse was not near the equivalent of Olea Farms french fries , but the views of the Pacific , the Elephant Seals , and the occasional distant whale spout , I mean .... REALLY! It just don't get much better than that. As always my highlight was meeting new BF friends and riding with my Eroica Buddy Rich, AKA Bikingshearer. Rich and I , as he previously stated , have ridden these events together for some time and THAT is the highlight . The goodies are great , but , even a lean year as this past Eroica is better than practically anything else I can think of . Hey what about that slice 'o pie? Lynne and I went to Linn's for lunch/dinner as we have many times before when visiting the Central Coast and Saturday's meal was awesome the slice of pie was enjoyed later in the room as Linn's always has generous portions on their plates. Mr. Linn and Wes and all those( and it takes a small army) that made this year so nice for the rest of us get a huge THANK YOU from me. Thanks for the pictures , Straightblock , it was great chatting with you and I love that jersey! Okay , how many days until Eroica California 2020? Joe

At the lighthouse , while enjoying the fruit

jethin

rccardr 

Thankfully the weather turned out to be lovely this past weekend, because without the sun and warmth it would have been a very different Eroica. Like others, was disappointed in the food, the organization and administration. Saturday dinner's food was excellent but the way things were handled was terrible (paid & ticketed folks turned away at the door because they oversold). Way too short on volunteers, things ordered for the rest stops not showing up on the event day. And it goes on.
Hopefully someone will step up to help out Wes and provide some much needed assistance with the many, many, many details required to put on an event of this stature.

However, the people, as always, were the real draw. Folks you get to see only once a year & bikes you may never, ever get a chance to see again. Kudos to Gugie and the House Of Fun for the excellent food. I didn't stay there but did drop by a few times for conversation and...refreshment.

Like others, I think the change in venue made the ride more difficult, if only because of the change in the order of the climbs. Santa Rita was easier this year since it came first- what a breeze!- but Cypress Mountain was a deathmarch at the end for me. And Kiler Canyon...let's just say that plowing and grading the middle two miles the afternoon before the event was not the best way to prep the road for a bunch of old men on old bicycles. Four inch deep soft sand and dirt with two very faint tire/tread marks and a steep incline made it a real slog. Not the organizer's fault as it's maintained primarily by locals, but...it was really difficult. The descent after Cypress Mountain was a delight (with dual pivot brakes) but clearly the spring rains caused more erosion and heave in the paved portions. One drop impact at high speed was so severe that when I got to the bottom I had to straighten out the brake hoods and bring the bars back up to level.

Anyway, lots of fun all around, and as one can see from the smiling faces in everyone's pictures, a good time was had.

Cayucos, after a brisk 25mph run down Rt. 1 along the water:


John Siemsen and his neighbor Bart, friends from Portland. Top of Santa Rita. Lots of fog up there in the early morning.

Rest stop in Tin City. Very cool, great beer, not much food. This was after Santa Rita and before Kiler Canyon, as this year we didn't really get into Paso Robles. Folks who took the shorter 75 mile route around Kiler went directly to Halter Ranch instead of this stop.


Top of Kiler Canyon looking downhill.

rccardr 

Halter Ranch. Great stop, lots of people spent lots of time here. Cypress Mountain Road is next.

The Davidson at the top of Cypress. It operated flawlessly all day long. Fast and a good climber, too!

Just a taste of the incredible green scenery from up in the foothills. All the spring rain really brought out the vegetation, wildflowers, etc.

FINIS!

Oldairhead 

A ride like this does require many volunteers but I do not think that was the problem this year. Wesley's role was changed due to personal and other reasons. His title this year was "Event Founder" not "Event Director" and he was not in charge of the details which include support, food, the festival and goody bags. After losing money last year, management of the event was taken over to the Italians who did too little too late. Eric Benson, the route director did his best to make it work but without money or support from management his task was nearly impossible. California is a difficult enough place to put on a large cycling event, but without adequate funding or responsive management the volunteers can only do so much!

I say kudo's to the volunteers who managed to pull off this years event with inadequate support from the Eroica organization. I am also sad to see the event lose the momentum that it had gained over previous years under the guidance of Wes. I have attended every EC so far, but I am not sure that I will return if this is the direction that the event is headed.

Kabuki12

I wasn't aware that Wes had stepped down as director. That makes sense now . I had said to my wife when we arrived on Saturday that I didn't see Wes like in previous years. IMHO the difference would not keep me from attending. The vibe of the folks there was still about the ride and the bikes. I found a few things at the swap , met some new friends , and enjoyed all that Eroica had to offer and I hope we will have the opportunity to do it next year. Joe

gugie 

Great to see my personal bike mechanic sporting a 'Traut!

Slightspeed

Not to beat a dying horse, but some of you were "curious" about my friend's Klein pictured above. I mentioned it to him, and he sent me the following email. This is the "un-redacted" version, not meant to offend, but to inform. Steel is real, but there is room for aluminum too. My friend's statement:

" The KLEIN TEAM SUPER is from 1981. Most people would ignorantly guess its from the mid 90's ..but nope. The "Team Super" model was the first frame Gary Klein ever made. They were custom order frames, or custom complete bikes only. These are not just any aluminum frame. They were revolutionary in the way of large diameter design, the very first frames to be. Cannondale later copied them. Not only were made of aluminum, but they were 'boron' reinforced. Boron is one of the very hardest compound material elements used for structural rigidity, used mostly in the aerospace industry. The craftsmanship, welds, and paint are amazing. The frame was the most expensive bike frame of the day. Twice the cost of any Masi, Colnago, etc. It was the American Super bike of the day. The original owner of this bike took out a bank loan to buy it back then. This particular Team Super from 1981 is a 56cm and it weighs only 17.6 lbs.

You can tell any wanna-be stickler idiots on the bike forums, it's ALL L'Eroica legal ---NOT that I care for it to be. Aluminum frames are allowed if rare and unique ( examples include Vitus, Alan, Exxon Graftek, and a few more. And FYI, there were aluminum frame from the 1930's!! The Team Super is rarer then many of the aforementioned). The aero brake levers were added around 1987. They are in line with the construction period of the bicycle, so they are still compliant. Anyway, I know my bikes. I own 4 Klein Team Supers, all from the original owners. Although very nice, this particular one is the least prettiest. The earliest one is from late 1976. I have ridden many many high end top tier bikes, and this one is right up on top for how it's designed to ride. "


Here's the "business end".

rch427

A conspiracy (read: 3 months of procrastination) prevented me from having the Rochet porteur racer ready in time, but I attended on a back-up bike and did the short & easy route. All went pretty well, except that I was carrying about 30 lbs of food, drink, tools and parts on my back. But I discovered that starting out near the front of the pack meant that I got to finish near the back, which allowed me to meet more people! If anyone noticed an old guy in gray knickers and a salmon-colored sunburn, slowly riding a dark green Hetchin's with a 3-speed hub and upright bars -- that was me.

A few shots:

DiabloScott

This was my first Eroica so my opinions and perspective are likely different from the veterans; and I don't have any comparison on the budget cuts.

1. The venue in Cambria was perfect. It was beautiful and more like a destination vacation than Paso Robles could be, and if I had come from far away that would be extra important to me and I'd want a something comparable to (or better than) Tuscany or La Rioja. The locals and business folks seemed to appreciate the riders and that's also important.
2. I came for an epic, tough, and memorable ride and I sure got it. I am glad the weather turned nice.
3. The negatives just weren't that bad - I hardly ate any of the rest stop food anyway (I brought bars, gels, and powders like any other century), I don't have a medallion collection, I wasn't planning on buying stuff from vintage vendors or swap tables, I don't know what I'd do with a free poster.
4. I bought food at grocery stores, didn't eat at restaurants or the event dinners. I would've liked more opportunity to mingle and swap stories with other riders but I got almost enough of that at check in, and at my hotel, and here.


It was such a great ride that I filled up the SD card on my bike-cam before I got to Cypress:

mgopack42 

I had a long post, and then i lost it so suffice it to say, It was hard and fun. when the auto save version comes back i will post that

Choke 

Well, that explains a lot. I too have attended every Eroica CA and thought that the support was very lacking this year. To be clear, the area that was lacking was food, drinks, supplies, etc.....not the volunteers themselves; everyone who was working at the event was cheery and helpful. But like you, it has me questioning further attendance. I imagine that I'll be there again next year though if it turns out to be the same as this year.....

I did see you and your gorgeous bike and commented on it on the route.

Lemond1985

OK, so I guess the bottom line is, "NO CANNONDALES". But at least they relented on the prohibition on aero brakes.

I know that Lemond, Hampsten, and Hinault were all using LOOK clipless pedals in the 1986 TDF (they were sponsored by LOOK, FFS) maybe the organizers will relent on that (clipless pedals allowed, if you can prove they were manufactured pre-1987).



Ebay sellers of 80's clipless pedals will make piles of money off that rule change.

rch427

Well, thanks!

rch427

Ironically, the ride you did this year was the ride I did last year, when it was based in Paso Robles (or at least the ride I did was a short portion of the longer ride you did)! And a great ride it was -- Cass Winery, the rutted gravel track up the hill behind it, the olive oil grove, etc. -- really scenic. I loved watching the video you posted and being able to see parts of the ride I enjoyed last year.

I enjoyed exploring Cambria, but I have to say as someone who took the short route this year, that point-A-to-B/B-to-A rides aren't my favorite, especially when they're on busy roads like Hwy. 1; I would've preferred a different route. Having said that, Cambria is somewhat limited in road choices that aren't too hilly for old guys on low-performance bikes, so the lighthouse route may have been the best that could be done.

My main complaint about the venue is that there was not enough shade. I got fried (and not in the good way) after standing in the sun for a couple of hours. I'm hoping the organizers can come up with an alternative venue next year that has either good tree-cover, or some kind of artificial shade.

Andy_K 

You should have stopped by the Palazzo. I heard someone mention your bike, but I did the short route so didn't see you.

Apart from that, I agree that more intentional socializing opportunities would be nice. I didn't go to the group dinner Saturday night because it was a lot like a high school cafeteria experience last year -- long tables where you could talk to the four or five people around you and no one else. I'm sure a more natural social atmosphere could be created and there is plenty of time available on Saturday to do it.

On a related note, I think the "Concours d'Elegance" thing is missing some opportunity. It's a nice show of some really top notch bikes, but there were a thousand people there with cool old bikes and I'd like some platform to see them and talk to their owners. Maybe they could have some sort of "show and tell" area where anyone who wanted to could sign up for a time slot to bring their bike and talk to people about it. The current concours format is a bit elitist for my tastes. Sure, I'm interested in seeing a perfectly preserved 1974 Confente, but I'm also interested in seeing more common bikes that get ridden a lot or bikes that have been tricked out in unusual ways.

Spaghetti Legs 

rccardr 

Classtime 

rch427

rch427

And did anyone else catch the guy who mixed it up with a car on the way to the finish line, which destroyed his Colnago? Terrible thing to have happen to the Colnago, but he was damned lucky to still be walking.

Darth Lefty 

This is Norcal. You can't throw a rock without hitting a fermenter or a grow