diphthong

originally planned on doing this ride but a broken collarbone on november 30th didn't help. with all the rain (and crazy work schedule) this year, riding time didn't allow for doing the 100 mile version i wanted to. a definite ouch since it rolled through my local roads. i'll be there next year. kudos to all of you that braved the s**tty conditions!

one of my original concerns was that the final approach came up harbor drive-past the navy base/nassco shipyard. that stretch-especially the third of a mile around the shipyard-is hell on road bikes & the skinny tires. if memory serves, there are 12 railroad track crossings once the riders exited the 54 fwy/sweetwater river bike path. they are all pretty much perpendicular except for the one (the last one headed north on harbor) it sounds like people were wiping out on. this last one is particularly insidious; it is at the base of a small rise, is diagonal, and is framed in that slick manhole cover-style steel on both sides. it's bad enough dry, but in the rain-disaster. sorry to hear that multiple riders biffed there; the route should never have gone down that part of harbor drive. one of those cases where the fastest way is definitely not the best. hopefully, the organizers will reroute/omit that stretch in future editions. i can't even begin to imagine how many would have wiped out headed south on harbor, downhill at 20+ mph tackling that dangerous crossing in the rain.

toronto-rider

Epic ride in the rain. Did not stop for the 6hrs and 40 minutes including stops. 6hr 8 min just riding time. That was the longest time ever on a bike.

calamarichris

The Look cleat and stiff soles make walking just as bad as walking in any other cycling shoe. They have little rubber nubs on the toe and heel, but they're still better for pedaling than for walking.
My Pa said they look like they're carved outta mahogany. They're a little narrow, but they're breaking in slowly but surely.

Sorry I missed the ride. Sounds like it was... fun.

voltman

Wet. Did the 53 instead of the century.

Ray R

Everybody else? There were about 150 riders at the Olympic Training Center when I started back on the Medio Corsa. Some people actually did the 101 mile route. Tony? Are you still alive?

I had a blast, soaked to the bone, sure glad to have had fenders! I had a polypropylene base layer, a long-sleeved wool jersey, a thick jacket, and a Gore-Tex rain jacket, polypropylene and wool socks, and two pairs of gloves. As long as I kept riding I was warm, but started feeling the chill at every stop. I started at 7:46 and rolled into the finish at 11:59. The weather reminded me of touring in Europe for six weeks back in '93. My trip coincided with the worst Autumn weather there for years. Half of France was under water. My shoes started to grow mold. This will prevent me from complaining about our weather for the next few years.

The rest stops were well supplied and the lunch at the finish was great! I filled up my plate twice, but only after changing into dry clothes in the car and cracking open a cold one.

My bike is a disaster. The rear fender came loose and rattled for much of the ride. The bar tape is history. The BB and wheel bearings will need to be renewed after all the deep water crossings. Next year I hope to be able to ride the century on the Colnago as I had planned for yesterday. I hope it's another decade before we have another winter like this one. The last one this bad was in 2000. It flooded the crawl space under my house and drowned my gas floor furnace. And I am ordering a pair of those Dromartis today when I get home from work.

tony2v

Did the 53 mile and got 65 miles total since I started my ride form home. Rained from the time I left home until I returned back. Thankfully I had a rain jacket to keep my core warm and dry. Need to find some waterproof shoe covers myPI booties were soaked. Kudos to all the Rain Road Warriors!

tony2v

Hey Ray, only did the Medio Fondo. Rode with Brian and his dad Jeff from our club GS Adams Ave. Also rode with Greg and his wife Jen until I ran into Brian and Jeff. I rolled home @1230 PM after eating some pasta and drinking hot chocolate from Cal Bikes.

Ray R

So you too turned back at the OTC? Good decision, I think. It was pretty brutal out there. Next year let's do the whole enchilada! Ci vediamo presto!

tony2v

My riding partner texted me at 3:30AM and said she wasn't going to ride in the rain. At the OTC looking east wasn't very encouraging to head in that direction besdies I was already wet enough! Sure was cold heading down that hill out of the OTC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We rode into a downpour down hill into Bonita, felt like BBs pelting my face, then the right turn! Of course back again next year!

calaris

It was a downpour as soon as my buddy and I left the hotel. Certainly was interesting riding in the rain for the very first time. We did the 53 mile ride and was completely soaked even with a rain jacket. Yeah, I'll be back next year.

fitz3641

The roads were dry when I woke up at 5:30 AM in downtown San Diego, but I looked at the radar and saw the mess coming our way. I wore a t-shirt, Gran Fondo jersey, arm warmers, rain jacket, gloves, bib shorts and rain pants and I have to admit that I was pretty comfortable the whole way. I had planned all along to do the 53 miler, and I was very happy with my decision at the Olympic training center with those deep clouds hanging over the mountains to the east. All in all it was a fun morning; it takes an organized ride like this to get me out of bed on a rainy Sunday morning.

It was fun riding over the Coronado bridge; hadn't been over that before on a bike.

ElCiclista

That was a century to remeber for a long time. Some pictures are up at https://www.extremepixs.com/index.html

Biker395 

Wet train tracks and line striping, hidden pavement flaws, and crapped out bearings ... one of the many reasons that riding in the rain es no bueno.

jeff_s

This was my first century and longest ride that I've done (previous long distance was 60 miles). I had a great time! It was cold and wet and I'm really happy that I stuck it out and did the entire 100. That's me on the right of the photo, trying to stay warm.