gugie 

Just got the mea culpa email. $90 early reg.

gugie 

From the email:

On behalf of the organizers, we thank you for supporting the 5th edition of Eroica California. We would also like to thank the hundreds of you who took part in the post-event survey and provided us with invaluable information about your event experience.

We read each of your answers carefully and we have a clear mandate to make improvements to one or more aspects of the event. In particular, we understand that the rest stops for the NOVA riders on Saturday and the short course riders on Sunday were not up to your expectations. But there were other issues, and we will address these in the upcoming months.

We began this year with a new venue and a new team, and despite months of planning, there were lapses in coordination which left some checkpoints overstocked and others lacking what was needed. This is for us unacceptable and we are deeply sorry for anyone who did not get enough to eat or drink. Those of you who have attended L’Eroica in Tuscany, or any other Eroica event, know that we strive to maintain the highest standards in regards to checkpoints, standards we set ourselves over the past 23 years. The satisfaction of the Eroica Community is, as always, our highest priority, and the Eroica feed stop should always be a positive and memorable experience.

Like most of you, we are convinced that we have found a great new home in Cambria, but we are also aware that some riders and vendors had issues with the venue location and set up. We are researching moving the festival to another location closer in town, but whatever the solution, we promise to make Eroica California 2020 the best edition yet.

That being said, the 6th Edition of Eroica California will be back in Cambria on the 4th and 5th of April 2020. As a sign of good faith, we are offering the opportunity to all 2019 attendees to register now until June 6th at a very special rate.

$90 for NOVA or Classic
$150 for the NOVA and Classic combined ticket

gugie 

@davester, time to start planning that Marinica to Eroica ride...

Classtime 

I'm glad that they fessed up wrt ALL the problems. I'm going for the Combined Ticket. Different kind of fun to do the course with granny gears, dual pivots, and clipless pedals. It is very likely that 2020 will be very well run.

Kabuki12

I just got the email as well. Killer deal for super early registration. I am glad they are going to address the pitfalls of last year and I am already looking forward to it! You there Rich? Joe

brockd15 

I don't know this far in advance if I'll actually be able to go, but I'm signed up anyway.
Long route again for me, and maybe this time around I'll get a bike ready early enough to test ride it before the morning of.

keithdunlop

This email, plus a package I received in the mail last week have convinced me that the organizers are taking the Cambria feedback serious, and are making every effort to ensure the event is a success. I'll be back in 2020, for sure!

Last week I came home to a mailing tube on my doorstep and inside were two Eroica CA 2019 posters. A very nice unexpected gesture on their part!

bikingshearer 

Yes, if I can get convince their PITA new on-line registration system to recognize my existence . . . .

Andy_K 

What’s their plan for the road surfaces?

merziac

Bigger, better tires on our end.

daviddavieboy

The early registration must be for previous entrants as I cannot register until June 6th.

Classtime 

I'm in for the Combined.
Luckily, my iPhone knew how to access myeroica and since I did the 2019 ride I got the deal. @bikingshearer try typing your "other" name. If I use Jeffrey instead of Jeff, it won't work.

WaveyGravey

I'm interested in this event. How can I get info and registration procedure? Thanks

Slightspeed

No email for me, no poster, but I'm glad they may be stepping up to improve the event. The dusty cow pasture left a lot to be desired. My wife has mobility issues, and didn't even try to navigate the lumpy pasture. Luckily (?) there were easier access shopping opportunities in town for her. I would have liked a poster too, but early Saturday morning, was told they were all gone. Still, a great event. It's all about the bikes and the people, hopefully it continues, with or without funky management. Looking forward to 2020.

Slightspeed

Google "Eroica CA". Good luck on registration. It was my third event, and the registration this year was way harder than in years past. Great event though.

gugie 

I talked to a lot of people about 2019. Almost all of them said they didn't like the pre-dawn start. The dinner was a disaster. The food at the stops was sub-par, no Mexican Coke at the top of Cypress, no free beer at the end and no medal for finishing. Pretty much to a person, however, they all said they'd return.

In order of importance:
1. People
2. The route
3. The bikes
4. The event

2 and 3 can be switched around, depending on the person.

I'm in for 2020, and starting now to pimp a credit card tour from SF Bay Area to Cambria the week before.

iab

We'll have to agree to disagree.

1. People
2. Food
3. Bikes
4. Route

gugie 

Yeah, I think food/event are close enough to being the same. I respect your opinion, but note that we agree on the most important thing: the people. I fixed the food thing in a way by renting out il Palazzo degli Eroi, and rolling our own. That didn't help the food on the ride, but we had a ton of great food right after to share with anybody that wanted to come by. Spaghetti with tomato sauce, no matter how well made just ain't very heroic. Nor are $7 beers.

Andy_K 

I got linguine and marinara sauce. It was pretty good. I don't blame you for being disappointed if they gave you spaghetti with tomato sauce.

gugie 

I passed, this was waiting for me at il Palazzo:

iab

You really need to try a truly great gravy. I do agree you ain't getting it in a jar from the market.

The tacos look great.

gugie 

I hear that the sauce was very good. But as a son of a a son of an Italian immigrant, good marina is a birthright. If you can't make a good one from scratch, well, you've seen the prison scene in Goodfellas, right? It ain't that hard if you pay attention to the details.

mech986 

Likely much more of the same, maybe some rain and mud, more rutted roads, and sharper gravel thrown in just for you.

Yes, the special rate is just for 2019 attendees as noted in Gugie's quoted email:

"That being said, the 6th Edition of Eroica California will be back in Cambria on the 4th and 5th of April 2020. As a sign of good faith, we are offering the opportunity to all 2019 attendees to register now until June 6th at a very special rate."

$90 for NOVA or Classic
$150 for the NOVA and Classic combined ticket

Still, the regular early bird rate of $130 is still a good deal and will open soon enough as you mentioned. If you have not been before, I think you will enjoy it immensely. Hope to see you there.

Gugie, personally, I needed every bit of time on the course to finish so starting at 6:45am with the 82 Scalatore riders helped me. I was out there riding the 75 mile Santa Lucia route at my own pace and finished at 5:40pm. IMO, it was pretty interesting to start out in the dark, ride Highway 1 with lights, and then a mile or two in heavy fog (hearing and then getting passed by cars you could barely see (and them seeing us) was a little unnerving), and then watching the sun rise over the mountains as we headed towards Cayucos was pretty neat. The coolness of the morning was pretty refreshing, IMO.

I thought the dinner was a very good meal, cramped seating though (could have been spaced better) and yes, a bad mixup regarding turning away paid reservations due to lack of sufficient seating / ticket / whatever mixup happened. I will be working with some folks to see about addressing that. As for the Mexican Coke, I didn't expect that because both Santa Rita and Cypress summit stops were clearly stated as water stops only, and I brought sufficient electrolyte mixes to work with the 5-6 liters of water I drank through the ride plus food stops.

Yes, I will be coming back as will Ben, my BIL whom you met, and I've already registered. I think you need to upgrade the Palazzo though. See you there!

daviddavieboy

Thank you. It is going to be my 50th birthday present to myself. I have a 5200 KM drive one way and will be doing alot of sight seeing on the way back along Route 66 and the other touristy spots. This winter I built a bike specially for this ride in 2020 and already have the time booked off work. Now I will just have to invest in some wool cycling garb.

iab

Maybe we're saying the same thing, but for me, gravy =/= marinara.

Gravy takes a good portion of the day. Marinara is quick. Gravy is complex. Marinara is simple.

I'm not saying you can't have a good marinara, but it isn't the same as gravy.

I wasn't at Eroica and can't comment on what they used. But as you probably know, a great gravy can create a great meal.