Gabbo

I live in South OC, and I'm doing the May 19 San Diego Century. I'm hoping to drive down on Friday at around lunch (I have the day off) for rider registration, and then get up at the crack of dawn Saturday and drive down again for 6-6:45 a.m. staging and go-time.

Is that a dumb idea? Should I be getting a hotel instead to avoid all that driving, or should the traffic be hackable? Really hoping to avoid the cost, as I am a colossal cheapskate.

PeregrineA1 

Train? for at least one of the trips. Friday drive can be brutal.

calamarichris

1.5-2 hours in Friday afternoon traffic vs. waking up at 4:00am and driving there in 45 minutes while not having to pay for a hotel?

Tough question...

Elvo

I did the drive from Irvine and it was totally fine at 5 in the morning.

TrojanHorse

I think the only dumb part of your plan is driving down Friday and driving back. Do the registration Saturday morning when you get there.

Or train down and back on Friday and drive down Saturday?

Or play it by ear - there's a phone app called "hotel tonight" that sometimes has spectacular last-second hotel rooms but you would have to wait till Friday to know for sure.

Good luck!

diphthong

i'd take the train from irvine or sjc and back for the friday registration day. the registration is in solana beach-no?
the train station is right there. you'll probably sleep better at home than in a hotel anyway unless the home situation
is the very reason for hotel consideration.

i love the hotel tonight app and use it 4-5x a year. it now allows you to book a little farther out than just that day
like it used to but you can still do spur of the moment/day of bookings. every once in a while i scout local sd county
properties on it to see if any strike my fancy for a staycation. the vast majority of the lodging i see offered on the app is located in the mission valley/dtown san diego area which is a 20/25 min drive to solana beach. aliso viejo is a little more than double that at 5 in the morning.

TakingMyTime

Tread HiJack: Thanks for the info on that app. I'll take a look at it.

jsigone

drive day of, pay for reg when you get there, ask for the shirt later unless you parked close.

If your decently quick you don't have to start at 6:45 like others, roll at 730-800 and should be able to catch the 2nd aid station and beyond.

Garfield Cat

Depends who you are. And what to do in San Diego afterwards. Its not about the century alone.

I would call it a century and a fun trip because I hardly go to San Diego. Wife would like to visit too and it becomes a short get-away.

The Amtrak century? That too.

f4rrest

Ride down and forget about the organized century.

CliffordK

Can you do the registration by internet? It seems awfully complicated to do two trips.

TrojanHorse

I assume he's referring to picking up his number & other assorted swag.

CliffordK

Perhaps California century rides are different.

For the Eugene Blackberry Century ride, I simply arrived at around 7 AM, signed in, ate breakfast, and took off.

"Swag" given at the start line is a problem for those car-free riders, but perhaps less of an issue for those arriving by car. One can give it at the end, but then one misses the DNF participants.

TrojanHorse

BREAKFAST? What kind of nonsense is that. We don't feed people. Pfft.

CliffordK

Oh, there was so much food at the Blackberry ride, that I think I must have gained 5 pounds... Especially when riding with @exmechanic89

But, yes, they had some beagles and fruit at the official start line, which is about 15 miles from home, so it was good after a bit of a warmup, especially considering that I'm not a morning person.

exmechanic89

Yeah I think we both gained 5 lbs, lol. So much food at the stops!

hsuehhwa

~ 1 hr drive vs checking in and early checking out an hotel with a bike


I would drive.

Gabbo

Everyone, thanks so much for the replies. (As you can tell, I'm an infrequent forum user.) All the feedback was great. Glad to read that the traffic isn't awful.

I think I'm going to skip the hotel and *try* to head down on Friday for rider sign-in, just so that it's not a hectic rush on Saturday AM. It's also an excuse to grab a taco with a buddy of mine.

And if I can't swing Friday, then a Saturday morning panic will be my fallback position! Heh heh.

Anyway, thanks again. Happy riding.

blt

When doing a ride an hour or 2 from home, I always just get up early and do check-in in the morning, it seems pointless and wasteful to bother with two trips, and unless you really, really mind getting up a little early to drive, which apparently you don't, a waste to get a hotel room. I've never had any meaningful delay at check-in. One time, when I arrived for a century before check-in had opened, I had to wait in about a 7 minute line once they opened for check-in, because too many other people had gotten there before the doors opened, but not the kind of hassle that would have been worth either fighting horrible commute traffic on a Friday and either making a second trip or spending money on a hotel room.

A relative of my wife who did the San Diego Century previously drove from Costa Mesa early Saturday morning, had no problem with check-in. Your mileage may vary.