Hmm, let me see. One is in California. The other is in Montana. One is a single day ride (though I suppose with the Nova, one could get a couple of days of riding in), the other and out-and-back two-day ride. One gives you a two-year-old medal for completing, the other a chance to spend a night in a really stinky hot-springs hotel. One has lots of rules about bikes and riders on its website, the other an actual person checking on your bicycle at the start and signing your number card if you pass muster. One has shrimp cocktail and chocolate covered strawberries at 8 am on a beautiful pier jutting into the Pacific, the other a lady frying bacon at the top of the first hill. One has Tuscan soup, bread, and wine at the second rest stop (if you got there early enough), the other martinis at the top of the significant climb on day 2. One has its proceeds benefitting a worldwide conglomerate of cycling events and merchandise, the other benefitting a Montessori school. One has an "ethos," the other was threatened with a lawsuit for using the name "Cino Heroica." I'm sure there are many more differences.