sean.hwy

I have a friend who is not great at climbing. I walked with him up mt diablo, etc...

I would like todo a century where he can keep up and not have to walk :-)


Looking for century ride ideas that are are flatish.

Thank you

caloso

You just missed it, unfortunately: https://www.sacramentocentury.com/ride/
Pancake flat.
Put it on the calendar for next fall.

bikingshearer 

The Delta Century, held in early May, is another pancake-flat event. The wind can make this one (or the Sacto Century mentioned above, or any ride in the Delta for that matter) a lot more challenging, at least mentally, than the utter lack of elevation gain would suggest. Oh, and then there are those nasty humps up onto the levees . . . .

BTW, it's not a century, or a metric century, or even a half-century, but the Giro d'Vino is a very fun wine tasting crawl cleverly disguised as a 46 mile bike ride. It is scheduled for November 14, but the website says it's canceled, but still has all kinds of info, If it isn't on for this year, put it in your memory banks for 2022. Oh, and it doesn't even have climbs onto levees, just a couple of freeway overpasses. Because of the winery visits, do not expect to set any Personal Bests on this ride. .

Barry2 

Just did two flat Metrics in the last 2-3 weeks.
sacramento Century
3F Century

both pancake flat.
Given the choice, go Sacramento.

Watch for 3F again at its more usual time April-May

Barry

1979schwinn 

Silver Comet / Chief Ladiga Trail in Georgia and Alabama.
One major 6-8 % hill for about a mile, Rockmart to Cedartown section.
Beyond that all mostly 2%, in wood / shaded and senic.

1979schwinn 

Silver Comet link:
https://bikesilvercomet.com/default.aspx

caloso

You can also just come to Sacramento and ride the ARBT from Discovery to Granite Bay and back and call it a metric plus.

SCTinkering

Missed this one too. Not pancake flat, but 3100 over 100 miles is on the low side for NorCal https://davisbikeclub.org/foxys-fall-century-2021/

bikingshearer 

I've done Foxy's. It's a great event, but I would not call it "flattish."

DiabloScott

Yeah, you could skip the Berryessa loop and do the other stuff twice.

Flattest century I ever did was the Lodi Sunrise Century - put on by cycling-clueless but very friendly Rotarians.
No longer offered as an event, and there were some pretty windy sections.

blt

Actually, the Lodi Sunrise Rotary Club still puts on a cycling event, but it is now called Tour delle Vigne, with 30K, 50K, 100K, and 100 mile courses. The 2020 and 2021 versions were cancelled due to COVID, but they have a 2022 event scheduled for May 14, 2022: https://www.tourdellevigne.com/

This Saturday (i.e., tomorrow, 10/16, same day as Foxy's), they have a new OctoberFest event with 30K and 60K routes, with pre-registration having closed but limited day of registration spots.

I rode the Tour delle Vigne in 2018, not starting at Lodi High School as in DiabloScott's brochure, but to the northwest at Bare Ranch Estate, with some other differences from that old brochure, but still going out to Pardee Dam and south to Linden. I think that the 2022 route is changed from that, not going over Pardee Dam, but goes between Pardee and Camanche Reservoirs. The Ride with GPS route on the website shows 103 miles and 2274 of elevation gain (the description on the website shows less gain, but I think that description may be from an old route).

While it is flatter than Foxy's, when I rode it in May 2018, it was harder than Foxy's ever was, mostly because of the headwinds heading west, which were incredibly fierce. This was not a normal day, however, it was unusually blustery by mid-afternoon. I ended up on my own for about the last 12 miles and it was brutal. I felt (kinda) better about how difficult it was for me when I was driving home afterwards and had easily the worst crosswinds I've ever experienced driving south on that part of I-5. It took everything I had to keep my minivan from getting blown all over the freeway.

It is the flattest organized century I've ever done, and if you don't need pancake flat, it would probably be fairly easy as centuries go if you don't have a day as blustery as I had, but even if not as bad as what I had, headwinds are still likely for the end of the ride. That is a nice thing about Foxy's, while total climbing is in the neighborhood of 3500 feet (which is either really easy or pretty dang hard, depending on who you are), the last 25 miles are downhill, even if most of it is barely perceptible downhill, and it is usually a tailwind. It feels a lot nicer to cruise the last quarter of a century as opposed to fighting tooth and nail against a headwind.

caloso

Bike Around The Buttes, starting and ending in Sutter, is pretty flat too. It has one hill, more like a false flat. Route-Info-

Leinster

When I did Foxy’s there were people riding single speed. The biggest climb up to the dam is still pretty do-able for most levels of cyclist, and tha majority of the route is between Davis and Vacaville and that’s ALL flat

Korina

I suppose this leaves out the Tour of the Unknown Coast...

SCTinkering

And Cycle of Hope next weekend at 9,750' of elevation...

caloso

The IM California bike segment is on some of the same roads as the Sacramento Century. It's double out-and-back from West Sac down past Clarksburg. https://www.ironman.com/im-california-course

Race is happening next Sunday. I'm guessing they will start marking the course this week.

Leinster

The OP didn’t specify an organized century or not, I guess, in which case I could propose riding the route of the existing and future Napa Vine Trail as an out and back. The total is 48 miles one-way, and you could just do a loop around Calistoga to make up the difference.

Start at the Vallejo ferry terminal and just ride up.

Tomm Willians

If you’re up to a small bit of driving there is a beautiful and mostly flat (VERY mild hills) route near Sierraville. Two laps around is like 106? Enormous green meadows, secluded cattle ranches, good road conditions and light traffic on most days.

sean.hwy

Last sat some friends and I rode from oakland to sac to watch the bike races and then took amtrack back.

A little hilly at the begging and the flat with a tail wind! Easiest century you will ever do. :-)
https://www.strava.com/activities/6190194298

Our friend could not keep up with the group so we hung back. It was the first time I ever road in large group. I have never done 20 mph so easily in my life. There must have been 30 to 50 people in front of me. I was barely putting in any effort. The bike ride was well organized. They had a few SAG cars. Everyone was supper nice.

Had such much tail wind felt like cheating. I can't imagine going from sac to oakland with all that headwind.

sean.hwy

do you have a strava route ?

caloso

I have a friend who would ride from Sacramento to his in-laws in Birds Landing, which is in the Delta a few miles west of Rio Vista. Very flat, but as you say the prevailing wind is from the SW, so it was usually a pretty decent headwind.

Tomm Willians

I do not but I believe I can post a pic that will help. The route starts (for me anyway) in Sierraville heading East to Loyalton then North to Hwy70 then West on 70 to Westside Rd going South to Hwy49 then East back into Sierraville.

MaxKatt

The Flattest Century in the East.