The inaugural Livestrong Orange County Century went off yesterday. Ride preparation started with working Andre Williams’ Friday night show in Chicago until 4am, followed by an 8am flight back to LA. From there it was an ill-planned drive down to the OC where a Newcastle and teriyaki salmon dinner started off a long night of insomnia. I was ready to rock Sunday morning. Wanna know what a 100 mile tour of Orange County is like? Go to the hardware store, get some out-of-date beige paint, slather it on your sunglasses and don’t take them off for 7 hours. OC is beige, blighted and boring. The only reason I’d ever go down there to ride would be an event like this; supporting a worthy cause and honoring my mother. We started out with a tape recording of Lance’s voice, which frankly was a little insulting – we raised 1.37 million dollars in his name and he couldn’t even fire the starting gun? It only got worse from there. This is a LAF’s first attempt at hosting rides outside of Austin, and by comparison, they should stick to what they know. The Austin ride, which I have participated in since 2003, is well supported, policed and protected, with road closures, traffic control, roaming mechanical support and stocked pit stops. The OC ride featured exactly three cops at the first three intersections, followed by a do-it-yourself plan of hitting nearly every red light in the county. Not to mention multiple left turns that required crossing two to five lanes of traffic to reach the turning lanes, with absolutely zero police or race volunteers present. Scary, to say the least. Even at the Livestrong metric century event two years ago in Los Angeles we at least had traffic closures and police support. In OC it felt a lot like we were all just turned loose on our own volition in to ride the bike lanes and bike paths by ourselves. It certainly did not feel anything like the Ride For The Roses events I have enjoyed in Texas; it is impossible for me not to make this comparison since the promotion of Livestrong Ride was essentially that the Roses experience was being exported to these new locations. Only at the rest stops was there any sense that we were on a major organized ride, thanks mainly to the enthusiastic volunteers. Given the power of Lance’s name, and the amount of money raised in these events, I found it to be poorly planned, relatively unsupported and at times downright dangerous. At a minimum fund raising level of 500$ plus travel expenses, I’d expect a little more help from the community and the organizers to actually create a protected event in which people could ride together safely. Instead we were left to our own devices to navigate the vast wasteland of OC. Most of the course went through industrial lands, tract housing, closed corporate centers and dry hills with no view. The one time we hit the beach it was on a very winding pedestrian path that further separated riders and pissed off the dog walkers we were desperately trying to weave around. I enjoyed the challenge of the century ride, the company of my fellow riders and the spirit of the event (which I participate in out of honor to my mother). I did not appreciate at all the lack of clear course markings, the absolute absence of any traffic control or road closures or the multiple red lights and left turns that prevented any kind of pace from being set – pace and cadence being key factors in riding a century. While I was vaguely aware of mechanical support on the road during the first 70 miles, I saw absolutely zero support vehicles over the final 30 miles – arguably the hardest part of the ride and the point at which, in any century, riders are the most strung out from each other and the most likely to make dangerous mistakes. The rest stops were well staffed, but often had run out of or flat didn’t have basic things like PowerAde or ice. At one stop they even had some lovely potato salad for us – just what I want, warm mayonnaise on a bike ride. The much-hyped ‘Rest Stop 6’ was supposed to feature something really great at the base of the biggest climb. Turns out it was in the Oakley headquarters parking lot, but there was no Oakley presence at all and worse – no energy drinks, bananas or oranges at the base of the longest, steepest and hottest section of the course. The ride itself was fun in the way all centuries are ‘fun’; it’s a personal challenge and a worthy one to undertake. Fellow riders and volunteer staff were friendly, supportive and helpful. A great thing about organized century rides is the traffic closures and police support that allows everyone to stay together as much as possible and ride in larger groups, at a good pace without stopping every 10 minutes for crossing traffic. Lack of any police support combined with poor route selection and every red light in the county quickly shattered the field into many small groups, which eventually became micro packs of five, three, two or usually just one rider at a time battling the road and the wind. The course was poorly marked; particularly the left turn arrows that were never placed well enough in advance of the turn, meaning that you had to navigate a major lane change swoop with only a few hundred meters to spare. There was also a point at which the course veered onto a pedestrian path with almost no warning, a turn many riders missed causing them to add an extra seven-mile effort to regroup. Overall, it was not the best effort from the organization, certainly not worthy of the LAF brand and not something I would do again. Onward to Texas and hoping that at least that event will remain as well organized as it’s been in past years.
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