Tour De Los Padres 2019

[ec_duz_it]

Wow what a crazy year for weather! Heat, lightning, thunder, and rain. Of all 6 years, this year felt the most adventurous to me.  Ian, Wes, Jeff and I were the rag-tag back of the pack crew this year.

Brian Lucido completely crushed the course!  It looks like he easily beat Jeff Kerkove's time from 2 years ago.  What an impressive ride!   

At first glance, it appears that there were only 3 scratches this year (two of which were ITT on Saturday). Since the rental SPOTs never came in the mail from Trackleaders, for those of you who were not on the Trackleaders map, please post your track here if you have not done so already.

Looking forward to hearing everyone's stories, photos, etc. whether it be good, bad, or ugly!

[Roland Sturm]

And the race is on: Brian quickly stashing away his water and then Gregg counting his calories at the Pistachio place (is there any significance that they parked their bikes in the opposite direction? Is pointing his bike into the direction of travel and avoiding a U-turn going to give Brian the crucial advantage?). And there is Blake in pursuit, in the Carrizo. Not the Plain yet, but the prettier Hilly. After getting over that fence hop and hike a bike along the fence line (I slipped and tumbled down there, first scratches on the ride), the entry into Carrizo is very pretty and a part that few people get to see. It was a scorching afternoon, though, and the heat got to Blake, too  

[Brian Lucido]

Hi guys - There was a cow trough here:

https://goo.gl/maps/47e41iwXbJur4Apg6

I easily found it because suddenly while cruising down Elkhorn Road, there were a ton of cows!  I thought: How are these cows living out here.  I jumped off my bike, and they parted like the Red Sea - revealing between them a trough.  I could hear the water gushing in as the last cow reluctantly pulled its head from the water.  I filled from the inflow, though the main trough was surprisingly clean.  If this trough exists in the future, it is located in a very strategic position between the reliable water at the Pistachio farm and the next reliable water, which I consider to be Gifford Ranch. (Well, I did filter from a mud puddle here: https://goo.gl/maps/Fep7QUkMz6K6vPmk7 ).  Oddly, upon finding this trough, I felt as though water would "come easily" in the future.  After all, it had just presented itself magically.  I was very dehydrated upon arrival (I didn't pee for about 13 hours), and in spite of this I foolishly only took 2 bottles from the trough!  

Speaking of animals like cows, my favorite part was the night where I saw a wild boar (in the section shortly before Gifford Ranch).  Up on the Sierra Madre, I saw tons of Giant Kangaroo Rats, a big owl, 4 up close foxes (they waited for me to get close before running away).  Saw several Nighthawks, And of course tons of jackrabbits who waited until the last second to run in front of my tire/light.  None were hit, but evasive action had to be taken often.  Finally, I heard a rattlesnake immediately to my right while riding in the high grass section off the Caliente ridge. 

Thanks EC for the great route and help with the SPOT.  It was great to meet so many enthusiastic and talented bike packers! 

[greggd]

Thanks for the water info Brian. I was also wondering while very very thirsty if the visitor center had restrooms. Per the website https://www.blm.gov/visit/goodwin-education-center. They are open even after they’re closed. Now the question is do they have water? Here is the location (35.1898, -119.8632). 

[ec_duz_it]

Visitors center did have restrooms, but no water.  The ranger at the visitors center did give us 1 small Gatorade each after we made a small donation, so that is good to know for the future.

While we are the subject of water sources.  The stream waypoint after Selby was dry, but about 1/4 mile upstream from there was a small spring seeping out of the hillside.  It required hiking off the road and downhill, but it saved our asses.  The Cattail plants growing in the stream are a strong indicator of water, and sure enough there was water there. We pumped several gallons out of that spring and it was good fresh water.

And again at Miranda Pine Spring the float valve was broken on the spring, so it appeared no fresh water was coming into the tub.  So I looked in the small drainage just pass the tub, and sure enough there were a few small pools of nice clean water in there.  We pumped several gallons there instead of at the tub. 

On the plus side this year I have never seen Gifford Spring flowing so well, and Chokecherry Spring has been totally repaired by the Los Padres Forest Association and was flowing great.

It looks like Michael Grosso is ITTing the route this weekend, so he should benefit from these updates. The cue sheets and the waypoints will need some updating. 

[greggd]

Funny story. Climbing up the Caliente ridge, I have about 8oz of water left and I was not doing good. No water led to dehydration, which led to nausea, so I couldn’t eat and was getting weak. Then I see this lady camper hanging out on a chair watching me climb. She smiled and waived, I waved back. Then I see her sitting right next to this HUGE clear container obviously FULL of water. I had to use all will power to keep myself from begging or  offering to buy water. “Self-support” am I right? If I were really critical my ass would be right there with bottles and cash in hand!

[bikebuckets]

I had a blast! Full on for four days! Truly unexpected nooks, crannies, vistas, variety and vicious topography. Seeing what the top three riders did is so inspiring. I was a bit over prepared packing 24lbs pounds of food from the get go, and was eating great but only needed about 14 lbs.  I met up with Jeff early on and started to realize how complex the route really was using only my phone to navigate.  Linked up with Erin and Wes later on and start really having fun on the downhills.  As hot as it was at times, our crew stayed positive.  The perseverance and determination of those guys was a huge factor for me in staying psyched and on route.  After getting home and stripping my bike naked, I’m already dreaming of a pared down ultralight style for next year.  Oh and the lighting storm and the campfire in the rain was the best part!! Big congrats and respect to all the riders.  Would love to hear more stories

Ian Graham  headbang

[ec_duz_it]

It is not over yet! It looks like Michael Grosso just started his ITT this morning

[ec_duz_it]

Grosso had a perfect ride out there and finished this morning around 11.  He had all his sleeping gear on his bike, but never actually used it!  His +/- 27 hour ride is the fastest known time on the tour route!   What a strong group of riders this year!

[greggd]

Way to go Michael!

[alex-henson]

Nice work out there guys! Looks like y'all had fun!

I had a question for the veterans of this ride - is the fall a viable ride time? Seems to me water would be the concern.....are water spots flowing that time of year?

[ec_duz_it]

Hi Alex it was good to ride with you last year on the first day.   I think you may have had the fastest tour time last year, but you were ghost riding so I was not sure?

The tour route would be doable during the fall.  There would probably be a trickle of water in Santa Barbara Canyon and Chokecherry and Bluff would be flowing. 

The full route would be extremely hard to do in the fall this year, especially with the Selby spigots and Miranda Pine spring both broken this year.  You would need to set up a water cache. 

[alex-henson]

Hi Alex it was good to ride with you last year on the first day.   I think you may have had the fastest tour time last year, but you were ghost riding so I was not sure?

The tour route would be doable during the fall.  There would probably be a trickle of water in Santa Barbara Canyon and Chokecherry and Bluff would be flowing. 

The full route would be extremely hard to do in the fall this year, especially with the Selby spigots and Miranda Pine spring both broken this year.  You would need to set up a water cache. 

Hey Erin. Yep was good to meet and ride with you too!

Nope can't claim the fastest tour last year....I think first of the group but was a couple hours shy of the ITT guy. Either way, Michael was a good chunk faster than any of those!

Thanks for the info on water. I am considering a go at proper if life works out. Definitely not opposed to water cache. Would stashing at either Selby or Miranda make the most sense (I haven't checked the maps yet so pardon me if ignorant question)?

[ec_duz_it]

There’s a good chance the Selby spigots will be working by the fall season. You could call the Carrizo Plain visitors center.

A water cache at the old Gifford campground where the route joins highway 166 for the second time would make the most sense. 

Early November would be the best time. Mid October can still be too hot. On the right year, early December might work too.

[alex-henson]

Thanks Erin!

[Ben Salthouse]

Hey ya'll. I just got around to posting my report of the ride. You can check it out here.

https://www.radtrail.com/blog/2019/5/6/a-racecation-through-the-los-padres-mountains

 Hopefully I can leave with the group next year.

[ec_duz_it]

 You are a good writer Ben! That’s funny you had problems with cars on the mount pinos pavement. It’s never an issue on a Friday. There was still enough snow that you were dealing with the snow ⛄️ play tourists! You definitely had better conditions in the Carizzo Plain than the group did. I was questioning my sanity on the Selby climb when it was 90° and I was down to my last half a liter of water. The heat already had zapped most of the wildflowers too. In hindsight, the original date of April 12th probably was the most ideal weekend.

[Ben Salthouse]

Thanks Erin. I'm glad you liked it.

In hindsight it's easier to know the best time to do the route. You got heat on the Corizzo plane I had to walk my bike through snow for miles to the bottom of Mount Pinos.

[nancyrides]

I missed the big depart but headed out there 6/1. Very excited

[whatirideby]

I missed the big depart but headed out there 6/1. Very excited

Not sure what your route plans are this coming weekend... there are predictions for thunderstorms in the Santa Barbara backcountry for the next handful of days. Looks like one out there right now (5/29). Here's a weather resource to check before you go: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?zoneid=CAZ052

Also, anyone on the proper route loose a flashing red taillight? I found it on Elkhorn Road the first night.

Lynne