Santa Monica to Santa Barbara and back - double century

Last weekend I had the privilege of riding with Shifting Gears on their fully supported ride from Santa Monica, CA to Santa Barbara, CA. This was the first time I had ridden 100 miles and I did it two days in a row! It just goes to show that you can do a lot more than you think you can if you just try. Like the old saying goes, "90% of success is just showing up". <- enter any percent over 75% and the saying will be just as accurate...

The route looks something like this: (Image courtesy of Anna Krasnyanskaya)



The shifting gears crew and their sponsors did an absolutely wonderful job of supporting the riders. There were about six pit stops a long the way where the riders could eat and drink all they could stand and also get a massage or stretch performed by professionals at each location. I stopped for a stretch during lunch on the way up and on the way back and thoroughly enjoyed it! They also had a full maintenance crew to perform some tweaks here and there as well as change out tubes / tires. The cost this year was ~$150 and this included everything (including lodging) except for the dinner on Saturday evening. At no time did I feel hungry or thirsty. Shifting Gears had these areas covered ten fold.

We had an insane headwind on the way up the coast to Santa Barbara but luckily the wind pattern stayed the same into the next day which provided a nice tail wind when we were all tired on the way home. I guess I should speak for myself... I was really tired!

If you live in the area you will be interested to know that Shifting Gears holds this ride annually so keep an eye out on their website for the date of next year's ride.

http://www.shiftinggearscycling.com