Robert S.'s profile
Events that Robert S. has reviewed
This was my second double. I wasn't trained as well as I would have liked for this ride, but I still managed the 200 flat miles of Solvang and SLO. The first 50 miles of the race is through remote country roads with hardly any cars. Sunrise is beautiful.From there you pass into SLO and head out to Morro Bay for the half way point. The second half in my opinion though still pretty is not as scenic as the first. As far as race organization the course is very well laid out and the roads are great. No real heavy traffic except for a mile or two through Pismo Beach. In all I had a great time at this ride and would recommend it to anyone looking to knock out their first double. My only gripe is that the support and aid stations were pretty meager. Not that I need a full course buffet at each rest stop, but more/better food options would be appreciated.
One of the best places in CA to hold a century ride. A must do for any serious rider.
I did this race a couple years ago. The race is under new ownership since I raced so things may be different. This is perhaps one of the best venues for a race. Swim around the Santa Cruz wharf. I'll never forget taking a breath and seeing a huge seal swimming right next to me. The bike couse takes you up Hwy 1 to Davenport and is for the most part fast and flat. The run is along west cliff and beautiful. My only grip with this race is both of the times I participated there were issues with marking the course and organization. Though maybe the directors are just embracing the Santa Cruz vibe. In all I recommend giving this race a try sometime.
This is a great annual race, in fact all of the races run by Vineman are worth doing. I made the unfortunante mistake of not training for this Half Ironman so my general experience was pretty low, but I can't blame the race organizers. The course is great, the bike is fast and the run course is pretty easy only a couple rolling hills. My only complaint is that the swim can be a bit shallow at times but no big deal. Word of advice: be ready for hot weather, every time I visit Windsor regardless of the race it's in the 90s. The weekend i did this race it was close to 95 so be sure and hydrate before hand and get your mind around the fact that it will be hot out there.
This is a great small local event that is put on the morning of the Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras Fair. The course is flat and easy. The course takes you out and back along the Coyote Creek bike path. The course support includes two water stations and bananas and bagels at the finish. I'd recommend this race for anyone looking to complete their first 10K or a good training run. The course is easy and the atmosphere is pretty low key. My wife and I made a day out of the event by camping at Henry Coe St Park that night before, running the race, breakfast at Betty's, and then walking the fair in downtown Morgan Hill.
This is a great local ride that takes you thru parts of Watsonville, Moss Landing, Prunedale, Armoas, and Royal Oaks. It is a ride not a race, so relax all you gear heads it's meant to be fun and leisurely. I think we stopped at about 3 of the rest stops, the first being the Calfee bike facility in Watsonville. It's a real treat to see the facility. We stocked up on PB&J, soup, OJ, and bagels for about a hour before hauling our bellies back on the bikes and making our way to the lunch stop. CALORIES - 2200 At lunch we all had double-decker sandwiches with about a pound worth of cookies and 2 Dr. Peppers. I think my wife ate about 7 hard boiled eggs. CALORIES - 4300 After taking in the views and back hills of Watsonville for another 10 miles we decided to stop for some pie at Gizdich Ranch. Maybe it was a good thing considering I still had about 7500 calories in my system, but they were out of pie so we settled for 2 bags of popcorn. Either way it's a nice stop. CALORIES - 1200 From there it's a quick ride back to Watsonville HS for a burrito, cobbler, trail mix, cookies, and more drinks. CALORIES 6200 In all this a great race, great support and organization, good views, and the ride takes you on some of the better roads in the area. All well paved and for the most part light on traffic. Be sure to dress in layers as it starts of cool and damp along the coast but warmed up a lot for the day. The one thing you don't need to worry about is nutrition as there's more than enough to hold you over.
Did this race a few years back with my brother as my first half marathon so I don't have a lot to compare it to. The course is pretty flat, half on pavement along west cliff the other half is thru Wilder Ranch on dirt. The course is pretty well laid out as to not bee too boring. It's not a real hard course for the most part just a few rollers along hwy 1. The food on the course is pretty limited, I think they three aid station with water and one with gu at mile 8 or 9. I definitely recommend bringing your own nutrition for the race as it was pretty limited. Out at Wilder there are bathrooms if you stay up drinking the night before like my brother. The bummer to this race, though I heard the post race party was decent this year, was that the post race consisted of solo cups and a trash can filled with water. It was shameful. I'm sure I'll end up doing this race again because it's a good course and close to home. It's a good early season race to get you ready for the season.
I feel bad knocking this race because it takes place in my "neighbor-cities" backyard. I did this race a couple years ago with my wife and brother. The course is somewhat boring; the streets of San Jose not a whole lot to see. The race was okay, I guess. The support was pretty minimal, just water at the rest stops and gu once you made it to around mile 9. I have to say for being run by one of the large race companies, I kind of expected more. I mean come on it's sold as the Rock n Roll marathon but there wasn't a whole lot of rockin going on. I think there were more bands at the California Int. Marathon than at this race. Most of the bands I ran past were barely playing. The post race venue is pretty large and was more along the lines of what I expected - there's a bunch of swag to grab I think I drank about 15 glucosamine juice boxes. At lease my joints will be ready for the next half marathon-somewhere else.
This was one of the first tri's I competed in. It's a fun typical small town race thru the yacht club, around paradise drive, and then run the lagoon loop. The swim is pretty easy thru the yacht club. The only downer is the freezing cold start. The race starts about 25 yards off the dock so you have to sit in the 50 degree water about 2 - 3 minutes waiting for the start. The swim starts in waves so if you want to be in the front group try tp persued the check in counter to put you in the first heat. The bike transition is kind of a disaster, most of the bikes aren't racked and I stacked pretty hard running across the wet grass. The ride around paradise dr is pretty easy, the only hill is Trestle Glen. Paradise Dr is pretty twisty so there's not much use for aero-bars in this race, most people ride standard road bikes. In fact you look kind of silly at this race if you show up with you $10,000 Quintaroo, in my opinion. Plus it will probably get stolen while you're running since there is no security around the bike lot. The run is flat and fast around the lagoon. Best part of the race is they serve Marin Brewing Co beer at the finish line and Mike and Dave's Restaurant is just down the block. Give this race a try.