Bicyclists will be everywhere this weekend.
Gilroy – Bicyclists will be everywhere this weekend.
They will be at the popular Sea Otter Classic, celebrating its 17th year at Laguna Seca with competition in BMX racing, a Super-D event and an adventure race. That event started Thursday and runs through Sunday.
On Saturday, the vast majority of bicyclists will be in the South Valley as the 30th annual Tierra Bella Bicycle Tour starts at 8am at Gavilan College.
This is not a competitive event but rather one in which 2,200 cyclists take to the roads of Santa Clara County.
“We’ve been sold out for a month,” said freelance writer Karl Laucher, a volunteer media assistant for Tierra Bella and one of the 1,000-member Almaden Cycle Touring Club. “It’s been that way for the past decade. This is a very popular event.”
Some of the ACTC members will participate. Others, like Morgan Hill residents and longtime cycling aficionados Bob and Kris Thompson, will volunteer at food and refreshment stops along the route.
This is an event that is so popular that the 2,200-rider limit was instituted. Many are repeat riders or those who after trying it once put it on their to-do schedule for the next year.
Typical of reactions was from this rider of a year ago:
“It was outstanding. This was the first time I did this ride. Although it kicked my butt, I can’t wait until next year!”
Laucher understands the lure of the sport and this non-competitive event.
“I’m in better condition now than I was four years ago,” said Laucher, a former rugby coach. “You get a lot enjoyment out of the sport both from a health and social standpoint.”
More than 250 ACTC members will lend support and refreshments to the riders at the multiple rest stops along the route. Riders will pass through Gilroy at varying times. Among the residential routes through the city, riders will go from Wren Avenue to Mantelli Drive to Rancho Hills Drive to Sunrise Drive.
Riders will choose from four distances. Some will opt for the 60K ride, a flat route around Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Others will choose the 100K, which is flat to rolling with a morning circuit around Uvas and Chesbro reservoirs. Still others will take the 100-mile route that starts with a morning climb to Gilroy Hot Springs then descends Canada Road. The hardiest souls will tackle the 200K course, which follows the 100-miler at the beginning and includes a scenic loop up Mt. Hamilton and back down Clayton Road.
The Tour takes place rain or shine.
