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Thank you, thank you, thank you … to our sponsors, the City of Temecula, the Temecula Police Department, the County of Riverside, the County of San Diego, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Baily’s Restaurant/ Front Street Grill, our volunteers, and our cyclists who rode in our inaugural Temecula Challenge.
Our Sponsors. Temecula-based Professional Hospital Supply stepped up early and in a big way to be our presenting sponsor. They care about our community, literacy, and our students. Nestle and Signs By Tomorrow also made large in-kind donations. RKR, KATY, Clear Channel, and the Temecula Business Journal all helped with media. FRS, Grapeline, Golden Crown, Country Review, Rabobank were also sponsors.
Baily’s Restaurant/Front Street Grill and Anheuser Busch of Riverside combined to provide an excellent post-ride party. It was great to see the riders return, make new friends, relive the rides’ challenges, and recognize all riders who successfully completed one of the three distances.
If you get the opportunity, please personally thank our sponsors. Let them know that you noticed and appreciated that they helped make a difference in our community.
Volunteers. Thanks to the following volunteers:
Course Lay Out: Paul Wilson. Paul couldn’t ride Saturday, but he and his wife Carol took 1st in the relay and 3rd place overall Sunday in the Triathlon portion of the Temecula Challenge.
Course Marking: Walt Allen, Jim Dover, Terry Whitington.
Staging Area Setup: Dennis Chiniaeff, Darren Gill, Terry Whitington, Walt Allen, Chris Binkley, Gary Thornhill, Richard Smith, Dennis Frank, Bill LaForge, Jeanne McClellan, Allen Orr, Paul Simetys.
Registration: Liz Simetys, Jill Lieberg, Mel Thompson, John Ellis, Steve Yager, Marty Steckdaub, Linda Senyshyn, Rita Cripe.
Announcer: Don Tucker.
D.J.: Cameron Smith
Sag: Gary Thornhill, Darren Gill, Toyota of Temecula.
Hill Climb Timing: Walt Allen, Debra Johnson, Mike Noon.
Rest Stops: Len Francis, Bruce Cripe, Kim Ebersole, John Williams, Bernie Bramante, Steve Yager, Marty Steckdaub, Bill LaForge, Valerie Church, Tim Church, Mark Van Dinter, Carl Pinkard.
Medals: Terry Whitington, Alyson Drago.
T-Shirts: Julie Ngo, RKR Media.
Mishaps. We are happy to report that we are only aware of two riders getting lost on the Century. One rider went down on the Couser Canyon descent, but we do not believe he was badly injured. We would appreciate knowing how he is and what we can do to reduce the likelihood of this in the future.
Photos. Rotary Club photographer Kevin Vernon was out all day Saturday and Sunday taking photographs of our event. He even went up Mt. Palomar to capture the timed hill climb. His ride photos can be found in the link in the shown above.
Professional photographer Rick Clemson was on Mt. Palomar, and his photos can be found here: CLICK HERE. 25-Mile Ride. 25 mile (26.8 actual) riders went through wine country. They were supplied with water, food, and porta potties at three rest stops. We are not aware of anyone getting lost or needing to be sagged back in. We would appreciate anyone who rode with an altimeter to let us know the model and the number of feet of gain measured.
50-Mile Ride. As stated in the pre-ride description, this is a tough 50. Some of the stronger 50-milers finished with the 25-milers, while some of the more leisurely 50-milers trailed some 100-milers to the finish. The climbs up Couser and Rice Canyon are tough, tough climbs.
Map My Ride showed 3800 feet of climb, but again, we would appreciate anyone who rode with an altimeter to let us know the number of feet of gain you measured. If there is enough interest, we may put a timed hill climb on Couser for the 50-milers only.
100-Mile Ride. In the immortal words of Paul Wilson, if it wasn’t hard, we couldn’t call it a “challenge.” 87 century riders registered, 64 made it to the top of Mt. Palomar. Congratulations to each one of you. The consensus is that this is the toughest century in Southern California, significantly harder than Ride Around the Bear. We acknowledge that Mulholland Challenge (116 miles) and Breathless Agony (114 miles) are harder, but both are super centuries (longer than a century), and neither has a timed hill climb the likes of Mt. Palomar. Mulholland Challenge has more overall gain with steeper grades, rough roads, and tighter turns on the descent. With Breathless Agony you have to deal with the altitude and the tough Oak Glen climb, but the last 42 miles are primarily downhill with the clock stopped. Temecula Challenge is more comparable to Mulholland Challenge, with Cole Canyon, Couser Canyon, and Rice Canyon all to be climbed after summiting Mt. Palomar. By the way, we mention these rides with total respect for their history, organization, and difficulty. We strive to provide a ride as well done as Planet Ultra, Santiago Cycling, and Orange County Wheelmen.
Our pre-ride estimate was 10,000 feet of climb after we cut out Rincon Ranch Road. We would appreciate anyone who rode with an altimeter to let us know the model and the number of feet of gain you measured.
Hill Climb Results. The overall results and age group winners are here: CLICK HERE. The top female rider was Denise Weaver with a time of 54:02. We had a minor timing issue with Jim Dover’s time. We announced a time of 35:55 at the medals ceremony, but he told us his computer time was 38+. We rechecked, and a handwritten “8” had been entered as a “5.” The overall winner was Paul Beard at 38:20! For some reason we did not have Paul’s age (30-39) at the ceremony and Paul did not stay for the medals ceremony. Jim is still the age group winner (50-59), but Paul is the overall winner and new male Temecula Challenge record holder. Denise Weaver is the new female record holder.
Since this is the first year we have done this event, each of these winners constitutes age group course records. When we have more entries, we may choose to go with 5-year intervals like the Triathlon.
The Future. This is going to be fun. Thanks for kicking it off in grand fashion with good sportsmanship. Please keep sending us your suggestions. Next year we will have a 60-80 mile route that cuts off Mt. Palomar. I am looking for an alternative to Lilac Road. I am also thinking about starting the 100/75 at 7:00 a.m., the 50 at 8:00 a.m., and the 25 at 9:00 a.m. That would spread out the riders at the start line and rest stops but shorten the finish line return time window. It’s also likely we will establish and enforce a course closure time on the 100/75—probably at 5:00 p.m. (10 hours), with interim cut-off times along the course. Who knows, maybe we will have a jersey.
Jon Lieberg |
