I took a look at Middle Sespe Trail this weekend.  No bueno.  Completely overgrown with Chamise.  Maybe someday this trail will get some love. 

Howard Creek Trail however was a win and is looking pretty nice!

Beer is good the night before to load up on carbs.  I always get a beer in Ventucopa to stay hydrated and to keep my carb count high. 

Lynn S. or Art D.  might be able to carpool from SLO area. Not sure if they are riding next year though. 

My Etrex 20 has lasted me almost 10 full years now. Its pretty darn reliable.

Looking at the potential for a full loop next year, below are trails that need scouting in order of priority.  You can download the .kml file from the hikelospadres website and then to covert it to a .gpx file.  I then open the .kml in GPS Trackmaker (free software) and then do a "save as" to .gpx to load it into my gps. Please post here if anyone rides or hikes these trails in the next few months and provide a quick summary of what the conditions currently are like. I am not sure that the full loop will be as fun than the current route, but it might be cool to have as an option in 2020 for the more hardcore riders. 

http://www.hikelospadres.com/howard-creek-trail.html#.XbhlnOhKiUk

http://www.hikelospadres.com/lion-canyon-trail.html#.XbhlwOhKiUk

http://www.hikelospadres.com/boulder-canyon-trail.html#.Xbhl_ehKiUk

http://www.hikelospadres.com/middle-sespe-trail.html#.XbhnjuhKiUk

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31388445

http://www.hikelospadres.com/ortega-ohv-trail.html#.XbhnW-hKiUk

I felt homeless my first night on the Stagecoach 400. There is a big stretch through urban and suburban San Diego where there is no legal location to camp. The location I picked was very close to legit homeless folks.

Here are the 2019 routes if you want to need them for planning purposes.

full route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29471886

short route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29471878

The 2020 routes might be similar or different, not sure yet.  Looking at two possible longer routes.  Option 1 would be a big loop starting and ending in Santa Barbara.  Option 2 would be a point to point starting up north near Carmel or Salinas and ending in Santa Barbara or Ojai.  But I don't know if I will have the time to scout out these options, so the 2020 routes might stay similar to 2019. 

Just got back home. What an amazing course! First off, BIG THANKS to Aaron for stitching this amazing route together.  It was obvious how much scouting work he put into this route  

My phone got destroyed in the rain, so I don't have any photos to share for now, but hopefully I will be able to recover the photos from my phone somehow. 

I will try and write a quick summary of our adventure soon. We really wanted to finish this course, but it just wasn't in the cards for us this year.  To finish this course, your bike has to hold up, the weather has to behave, and the stars and the planets need to all align. We still had an excellent time out there and we were able to finish a more pavement heavy modified loop and make it to Buffalo yesterday around sunset without having to hitch a ride. 

Looks like Jill starts tomorrow.  Good luck!

Attached to this message are waypoints I created.  I am not sure how accurate they are, they are just based on google maps and aerial images, so use at your own risk, but they should be helpful.

Gregg and I get in on Thursday and we are on a tight time schedule too. If there are other riders planning on starting on Friday morning in Buffalo, then we are going to start on Thursday afternoon where the route crosses Red Grade Road and do +/-40 miles on Thursday and then start with the group in Buffalo on Friday morning.  Or, if there are no other riders starting on Friday morning, we will probably just start from Buffalo on Thursday afternoon. 

Is there any recommendation regarding carrying bear spray on this route?  Good idea or overkill?   Also I assume hanging your food from a tree is a good idea? 

I am expecting a challenging and beautiful course.  Getting stoked to explore some new terrain!

Gregg and I booked our flights. Game on!

Hi Aaron, good luck out on the CTR!  Just a few more questions:

Will the route start in Buffalo or in Story?  I am hoping Buffalo because there appears to be bus service to buffalo from the airport.

Is there a bike shop in Buffalo to ship a bike to?  I see a sporting goods store.  If no bike shop, maybe I could ship a bike to a motel instead.

Do you have any plans for a shorter route option or will there just be the loop route this year?  The only reason I ask is I am not 100% sure I have enough days off to finish the full loop route.  It looks like a 6 day ride for my pace, and I probably only have 5 riding days plus 2 travel days available.  No worries either way regarding this question, but just wondering.

I was able to sort of figure it out.  I looked under "latest files from community on the left" and scrolled down until I found it. There is a download option there.

I will try to get the file to upload to ridewithgps.  I have encountered the problem you are describing before.  Ridewithgps thinks it is multiple tracks, but it really isn't. 

Nice work! Looks like a much bigger route this year!  I might need another day or two off work for this.

I am trying to download the gpx file from the link you sent, but I can't seem to figure it out.  I signed up for an account, but still I don't see the option to download or export the gpx file.  I just want to upload the GPX file into ridewithgps. 

The crazy weather continues!  I think it snowed more last weekend on Mt. Pinos too

I am pretty sure I can get a flight then a bus from airport to Buffalo. I will wait until the route is ready before firming up plans.

I’ve been interested in riding the Bighorn for some time now, hopefully I will make it for the group start this year. Looks like a stunning route. I will be going for the slowest known time in the “smell the flowers” category

 A few logistical questions: Is Gillette airport the nearest airport to the start? Looks like there is a bus that will get you from Gillette to Buffalo, not sure how to get to Tensleep from there, maybe just ride the bike. Looks like it might be possible to get a bus near the end point.  Any advice on air and ground transportation to/from the start/finish would be appreciated!

Also is the route for this year still a point to point? Last years thread hinted at a loop route possibility.

 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.

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.

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. 

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!

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

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.