Fun stuff.
The tracker is live!
We will be adding waypoints for time splits:
1) Borrego Springs
2) Agua Caliente
3) Alpine
4) San Diego Bay
5) Lake Hodges/ I-15
RSVP for staying at the Collier house, please…
St Patricks Day should be a good time in San Diego.
We emailed a few of you on the Start List who aren’t on the tracker.
All the latest info, GPX, and cues have been sent out.
Get your ducks in a row- deadline is this friday (March 7th) by close of business to get your SPOT registered with Trackleaders or rent one.
We are opening our house to dinner & hang out time, and crash pad space to sleep the night before the ride.
Idyllwild Inn is running a special rate for Stagecoach 400 riders.
We have a pre-ride meeting Thursday evening at Hub Cyclery.
Higher Grounds Coffee House will be opening early for us before the ride start.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Higher Grounds Coffee House, Hub Cyclery, Idyllwild Inn, Stagecoach 400
The first of at least 2 communiques have been sent.
Topics include start time, and SPOT registration & rental.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged its getting western, spot registration, spot rental, Stagecoach 400, start time
The new desert route is something special.
The change boosts the “survivability” of the route with altogether less sand, and less elevation gained in the soft stuff. (Southern California is in the midst of a drought of historic significance and this year’s sand is especially exquisite) We will ride through special areas like the Mud Caves in Diablo Wash, and up Vallecito Creek on the Great Southern Overland Stage Route of 1849.
The new route crosses approximately 5 fewer miles in the sand, and instead gains the elevation before Oriflamme on pavement. This’ll give us an opportunity to enjoy the desert a bit more, check out some sights, and maybe get a soak in the hot springs at Agua Caliente.
Quick Comparo
Old Route: Ride through Fish Creek wash to Hapaha Flat to Pinyon Valley… route is increasingly steep, and soft. Push bike for miles on end. Arrive at Stagecoach RV park to hugs, high fives, and crushed souls. Leave the area hating the desert, cursing the route.
Getting Western on the new route. Going up the Diablo Drop.
Mud Cave! OMG it’s shady in here!
New Route: Turn south off Fish Creek to the Diablo Drop off (steep and soft hike-a-bike) level off on plateau, good pedaling. North (up) Diablo Wash a few miles in rideable sand, then South (downhill) through the gorgeous Tapiado Wash for 6.5 miles. Mud Caves and other tourist opportunities… turn North on Vallecito Wash (Stage Route of 1849) and climb through moderate sand to the pavement. Then… check this out: arrive at Agua Caliente Hot Springs where camping, showers, and hot springs await. The hot springs are open for only certain hours of the day, showers open 24/7 for campers. Getting to Agua Caliente in time for a soak in the hot springs will become a motivating carrot for some riders this year. (stand by for details, you might be pre-qualified!- here’s a hint: 6am start)
Store on site. We will be reminding the store owner of the 40 or so hungry souls coming through…
View from the hammock in front of the store at Agua Caliente.
Vallecito County park (3.6 miles up the road) has camping, showers, and water.
Butterfield Ranch an additional 5ish miles more… full store, camping, water. The route re-joins last year’s version at Oriflamme Canyon.
What’s next?
We will be annotating pertinent info in the cues (hours, facts, contacts) and putting together a new GPX for download.
Additionally, we need to make some changes in the Penasquitos/Black Mountain area after San Diego, something we are calling on volunteer help to accomplish. The new GPX & cues will be available as soon as we can get that together.
And?
We have updated the Start List to show 39 riders. Woot!
And, and?
We have a Facebook group “Stagecoach 400 Mountain Bike Route” to discuss all things pertaining to the route. Get yourself connect and don’t be a dweeb.
And, and, and?
What more do you want? Final GPX, cues… oh, and start info & pre-ride activities in Idyllwild to come.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 2014 Stagecoach 400, new Desert Route stagecoach 400, Stagecoach 400
The 2014 date is set for Friday, March 14th departure from Idyllwild.
This date moves the ride up a full month from the 2013 start to beat the dreaded heat in the desert sections and hopefully find more favorable trail conditions in those areas as well. The date coincides closely with the full moon (Sunday the 16th). We will have about an hour less daylight with the new start date, at about 12 hours dawn to dusk in March instead of 13 hours in April.
Route Changes in the works:
May Valley (Idyllwild) reroute- this area is currently closed. We are hopeful it will reopen very soon, possibly in the coming weeks, but ITT’s between now and then will need to redirect around on pavement on Hwy 243 & Hwy 74. Careful out there, these highways can be dangerous with no shoulder.
The desert route will remain more or less gloriously unchanged. Except maybe cooler & firmer in March instead of April. Otherwise, maybe your tears will firm up the sand.
We are looking at more dirt in the Alpine area, after Viejas Grade.
We are looking at a better alternative to get to the “Scary House” in the Sloane Canyon area. The 2012 route went up the “most horrible hike a bike ever” and the 2013 route went around on the “kinda horrible pavement” so we are hopeful the 2014 route will find a good compromise here. Word has it, the alternative trail is “mostly rideable.” This is a maybe. Don’t freak out, people.
We are considering a possible “choose your own adventure” route option at the San Diego Bay whereby riders can opt to ride the Silver Strand out to Coronado, and take the ferry back across the bay. Likewise, we may pencil in a more definitive option to ride the Noble Canyon Singletrack earlier in the route.
We are looking at more Singletrack in Tecolote Canyon and the greater Mission Bay Area. We also have new beta on resupplies in the area, including the Karl Strauss Brewery tasting room, right on the route.
Tunnels section of Penasquitos Canyon- this will be bypassed entirely, as it is closed.
Minor changes in Black Mountain /Lake Hodges area. New resupplies too.
Register your SPOT with Trackleaders, or sign up to rent yours by the close of business on April 19th.
Big brother is watching.
Posted in stagecoach info
Tagged Idyllwild cycling, Idyllwild mountain biking, Stagecoach 400
2013 Preliminary Start List…
We’ve got 36 so far. Some familiar faces, and a new crew.
Check it out here.
Posted in stagecoach info
Tagged 2013 Stagecoach 400, Stagecoach 400, the next generation
The date is set, and some new details are up. The 2013 Stagecoach 400 is set to go.
The ride is set to start on April 26th at 9am, from Cafe Aroma in Idyllwild, CA.
To benefit the Idyllwild Community Fund
Taking a nod from the successful food drive at the ’12 San Jacinto Enduro, this year’s ride will benefit the Idyllwild Community Fund. An excellent local organization with a proven track record, Stagecoach riders have a suggested donation of $20 to the ICF.
Registration is open
The registration form is OPEN on the SC400 info page. The FAQ page has been updated.
Route changes
This year’s route is tweaked from last year’s inaugural route. Minor route changes exist throughout the ride, and major adjustments are made with Noble Canyon and the hike-a-bike after Alpine being optional.
Riders dinner & meeting
The riders meeting is set for Thursday, 6pm at Hub Cyclery. Food will be provided by Cafe Aroma.
It’s bad to the bone
The Stagecoach 400 is tricky, and tough. We’ll go ahead and say it’s the toughest, trickiest, longest mountain bike ride in California, and certainly among the hardest in the nation. If you have questions about it, please ask.
Mark Allen of Phoenix is out on his second day of his Holiday Time Trial on the 2012 Stagecoach 400 route.
He’s joined by Andrew Hoyer of Bakersfield, and one other rider.
Mark’s tracker is registered on the Trackleaders page and can be followed in real time here.
The riders are carrying both the old route file, and the new one. Mark’s ITT will be on the old route.
Andrew stopped in the shop Friday to talk route details and joined us for beer (bravo!) and tacos at the Lumber Mill. They all joined up and departed early Saturday morning.
They made good time through Coyote Canyon down to Borrego Springs, and appear to have spent their first night in Fish Creek wash, near Split Mountain.
Conditions in the wash are likely good, with the area having received rain recently and likely not *too much* OHV traffic. The mountains have some snow, especially on north faces. Overnight temps at elevation have been in the upper 20’s and low 30’s. Brrr!!
Time to register your SPOT trackers!
Go to the Trackleaders signup page to either register yours, or sign up to rent one.
SoCal Bikepacking 