Amtrak Century, September 1993

The Amtrak Century - Irvine to San Diego

Saturday September 18, 1993

I am staying with Frank at his townhouse in Irvine. After driving from the Bay Area on Friday and eating a carbo-loading dinner at Spaghetti Factory in Newport Beach, we get to bed early for tomorrow's big day.

The Amtrak Century is so named because cyclists ride from Irvine to San Diego and then return to Irvine on a special Amtrak train rented for the event. The cost of this century is not cheap: $45, but about half the cost goes toward the return train fare. I admit I have a love of trains, and half the fun of this event for me is the return trip on the train.

The next morning I awaken at the ridiculous hour of 2:45, exactly one hour before my alarm is set to go off. After eating my usual large breakfast and making preparations, I set off in the dark with my home-modified light at 5:30 and head for the Irvine Transportation Center, the start of today's ride. Frank will drive to the start as he fears he'll be very slow; he doesn't want to ride any further than he must. Near the University and I-405 overpass, Frank passes me.

We meet up again at the Transportation Center at 6:00, and we find a crowd of bicyclists waiting to sign in and get their identifying arm bands. In the only snafu of the day it seems that the OCW (Orange County Wheelmen) do not have the registration packets ready. This delays us for almost an hour.

Worried that he won't make it to San Diego in time, Frank pushes to the front and explaining to the people he has displaced that he is slow, manages to be one of the first riders on the course. Twenty minutes later I start out.

Since the shortest route to San Diego is somewhat less than 100 miles, the ride begins by making a large loop to the north of Irvine. On Bake Street in El Toro, I catch up to Frank. We stop briefly to use the facilities at a gas station near the corner of Santa Margarita before beginning the long, rolling downhill into Mission Viejo.

For the remainder of the ride Frank drafts me unless the downgrade is significant, and then I draft Frank. We make good time down Santa Margarita, but our time would be better if the traffic lights were adjusted to bicycle speeds.

Neither Frank nor I like riding in crowds of right-shoulder-cowering bicyclists, and the traffic lights have the effect of bunching up all the cyclists. We find that by staying in the traffic lane at the stoplights, not only do right-turning motor vehicles have room to turn right, but we can get ahead of the bunch when the light turns green. Then, due to Frank's low surface area to mass ratio, we can attain considerable speed on the downhills that follow—faster than some of the tandems on the ride.

In San Juan Capistrano we stop at the first rest stop and munch on gooey sweet rolls, cinnamon rolls, and chocolate chip cookies—not very healthy, but we're doing the ride to have fun, not to set any records. And, yes, we both earn Frank Awards.

The route continues through San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente before turning onto a bike path that leads past the San Onofre nuclear power plant and through San Onofre State Beach. Both Frank and I stop at one of the many facilities along the way for a break. I have done enough organized rides to know that potties at the official rest stops are usually overwhelmed by crowds.

At the south end of the beach we return to the bike path and continue south to the next rest stop on Pulgas Rd. While we rest and munch on cookies, a military policeman comes up and announces to those of us within earshot that we must ride single file and within the bike lane through Camp Pendleton or we'll be turned back.

The ride through the Marine Corps camp is uneventful. Near the beginning, a group of cyclists passes another slower cyclist right in front of a dump truck. This brings a loud HONK from the truck.

After leaving Camp Pendleton we begin the unpleasant ride through crowded Oceanside. After crossing into Carlsbad we stop for lunch at Magee Park. Frank and I manage to eat, rest, and be on our way within a half-hour, a record for us.

We continue slowly along the beach, letting our lunches digest. Most of the cyclists on the ride are behind us still. The coast route from Carlsbad through Del Mar is mostly urban or suburban and passes without incident. South of Del Mar we experience our one "major" climb of the day, Torrey Pines Grade.

Torrey Pines Grade is not a difficult climb by Bay Area standards, but it seems that many of the cyclists on today's ride are not accustomed to riding up an unbroken 450-foot climb at 5% grade some 83 miles into a ride. Most everyone looks tired and slow. Last April when Frank and I rode to San Diego, we took the steeper Torrey Pines Park Rd.

I wait for Frank at the rest stop at the top of the climb. At 13:40 we leave the Torrey Pines rest stop and continue the final portion of the ride. The route takes us down a bike path that parallels the train tracks for a while and then puts us on Santa Fe Rd. We continue swiftly, as if we have a train to catch, through Mission Bay and then onto Pacific Hwy.

The final few miles of the ride are not much fun as the pavement is not smooth and at one point we are required to cross two busy lanes of freeway-speed traffic. Still, this is the quickest route to downtown San Diego.

We arrive at the Santa Fe depot at 14:45. After loading our bikes into one of the six semi's transporting bicycles back to Irvine, we enjoy some refreshments, look at the pictures taken of us riding through El Toro, and head over to the depot to change into street clothes for the 16:00 train back to Irvine.

While we wait in the depot a loudspeaker barks, "A film crew is working in the station. Please do not be alarmed if you hear gunfire."

Our train is an unusual combination of the regular "Amfleet" cars with the addition of three LA Metrolink double-decker cars on the rear. We ride on the sunny side of the top level of the rearmost Metrolink car.

Returning on the train is fun because we can see where we rode earlier in the day, and we get a chance to talk with some of the other cyclists who were on the ride. The Metrolink cars are much quieter and smoother than the older CalTrain cars that run along the San Francisco Peninsula. These cars also have a surprisingly spacious lavatory.

We arrive in Irvine shortly before six o'clock, and after retrieving our bicycles from truck number three, Frank packs up his car and heads home while I change back into my biking clothes for the 7.3-mile ride to Frank's house. I arrive at Frank's just as the sun sets below the horizon overlooking Upper Newport Bay.

This wasn't a difficult century, yet the deadline of 16:00 for the return train kept us moving. Though much of it passed through urban or suburban areas, this century was a blast, one of the most fun I've done in a long time, a definite must-do for next year.

Statistics:

distance: 111.1 miles (96.5 for official ride)

climbing: 3170 ft (2800 for official ride)

total time: 9:40 (7:55 for official ride)

riding time: 6:39

average speed: 16.7 mph

maximum speed: 38.5 mph

index: 124 imiles

irp: 13 imph

mirp: 19 imph

climbing density: 29 ft/mi

climbing ratio: 0.0054

An article on indexing can be found here.

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