April 25, 2010 7:00 AM. 51 attended.
Chico Wildflower Century
Silver Dollar Fairgrounds (map)
THE WILDFLOWER IS THE ANCHOR OF THE CHICO VELO CENTURY SERIES. It was first offered as an organized event in 1981. While it poured most of the day, about 60 riders struggled through it. The hard part was making this wonderful 85 mile ride into a century.
The most popular loop out of Chico is the ride up Honey Run Rd. to Paradise, down Pentz Rd to Oroville, then back over Table Mountain, then back to Chico by way of Durham. We made up the extra miles by including loops in Bidwell Park, which few people did, then claiming they didn't get to ride 100 miles! So, we added a loop up Humboldt Rd (the rumor is that the local dentists have kept this road from being repaved, as it actually shakes the fillings out of riders' teeth) and down Hwy 32. That's some more climbing. Voila, a full century.
Today the ride has a bunch more choices. There is the Mildflower 65, an option that leaves off the Table Mtn. loop and the Flatflowers (30 or 60 miles) which boasts absolutely no hills.
The Wildflower has grown steadily over the years to 4,000 participants. 3,150 ride the hills (Mildflower 65 and Wildflower 100), 750 ride the Flatflowers and 100 young cyclists ride the Childflower 15 on the bike path to Durham. The rides satisfy the three biggest desires of century riders - the challenge, the scenery and the food. We combine tough climbs in the lush and fertile springtime with plenty of fresh fruits, fresh baked goodies (like streusel-date bars, banana-walnut bread, raspberry granola bars and raisin-nut energy bars) and a lunch spread that makes other century organizers scratch their heads. The rides have always included a dinner at the finish.
Click here to register.
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Linnie
This will be my 5th Wildflower Century; the weather is different every year. Oh the mystery!!! But I love this ride.
Posted February 10, 2010 at 6:19 AM -
Otis
OK Joan, I signed up because you said they have good food. Well that and a lot of arm twisting by some others who will remain nameless for the moment.
Posted February 10, 2010 at 12:07 PM -
Joan O'Connor
Otis, some people rate centuries according to difficulty.... with me it's all about the food at the rest stops. (Napa Century in August has homemade cookies.)
Posted February 10, 2010 at 2:16 PM -
Alex Chiu
Can't wait to see some HW century training series sometime before this!
Posted February 10, 2010 at 2:23 PM -
Otis
That is interesting approach Alex. Since I do not train for anything, I wonder how I will do. I just follow the Eddy Merckx approach. I just ride a lot. Hey, he won a few TDF's and it worked for him. haha And I still expect some good food Joan. May have to sign up for the Napa one - I like cookies. :o)
Posted February 10, 2010 at 2:58 PM -
Alex Chiu
Well I mean I do a lot of rides anyway to begin with. Just looking for the rides that are more towards that 100 mark :). See you all there!
Posted March 2, 2010 at 9:03 PM -
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Phred
Mica - that is news to me!!! I aint riding no skinny tired bike and on the pavement no less. :o)
Posted March 31, 2010 at 12:19 PM -
Otis
Mica are you out of your mind?! Can you just see that MTB rider plowing thru the peloton? I do not think so. I am bringing a mystery guest. snicker snicker snicker
Posted March 31, 2010 at 6:59 PM -
Greg Wilson
I'll be driving up the morning of the ride with my truck and have room for three others. It'd be nice to carpool as parking can be difficult.
Posted April 2, 2010 at 10:45 AM -
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Scott Taggart
I will be driving up Sunday morning, planning on arriving just before 6 and hitting the trail shortly thereafter with my two sons. We will probably average 12-14 for the full century. I will be on my "Chrysler Imperial" (Schwinn High Sierra commute bike). Is anyone planning on a semi-leisurely pace that we could hook up with? Please email me at taggart@taggarts.org if so or call my cell anytime after 4:00am Sunday at 916-716-0028.
Scott
Posted April 24, 2010 at 8:18 PM -
Will
I hope all you guys have a great time. Phrotis feel free to ride with me to the top of mt. Hamilton instead.
Posted April 25, 2010 at 12:02 AM -
Mica Dugan
I hope the modify the route a bit in the future so we actually get a full 100 and not 96...
Posted April 25, 2010 at 7:58 PM -
susan
Great pre-ride pizza dinner. Lots of fun. Wonderful Mildflower ride with Blaine, Scott, Chandra and Mel. Next year I MUST do the century so I can see some WILDFLOWERS!
Posted April 25, 2010 at 8:14 PM -
Timo
Great Ride... Good to meet some of the HWers I have seen here for so long. Can't wait for the next one.
Posted April 26, 2010 at 8:38 AM -
Curt Mills
Awesome ride, it was great seeing Rex, Scott, Jeff S, Jeff T, and the rest of the HammerinWheels crew out there. Can't wait to do it next year.
As a side note, we're almost done with a full time lapse video of the entire ride, if you'd like, you can check out part 1 here: http://roadrashcycling.com/
Posted April 26, 2010 at 10:04 PM -
Scott Hooper
Dude, Curt! That time laps video kicks ass! Perfect soundtrack as well!
Posted April 26, 2010 at 10:14 PM -
Alex Chiu
Awesome Curt! Great to see it! I saw a few from the Road Rash team while I was with Joe and Warren, did you see me? Humbolt! That was not a pleasant road to start off the Wildflower course :(
Posted April 26, 2010 at 10:17 PM -
Curt Mills
@JeffT: Great riding with you, wish I could have pushed the pace a little harder, but it wasn't happening. BTW, at about the 1:32 minute mark in the video you go flying by on humbolt rd and not a second later I can see myself jumping on your wheel. Made me laugh, I guess Tuesday night habits are hard to break.
@Alex: I think I may have saw you walk by at registration, but I wasn't sure. Did you have a HW jersey on?
@Scott: Thanks, but I have to give credit to my buddy Mike for the video.Posted April 26, 2010 at 11:30 PM -
Alex Chiu
Ah okay. No I wasn't. I have a LG jersey that I wear on almost all of my rides (http://www.louisgarneau.com/us-en/product/305498/0820475/...
). Oh well. Maybe I'll see you on another ride :)Posted April 26, 2010 at 11:34 PM -
Alex Chiu
PhotoCrazy pics are up! Jeff is a master at finding everybody's pics, haha.
Posted April 27, 2010 at 11:10 AM
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JeriGroup SupporterLoved it! My first official ride and I thought it was great fun except for those last few miles through the orchards when my energy was starting to wane, but I pepped up immensely when I hit the streets of Chico. :)
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BlaineTeam Honey BadgerWoW, what a wonderful weekend with great friends. I could do this with all the HW friends every weekend. Camping was so much fun, lots of laughs with great friends. This was my best ride of the year, thanks to Lourdes for the dinner plans and my great friends that I rode with and saw through out the weekend.
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Joan O'Connor
Group Supporter+1 guestI enjoy going up Honey Run but Table Mtn is always a challenge. I do appreciate Chico Velo's efforts in putting this ride together. I think next time I will take the short path after lunch home so I don't have to ride the last 25 flat miles.
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Jeff SanfordOrganizerOh man do I hurt... 6:18 with a 15.2 avg. ~ 4700ft of gain. Took an hour and 20 minutes off my personal best for this ride. Conquered both major climbs without stopping, a first for me. Awesome to see all the HW folks on the route today, must have seen 20+ people, too cool!! Big thanks to Mica, Greg & Eric for the pace line back into Chico, saved my bacon for sure! Lots of food, well supported ride. We'll be back next year!
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Joe F.Thanks Lourdes. Pizza was great and the ride was great. This was our first big group ride. Jeri and I did the Mildflower (with Anthony!). Rest stops were well stocked - good lunch (though Anthony didn't get his cheese plate!)
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Adrienne VGroup Supporter, Assistant OrganizerHoney Run Road conquered! A beautiful day for the ride....saw lots of familiar faces....
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RexGroup SupporterThose long steady climb up Honey Run Rd. and Table Mountain were a true test of will power. So many riders had to stop for a breather on the road side and few walked uphill. Thanks to all the challenging rides with HW I had the confidence to complete my first century (although it was actually 96miles) and like Mica this was my very first organized event.
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Mica DuganGroup Supporter, Assistant OrganizerThis was my 1st organized ride and overal it was a great experience. Humbolt road wasn't the best...Food was good on rest stops minus the 1st which was swamped. Glad I brought a few bars with me along the way so we could bypass the wait. All the other rest stops did the trick. Post ride meal was good and the weather was wonderful. What's 100 miles when you share it with friends?
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Alex ChiuAs my first ever century, it was good. I hated the first couple miles, the road was not well maintained at all. The rest of the ride was good, especially hitting 50+ on the way downhill. The rest stops were well stocked. Me, Warren, and Joe stuck through it all, and at one point we had a paceline 10 strong. Among the HW members spotted: Mica, Rex, Dale, Lourdes, SteveMD, staggart, and Scott Hooper as well as Jeff S. Weather was good aside from the strong headwinds we faced for the last quarter, food was great. Nice seeing everyone!
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The food on this ride is the best of all the organized centuries. Chico Velo knows how to do this right. I didn't think the dinner the night before was worth it, though.