Tour de Poway

First I will respond to the negative review by Lorenzo V. on 9÷22÷2014. No where does this ride bill itself as a Gran Fondo and it does not cost $ 100. As for his suggestion to «bandit «this ride it is guys like this that drive the costs of these events up and give cycling a bad name. If you «bandit» the ride and surely need to use the aid stations that is called stealing. Not cool L.V.
There may have been some «bandits» on this ride. There was a large group of young guys (at least a dozen) wearing 7 – 11 jerseys. Only 2 or 3 of them had bib numbers and they seemed to be getting lost frequently.
Ok now for my review of the century. True it is a bit costly but all the centuries are going that way. The start/​finish at the old Poway Park is a really nice place and fun to explore. My favorite parts of the ride are the Poway to Escondido section of minimum development, the nice 3 mile stretch of coastline and parts of Rancho Santa Fe. The rest is busy boulevards that require 100% of your undivided attention lest you end up on someone’s bumper. A real highlight was the all downhill canyon section Northwest of Ramona. The route slips left much to be desired but rather than complain here I have emailed suggestions for improvements to the organizer and hopefully next year will see better ones. The aid stations (odd name, I’m used to rest stops or water stops) were in good locations except one that you had to veer off the course about a couple hundred yards. My buddy missed that one. The course in general is challenging to follow with all the turns and multiple name Spanish names of streets. The food? I’ll be kind and just say that it is not as good as any other century I’ve done and I’ve done a lot. The people are cool though.
So would I do it again? If I lived in the area I probably would as being familiar with the intricate route would surely make the next time a lot more fun. But I’m out of the area and the long drive and lodging I would reserve for my favorite centuries only. I will not mention them here to keep the crowds down.
Would I recommend it? Of course, put it on your bucket list but make sure you have a good Garmin and the route slip firmly attached to your bike stem.

Ok so I did the 62.5 today. I agree with a lot of the other reviews. The course is awesome but the cost is outrageous for what you get. $ 65 registration and doesn’t even come with a free tshirt. I bought the $ 15 tshirt and the back is covered is sponsors, very similar to the free ones you get at most other fitness events. The aid stations are very well stocked and manned. But, the course is hardly marked. Lots of places I wondered if I was even still on the course. Then at the finish line there was nothing, no announcer or anyone who was even affiliated with the event. There was a beer garden (tables and chairs and 6 people drinking beer) that gave you 1 free beer then you could buy more. I think people are getting tired of the price and after race event since someone mentioned it looked like half the amount of people as were there last year. All in all I will probably do it again since I loved the course, the weather was perfect and now I know to study the route and don’t rely on signs, and it’s very close to my house.

This ride is a complete rip off. Tour De Poway calls itself a Gran Fondo, but it is not. A Gran Fondo offers a after ride meal, a t-​shirt and full aid station. All they offer is aid stations for over $ 100. So you pay over $ 100 for $ 3 of water and bananas. The route is great, so just bandit the ride. The Alpine Challenge for $ 45 offers you a post ride meal, beer and full aid stations and it’s a better route. Skip this rip off!

Very scenic ride that give a true view of everything San Diego has to offer, rural, beaches, mountainous back country, awesome volunteers, the 100 miler Century is a challenge. This wasn’t my first century, but it was likely the hardest. I’ve been up to Big Bear which much more elevation gain, even the San Diego Century was easier.
First off to be fair, here in 2012 we got hit with a freak Santa Ana weather pattern so everything was 20 degrees hotter than normal, it was between 96 and 98 degrees for the last and hardest part of the ride.
For anyone doing this ride, know as soon as you leave Rancho Santa Fe and turn up into Carmel Valley/​Del Mar, this is where the hills begin and they don’t let up until the end, nothing particularly steep, but never ending, you’ll be cursing/​praying whatever to get through it, I intentionally turned off my bike computer watching the miles slowly count by was maddening.
By the time I got to mile 90 the heat was 96 degrees, my body stopped sweating, and I was getting goose bumps, I pressed on. I would pour water down my helmet and down my shirt to cool off… until the water was so warm it wasn’t really helping. It would evaporate off in the next mile or two anyway. As heat stroke was setting in other riders were very friendly and asked if I needed any help. I did stop and sat in the shade for about 10 minutes then continued on.
When I finally made it to the end I was exhausted, after a 10 minutes in the shade I got my free Stone IPA beer (the only thing you get at this event no complaints) and a great chicken lunch. Overall a great event and real challenge.
The event did lots of things right, kept costs low, no frills, mailed out rider numbers and wrist bands, shocking how many poorly run events like Long Beach make you show up the day BEFORE the ride to pick up your packet and don’t mail or offer race day pickup, no excuse for this behavior except to line hoteliers pockets and force you to attend some hokey Expo Event. Waivers are simply dropped off in a bin, you show up, you get in line at the start line and you go, couldn’t be easier.

I agree with most comments written by all the other reviewers. I highly recommend the Tour de Poway but pick a ride that suits your level. There are shorter family rides. I am reviewing the century but all the rides are in the same area which is beautiful. This was my 7^th Annual Tour de Poway Century. If you are from out of town this is an excellent way to experience SD if you are a cyclist. It is an eclectic representation of San Diego and gives you a taste of every type of lifestyle in San Diego County. You see agriculture, cows, horses, fields, goats then you work your way to the coast and ride along the ocean and observe the «surfer dude» lifestyle. Then you work your way back through Rancho Sante Fe and see a wealthy part of paradise. This century has a lot of climbing so you must be prepared and train. There were more aid stations this year and I even skipped one. There are some serious stud riders who ride in groups but once they passed me (pretty early) I found the riders of my level to be fun and friendly. I will do it again next year and I hope to make my 25^th Annual Tour de Poway.

I attended the October 2, 2011 event.
The Tour-​de-​Poway 100, 60, and 50-​mile courses should be billed as «experienced riders only” – there are many hills, and one fast mountain descent. I loved the geography and challenge of the course, but it was obvious that (even in San Diego), many riders were challenged to the extreme. There were at least three falls that I knew about, and one car accident that was most likely caused by cyclists. The roads were less-​than-​pristine in a few areas (and I live in the Inland Empire!), and we witnessed one person thrown from her bike due to a road anomaly. I knew there would be a lot of fast riders on this ride, but I take issue with ‘experienced’ riders willing to put others in danger just to maintain their speed. There were several douchebags like this on the ride. In addition, the cars did not seem very ‘happy’ with the cyclists on the road, and I witnessed one or two near-​misses.
As for the support – one of the most important parts of a long ride – excellent. The Poway Grade was shut down by police and CHP so we could ride the first six miles without cars – excellent. The beautiful and at times stunning scenery – excellent. The post-​ride beer garden with local brewery (Lightening) – excellent. The vendors/​entertainment post-​ride – excellent. The Kiwanis club involvement – excellent.
Overall, I give the organizers and support the «five» stars, but the overall danger of some of the roads and the attitude of some of the entrants (something somewhat out of the control of organizers) cause me to give it a 4. I think «rules of etiquette» need to be clearer at the start of the ride. Perhaps published etiquette rules on the cue sheet. Also, course changes need to be made based upon road conditions.

This was my first century as well, but at the time I’ve only been riding a little under 2 months… so this maybe biased to my inexperience.
The aid stations were great! Well stocked and had a lot of friendly people. Although the spacing seemed really inconsistent to me. The first 2 were awesome about 20 – 25 miles apart then the 3^rd was only 15 miles away on a easy part of the course!!! then at the 80 mile wall there was no rest stop/​aid station to be seen. So it just added onto the torment…
Some of the riders on the ride were a bit to serious for me, but there were much more cyclists out there just having a good time. I even caught up to a guy wearing a UPS jersey, and I asked him if he only turned right to be more efficient… =)… well he got the joke…
The course was awesome and I’d definitely do the ride again, but beware!!! at the 80 mile wall the course becomes nothing but rollers… I was cursing to the heaven’s at this point, but I’m sure when seasoned this wouldn’t be an issue.

This was my first century so its hard to say how good is was compared to others.
Good:
1 90% of the ride is very scenic
2 people were friendly for the most part i went into it solo and found a pace line to ride with
3 Aid Stations were in good places and stocked with PB&J fruit energy bars and snacks
4 there was only 1 time where i hadn’t seen any markers for awhile and thought i might of been lost but overall the course was marked well
Bad and So So:
1 this last year there was a timed hill climb that recorded some of the time apparently there were some problems with the collection of data then some people got their times then they said that the many of the times are incorrect but hopefully next year they’ll have it worked out by next year
either way i was stoked my first century in the books so ill be going back next year

I’ve done the Tour de Poway century three times now. I plan on doing the event again this year, and in the future.
It’s an enjoyable ride, a nice tour through East and North county. The last 20 miles are always a bit of a grind, but finishing is always reward enough.
It seems to have an adequate number of well stocked aid stations, and the volunteers all seem happy to help.

The Tour de Poway.
I am going to review the 100 miler (as that is the one I biked).
Things I liked:
1. The countryside is beautiful. The parts in Ramona and near the Wild Animal Park are gorgeous, and the costal and Rancho Santa Fe parts are nice too.
2. The Aid Stations were great and staffed with SUPER helpful and kind volunteers.
3. The course was marked really really well for 80% of it.
4. For a long event, the cost is relatively low.
Things I did not like:
1. The other cyclists. I am a runner and I think runners are a bit more friendly. I tried to talk to a few people out there, but they were mostly interested in just riding with their clique of friends, and not with me. So I tried to ride alone, but then they would suck on my wheel and make me do the work. Runners are friendlier when running. Everyone was really nice while not riding, though.
2. The last 20% of the course was not marked well. I got lost twice, and thought I was lost 2 other times.
3. The 100 miles is 105 miles long. (not a really big deal all in all, but it was SOOOO HOT and I SOOO wanted to be done).
This is a nice event, but I would recommend doing it with friends. They have shorter rides too, but they are all challenging (read … HILLY).
I will retire from cycling in events after this, and just enjoy cycling with my friends. It is more fun, and I often can find rides that are more fun.
NOTE: This was revised to let everyone know that the Witch Creek Fire burned almost the entire area that this course rides. I think that maybe the fire was jealous of the cyclists and was trying to ride the course too.
Stupid fire.