RIDE THE DREAM! 5th Annual 2015 PALM DESERT CENTURY 20-100 Miles Optional 130-Mile "Super Century" Optional 15-Mile Chip Timed segment to Chiriaco Summit Save 10% off Reg Fee with Promocode: RP10
Date: Saturday, November 14, 2015 Registration Now Open! Distance: 20/32/50/60/70/100/130 Mile Options Options: Full Course Riders Only: - 15-mi Chiriaco Summit TT/chip-timed - "Super Century" 130 mi - New! Virtual Rides: 20/50/100 Miles Location: University Park 74-902 College Drive Palm Desert, CA 92211 (map it) Field Limit: 1,000 Start Time: 6:30 - 8:00 A.M. (wave starts)
All riders receive with paid entry:
• Ride Registration • Detailed Final Rider Instructions • Distance Options: 20 - 130 miles • Long Course & Short Course Price Options • Box Cyn/Chiriaco Summit Time Trial Option • Optional Chip Timing for Time Trial • Cue sheets for all distances • 5 Fully stocked Rest Stops • Photography services • Dedicated Law Enforcement • Mobile roving support van • Subway Lunch Meal at turnaround, or finish • Post-ride Music & Expo at University Park Start/Finish • Free Parking: 1st come, 1st served • Rider Goodie Bag • Refund/Rollover/Transfer Options • Gear drop at Start/Finish and Rest Stop #1 • Full Century Finishers posted on website • Chiriaco Summit TT Results posted online • Custom Palm Desert Finisher Medal & Pin • Super Century 130-Mile Option • Optional Hanes Cool Dry Custom Tec T's • Trophies for Top 5 Men/Women Time Trial • Club Challenge! • New for 2015: Virtual Distances 20/50/100 (Virtual Riders receive Custom Pin only)
Ride Description:
California's desert is spectacular in November! Deep blue skies. Cool nights and warm days. Beyond the summer sizzle, and ahead of the Holidays. The sweet spot for desert cycling. With a Start/Finish in the idyllic City of Palm Desert, the PDC offers unsurpassed desert cycling paired with a world class destination. Palm Desert is the premier Coachella Valley community, with abundant lodging options at most price points, a wide variety of fine restaurants, El Paseo Drive Shopping, and cool attractions for the entire family. All within 2-3 hours of Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Tucson, and Phoenix.
The Palm Desert Century route offers an entirely unique Coachcella Valley cycling experience. The out-n-back course design allows riders to select distances from 20 to 100 miles, based on personal conditioning, weather, winds, etc. The gentle start glides southbound through well developed cities of Palm Desert, Indio, and La Quinta, before turning east into the low deserts checkered with Orange and Date Tree groves, and vast fields of crops, at the northern shores of the Salton Sea.
Full Century PDC riders have a rare opportunity to ride Box Canyon Road. Just beyond the quiet desert town of Mecca, east the railroad tracks, Box Canyon Road transforms into a remarkable and scenic 15 mile desert pass with no feeder roads, stop signs, stoplights, or intersections. It gradually ascends at a 1-2% incline from 200 ft BELOW Sea Level, to the Chiriaco Summit, nearly 1,300 ft ABOVE Sea Level. On the climb, prevailing winds are usually tailwinds.
This showcase segment of the PDC starts near the 35-mile point and ends at the 50-mile turnaround, at Chiriaco Summit, adjacent to Interstate 10. This segment includes an optional chip timed element, a one-way uphill Individual Time Trial, from about 4 miles east of Mecca to the Chiriaco Summit. Timing is completely voluntary. CEP Timing will be providing chip timing services. They also time the El Tour of Tucson, with over 8,000 timed riders. Timing chips must be returned at the Finish Chutes. An $85 replacement fee applies.
The summit finish will have a well-stocked Rest Stop, Lunch for riders who choose this options (vs. Finish in Palm Desert), and is the Full Century turnaround point. The most immediate reward is a paid-up freewheeling spin 20 miles back down to Mecca. Sensational sight lines to the Salton Sea appear though the canyons walls, near Mecca. The striking profile of the Santa Rosa/San Jacinto Mt ranges loom large in the distance.
The route continues along the same roads to Palm Desert with full support. Subtle transitions emerge as riders leave behind the remote, sometimes harsh, and undeveloped low desert vegetation, returning through La Quinta and immaculately groomed, wide pepper-tree-lined boulevards, past deluxe PGA Golf Courses and Resorts and communities, to a festive finish with music, medals, and exhibitors at the grassy 2.5 acre new University Park in Palm Desert. An included Subway lunch meal will be available here, for riders selecting the Finish option. Bring folding chairs and blankets to enjoy hanging out post-ride in the grassy area of the park.
Shadow Tour has listened carefully and implemented thoughtful rider feedback over the years. We offer Long and Short Courses, with separate prices. Jerseys, T-shirts, and Post-ride meals are completely optional, so no need to purchase something you may not want. The Time Trial is a free option. The innovative Shadow Tour Refund/Rollover/Transfer Policy helps if your plans change unexpectedly, and remains one of the only such policies in the business. We communicate details to riders before, during, and after the event. We post a list of registered riders, including their City, State, and their Affiliation. We maintain previous event Photo Galleries, weather data, and Full Century Finisher Lists for historical continuity. We allow riders to choose online or mail-in registration. We accept walk-up registrations whenever possible. We always do our best to arrange for parking at no additional cost.
The Palm Desert Century represents the next major advance for Shadow Tour desert cycling events. The cooperation from the Palm Desert City Council has been phenomenal from the start. Palm Desert offers huge potential for adding many more cool elements in the future.
