It’s the day after the 2011 Shasta Summit Century, and like most of the participants, the organizers are all feeling a little stiffer than usual.
Despite one scary crash (she’s going to be OK), there’s a lot to celebrate:
- Another year of striking weather
- Record ridership (700 on the nose)
- Record numbers of riders to all our summits (yes, we count)
- Record amounts of fun among our riders, organizers and volunteers!
In the little town of Mt. Shasta, 700 riders — 80% of which live more than two hours away — amount to a sizable chunk of humanity.
In fact, the Mt. Shasta Summit Century has become Mt. Shasta’s second largest weekend event (after our huge Fourth of July run), and we thank each and every rider who makes the trip to our somewhat remote corner of the planet.
The economy has landed hard on our already-economically challenged rural county, and in several cases, the grants provided to local youth sports programs (our emphasis is on aerobic “lifetime” sports) are all that stand between some of these highly successful sporting programs (high school track, cross-country, nordic xc-skiing and others) and, well… no program at all.
When I’m less sleepy, I’ll put together a by-the-numbers email/post.
Until then, we’ll see you next year (Sunday, August 5, 2012).
The Shasta has been my favorite ride since I discovered it in 2004. It’s challenging, the scenery is outstanding, and I always meet interesting people.
But the ride wouldn’t be what it is without the fantastic volunteer work. The routes and hazards are always well marked, the chow is great (it was especially excellent this year), and the support is top notch. A huge thank you to the people who help make this ride possible!
To the organizers and all the wonderful volunteers:
Thank you!
Such a wonderful combination of challenge and awe! Thanks for another incredible day in wonderland! The enthusiastic support of the locals was appreciated!
Having had the incredible good fortune of keeping it vertical with kindred cycling spirits on beautiful and challenging rides in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Japan, Turkey (…but not yet Jamaica) the Mount Shasta Summit Century tops my list! You are simply the best—outstanding early warning system (“no last year’s legs…”), lovely volunteers, well-planned and executed support, various ride options, welcoming city, challenging hills, sweet downhills, perfect weather and friendly, committed highly-skilled fellow riders…thank you! My next year’s ride schedule is now centered around the Mount Shasta Summit Century, and I can’t wait.
As a many-times over veteran of the Death Ride, I was hesitant to ride that ride again and was looking for a new challenge. Simply said, I do believe The Mt. Shasta Super Century lives up to the hype as being harder than Death Ride. But more importantly, I think the ride is a much better ride: less crowded (and inherently safer, in my opinion), beautiful scenery on every climb, wonderful and terrifically friendly volunteers, and the climbs were longer and more steady than DR. The entire atmosphere surrounding this ride, from the websites to rest stops, was an enjoyable experience! And a very nice jersey to boot! We’ll be doing this ride again! Thank you all for a great day in the saddle!
Excellent ride! I am looking forward to doing it again next year. Very strong support services, Thank You! As someone who rides the deplorable roads of Sonoma County, I really appreciated the painted markers on potholes and irregularities in the pavement.
Question: My brother Don and I neglected to check in at registration when we completion of the century. Is this improtant for your record keeping?
Thanks again,
Jerry Fabiano
I wanted to add my voice to the other comments. What a great ride. Well organised, well signed and staffed with friendly helpful volunteers who made the suffering not quite so bad.
Definitely one I would like to do again (after some extra training!) and one I would recommend to other cyclists looking for an epic, exciting, challenging and fun day out.
Thank you for a great ride, we really had a good time! Got some pics along the way, and you’re welcome to any of them:
http://runtrails.blogspot.com/2011/08/soaring-through-mount-shasta-summit.html
SD
The Shasta Century was just a great day! The ride was the best that I have ever done. I want to thank everyone who did a great job in putting this ride on. The ride next year will be on my calender.
This was my first organized century ride, undertaken just a week after after getting back on the bike after a serious knee injury a month ago. I learned about the ride the day before from a local rider, and registered late that evening because I was heading back to Boston the following day. What an incredible experience! The route was perfectly marked, rest stops were numerous and expertly staffed by very friendly and capable volunteers, and the other riders were both impressive and supportive of a newbie. Thanks to my crawling pace, courtesy of my fragile knees, I was able to finish the 100-mile segment before sunset without any muscle cramping, but with plenty of other physical complaints. Thanks to the volunteers at the summit who stayed after the 6:30 pm cutoff time! Next year (with better preparation, of course) I’m coming back to do the 140-mile ride on a tandem with my wife; both of my teenaged kids want to do the 100-mile ride as well. Great job to all the participants and organizers!