Heartbreak Hundred
Event #3 in the King of the Mountains Century Challenge
THE “GRAND FIRE” WILL NOT AFFECT THE HEARTBREAK HUNDRED ROUTE. OUR FOREST SERVICE CONTACT HAS ADVISED THAT THE WIND IS BLOWING THE FIRE AWAY FROM THE ROUTE AND THE AIR QUALITY IS FINE. THE RIDE IS HAPPENING!!! WE DO HAVE TO MOVE OUR START TIMES AND SATURDAY CHECK IN TIME UP ONE HOUR. PLEASE SEE INFO BELOW!
General Information and Ride Rules – Please Read!
Click here FOR KING OF THE MOUNTAINS CENTURY CHALLENGE STANDINGS AFTER MULHOLLAND & BREATHLESS.
Click here for 2013 Heartbreak Hundred results (streaming live from the event).
Click here for the 2012 Results
Entry Fees
Century – $80. HOWEVER, take advantage of our Earlybird Special and save $5 by registering six weeks before the event! Standard registration ends two weeks before the event. Thereafter, up until midnight on the Thursday before the event, you may make an online reservation using the Register Now link and pay $90 at the door.
Registration for the 2014 Heartbreak Hundred will open in December.
Start/Finish Hotel
For 2013 – Holiday Inn Express, 612 Wainright Court in Lebec. (661) 248-1600. The Planet Ultra group rate is $99 per night for one king / $109 per night for two queens. There are only a couple of rooms left at the Holiday Inn Express. If it’s sold out when you call, there’s a Motel 6 just down the road. They’re offering a special rate of $52.63 single occupancy or $59.35 double occupancy. Be sure and tell them you’re with Planet Ultra. If you stay at the Motel 6, please ride your bike over in the morning. Do not drive and park at the Holiday Inn please!
Directions
I-5 to Frazier Mountain Park Road exit. Turn right on Lebec Rd and then right on Frazier Mountain Park Rd. Click here for a map.
Check-In
Rider check-in will be Friday night from 7pm to 9pm and Saturday morning from 6am to 7:30am.
Chip-Timed Event
This is not a race, but it is a timed event. Planet Ultra uses electronic chip timing — so you must wear your timing chip on the top of your helmet and your sticker number on the right side of your helmet, and you must check-in at the finish. If you fail to wear your timing chip, or do not pass under the start/finish, you will be listed as DNF in the results. Please don’t email us after the event to change your results if you failed to follow these rules. We only fix typos or other problems that are our fault.
Start Times
Century riders may start between 7am and 8am. This may seem late in the day for some of you, but it’s a must-do since this event is being held in conjunction with the Heartbreak Double Century, which starts 50 miles away at 5:30 am on the same morning and heads this direction. You must choose your start time based on your expected finishing time. If you leave too early, you will not receive a start time, as our timing equipment will not be activated before 8:00am.The finish line opens at 2pm – and not one minute sooner – so plan accordingly. Here are the guidelines:
- 10-12 hours: Please start between 7am and 7:15am
- 9-10 hours: Please start between 7:15am and 7:30am
- 8-9 hours: Please start between 7:30am and 7:45am
- Under 6: Please start between 7:45am and 8:00am
- 5 hours to 5:15: Please start at 8:00am
Please note: If you start too early, you may reach the finish line before it opens at 12:30pm. If you do, your finish time will be calculated based on a 1:30pm finish. Under no circumstances will the finish line open before 12:30pm. If you think that starting early will help you “beat the heat,” forget it… everyone will be on the road in the noontime hours, no matter what. So please folks, let the riders who need the time get a little head start.
Time Limit
10 hours. All century riders must be off the course by 5pm to receive KOM credit and to be listed as an official finisher.
Course Records
Men – 4:46:38, Nate Whitman, 38, Los Angeles, CA
Men 50+ – 4:51:37, Malcolm Hill, 55, Corona Del Mar, CA
Men 60+ – 5:30:11, Glenn Town, 61, Santa Barbara, CA
Men 70+ – 6:35:56, Rex Farnsworth, 70, Redondo Beach, CA
Women – 5:26:43, Jennie Phillips, 49, Danville, CA
Women 50+ – 5:43:21, Heidi Christensen, 54, Newbury Park, CA
Women 60+ – 6:53:00, Shari Nichols, 60, Valencia, CA
Tandem – 5:19:00, Deya Guerrero, Alex Estrada
Average Time – 7:14:00
Twilight
Twilight begins 5:12; Twilight ends 20:28. Sunrise is 5:42; Sunset is 19:58.
Routing and Navigation
Planet Ultra route sheets include lots of useful information to help riders navigate the course. For example, we’ll let you know if a turn is at a stop sign (SS), traffic light (TL) or T-intersection (T-int). We know that riders like to have the course marked. However, many of the towns/cities/counties specifically request that no markings are placed in the road. Our permits are contingent on NOT doing this. Our experience is that riders get lost whether the course is marked or not – because they’re not paying attention. Fewer riders get lost when they’re mindful of where they are on the route sheet. Please understand and take responsibility for navigation. Make it part of your experience.
Route Sheets and GPS Files
Route sheets are available in excel format to registered riders if requested via email between two weeks and five days before the event. We cannot guarantee that advance route sheets will be 100% accurate. Though not anticipated, last-minute routing changes may be required.
NEW! You may download the route either as a Garmin Map Route File; or Google Map and Training Center Files (gpx or tcx).
Please note that advance route sheets and gps files are provided as a courtesy and you use them at your own risk. Planet Ultra does not guarantee accuracy. Please further note the following very important caveats:
- The ROUTE SHEET is gospel. Whenever the route sheet and the rider’s GPS unit disagree, the route sheet is correct.
- A GPS can (and will) route a rider over a cliff. They’re good at that. There’s really no substitute for the human brain. Riders should use theirs.
- One should never depend solely on a GPS unit for navigation. Riders should have a route sheet with them, and know how to follow it.
- GPS batteries on most “bicycle” GPS units may not last for a century. Riders should understand that and make arrangements to supplement the GPS power, learn to read a route sheet, or have the phone number of the local cab company with them.
- Click here to see the RideWithGPS.com map. You can also download a GPS file from this page.
Personal SAG Vehicles
Not allowed! If you bring one, you will be disqualified from the event without a warning. The definition of a personal SAG is any vehicle (motor or otherwise), anywhere on the route, operated by someone other than Planet Ultra staff, that is providing any type of aid, assistance, or motivation to any rider, or taking photographs, or simply out cheering. Please understand that our permits simply don’t allow dozens of extra vehicles on the roads or at the checkpoint locations. Imagine the traffic from all those cars! If you’re bringing someone with you who wants to be out on the course helping, please have them contact us and join our volunteer staff. We can always use extra help out on the course.
Ride Description
Leaving the start line, a short quick climb to Tejon Pass gives way to a short descent into Frazier Park. Relish that warm up, for now the climbing begins in earnest. The next 30 miles are mostly uphill, though there are a few nice descents along the way. As you climb toward the summit of Mt. Pinos, take time to look around; the scenery here is truly beautiful, as the high desert gives way to alpine forests and gently sloping mountain meadows. Look to your left at Lake of the Woods and see the road you will be descending later in the afternoon, then look ahead at the road that will take you higher into the mountains.
Deep in the mountains you will reach the private community of Pine Mountain Club, a flat spot on the road, and a checkpoint break at mile 17 before the climb up to Apache Saddle.
After reaching Apache Saddle, prepare yourself for one of the most rewarding descents in all of Southern California. You will roll and then descend for 20 miles along the ridge line that divides the Lockwood Valley on your left from the huge Central Valley on your right. Look around for wildlife as you ride through the Los Padres National Forest and the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge.
The downhill continues at Highway 166. A left here and another onto Highway 33, and then you will be a few miles from our second checkpoint at “Santa Barbara Pistachio Co” at mile 53 in Ventucopa.
Leaving “Santa Barbara Pistachio Co” you will follow the beautiful Cuyama Valley and Cuyama River to a left turn at Lockwood Valley Road. As you enter Lockwood Valley you will encounter a gradual climb that just keeps getting steeper. As you reach the infamous Heartbreak Hill in the afternoon sun you will learn whey “Heartbreak Hill” got that name.
Leaving Heartbreak Hill, you will descend and climb your way to Frazier Park and eventually return to the start/finish in Lebec. This 100 mile event has just shy of 8,500′ of total elevation gain, which is a lot!
Volunteers
We always need volunteers! We can only put these events on with the help of loyal, trustworthy, motivated individuals running the checkpoints along the way. To provide a little incentive, when you volunteer for a Planet Ultra Century event, you receive a voucher for 50% discount on any future Planet Ultra single-day event . So please contact us to let us know when and where you’d like to help. We also appreciate when riders recruit family and friends to help. So if you recruit someone that wouldn’t use the voucher, you’re welcome to use it yourself. Ride credits must be used within a year of the date of volunteering.
Fun Event Shots!
