CAMINO REAL DOUBLE CENTURY
FEBRUARY 16, 2019

The best of Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties. Kick off the new year!!
About 8,500′ of Climbing! 17 hour time limit.

General Information and Ride Rules – Please Read!

Click here for 2018 results.

Click here for results from prior years.

2019 Entry Fees:*
Until December 31st: $125.  January 1-February 2: $140. Thereafter, until midnight Thursday before the event you may make an online reservation using the SignUp button and pay $160 at the door. Please read our registration and cancellation policies. Entry includes post-ride dinner at the Knowlwood Restaurant next door to the finish line. The menu is primarily burgers and fries and other hot sandwiches.

* If you’re planning to ride this event and know you can bring along someone to help out, you may email us in advance of signing up and we’ll give you a coupon code to use during registration for an instant 20% off.  By helping at the event, the volunteer you bring earns an entry to a future single day event for only $25.  If the volunteer is a non-rider then YOU can have the entry. So you get two nice deals: An instant discount for promising to bring a volunteer, and a $25 entry fee for your next event.

Use the SignUp bottom to register online and pay by credit card (which includes a small service fee). Click here to view the registered rider list. To pay by check, download and mail in this form. Your mail-in form and check must be received no later than February 2nd. Please read our new cancellation policy before registering.

Start/Finish Location:
La Quinta Inn, 14972 Sand Canyon Ave, Irvine, CA 92618; 949-551-0909. You must let them know you’re with Planet Ultra to receive our special rate of $115 per night (plus tax) – for a quieter room on the non-train side of the hotel. Special rate expires February 1st.  Includes deluxe breakfast (Sunday only – as you’ll be riding before breakfast begins Saturday), free high-speed internet, in-room coffee maker, mini fridge and microwave.

Parking:
If you’re not staying at the La Quinta, please park on the left side of the hotel (as you’re facing the lobby doors). We’ve received complaints every year from the owners of Knowlwood Restaurant about our using their parking lot. As you know, Knowlwood provides our post-event dinner. If we’re not courteous this year, they’ll not be willing to work with us again. 

Check-In:
Friday  7:30-9pm, and Saturday 5:15-6am. If you’re planning to start at 5:30am, please check in Friday night. We’ll be at the early start about 15 minutes early for roll call and to give pre-ride announcements; but there won’t be a lot of time to check riders in.

Start Times:
5:30am: Riders who need more than 14-17 hours. If you start at 5:30am, please remember that the checkpoint opening and closing times are based on the 6:30am start and are calculated using an average speed of 11-20 mph.
6:30am: Riders expecting to finish in 12-16 hours
7:30am:  ALL riders expecting to finish in under 11 hours
NEW! Riders needing more than 16.5 hours may opt for the Tourist division during registration and start as early as 4:30am. Please familiarize yourself with the Tourist rules.

Time Limit:
17 hours based on the 5:30am start unless you choose Tourist rather than Timed. Course closes at 10:30pm.

Twilight, Sunrise, and Sunset:
Twilight begins at 6:09am; Twilight ends at 18:03. Sunrise is 6:34; Sunset is 17:38.

Lights and Gear Drop:
If you leave your lights at the start, your bag will be waiting for you at San Onofre. If there’s any chance that you’ll be out past sunset, you MUST have both a headlight and a taillight attached to your bicycle, and you MUST wear a reflective ankle band on both legs. If you start in the dark, plan on carrying your lights all day. We do encourage you to carry your lights yourself. That way if you need them, you’re guaranteed to have them. Rest assured that it is a MYTH that an extra pound on your bike will slow you down in any significant way for this type of riding.

Lunch Bag Drop:
Because we know some folks have special dietary needs (or are very particular about what they want), you may bring two lunch-sized brown paper bag (like the ones you took to school in 2nd grade; and absolutely no larger) filled with your special foods. Drop the bag off at the start, and we will deliver one to the San Onofre stop (which you visit two times) and one to the lunch stop. These bags will be discarded when the aid stations close. So please make sure you pick up your bag, or don’t care that you won’t get it back.

Routing and Navigation:
Planet Ultra route sheets include lots of information to help riders navigate the course. For example, we tell you if a turn is at a stop sign (SS), traffic light (TL) or T-intersection (T-int). We know that riders prefer course markings; however, many of the towns/cities/counties specifically forbid it. Further, your Planet Ultra staff  travels to the event destination the day before to make everything happen; so we can’t mark the course in advance. If we have the manpower, we’ll do our best to mark the course (unless it’s forbidden by our permits, otherwise illegal, somewhere that locals would be really upset about it, or the turn is at a place that’s very obvious, like a big green highway sign). Our experience is that riders get lost whether the course is marked or not; and fewer riders get lost when they’re mindful of where they are on the route sheet. Please understand and take responsibility for navigation.

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.

You may also download a map and GPS file from RideWithGPS.com. 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:

1. The ROUTE SHEET is gospel. Whenever the route sheet and the GPS unit disagree, the route sheet is correct.
2. A GPS can (and will) route a rider over a cliff. There’s really no substitute for the human brain, so please use yours.
3. Never depend solely on a GPS. Bring your route sheet, and know how to follow it.
4. GPS batteries on many “bicycle” GPS units may not last for a century. Make sure you’ve arranged for additional power.
5. Click here for a map of the route including elevation profiles and GPS downloads.

Route Description:
Caveat: This is a very urban route with lots of traffic lights, stop signs and sometimes heavy vehicle traffic. The locals love it — but if you’re from out of town and are expecting quiet roads and lots of amazing scenery, you might be disappointed. Just being honest.

The Camino route is shaped like a dog bone, with loops on each end of an out-and-back course. Beginning at the La Quinta Inn, you’ll head to the coast via the rolling hills of Irvine and Turtle Rock and get your first view of the Pacific Ocean as you blast down Newport Coast and hang a left on PCH. After riding through a bit of Newport Beach and Laguna Beach on PCH, you’ll hang a left and head back inland, meandering up Laguna Canyon Road. Hang a right on El Toro, and make your way through Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel, then blast down Crown Valley to the Coast and Dana Point. From Dana Point you’ll be on the coast through San Clemente, and along the bike path through San Onofre, all the way to Oceanside. From there, you’ll head inland, heading towards Bonsall and lunch at the All Seasons Campground. The climbing starts again after lunch, with a beautiful loop out towards Fallbrook. You’ll wind up back in Bonsall, and repeat the course back to the coast, and north through Dana Point again. The final leg is basically the reverse of the old Butterfield route: Up to Antonio Parkway via Ortega Highway, through Trabuco Canyon, across Santiago Canyon and then the mostly downhill finish on Jamboree to Portola and back to Sand Canyon. This route is a huge improvement, safety-wise! No more of that crazy traffic by the Pechanga Casino; no more drunken, bottle-throwing drivers in Lake Elsinore; and no more traffic lights on every corner through Temecula. It does remain, however, particularly urban – but in the best and safest parts of Orange and San Diego Counties. Please note that due to the urban nature of this route, it’s impossible to provide checkpoint locations evenly spaced at perfect distances. That said, there are countless mini-marts and gas stations along the course where you may get water and snacks, if necessary. If you’re running low, and find yourself a good distance from the next checkpoint, please stop at one of the many conveniences along the route and refuel/re-hydrate. 198 miles with about 8,500′ of climbing. (Riders opting to go through Pendleton will climb a bit more, and end up with an additional 3.4 miles).

Personal SAG Vehicles:
Not allowed! If you bring one, you’ll 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, 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, please have them contact us and join our volunteer staff.

Volunteers:   We always need volunteers! Click here for info about available positions.

Course Records:
Men – 9:54, Sean Cuddihy (2015)
Women – 11:1, Lori Hoechlin (2016)