Montezulomar will not be held in 2013.

It has been brought to our attention that the "L'Etape de California" event with 1500 participants, held in conjunction with the Amgen Tour of California, will take place on May 11 and will also utilize some of the same roads as our Montezulomar Bicycle Classic on the same day.

Because we are not comfortable sharing the roads with that many riders, and do not want confusion as to which riders are "ours" and which checkpoints and support vehicles are catering to their riders or ours, we have made the difficult decision to CANCEL the 2013 Montezulomar Bicycle Classic.

If you have already made them, please be sure to cancel your hotel reservations at the Borrego Springs Resort. Their number is 888-826-7734.

We will continue to promote the King Of The Road Challenge and are pleased to include the venerable Alpine Challenge on April 27 in the series (to replace Montezulomar), along with our Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic on April 20 and The Dirty Devil on June 1. We strongly encourage you to take on the challenge of the entire three-event series.

AdventureCORPS presents Montezulomar Bicycle Classic

Borrego Springs - Montezuma Grade - Ranchita - Lake Henshaw - Palomar Mountain

A new, epic AdventureCORPS Cycling Challenge

Three distances offered:

34 miles with 3600 feet of elevation gain: Borrego Springs to Ranchita (top of Montezuma Grade) and back
69 miles with 5100 feet of elevation gain: Borrego Springs to Lake Henshaw and back
94 miles with 9000 feet of elevation gain: Borrego Springs to Palomar Mountain and back

This ride is so fantastic, you do not want to miss out, especially on the inaugural edition!! Scheduled for May 11, this superb new event combines the 11-mile, 4000-foot ascent of Montezuma Valley Road from Borrego Springs to Ranchita (home of "Rancheti," the eleven foot tall yeti who stands along the roadside), a luscious cruise west to Lake Henshaw, and then the world-famous East Grade ascent of Palomar Mountain. The round-trip is 94 miles with 9000 feet of gain, with 34- and 69-mile options, all of it on great roads with little to no traffic, no traffic lights, and only six stop signs!

Your Entry Fee Includes

The entry fee is $89 until May 1 and then $99 thereafter, until the ride sells out. Entry includes entry to the ride, route sheet, excellent rider food at the checkpoints, roving SAG support, finish line pizza and drinks, event report and images on this nifty website, as well as automatic participation in the King Of The Road Challenge. Checkpoints, and their opening and closing times, will be clearly marked on the route sheet. At these checkpoints, riders can reasonably expect to find the following: water, oranges, bananas, PB&J sandwiches, pretzels, muffins, trail mix, organic fig bars, Clif Bars, plus Perpetuem, Hammer Gel, HEED, and Endurolytes by Hammer Nutrition.

Official Host Hotel and Start / Finish in Borrego Springs, CA

The Montezulomar Bicycle Classic will start and finish at Borrego Springs Resort, located at located at 1112 Tilting T Drive, Borrego Springs, CA 92004. This is also the location for Rider Check-In on Friday evening from 600 to 700pm and Saturday morning from 530am to 700am.

an oasis of luxury nestled between the Anza-Borrego Desert and the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains. The Resort boasts a variety of recreational amenities, fine dining and comfortable accommodations all within ninety minutes of Palm Springs and San Diego.

In addition to golf, Borrego Springs Resort offers its guests a variety of recreational amenities to choose from including our full-service Spa Serenity with a privatized pool, a heated swimming pool, whirlpool spa, six lighted tennis courts and fitness center. Enjoy a refreshing dip in our heated pool featuring covered seating, lounge chairs, cabanas and complimentary towels. The lighted tennis courts offer guests the option to continue playing even after the sun goes down before unwinding in the bubbling spa. A fitness center provides cardiovascular and weight training equipment housed in air conditioned comfort with a mirrored wall for the optimal work-out experience.

Click here for the Borrego Springs Resort. Please note that we have a very special room rate available for all Montezulomar Bicycle Classic entrants and the special booking code to utilize that rate will be provided to all entrants during registration for the event. Reservations must be made via phone.

Click here for Google Map of the start/finish location. Click here for more about Borrego Springs, CA.

Distances to Borrego Springs:
San Diego to Borrego Springs: 88 miles
Oceanside to Borrego Springs: 89 miles
San Bernardino to Borrego Springs: 118 miles
LAX to Borrego Springs: 161 miles
Santa Barbara to Borrego Springs: 248 miles
Phoenix, AZ to Borrego Springs: 293 miles
Las Vegas to Borrego Springs: 327 miles
Tucson, AZ to Borrego Springs: 366 miles

New for 2013! Join our Five-Day Cycling Camp and Retreat immediately prior to the Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic!

Join us for a five-day cycling retreat April 15-19, 2013 in nearby Julian, CA in the week immediately preceding the Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic! Participants will enjoy five days of SAG-supported world-class cycling in and around the Mount Laguna - Julian - Lake Cuyamaca - Anza-Borrego area. Each day's ride will start and finish in Julian, with multiple distances offered each day, offering something for everyone. We will start our rides at an excellent local café and we'll also enjoy a group dinner one evening at a nearby Italian restaurant. The riding, camaraderie, and setting are so fabulous that we believe this camp will become an annual pilgrimage for all who attend.

Located at 4200 feet elevation, Julian is the premier mountain getaway just an hour east of San Diego in the beautiful Cuyamaca mountains. Take a step back in time to the days of Julian’s beginning rooted in the 1870s gold rush. Get away from the hectic rush of city life and discover the charms of Julian. See where gold was discovered. Shop in stores housed in historic buildings, some dating back to the 1870s. Sleep in a romantic B&B or historic hotel. Sample Julian's famous apple pies. Enjoy local wine and beer tasting, as well as the locally brewed hard cider. Hike and picnic amid oaks and pines. Ride down Main Street in a horse-drawn carriage. You will love the cycling, and you will love the town. None-riding spouses and family members will have plenty to do, too, while you're out riding. Read and learn more about Julian. | Read about and register for Velo & Vino Julian.

This is a cycling vacation like never before! Please join us!

Carpooling and Hotel Room Sharing

We encourage carpooling to and from all our events. With riders coming to Mount Laguna from across California and beyond, there must be somebody who lives near you, or along the route you'll be driving, or perhaps someone who just needs a ride to and from the airport in San Diego or LA if they are flying to the event. Please use this section of the AdventureCORPS blog to connect with other riders. Share the ride! Save gas! Save money! Save the earth! Maybe find a roommate, too!

Route Description

This incredible event features an out-and-back course that begins and ends in Borrego Springs, CA. Three distance options are offered:

For a detailed ride description and a slideshow of the entire route, click here.

The route takes in an impressive swatch of the geological and geographical diversity that only Southern California can provide. Just 28 miles east of town is the Salton Sea. Immediately adjacent to Borrego Springs is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, part of the Colorado Desert, which encompasses 600,000 acres and provides visitors with 110 miles of riding and hiking trails, 500 miles of roads and two huge wilderness areas with desert wildlife such as roadrunners, golden eagles, mule deer and bighorn sheep (all of which we have seen while cyclingin this area).

The quaint community of Borrego Springs, which doesn't even have a street light, offers an impressive selection of cultural and recreational activities to enjoy during your visit, including numerous art galleries featuring local and nationally renowned artists, or take in a show or ballet at the Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center.

Riders in the Montezulomar Bicycle Classic will enter Anza-Borrego Desert State Park immediately as they leave town and begin the 11-mile ascent of Montezuma Valley Road to Ranchita. After climbing from 500 feet to 4000 feet, the pure desert is left behind and riders enter high-country chapparal. Ranchita is the turn-around for th 34-mile route. The next stretch is quick because of a 1500 foot gradual elevation loss on the way to Lake Henshaw, which is the turn-around for the 69-mile route. For those tackling the full 94 miles, next up is the ascent of Mount Palomar via East Grade Road, climbing from 2600 feet to to 5200 feet over eleven miles. En route, panoramas to the west, across to Carlsbad and Oceanside and the Pacific Ocean, come into view. Your destination is Mother's Kitchen and Palomar Mountain General Store atop Palomar Mountain. This is a popular rest and meal stop for cyclists and tourists, but the vast majority of them arrive there via the much busier South Grade Road. Our route, from start to finish, is usually exceedingly quiet, majestic, and truly one-of-a-kind!

To see detailed, zoomable maps of the route, click these links:

Google Maps | Garmin Map and Elevation Profiles | Strava Map and Elevation Profile

Here is the elevation profile for the full event:

For a detailed ride description and a slideshow of the entire route, click here.

Twilight, Sunrise, and Sunset

Twilight begins 5:20; Sunrise is 5:47; Sunset is 19:36; Twilight ends 20:04.

Wave Start Times

Each wave will have 50 riders and they will begin in ten minute intervals. Read carefully:

Before the first wave starts at 600am, riders should line up in TWO SINGLE-FILE lines at the entrance to the start line corral. There, two batches of 25 will have be checked off, then will move up to the start line corral. After each wave starts, another 50 riders will be checked off and then will move up to the start line corral. Riders starting in a later wave don't have to be in line right at 600am. Waves will begin at 600am, 610, 620, 630am, etc. Choose any wave you prefer.

All eyes - CountySheriff, CHP, State Park Rangers, Forest Service, locals, and visitors—will be watching this event. PLEASE do the right thing, everyone! Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Time Limits

The Montezulomar Bicycle Classic is a timed cycling event and begins with an organized wave start at approximately first light of day, known as "civil twilight" according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. Riders may not leave earlier or later than the official start time if they want to be timed or receive credit for completing the event. The time limit is twelve hours. Riders who arrive at checkpoints after the posted closing times will be will not be able to complete the full route.

Results and "Finishing Credit"

Those riders interested in comparing their distance covered, or finishing time, should register with Strava.com and bring and use a GPS-enabled bike computer or smart phone, then upload their ride to Strava after the event.

This event is specifically non-competitive and is not a race. Everybody who finishes is a winner! It’s primarily up to the participants in the events to maintain the decorum, safety, and sense of fair-play and sportsmanship that should always and in all circumstances abound in these types of events.

All riders must fully and safely complete the designated route within the designated time limit to be recognized as an official finisher. Full roster and several online digital slideshows will be posted to the website shortly after the event.

What to Bring

Riders must come prepared for any possible mechanical failure or contingency. At the very least, all riders should carry a spare tube, tire (yes, an actual tire), pump, patch kit, basic tools, water bottles, money, personal and medical identification, cell phone, money, credit card, and a good attitude.

Checkpoint Locations

Note: All except the initial water stop have bathrooms.

Mile 10.7: Water Only along Montezuma Grade just below Mile Marker 11
Mile 17.0: CP1 at Ranchita Store
Mile 34.7: CP2 at Lake Henshaw
Mile 47.0: CP3 at Mother's Kitchen atop Palomar Mountain
Mile 59.3: CP4 at Lake Henshaw
Mile 77.1: CP5 at Ranchita Store
Mile 94.0: Finish Line! Congrats! Closes at 630pm

Personal SAG Vehicles

Not allowed! The Borrego Springs to Palomar Mountain area is a beautiful, generally low traffic place to ride, so why spoil it with more cars? The definition of a personal SAG is any non-staff motor vehicle that is providing any type of aid, assistance, or motivation to any rider. No RAAM crews in training, personal cheering squads, photographers, video crews, or the like, please! If your family or friends want to be there, we'll be happy to put them to work at a checkpoint!

Volunteers

We always need help at our events! 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, we offer one free entry into the next edition of this event if you volunteer. It's a simple formula: "work one, ride one free!" If you'd like to help, please submit the Volunteer Application. Likewise, if you have a Free Ride Credit you'd like to use, email us BEFORE or during the standard entry time frame for the event to reserve your spot on the roster.

Official Charity: Challenged Athletes Foundation

Click here for the "Race For a Reason" program - You can personally participate in our events on behalf of CAF - and even earn cool incentive prizes in recognition of your efforts! The Challenged Athletes Foundation was created on the belief that people of all abilities should have the opportunity to pursue a life full of physical activity and of sports. Be they recreational or in pursuit of a gold medal at the Paralympic Games, people with a physical disability are limited only by their access to funding. Click here to donate to CAF right now through a secure and easy-to-use webpage.

PLEASE STUDY EVERYTHING ON THIS PAGE CAREFULLY. ALL POLICIES STRICTLY ENFORCED.

Important Registration Details and Policies

All entrants are required to sign the Accident Waiver at check-in (before beginning the event). The waiver may not be modified in any manner.
All riders must pay the event entry fee, except those with a Volunteer's Free Ride Credit.
Entry fees are non-transferable. (No rider exchanges.)
Entry fees are non-refundable. (No roll-over credits, either.)
We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
Photo ID is required to check-in for the event.
The minimum age for participants and volunteers is 11. Riders under 18 must have their Accident Waiver signed by a parent or guardian who attends the event.
Participants may not tow trailers or "trail-a-bikes."
These events ALWAYS sell out way in advance! There is no registration at the event. You may not ride unless you have pre-registered and therefore your name is on the event roster.
There will be no mailing via postal service of any info, results, or entry confirmation before or after the event, however BikeReg.com will email you confirmation of your entry when you complete the application process through their website. Keep that email on file as proof of your registration. We will keep you up-to-date via our email newsletter, but only if you choose to sign up for it.
We ride rain or shine.
Fire or Storm Weather Cancels! This event is held under permits from the United States Forest Service and the County of San Diego. Either agency has the jurisdiction to cancel the event due to fire, storm weather, other natural disaster, act of terrorism, Act of God, or other reasons. If this happens, there will be No Refunds. Please review the AdventureCORPS, Inc. Disaster Policy.

Rules for Riding

All riders must be friendly and must always display a good attitude before, during, and after the event. Whining and/or a sense of entitlement will not be tolerated.
All riders must carry and/or wear the official event ID provided at check-in. Riders without ID will be refused support and will be listed as DQ in the results. "Bandit riders" will be banned from future events.
All riders must carry proper personal identification and personal emergency contact phone number at all times while cycling. We recommend the fine products from www.RoadID.com.
All riders must wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet while cycling.
All riders must obey all laws and all relevant aspects of the California Motor Vehicle Code. Riders who break laws and/or ride unsafely will be disqualified from the event; they will also be banned from entering future events.
All riders must follow the basic rules for safe cycling, including, but not limited to: Ride to the right, single file at all times. Stop at all stop signs and red signals. Protect and warn one another about road hazards and traffic. Don't overlap wheels. Practice safe paceline and group riding etiquette. Be courteous to and cognizant of motorists and other park visitors.
All riders must begin in the wave start as directed. Riders may not enter the course before or after the official wave starts.
Riders who arrive at checkpoints after the posted closing times will not be able to complete the full route.
All riders must leave the course within twelve hours and MAY NOT cycle in the dark.
All riders, including those who DNF, must check in at the finish line. Riders may complete one, two, or three loops of the three-loop course; the loops must be completed in order.
Personal Support Vehicles, whether they are actively "supporting" a rider or not, are not allowed anywhere on the course, except for the start / finish area.
For your safety and the safety of other riders and road users, headphones, in either or both ears, are not allowed at any time while cycling.