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2022 Registration is Full
Held under the auspices of the Audax Club Parisien & Randonneurs USA, 75-hr time limit
Start: 06:00h, Tuesday, May 17, Santa Cruz, CA
Finish: 09:00h, Friday, May 20, San Luis Obispo, CA
Randonneurs USA route #2912
The 3CR is a randonneuring bicycle ride in California’s central coast region. It includes cycling along the beautiful Big Sur coast on Highway 1, along with several other scenic regions. The overall route is 623.4 miles/1000 km and has 32,127 feet of climbing, per RWGPS. The overall average climbing is about 52 feet per mile. (For reference, the Paris-Brest-Paris route has an overall average of about 51 feet per mile, per RWGPS.)
Final RWGPS Complete Route and Cue Sheet
Day One (Cue Sheet): Santa Cruz north to Moss Beach, back to Santa Cruz, then south through the Salinas Valley to the first overnight stop in King City. About 47 feet per mile climbing.
- 222 miles/358 km and 10,394 feet of climbing.
- May 17 Overnight Stop: King City Days Inn
Day Two (Cue Sheet): King City north to Greenfield, ascend the long climb to Cahoon Summit, then down to Carmel and back onto Hwy 1. South along the coast to San Luis Obispo and the second overnight. Day Two has the most climbing during the randonnée with about 66 feet per mile.
- 200 miles/322 km and 13,020 feet of climbing
- May 18 & 19 Overnight Stop and Final Control: Vagabond Inn, San Luis Obispo
Day Three (Cue Sheet): A double figure-8 loop in the San Luis Obispo region that includes Foxen Canyon. Same overnight in SLO as before. About 47 feet per mile climbing.
- 201 miles/324 km and 9,317 feet of climbing
Route Notes: The 3CR is not a good brevet to ride straight through for a fast time. Services along the route after 9-10 PM can be limited; all riders must be sure to carry extra food and drink for long stretches between stores at night. Advertised store closing times on route sheet have not been verified and are subject to change without notice by the store owner.
Road pavement ranges from very good to poor. Most of the 3CR route is generally well-paved but there will be several sections with potholes and rough pavement. There will be a full moon but all 3CR riders should bring strong headlights to see better on the poorly paved roads.
The 3CR route is unmarked; riders need to study the RWGPS tracks before the event and develop a strong sense of the route and its major challenges, the checkpoints, and where they plan to obtain food and drink along the way. All riders should print out the 3CR route sheets and carry them, even if they plan on using GPS to do their navigation.
Entry Qualification: The 3CR is a hard brevet and you need to be prepared. All riders must have completed one or more of the following entry qualifications before May 2, 2022. Counting events must be RUSA/ACP/RM brevets; permanents do not count. (Entrants from overseas should contact the organizers for approval of their qualifying events if they are unsure.)
- Brevets in 2022 of 200 km, 300 km, and 400 km (or longer)
- A brevet series of 200-300-400-600 km in 2021
- A 1000 km brevet or longer in 2021
- Permission of the ride organizer if you don’t fall into one of the three categories above
Your 2022 counting events must be completed before May 2. You may enter and pay your entry fee before you have completed your qualifying rides, but you will be asked to withdraw if have not completed your qualifying rides in time and your entry will be subject to the cancellation policy below.
If you need to do 2022 qualifying brevets, consider riding with the Santa Cruz Randonneurs. Our 300 km and 400 km brevets will show you the northern parts of the 3CR route too.
Before You Enter:
With different start and finish towns, the pre- and post-ride travel logistics for 3CR participants are not the same as with some other events. Please be sure you have these planned out before you enter.
All 3CR Participants Are Responsible For:
- Making their own hotel reservations during the ride. (Event hotels with overnight bag service are listed above; riders can stay where they like. Again, using a knapsack or panniers will allow some flexibility in lodgings if the rider wants different options.)
- Making their own hotel reservations for before or after the ride, should they want them.
- Getting themselves to the start of the ride at the Santa Cruz Lighthouse & Surfing Museum on West Cliff Drive. There are many hotels of varying prices within a 5-15-minute bike ride. There is no car parking at the start. (There is long-term car parking in downtown Santa Cruz, about a 15-minute ride from the start, listed below.)
- Getting themselves home after the ride with their bike and overnight bag.
- Feeding themselves throughout the event. There are 24-hr restaurants along the route and near the overnights in King City and SLO, and there are numerous stores along the route.
- Getting themselves rescued if they have to DNF during the event. There will be no event sag patrol to pick up stranded riders. (Much of the route, but not all, has Lyft or Uber service, but cell service is not always the best.)
- Riders are limited to one small(ish) overnight bag (if they choose to use the drop bag service. Riders with personal support crews can obviously bring whatever they like.) Overnight bags cannot weigh more than 20 lbs. No large suitcases, no carry-on luggage with wheels, no bike cases or boxes, no large backpacks, etc. Riders are strongly encouraged to use a medium-sized knapsack or touring panniers (that snap together off the bike) that allow the entrant to ride their bike to the start, and then from the finish hotel to the train station or car rental location when the ride is done.
Note: The organizers cannot be responsible for anything lost from an overnight bag or left behind in a motel room. Don’t bring your one-of-a-kind BMB finisher’s jersey, prized hand-tooled cowboy boots, etc.
Registration: Entry into the 3CR will open on February 1. There is a limit of 40 participants. If more than 40 entries have been received by February 16, a drawing will be held for all entries and a wait list will be made for those riders who were not selected among the first 40 names. If the 40-rider limit has not been reached, 3CR entries will close on May 5. Riders who end up on the wait list on February 16 can withdraw with a full refund of their entry fee before April 1. After April 1, there will be partial refunds. [The organizers reserve the right to give preferential entry for volunteers of Santa Cruz Randonneurs and Randonneurs USA.]
Entry Fee: $45 per rider, payable at time of entry. The ride fee Includes:
- Entry into the event
- 3CR route sheets (to be printed out by the participant)
- Transportation of the overnight bag to King City (night #1) and San Luis Obispo (nights #2 & #3)
- Finisher’s medal
- 3CR overnight bag & bike ID tags
Refund Policy:
- Entry withdrawn before April 1st – 100% refund
- Entry withdrawn before April 15th – 75% refund
- Entry withdrawn before May 6th – 50% refund
- No entry refunds given after May 6th.
The organizers will do their best to hold the event but circumstances beyond their control like wildfires or landslides may block the route. Depending on how near the event date these problems take place, there may be partial refunds.
Register Now:
1. Make sure your RUSA membership is current.
2. Sign our waiver and then reply to the email that you receive from SmartWaiver asking for confirmation of your email address.
3. Once you confirm your email address with SmartWaiver, you will be taken to our PayPal payment page to select your event and pay the fee.
City of Santa Cruz long-term parking lot:
- River Front Garage
- 155 River St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
- Info: (831) 420-6139