Cycle Central Coast Presents a New Eroica Challenge 2020

Eroica California had to make the tough but necessary decision to reschedule our annual event in April this year to September, due to the pandemic. Then, we had to postpone the event to 2021. We were so disappointed we wouldn’t be able to see all of our friends and fellow riders, but all is not lost!

Eroica is vital to our cycling community’s soul, and to continue the tradition, we invite you to join us for our new Challenge, sponsored by Eroica California!

The Eroica Challenge 2020: Cambria, CA

October 2 – November 15

The Cycle Central Coast Eroica Challenge 2020 is a series of open club events on Strava, a running and cycling app available on iOS and Android. The Challenge runs from Friday, October 2, through Sunday, November 15. By riding one of these club event routes, you’ll still be able to experience the exhausting but exhilarating long-distance Eroica routes designed for a grueling ride amid the beauty of the rugged Central Coast.

Because the snack and water stations on the Eroica California routes aren’t available outside of the traditional rides, we’ve slightly modified several of our routes to ensure you’re not riding on empty. The Eroica California event also featured two divisions: one purely for vintage road bicycles, and the other, called “NOVA,” open to all modern bicycles. Eroica Challenge 2020 will be a NOVA event.

This year, each person who completes the Cycle Central Coast Eroica Challenge 2020 according to the directions below will receive a 2020 medal and event poster, while supplies last.

How to ride the Cycle Central Coast Eroica Challenge 2020

Follow the directions below to participate in the Cycle Central Coast Eroica Challenge 2020.

1. Install or link Strava to the phone or GPS device you’ll be using to track your ride.
2. Join our Strava club at Cycle Central Coast and check out the routes in the club events.
3. Add our Cycle Central Coast profile to your Strava network: https://www.strava.com/athletes/65488631.
4. Fill out the form below if you wish to be entered into a drawing for the grand prize: free entry into next year’s Eroica California event!
5. Choose the Strava club event with the modified Eroica route you’d like to ride. You may need to select “View All” to see all five routes. The event is dated Nov. 15, 2020, but you can ride the routes whenever you’d like!
6. Choose “I’m in” on the event.
7. On the day of your ride, check the route through the event and use the route to start your ride in Cambria. While tracking the route with Strava, feel free to take photos and video along the way to post to social media. (Tag us at @CycleCentralCoast!)
8. After you complete the route, upload any photos to your Strava ride activity and share your ride activity with us by either tagging our Strava profile in a comment on your ride, or by emailing us your ride activity to info@cyclecentralcoast.com.
9. Head to the Cambria’s Visitors Center, at 767 Main St., next to the Cambria Coffee Roasting Company, to pick up your 2020 medal and event poster.
10. Stick around and recover by visiting the Central Coast’s vibrant eateries and beach spots.

Where to stay

You’ll need a place to stay, prepare for the Cycle Central Coast Eroica Challenge 2020, and recover from the glorious fatigue. Cambria is a charming, vibrant town located on a beautiful stretch of the California Central Coast. Cyclists who rode last year’s Eroica California event loved their stay in Cambria, which offers several countryside or oceanfront lodging properties.

Just north from Cambria along Highway 1 is the community of San Simeon, home to Hearst Castle and the Piedras Blancas Light Station. Check out where to stay in San Simeon by clicking the button below.

What is Eroica?

It’s the ultimate vintage cycling event. Eroica, or L’Eroica, was born in 1997 in Italy—a small village in the Chianti province of Siena. That’s where creator Giancarlo Brocci started the first edition of an event that combines vintage bicycles, period clothing such as wool cycling shirts and shorts, challenging routes, magnificent landscapes, and unforgettable refreshments.

Since then, Eroica has grown into a global movement—a network of events attracting tens of thousands of cyclists and fans of all ages worldwide. The event has also evolved to include the NOVA component, which opens the experience to modern road bicycles. Take your pick of your own racing, gravel, or cyclo-cross bike for this year’s Cycle Central Coast Eroica Challenge 2020 event—or participate in the authentic Eroica experience if you can!

Based in Cambria, Eroica California is the only Eroica event in the United States. With routes at various lengths, changing scenery, and challenges around every turn, there are rides for each level of committed cyclist. But beware—Eroica California is not for the faint of heart. These routes are intense, and while this ride is not a race, it will test even the most experienced riders.