The Knoxville Double Century

            September 28, 2024 

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         Registration is now open!!!

        Please use the following website address to register through BikeReg.Com

                          https://www.bikereg.com/knoxville-double-century

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                                       Early Registration $125.00 until June 1st

                              Regular Registration $140.00 until September 1st

                                Late Registration $160.00 until September 21st

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                      All registrations include a processing fee from BikeReg.Com.

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   Any registration accepted after September 21st for the public ride will cost $200.oo                                         and will need to be paid in cash at sign-in

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                                            Host Hotel: The Courtyard By Marriott

                                    1350 Holiday Lane, Fairfield, California, 94534

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                            (Special room rates are still pending, once any are offered

                we will announce them here as well as to the California Triple Crown)

 

Route Description

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Special note about opening and closing times for the Knoxville Double Century. 

 

We will open the route officially at 3:30 am and it will officially close at Midnight.  In the past the close time was a soft end time.  Due to insurance constraints we can no longer do this.  This is also in consideration for our volunteers who put in long hours both before and the day of these events.  With that being the case we have to maintain a hard cut off time.  If you are still on the course at midnight you will not receive credit as an official finisher and will be asked to SAG to the finish.  If you insist on proceeding  you will not have support and will be asked to surrender your rider number.  The time limit is generous for this event, it allows for over 20 hours to complete the route.  If you cannot complete a double century in less then 20 hours total time we would recommend that  you consider not riding the event as it is a moderately to highly challenging route with over 12,500 feet of climbing.

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Over the past few years, the overall condition of Knoxville Road along the northwest side of Lake Berryessa and up to Lower Lake has degraded to the point that it is not currently safe to send cyclists or support vehicles up the route toward Lower Lake.  As a result, the ride uses a nicer section of Knoxville Road in the second half of the ride.  There is only one ride option with roughly 12,500 feet of elevation gain.

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The new route has been well received by riders so we will continue to use this route going forward.  The route is just over 200 miles in length with an elevation gain of just over 12,800 feet. ​

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The route will now start in Fairfield at our host hotel The Courtyard By Marriott at 1350 Holiday Lane, Fairfield, California, 94534 once you leave a few city streets you will be greated with some mild rolling hills to warm up.  After making a sharp left turn on Hwy 121 you will start to climb Mt George for the first serious climbing of the day. Once you hit the top, there is a fast somewhat technical descent into the Napa Valley.  At this point you will have some flatter sections of pavement as you head to the first rest stop just off of the Silverado Trail. 

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​After refueling and filling your water bottles you will return to the Silverado Trail and head to the longest climb of the day on Deer Park Trail. This climb is approximately 7.5 miles long with just over 1700 feet of climbing as it takes you from St. Helena to Angwin. You are rewarded with a long descent once you reach the peak.  Extreme caution should be used though on the descent.   It is steep and has many off camber turns where going slow is the best course of action.  At the bottom of the descent, the route changes from previous years as you turn left on Pope Valley Rd rather than going right.  The second rest stop will be just after this turn at the Pleasant Valley Fire Department.  You will need to make sure you refuel and fill up on water as the route will then take you up Butts Canyon Road toward Middletown and the lunch stop which is over 30 miles away. 

 

Once you leave the second rest stop you will have two small climbs between the rest stop at the fire department and Hwy 29 on Butts Canyon Road.  There is also a much more difficult climb on ​Spruce Grove Road.  Spruce Grove Road is just under 9 miles in length.  On this stretch you will ascend over 900 feet most of which is gained on the first 3 miles after turning onto Spruce Grove, at the turn be ready to shift into a lower gear as the climb comes suddenly.  The climb slowly gets shallow as you near the peak about 4 or so miles into this stretch.  At the peak you will be rewarded with a nice descent back to Hwy 29 where you will be just a short distance from the lunch stop at Lower Lake Park.

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​After lunch you will again rejoin Hwy 29 as you make a left turn heading back toward Middletown.  This is the same section of Hwy 29 used in previous editions of the Knoxville Lowland route.  After getting to Middletown, you head back toward the Pleasant Valley Fire Department again for your 4th rest stop.

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Immediately after leaving the fourth rest stop, you will turn left on Pope Valley Cross Road and head out toward Knoxville Rd.  You will be treated in this section of the route to 9 miles of rural riding with mild to moderately rolling terrain.  Soon you will be at the corner of Knoxville and Berryessa-Knoxville Roads.  There will not be a rest stop on this corner as in years past however there are restrooms if you need them.  This will be a familiar area as in years past this was used prior to heading toward Lower Lake on Knoxville Road.  Instead of heading north up Knoxville Rd as we had in previous years, riders will turn right and head southeast down Berryessa-Knoxville Road toward Spanish Flat and the Hwy 128 intersection at Turtle Rock Bar.  You will then take a right onto Hwy 128 as you head out to Moore Creek Park for your next rest stop. 

 

Please remember to eat and fill up at Moore Creek Park.  There should be warm food at this stop plus snacks which you can pack for the remainder of the ride.  After leaving Moore Creek Park, you are back on the traditional route as you climb the back side of Cardiac Hill and descend past Monticello Dam at Lake Berryessa.  There will be one last rest stop at mile 180 at the Putah Creek Trailhead.  From this stop  you will turn right onto Pleasants Valley Road toward Vacaville followed by 3 to 4 miles of easy rollers back to the ride start finish.

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OFFICIAL RULES OF THE KNOXVILLE DOUBLE

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The following rules will result in a disqualification from our cycling events.  It is unfortunate that we need to have these specific rules however they are essential to protect the event, the volunteers and those who are participating on our rides. 

 

1. Under no circumstances are personal support vehicles allowed on our events.  If someone's family member wants to support the ride they must register to be a volunteer and sign a waiver.  This also meens that that they will be supporting all of the riders on the event not just a single cyclists.   

 

2. All participants and volunteers must sign a waiver prior to participating in our events or as a volunteer.  

 

3. If you are deemed unsafe from continuing on the ride you will be removed from the course.

 

4. Support will only be provided to registered riders.  If an unregistered rider is found to be participating on the event they will be asked to refrain from using our support. 

 

5. If a registered rider is riding with a "friend" who has not registered they will be disqualified from receiving credit as an official finisher of the event.

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6. If a registered rider is found to be using a personal support vehicle they will be disqualified, be required to forfeit their rider number and will not be able to continue to use our rest stops.

 

WHAT IF I'M HAVING AN "OFF" DAY?

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The time cutoffs on the route sheet are intended to provide a pre-midnight finish.  If at any point during the day you find yourself falling behind the cutoffs, there are always at least a couple options:

(1) Offered a ride back to the start /finish. This would typically be with one of the rest stop workers, so you may need to be patient. As you likely don't have anything else planned for the day, this shouldn't be a problem.

 

(2) Offered a SAG forward on the course. Although you would not get double-century credit, you could still end up with a wonderful day on the bike. In my earlier years, I would have thought this a crazy option, but once had an opportunity to take this option and had a wonderful time seeing parts of the course I had never seen before as it had always been after-dark for me in the past.

 

(3) At many points on the course, you could just take a more or less direct route back to the finish if you desire to finish under your own power.

 

In any of these scenarios, please make sure and communicate with at least one ride volunteer. It would be super helpful if you also text the Ride Director for the Day. That number will be published on the route sheet. Please don't make us spend limited resources looking for you when you're okay.

In any of these options, you can still have a good day of riding, but just won’t be an official finisher. 
 

WEATHER CONDITIONS

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Well, it’s early fall, so we can get, and have gotten, the gauntlet. Perfect weather, rain, or hottr’ than stink. We are personally hoping for perfect, . . . but . . . The last couple of years have seen both moderately hot afternoons (depending on who's doing the talking) as well as heavy rain.  We do our best to get ice & plenty of water out there in hot conditions and try to make sure the riders keep warm in the event of rain, but every rider needs to be smart for any conditions.

 

LIGHTING

All riders will need legal lights. First light: about 6:30 a.m., full darkness, about 7:30 p.m. The California Vehicle Code mandates that any rider on the course before 6:30 a.m. or after 7:30 p.m. must have a full complement of front & rear lighting. If you do not, you will be disqualified and asked to SAG back to the ride start.  This is for your safety. Therefore, even if you think you are fast & can beat the daylight limits, we suggest that you do carry at least minimal lighting in case you get caught out late. Better to carry maybe ¼ lb of extra weight than to end up with a DQ.

CALIFORNIA TRIPLE CROWN STUFF

 

The Knoxville Fall Classic Double Century rides will count toward the California Triple Crown. Those who volunteer will receive "Volunteer" credit with the California Triple Crown as well as rider credit if you ride on the volunteer ride.

We will also post on the web a   list of registered riders  this will appear as we get closer to the event date. If you don’t get a confirmation through BikeReg.Com or do not see your name on the list of registered riders please contact us at timothybartoe@gmail.com.

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The week before the ride, we will likely send out a final e-mail detailing any last minute details should any changes occur.  
 

QUACKCYCLISTS & OTHER VOLUNTEERS

The Quackcyclists are not a club. We have no dues, no membership rolls, no formal meetings. We are just a group of friends & cyclists who somehow got this crazy notion to put on a couple of bike rides. We are not formally “non-profit”, but we don’t make any, and none of us gets paid. (We all have regular jobs for that). The entry fee covers the ride’s expenses, and on the occasional times the rides actually does make any money, we give it away to charities & cycling organizations. 

Our volunteers & workers on the rides are our friends, folks we’ve met riding, and their friends & family. We have always managed to pull it off, and most folks have a great time (sometimes better than the riders) helping out. The event does require volunteers at a minimum we will need 12 to 16 core volunteers and others who could drive SAG or help with sign out and sign in.  As previously stated volunteers can receive a complimentary entry for the volunteer ride.  If you have a friend, spouse or significant other who would like to volunteer your ride will be complimentary as well.

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER

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The Quackcyclists & The Knoxville Fall Classic Double Century reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone, to remove riders from the course for reasons of their own safety, for the safety of other riders, for obvious & flagrant violation of the course rules or the California Vehicle code, or for the general well-being of the rider, the ride, other riders, or the Quackcyclists.

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