Start Date: August 22, 2009 7:00 AM
End Date: August 27, 2009 7:30 PM
Meeting Point for Drop-off and Pickup: Carmenita Middle School
Route: San Simeon - Morro Bay - Pismo Beach - VAFB - Gaviota - Santa Barbara
Forms Needed: Troop 693 Permission Slip
Coordinator: Alok Sancheti, Larry Stern
Cost: $175 per scout
Last Date to Signup: May 4th, 2009
Things to bring: Cycling Long Term Checklist
Training Rides: Training Bike Rides - 2009
Bike Route
Click on bike route link above to see turn-by-turn directions.
Day | Date | Weekday | Time | Activity | Campsite | Distance | Time (with breaks) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aug 22 | Saturday | 8:00 AM | Leave from Carmenita Middle School | |||
12:01 PM | Arrive at San Simeon | San Simeon State Park | 6 hrs | ||||
4:00 PM | Visit Hearst Castle | 3 hrs | |||||
2 | Aug 23 | Sunday | 10:30 AM | Bike to Morro Bay | Morro Bay State Park | 26 | 2.5 hrs |
3 | Aug 24 | Monday | 10:30 AM | Bike to Pismo Beach | Pismo Beach State Park | 27 | 2.5 hrs |
4 | Aug 25 | Tuesday | 10:00 AM | Bike to Vandenberg Air Force Base | Vandenberg AFB | 37 | 4 hrs |
5 | Aug 26 | Wednesday | 9:30 AM | Bike to Gaviota State Park | Gaviota State Park | 41 | 6.5 hrs |
6 | Aug 27 | Thursday | 10:00 AM | Bike to Santa Barbara | 33 | 4 hrs | |
5:00 PM | Arrive at Carmenita Middle School | 3 hrs |

Statistics
Total Distance | 164 miles |
Total Saddle Time | 14.0 hrs |
Total Time (with breaks) | 19.5 hrs |
Average Speed | 11.5 mph |
Maximum Speed | 43 mph |
16 miles to 160 miles
Itinerary
Cerritos - San Simeon
7:00 AM: Scouts gathered at CMS to leave for the exciting ride. Loading all the gear, personal belongings and bicycles in 4 cars was the first challenge in itself. At one point we were thinking that we will not be able to load all the stuff in the limited number of cars; but in the end it all got stuffed in and off we started our drive to San Simeon.
12:00 PM: With the minute planning of Larry we arrived at Santa Rosa Park, just in time for our 45 minute lunch break.
2:00 PM: Arrived at San Simeon State Park and quickly unloaded bikes and some gear.
3:00 PM: Watched the 45-minute ‘Building the Dreams’ documentary on Hearst Castle at IMAX. This was followed by a 90-minute experience tour of the Hearst Castle.
6:00 PM: Arrived back at the campsite and unloaded other stuff, followed by a dinner.
San Simeon – Morro Bay
7:00 AM: Wake up, have breakfast; get ready for the first ride.
10:30 AM: “Rolling…” said Mr. Stern and off we started our ride on southbound PCH. After riding about half a mile on PCH, we took a right turn deviation on Moonstone Park Drive to ride next to the beach, which joins the PCH again. After riding 10~ miles we regrouped at Harmony.
12:01 PM: After riding for 26 miles we arrived at our first destination at Morro Bay. This was a group campsite and the best campsite one. After having lunch, the drivers took off to get their cars back while scouts played around.
4:00 PM: Few scouts spent time at the beach, followed by nice warm showers.
5:30 PM: Dinner, followed by home made brownies by Mrs. Stern.
Morrow Bay - Pismo Beach
7:00 AM: Wake up, have breakfast; get ready for the ride.
10:30 AM: Start our ride to Morro Bay on southbound South Bay Blvd. Took a small deviation to the right on Turri Road; this had our first uphill followed by a long stretch of downhill. This ride was my best ride. We took a restroom break at San Luis Obispo Country Club after 18 miles of ride.
12:01 PM: After riding for 27 miles we arrived at Pismo Beach. After having lunch, the drivers took off to get their cars back while scouts played around.
4:00 PM: Few scouts spent time at the beach, followed by nice warm showers.
5:30 PM: Dinner, followed by an attempt to have a campfire.
Pismo Beach - VAFB
7:00 AM: Wake up, have breakfast; get ready for the ride.
10:00 AM: We started our first challenging ride to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB). The ride had lot of uphill. We passed through some beautiful flower plantation. As we turned each pedal, thought that we will not be able to make to the next one; but the sheer determination kept us going. After couple of breaks we were rolling again, through the heat and treacherous climbs of PCH.
2:00 PM: We were welcomed by Mr. Ray Wise a scoutmaster at VAFB. He was courteous to come back later in the evening with his boys scout son and spend the evening with us.
VAFB - Gaviota
6:00 AM: Wake up, have breakfast; get ready for the ride.
10:00 AM: This was perhaps the most strenuous day of all; it started with a strenuous uphill. The weather was hot and of the 41 mile we did on that day 20 miles was uphill. Mr. Nish joined us
2:00 PM: Tired and hungry it was decided to take the lunch break on roadside under a tree. As Mr. Stern rolled his bike from the bushes, shhh.. went his tube and he had flat. The reward came with the last stretch of 2 miles downhill, where we clinched to our brakes to control the speed; followed by out first ride on freeway 101.
4:00 PM: We arrive at Gaviota State Beach, the campsite was the smallest of all. Some boys went with Mr. Nish to ride another 9 miles, so that they could complete there merit badge requirement of 50 miles; while others relaxed.
7:00 PM: Dinner, followed by a campfire.
Gaviota - Santa Barbara
6:00 AM: Wake up, have breakfast; get ready for the ride.
10:00 AM: This was an easy ride on freeway 101, but the weather was hot. Ms. Sadras rode with us for the whole 33 miles.
1:00 PM: Arrived at our final destination at Santa Barbara. We were rewarded with a treat at Subway.
5:00 PM: Loaded our cars for the ride back to CPE. As we rode back some slept while others talked about their experiences; their climbs and downhill. We had made memories of lifetime.
7:30 PM: Arrived at CPE. Unloaded and headed back to our home, where all looked so clean and arranged, but our legs still wanted to cycle more. Sleeping in our beds and driving in our took some mental adjustments.
Attendance
No. | Scout | T-shirt |
---|---|---|
1 | Scout-Ansh Sancheti | 2-S |
2 | Scout-Byron Chien | 2-S |
3 | Scout-Cristian Preciado | 3-S |
4 | Scout-Andrew Johnson | 2-M |
5 | Scout-Nitin Sadras | 2-S |
6 | Scout-Vignesh Sadras | 2-S |
7 | Scout-Curtis Cha | 2-M |
8 | Scout-Joseph Moon | 2-L |
9 | Scout-Brian Chen | 2-S |
No. | Adults | T-shirt |
---|---|---|
1 | Alok Sancheti | 2-L |
2 | Larry Stern | 2-XL |
3 | Gordon Davis | 2-XL |
4 | Ed Johnson | 2-XL |
5 | Bill Chen | 2-M |
6 | Maha Sadras | 1-S |
7 | Glenn Nishibayashi | 1-M |
Menu
Day | Date | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aug 22 |
- |
Sack Lunch |
Salad Spinach Ravioli Brownies |
Lunch at Santa Rosa Park, San Luis Obispo |
2 | Aug 23 |
Scrabmled Eggs Orange Juice Bananas Muffins |
Cold cut Sandwich Veggie Sandwich |
Salad Hamburgers Veggie Patty Burgers Melon |
|
3 | Aug 24 |
Pancackes Cereal |
Subway Sandwich Baby Carrots + Ranch |
Hot Dogs Veggie Dogs Ice cream |
|
4 | Aug 25 |
Oat Milk Muffins Apples |
Tuna Sandwich Cole Slaw Sanwich Cheese + Crackers |
Rice + Lentils French Bread Watermelon |
|
5 | Aug 26 |
Pancackes Cereal |
Peanut Butter Sandwich Salsa Chips |
Cheese Quesadilla Leftovers Watermelon |
Lunch on the road under a tree |
6 | Aug 27 |
Leftovers |
at Subway Restaurant |
- |
Details
Get ready for an exciting bike trip along the pacific coast from San Simeon to Santa Barbara. This will be a great trip, which you will remember for years to come, riding 150 miles!!!
- We will be riding short distances each day and camp overnight at different campsites along the way.
- Most of the campsites are next to the beach so you will get to have fun at the beach.
- From CMS we will depart in cars and the bikes will be loaded on a trailer, arriving at San Simeon.
- After setting up the tent and eating lunch, we will take a guided tour to Hearst Castle.
- Camp at San Simeon State Park and get on our bikes and ride to Morro Bay.
- Along the way we will be followed by a chase car, which will have emergency supplies etc.
Training Rides
- The ride may look long, but we will prepare the scouts for the ride with lot of training rides with the first one on January 10th.
- Training rides will complete some of the requirements for Bicycle Merit Badge.
- Training ride schedule can be found at Training Bike Rides - 2009.
- Even scouts who do not plan to go for long term bike ride, are welcome on the training rides.
Bikes
- Please read How to Buy a Bike before buying a bike
- For this ride bring whichever bike you currently have
- If you plan to buy a new bike. Buy one, which has gears, so BMX bikes will not work. Please speak with Ed Johnson so that he can suggest the size / fit best for you.
- For the long-term bike ride, we will use bikes with smooth tires (with or without grooves). They are much easier to peddle than having wide knobby tires that the boys probably have now. The knobby tires will be OK for the first few short rides.
- If you currently own a mountain bike (the bike where tires have grooves), do not worry we will be converting the tires. You do not have to buy a new bike just for this reason.
- Bring helmets and gloves, you will NOT BE ALLOWED to ride without a helmet or gloves.
- Patch kit, pumps will be needed for longer rides; for the training rides you do not need them.
Post preview:
Close previewGreat job guys!! I think we'll be seeing your names in the peloton of the 2020 Tour De France. ;-)
You rode MANY miles in training rides in the several months leading up to the Long Term. I hope that you (and other Scouts who have yet to experience a High Adventure Long Term) appreciate that among the great "take-aways" from such a challenge are the cycling knowledge, skills, and experience. And as I congratulated the Philmont Crew, of even greater value, however, is the PRIDE and CONFIDENCE that comes with meeting a difficult physical challenge and surpassing it. You now KNOW that you are capable of strecthing yourselves. What you thought was impossible was merely a challenge. You've learned that with preparation, training, and determination, you can DO it!! …Even on long days with many miles to ride, hot weather, and steep hills. You've earned not only "bragging rights" but a special appreciation and self-confidence that comes with such an acievement, and one that will serve you well in years to come as you face other challenges. Take a minute now and then to refelect and to savor it.
Special thanks also to the adults — especially Maha, Alok, and Bill Chen, who all got their first taste of a High Adventure Long Term. I trust you have a new-found appreciation of the planning, training, preparation, and ultimately FUN of being part of such an adventure, and I hope it whetted your appetite to do it again. Speaking as a cranky old guy (and perhaps for others like Messrs Davis and Stern), it's one of the reasons I keep coming back — for the adventure and the chance to coach and teach and watch our young Scouts gain new skills and maturity. To all the adults, thanks again for doing a superb job. It's a big part of what makes our Troop so great, and enables the experiences for the Scouts. Not many kids get the opportunity to do the things we do.
Keep peddlin' and keep the rubber side down. I hope to see you on the road….
To Maha, Alok, Bill, Ed, Larry, and Gordon: Once again, another great Scouting experience. Thank you for making this opportunity available to the Scouts in Troop 693.
To All Other Parents in our Troop: For those of us who have been on these kinds of trips, we see and experience first hand how these kinds of trips build strength, courage, determination, and character in these young men. It is these kinds of experiences that these young men will draw upon and build upon as they face their future challenges in their lives. Life is very much like a long bike ride….there are some long, uphill "grinds", where your muscles are aching and you are out of breath, but you endure and conquer the obstacle by just continuing to pedal on….and there are some times when we can "coast" downhill, enjoy the breeze, and feel the exhilaration of the speed….and we need to learn to really enjoy these moments to their fullest. These are such important life lessons.
To those parents who have never been on an outing with the Troop, I strongly encourage you to do so (at least once) to see and experience for yourself the value and importance the outings play in the overall Scouting program and in the development of the young men in our Troop.
Mr. Nish
Wow, what a week. I am so proud of every single Scout and Scouter that went on this years Long Term trip. We worked hard, we had fun, we accomplished SO much that will be in our memories forever. The comments above say it all, so I won't repeat them here. Let me just say that it was a priviledge and an honor to share this experience with those of you who participated on this trip.
I really enjoyed this year's long term (Biking from San Simeon to Santa Barbara)! The uphills were hard, but the downhills totally
made up for them. The beaches, views, food, and experiences were amazing, including Hearst Castle.
This awesome trip would not have been possible without the strong support of Mr. Davis, Mr. Stern, Mr. Johnson,
Mr. Sancheti, Mr. Chen, Mr.Nish, and my mom. I would DEFINETELY go on a trip like this again!
The trip was GREAT!! The last few days were tiring, but it was really really cool to ride all the way from Hearst Castle to Santa Barbara. I would like to thank all the adults for their time and planning. I also thought that Mrs. Sadras' cooking was AWESOME!!!
I am grateful to all the adult leaders who gave so much of their time and expertise to this long term. I can't imagine what detailed preparation is required to plan such an outing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! As with the other scouts, Curtis will carry his experiences from this trip with him forever. Thank you for making such special outings available for the scouts.
What an acomplishment! Thank you all, scouts and adults, to make this happen.
Lady and Gentlemen, Job well done! I'm very proud of all of you for your significant accomplishments over the past week.
To the Scouts: Congratulations on riding 160 miles over 5 days. This is a significant accomplishment that each of you should be very proud of. Having done a simliar trip 3 years ago where we covered almost 100 miles over 3 days, I know how difficult this was for each of you. Job well done!!!
To the Adult Leaders: Thank you so much for making this opportunity available to the Scouts of Troop 693. Providing a quality Scouting program requires adult leaders who are willing give of their time and talents. Thank you…..Job well done!!!
Maha after all these long rides and drives you still had the energy to write this long email at midnight!!! Kudos!
WOW!!!! that is the only way to describe the 160 miles, 5 days of riding and the bragging rights to say that they drove on freeway 101, alongside big rigs. I am proud of each one of you; you all did a fabulous job and I am sure as you will grow older you will still remember this trip as a seed to the many more rides you will do later years in life. And maybe some of you would become avid bicyclist like Mr. Johnson.
Was the ride tough, yes I would say for days 3 and 4, with some steep grade 7% climbs. Was it thrilling, yes I would say with some boys crossing the 40 miles speed limit (max being 43 for Joseph). Was the ride scenic, yes I would say, riding along side the beautiful beaches of California. Was it chilling; yes I would say navigating the downhill of highway 1 with 2 miles of downhill. But, did anybody say they do not want to ride and rather take a hitch in the car. NONE, they all took it in stride.
I want to thank each of the adults and the SPL Nitin for making this a memorable trip for all of us; could I have done on my alone, not at all. My special appreciation for Larry for his meticulous planning and directions; for always being there by my side for his expertise. It was a challenge in itself to meet his high standards. Could not have done without you.
Glenn, cannot thank you enough for always providing your guidance, with numbers, with logistics, and for driving to Gaviota, just to drive us back.
Ed, could not have done without your knowledge and love for biking; (and see a bike broke the day to left). Gordon thank you very much for being the sweep, I know it is not an easy task to ride at 10 mph, when you can easily do 20. We knew you being in the tail end, all boys would be safe.
Maha cannot thank you enough for being our mom for the 6-day endeavor. You were always ready with yummy food to feed 14 hungry people. When I signed you up for being the sag driver, you were thinking of reading 3 novels, but you had no downtime always on the go!! You sure where taken on a ride.
Bill, thank you for being there ready to be one of the driver at the last minute. And always being there, ready to lend that helping hand. Hope you had a great experience hanging with us on your first outing that being a big one. Looking forward to many more trips with you.
Well some of you must be thinking what is up with these guys sending these long emails, make a big deal out of it. But all this comes from bottom of our hearts. It is amazing to see what minute details go into planning these outings. A big thank you to the Troop for providing Ansh this great experience.
THANK YOU!!!
PS: I will post other statistical and details on the website for the benefit any future similar ride. There are over 300+ pictures that were taken.
Well its a LONG ONE - this email I mean, but I wont apologize for it this time. In fact I will urge you to please read through it if its not too much trouble.
WOW!!!! What a Superb Biking Long Term.
Alok thank you for planning this fun biking adventure for our troop. It was an experience we will never forget and most definitely will cherish for the rest of our lives.
Hearst Caslte Tour at San Simeon, then the beautiful ride to Morro Bay, the challenging ride down to Pismo Beach, the mountains of Vandenberg Airforce Base, the most picturesque 42 mile ride down to Gaviota State Park - our last camping site, and the final ride to Santa Barbara today made this trip very rewarding, fulfilling and to me one of the best ways to see the beautiful Central California Coastline.
Every time I personally thanked Alok for coordinating this trip, he said he absolutely owed it to the meticulous planning and experience of Larry, the expertise of Ed and the countless tips and help he received from Glenn and Gordon. Thank you gentlemen for not just passing on your valuable experience, but so selflessly giving your time and effort for this outing.
All the work you had to do not just during the ride, but after a tiring day of riding, at camp you checked bike wear, and helped teach the boys many lessons in bike mechanics and repair.
Personally, being the SAG car driver, I really got a ‘birds eye view’ of the bike route, the boys working hard successfully to make it through challenging grades in the route, and seeing the awe and excitement in even the adult leaders, when they saw the route they had covered with the boys that day, as I shuttled them back to ‘home-base’ for the day to get their vehicles – it was all priceless. And to top it all off, thanks to gracious Glenn who joined us on Wednesday to replace Ed , and his trust in me, I got the even more priceless experience to ride with the boys on Thursday- Gaviota to Santa Barbara, not withstanding the fact that I may have made a fool of myself, at one point trailing a mile and a half behind the boys. Gordon who was the ‘sweep’ for the rides ended up doing the most painfully slowest ride of his life. Gordon my sincere apologies, and ‘thanks’ for the effort.
Sorry I am not done yet, and the word ‘priceless’ is going to appear again in this paragraph.. It being a very small scout group of nine boys, and my being the ‘boss’ of the camp kitchen, I got the ‘priceless’ opportunity to get to know seven of my sons’ peers. I am proud of each and every one of them for the talents they have and also for the ones they don’t but are willing to learn. Awesome job boys. My respect and admiration for all of you ‘quadrupled’ on day 6 when I was on the bike ride with you. Whooo…you guys rock!!!!! I wish I could have driven you also through the route you covered so you realize the amazing route you ‘mastered’ with your bikes – coastline, hills, mountains, farmland, major government facilities, dainty towns and all.
Bill this was your first camping experience with the troop and also first major biking outing.. With only having had 2 training rides you rode exceedingly well. Thank you also for your helping hand around camp. Alok, Ed, Glenn, Gordon, and Larry thankyou for all the encouragement and the kind words you showered me with at camp and especially on my ride day..
To sum it all up, Alok was asking the boys in my van (as we were reminiscing about the events of the past few days initiated by dear Cristian) on the ride home whether they will do this again and we got positive' but mixed answers. He didn’t ask me but here’s my answer – without the blink of a eye it’s a resounding YES – Absolutely!!!!
For lack of more vocabulary to reflect my gratitude, joy and pleasure in having participated in this trip, and to the relief of many of you, I will now stop!
Thank you Troop 693,
Maha