The Wheel Deal

Early Saturday morning the first of more than 800 bicyclists will pedal out of the Irvine Transportation Center headed for San Diego.

The ride is nearly 100 miles, so many won’t want to waste time heading south--after all, they have a train to catch. That would be a private Amtrak charter that makes the ride back quite a bit more comfortable.

And if a marathon bicycle ride can’t be made entirely comfortable, the Amtrak Century aims to come close. The Orange County Wheelmen, the club that has organized the ride for the last 23 years, goes to great lengths to make sure of that.

Club members say this is a great event for someone who has never ridden 100 miles in one chunk--a century in the parlance of serious recreational riders.

“Heading down to San Diego is relatively flat,” said Irvine’s Charlie Irwin, who rode in the first Amtrak Century in 1974 and most of the rest. “Under normal circumstances there is a tail wind, and when you are riding with 600 or 800 people there’s always someone in sight.”

The route is scenic, one you miss on southbound Interstate 5--from the rural/suburban Orange County parkways through Camp Pendleton, past the quaint beach towns of northern San Diego County and around sparkling Mission Bay.

The first Amtrak Century, in 1974, was a low-key affair with about 200 pedaling from Santa Ana to San Diego and hopping on a train back. The next year, Irwin recalls, only eight riders made the trip and didn’t even ride the rails. Instead they crammed into a van with the bikes on top for the return trip.

The event has come a long way since then--Saturday’s ride is expected to be the biggest ever. The Wheelmen have reserved six train cars at a cost of $20,000. Six semi-trailer trucks will haul the bicycles back.

It’s quite a logistic undertaking for the Wheelmen, a club of about 800 dedicated men and Wheelwomen. About 50 volunteers provide support, from serving food and fluids at the rest stops and lunch area to riding in vehicles that help stragglers.

Some of those volunteers tested the route last Saturday to make sure changes weren’t necessary because of road conditions.

“No matter how clear you make the instructions where to turn it’s hard,” said ride coordinator Irene Walker, minutes before pushing off with husband, Jim, on their purple-accented tandem, “but when you ride it yourself, everything becomes clear.”

On ride day, the parking lot at the Irvine train station will fill up quickly. “When we get here at six o’clock in the morning they are already waiting for us,” volunteer Patty Jensen said. “They are anxious to leave because the train leaves at 4 whether they are there or not.”

Almost everyone makes it--riders must average at least 12 mph for eight hours. It’s recommended that novices complete a 50- to 60-mile ride before undertaking this century.

Those who lag behind Saturday will certainly make the acquaintance of Jim von Tungeln, president of the Wheelmen and the designated rear guard of the ride.

Von Tungeln, who has ridden more than 100,000 miles in the last eight years, will offer advice, encouragement and/or help changing flat tires. One year, he even grabbed hold of a weary rider’s seat and helped her up a long hill.

“The thing about this ride that’s nice is there’s no hurry,” von Tungeln said. Up to a point.

If riders stray too far behind, von Tungeln will tell them they need to speed up to catch the train. Support vehicles also are there to offer catch-up rides to the next rest stop.

At the rest stops they are certain to find plenty of nourishment. Volunteers from the club staff five stops along the way, providing riders with an appetizing array of snacks and fluids. The lunch stop in Carlsbad, about 35 miles from the finish, is especially bountiful.

“The club provides all sorts of foods and beverages, anything you can imagine,” said Bill Aiken, a veteran of about 15 of the rides. “I wrote once that it’s the longest continuous buffet in the world--the food is endless.

“It’s quite a good lunch, but the secret is: don’t eat too much of it.”

That’s because the toughest part of the ride--the Torrey Pines grade, 1 1/2 miles of uphill torture--looms next.

But once that obstacle is cleared it’s mostly easy pedaling to the downtown San Diego Amtrak station, where the party begins. Riders are encouraged to pack a small ice chest that the club trucks to the finish.

You can guess the rest.

“On the train back, it is not uncommon to see champagne and caviar,” von Tungeln said.

It’s a festive ride back, although usually not too raucous. “Cyclists are never really radical,” Irwin said. “We start our rides early and turn in early at night. My wife and I share a bottle of champagne and have some snacks.

“It’s a party for us.”

The Amtrak Century, which starts between 6 and 7 a.m. Saturday, is sold out, but the Orange County Wheelmen have numerous informal rides every week and offer training programs for beginners. The club can be reached at (714) 956-BIKE. The Wheelmen have a World Wide Web site at https://www.beach.net/ocw