Route Change for Safety

The problem that we are trying to solve is how to avoid sending 1,400 bike riders through the City of Morro Bay.  
Caltrans will no longer let us use that freeway section for our event and it is a mess picking our way through town on city streets, particularly on the southbound leg in the afternoon.  So we came up with the idea of starting and ending at the north end of town to avoid that problem.
Next problem was how to get a 100-mile route doing that.  Shoulders on Hwy 1 north of Cappuccino Cove narrow considerably and we are reluctant to put 600-700 riders on that section.  Safety is our overriding concern in all aspects of our events.
Our solution this year was to go up Hwy 46 to get the mileage.  We will assess the result of that decision at our post-mortem meeting and see if it worked for most riders or if we need to think of something else. It is a work in progress.
We appreciate the thoughts and loyalty of the riders to our event.  Be assured that, in all other respects, our Lighthouse event will continue to offer the same terrific quality and quantity of food, refreshments, friendly smiles and legendary support.