Swami's Cycling Club: Guru News

June 2022

6/12 Inaugural Swami’s Gravel Ride

Hey, gravel is so popular, why doesn’t Swami’s do a gravel ride? Great idea! The first official Swami’s gravel ride will take place on Sunday, June 12. The ride will be a tour of a few fun North County gravel areas. Gravelistas will meet at Lofty Coffee La Costa at 8:00 am and hit some fun gravel right at the beginning. We quickly hit a climb at mile 2 to warm up, then tour some fun areas like Encinitas Ranch, Hosp Park, and Calaveras with about 35% dirt. For intermediate riders, this should take just under 3 hours. We will regroup at a few points, but please download the route in advance as it can be confusing. We finish up at Lofty for coffee. Check out and download the route at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39641861. Join us so you can say you were there when the Swami's Gravel Ride began!

There are NO route sheets. It is up to each team to figure out how to get to the next station (All stations are in North County). Choose your team members wisely as you will need people who know the best roads to get to each station. You may ride on the road, trails, rocks, or wherever you want as there are no rules on how to get the the next station (Just respect no trespassing signs and rules of the road must be obeyed). E-bikes are not allowed.

PRIZES: This grass-roots cycling event is part fun ride, part competition, and part adventure. We offer these prize categories:

• Best Poker Hand
• Longest Route (According to Strava)
• Shortest Route (Hey, gravelers!)
• Best Team Name
• Worst Poker Hand
• Best Team Photos (Enter to win at the end of your ride by sharing your photos with us)
• And of course, Fastest Team! (According to Strava)

This year, we are introducing the Swami’s Cup for the fastest team… Think Stanley Cup! The winning team’s name will be added to the cup, and the team gets to keep, protect and flaunt this amazing accomplishment until the 2023 Poker Ride. They may then defend their cup… or pass it to a new team. 

FOOD: In usual Swami’s style, we will offer a catered lunch, refreshments, and beer at the end of the ride for all to enjoy.  We will have water available at each card station, but please make sure you and your teammates pack enough snacks for a 50-60 mile ride.  

REGISTRATION AND COST

Registration is required. Register for the ride at ​​https://swamis.wildapricot.org/event-4819708. If you have a team, you’ll enter the name when you register. If you don’t have a team, we're happy to help! Just answer a couple of questions, and we’ll match you up with the most appropriate team. 

The event is free to current Swami’s members and $20 for non-members. Wolf Pack Cycling and Eliel have agreed to host card stations, so we will offer a $10 discount to all WP members and Eliel employees. Prices increase for all on June 11!  

If you have any questions or need to make changes, email tatiana@swamis.org.

START LOCATION AND TIMES

• Alga Norte Park - we'll be at the covered picnic area by the basketball courts
• 6565 Alicante Rd
• Carlsbad, CA 92009

Start times are staggered in approximately 1 minute intervals:

• D group riders - 8:00 am
• C group riders - 8:20 am
• B group riders - 8:30 am
• A group riders - 8:40 am

We want to have fun and bring our cycling community together, so invite your friends and other clubs to join! We are so excited to bring back this festive event and can’t wait to see all of you!!!

PS There will be plenty of seating on the lawn and some seating on nearby benches. Bring a lawn chair if you want a guaranteed seat! 

Sponsor Benefits:

Columbia Employee Store

Our partners at Columbia have announced a sweet deal, valid from June 10 to July 4, at the Columbia employee store in Carlsbad for Swami’s members: