A little more than 14 years ago, five dedicated bicycle riders gathered at the historic Fall River Hotel. They knew the area’s lightly traveled and extremely scenic highways and country road were ideally suited to cyclists, and they wanted to start a century so that other cyclists would learn about and enjoy the area.
That was the start of the Fall River Century, which rolls for the 15th consecutive year on Saturday, July 18, from the Inter-Mountain Fairgrounds in McArthur. Riders may choose from the classic century (100-mile) distance, the metric century (100 kilometers, or about 62 miles), the double-metric (200 miles, or about 125 miles) and a 25-mile course.
“We didn’t know what to expect that first year,” recalled Bill Johnson, one of the event’s founders. About 125 riders showed up. That was a few more than organizers expected, and the event generated a few bucks for the nonprofit groups that helped out.
“We had some not very well thought-out routes. The second year, we overhauled the routes, and people really responded,” Johnson said.
The better-considered routes and the scenery – forests, farmland, sage-covered lava flats and the ever present Lassen Peak and Mount Shasta – give the Fall River Century its good name among cycles. Many come back year after year, and organizers expect about 375 participants for the 15th version. For an event that’s conducted pretty close to the middle of nowhere, that’s a heck of a turnout.
“It brings cyclists from all over Northern California, Southern Oregon, Nevada,” said Sandra Jensen, another of the founders and the owner of the hotel (fallriverhotel.com). “They come up here, and they are so amazed at how very little traffic our roads have.”
Even riders who know the area might be amazed these days at the smooth surface on Highways 299 and 89, and at the generous shoulders on those roads, Johnson added.
The fact that Jensen and Johnson, who owns Fall River Arts & Trophies, are still running the event says a great deal. “The core group is all either riders or ex-bike riders, so that gives us a good appreciation of what the riders need,” Johnson said. The idea, added Jensen, is to give riders a pleasant, carefree day in the saddle.
Organizing a long-distance group bike ride is a ton of work, and plenty of the best-known centuries have gone through numerous organizers and managers. But stability is at the heart of the Fall River event. The routes have hardly changed at all since year two. Even most of the aid stations are run by the same groups as in 1995 – Fall River High School cheerleaders, Fall River High student government, Mountain Christian Academy, Little Valley Fire Department and a local group of artists. The Boy Scouts, the Burney Soroptimists and the local historic society have also been aboard for years. The bike ride has become a consistent fundraiser for all of those groups.
This is not a brutally difficult ride. The century has about 4,300 feet of elevation gain, while metric century participants will climb about 2,500 feet. The 25 miler is nearly flat. The biggest hazard, as anyone who has spent much time outdoors in Eastern Shasta County knows, is wind. However, riders can hit the road as early as 7 a.m., which gives them a good six hours before the wind typically starts blowing, Johnson said.
Registration for the Fall River Century is available from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, July 17, at the fairgrounds, and on the morning of the ride. At this late date, the fees are $50 for the double-metric, $45 for the century and metric, and $30 for the short ride. For their fee, riders get numerous well-stocked aid stations, a mechanic and sag wagon in case of trouble, and a full-blown spaghetti dinner afterward. In addition, there is free camping on the lawn at the fairgrounds.
More details are available on the event website, fallrivercentury.com.
Paul Shigley cleans the black goo clogging his bike’s drive train at his home in Centerville. You may reach him at paulshigley@sbcglobal.net.