Planning Your Weekend
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How exactly you run your race weekend depends on several personal preferences including
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Goals for your Weekend Plan
It is important to keep in mind that your goals are to arrive at the starting line
- on time
- having pre-ridden
- warmed up
- well rested
- excited to race
Here are some of our typical race venues. If you are looking for exact locations of venues, there is a google map link for every scheduled location on our Racing page.
2 - Petaluma Sunday - 1:45 drive time
Petaluma has free, open field camping on-site.
Most of us will pre-ride saturday and camp overnight on-site.
Some will stay overnight in a hotel in Petaluma
Some will only drive down early on Sunday in time for 7am pre-ride
A few might drive down and back saturday and sunday, and overnight at home.
2 ALTERNATE - Ft Ord Saturday - 1:10 drive time
There is no camping on-site nor nearby.
Many of us will pre-ride friday, join the team for dinner, and overnight in a hotel in Salinas.
Some of us will come friday for dinner, overnight in a hotel, and pre-ride in the morning
Some will only drive down very early on Saturday
A few might drive down and back friday and saturday, and overnight at home.
3 - Granite Bay Sunday - 3:00 drive time
There are a few state park reservable campsites 5 or 10 miles away.
Most of us will pre-ride saturday and overnight in a hotel in Roseville
A very few will camp 15 minutes from the venue
A few will wake up at 3:30 am and drive there on Sunday
4 - La Grange Saturday - 2:30 drive time
There are many reservable campsites on site at the Barrett Cove Recreation Area.
Some of us will drive over and pre-ride Friday
Many will drive over and just stay overnight Friday and get up early for pre-ride
Many of us will camp on-site, the rest will hotel an hour away
Some will wake up at 4:00am and drive there on Saturday
5 - Six Sigma Sunday - 3:30 drive time
Six Sigma has free, open field camping on-site.
Most of us will pre-ride Saturday and camp overnight on-site
Some will overnight at a local hotel, but may still leave their kids to camp
A few will do AirBnB or similar since there aren't a lot of hotels around
A very few will wake up at 3:00am and drive there on Sunday
6 (League Champs) - Six Sigma Sunday Again!
2 - Petaluma Sunday - 1:45 drive time
Petaluma has free, open field camping on-site.
Most of us will pre-ride saturday and camp overnight on-site.
Some will stay overnight in a hotel in Petaluma
Some will only drive down early on Sunday in time for 7am pre-ride
A few might drive down and back saturday and sunday, and overnight at home.
2 ALTERNATE - Ft Ord Saturday - 1:10 drive time
There is no camping on-site nor nearby.
Many of us will pre-ride friday, join the team for dinner, and overnight in a hotel in Salinas.
Some of us will come friday for dinner, overnight in a hotel, and pre-ride in the morning
Some will only drive down very early on Saturday
A few might drive down and back friday and saturday, and overnight at home.
3 - Granite Bay Sunday - 3:00 drive time
There are a few state park reservable campsites 5 or 10 miles away.
Most of us will pre-ride saturday and overnight in a hotel in Roseville
A very few will camp 15 minutes from the venue
A few will wake up at 3:30 am and drive there on Sunday
4 - La Grange Saturday - 2:30 drive time
There are many reservable campsites on site at the Barrett Cove Recreation Area.
Some of us will drive over and pre-ride Friday
Many will drive over and just stay overnight Friday and get up early for pre-ride
Many of us will camp on-site, the rest will hotel an hour away
Some will wake up at 4:00am and drive there on Saturday
5 - Six Sigma Sunday - 3:30 drive time
Six Sigma has free, open field camping on-site.
Most of us will pre-ride Saturday and camp overnight on-site
Some will overnight at a local hotel, but may still leave their kids to camp
A few will do AirBnB or similar since there aren't a lot of hotels around
A very few will wake up at 3:00am and drive there on Sunday
6 (League Champs) - Six Sigma Sunday Again!
When do I need to book my Hotel?
It really depends on the venue. For Fort Ord, Redding, Petaluma, and Granite Bay, there are lots of hotels nearby, you can book whenever you want. For Six Sigma, there are not nearly enough hotel accomodations for everyone that wants them. La Grange is special because the nearest hotels are an hour away but there is a decent number of them in Modesto. If you want a campsite or VRBO though, don’t delay. Remember that around 900 students race at every venue (400-500 per day) and so small towns fill up fast. So if you think you might want to go to these races, and you want a hotel, book the hotel now (or as soon as the schedule is announced). You can always cancel it.
Pre-Ride Options
Your pre-ride options are simple.
Some people will skip pre-ride, but this never goes well. They either crash the first lap, or go slow as they learn the course. The faster the racer, the more likely they will crash. If you race without pre-riding, we will tell you to take your first lap as if it is your pre-ride. In our experience it is always faster to do this than to crash.
Pre-riding the day of the race works pretty well for freshman boys who can also use it as their warm-up before their race. Many freshman boys will pre-ride the day before AND pre-ride the morning of as a warm-up. Pre-riding the day of is the only choice for those who were unable to get to the race venue the day before. When the race is on Saturday, it can be tough to get out of school early enough to get to the race venue early enough to pre-ride on a Friday afternoon.
- You can pre-ride in the afternoon, the day before the race, typicaly from 3-5:30pm
- You can pre-ride first thing in the morning, before the freshman race, on the day of the race. Typically from 6:30-7:45am, meaning you need to start your pre-ride no later than 7:00 and be off the course by 8:00
Some people will skip pre-ride, but this never goes well. They either crash the first lap, or go slow as they learn the course. The faster the racer, the more likely they will crash. If you race without pre-riding, we will tell you to take your first lap as if it is your pre-ride. In our experience it is always faster to do this than to crash.
Pre-riding the day of the race works pretty well for freshman boys who can also use it as their warm-up before their race. Many freshman boys will pre-ride the day before AND pre-ride the morning of as a warm-up. Pre-riding the day of is the only choice for those who were unable to get to the race venue the day before. When the race is on Saturday, it can be tough to get out of school early enough to get to the race venue early enough to pre-ride on a Friday afternoon.
Team Dinners
For those who pre-ride the day before the race, most will join their friends on the team for dinner. This has always been a lot of fun in the past. Some people who can’t make it in time for the pre-ride the day before will still come down in time for the team dinner then stay overnight in a hotel.
I’m Not a Morning Person
Some can’t make it in time for pre-ride the day before, but will still come in time for the team dinner and hotel or camp overnight. This lets them sleep longer on race morning.
Staying Overnight
Whether you camp or hotel, staying overnight makes the weekend a lot more relaxed. This is primarily because it means you don’t have to get up at the crack of midnight on race day, even if you plan to pre-ride in the morning. It’s nice to be close to the race venue!
Hotel Overnights
Hotels are nice because it’s a warm comfy bed and a shower. The downsides are that it costs $100-$170 for the hotel room, and it means you have to manage your race bike for the overnight. For most of us, this means we keep our bikes in the hotel room with us and sometimes that means we have to clean them after the pre-ride.
Camping Overnights
When the race venue allows camping on-site, a lot of people camp. It’s usually free, it’s a fun hang-out with the team, and it means you get to sleep in longer in the morning. The downsides are that there is no shower, no water (just porta-potties), and you’re sleeping on the ground. So it depends a lot on how much you like camping. Some parents will leave their kids (and bikes) at camp, and go stay in a local hotel. Some will bring (or rent) an RV. Note that La Grange camping is paid/reserved camping.
House Rentals
At Six Sigma, the venue is so remote that the limited hotel accommodations in Clearlake and other nearby towns are often full weeks in advance. Some people will use airbnb and vrbo and find a place to stay that way. People may do that at La Grange too since the nearest hotels are an hour away.
Hotel Overnights
Hotels are nice because it’s a warm comfy bed and a shower. The downsides are that it costs $100-$170 for the hotel room, and it means you have to manage your race bike for the overnight. For most of us, this means we keep our bikes in the hotel room with us and sometimes that means we have to clean them after the pre-ride.
Camping Overnights
When the race venue allows camping on-site, a lot of people camp. It’s usually free, it’s a fun hang-out with the team, and it means you get to sleep in longer in the morning. The downsides are that there is no shower, no water (just porta-potties), and you’re sleeping on the ground. So it depends a lot on how much you like camping. Some parents will leave their kids (and bikes) at camp, and go stay in a local hotel. Some will bring (or rent) an RV. Note that La Grange camping is paid/reserved camping.
House Rentals
At Six Sigma, the venue is so remote that the limited hotel accommodations in Clearlake and other nearby towns are often full weeks in advance. Some people will use airbnb and vrbo and find a place to stay that way. People may do that at La Grange too since the nearest hotels are an hour away.
What about off-site camping?
Sure, you can camp near Granite Bay, but only Keegan and Ari have ever done it because it’s not at the race venue. It’s a lot of extra work and stuff to camp, but it’s worth it when you’re on-site. When you’re on-site, parents pitch camp while kids pre-ride. On race day, you can pack up camp after your race. When you’re off site, you end up pitching camp late - after dinner. Then you have to get up extra early on race day to pack up camp. For all that extra work, you get to... sleep in your tent. Yay! Those who don’t mind getting up extra early and are looking to save money and/or time always opt to just get up really early and drive from home on race day because it’s a lot less work and you get to sleep in your own bed.
2020, Team Director style
We have rented an RV in the past for Six Sigma, and that was fun too. Oh, and we get points for free stays at Best Western, also we like their breakfasts. Here is what we have reserved in the past:
Petaluma - Best Western Petaluma Inn. John will camp on-site.
Granite Bay - Best Western Orchid Hotel & Suites.
Six Sigma -Best Western El Grande Inn
Petaluma - Best Western Petaluma Inn. John will camp on-site.
Granite Bay - Best Western Orchid Hotel & Suites.
Six Sigma -Best Western El Grande Inn
