A lone rider pedals past the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse on a previous Lighthouse Century Ride. Photo by Luis Ayala
Scenic Hwy 1 will be filled with a thousand cyclists for the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club’s Annual Lighthouse Century Ride set for 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 on Hwy 1 from Morro Bay to the historic Piedras Blancas Lighthouse.
The Lighthouse Ride starts at Morro Bay High School, goes onto Northbound Hwy 1 and runs all the way to Piedras Blancas and back again. But this year, they have a new feature for the Lighthouse Ride.
“This year,” reads a news release from SLOBC President Mary Ann Gustafson, “we feature a new challenging 65-mile mixed gravel and paved route on Old Creek Road, Santa Rita Road to Highway 46 and back to the Highway 1 Route. There is also a 96-mile route also along Old Creek Road, Highway 46 and back to Highway 1. We will have 40, 65 and 75-mile routes that are relatively flat along Highway 1.”
Members of the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club pause for a photo on Hwy 1 with Morro Rock in the distance. Submitted photo
Registration was limited to 1,000 riders and is now closed. The ride is a major fundraiser for the Bicycle Club and, “registration fees and clothing purchases support SLOBC’s donations to local community groups including BikeSLO, Morro Bay High School, Morro Bay Police Volunteers, Sheriff Children’s Bike Giveaway, CalPoly Cycling, CalPoly Amateur Radio Club and Estero Radio Club.”
The club gets a lot of help with this major undertaking. “It takes a village to pull off an event of this size,” Gustafson said, “with hundreds of volunteers from San Luis Obispo Bike Club along with more from local bike shops, ham radio clubs, BikeSLO, Morro Bay police volunteers and more.”
The ride draws people from all over who normally stay for a few days, renting motel rooms, eating out and contributing to the local economy.
Readers are advised to be on the lookout for these riders, if you travel Hwy 1 or Old Creek Road that day and drive carefully around them.
Cycling Hwy 1 is a common pastime for area cyclists and members of the SLO Bicycle Club can often be seen riding in packs on the scenic highway. The SLOBC now has over 650 members in SLO County with many living in Cambria, Cayucos, Morro Bay and Los Osos, Gustafson said.
