This "race" is totally worth it. There are a thousand reasons why I would come back every year in November. But here are my top ten... 1. The fact that it's not a race, but more than just a leisure ride...my kind of ride! From individuals to competitive groups to families, this ride is inclusive to all. 2. They offer different distance and route options. You can do a seven mile, 15 mile, 25 mile, 50, or 100 mile course. My preference has been the 50 mile course for two years straight. I'm aiming for the century bike ride soon. 3. The views along the coast are breathtaking! And I admit to slowing down a bit just to take them in. 4. Biking in and within a supportive biking community. All riders we've interacted with have been extremely friendly and courteous. All the cities/roadways we rode through were bike-friendly as well. 5. SAG stops were helpful! The three Support And "Grub" stops were perfect opportunities to check in with our group, replenish our liquids, and were important for muscle recovery. Bike adjustments and maintenance were also provided at these SAG stops, along with music, restrooms, first aid, and fuel...bananas, PB&J sammies, power bars, trail mix, performance sports drinks, and water. 6. You can't beat the weather in San Diego! It may start off cool and end on a windy note, but spectacular throughout! 7. Staff and volunteers automatically get a shout out. From planning to registration to directing riders on the course, assisting during SAG stops, and cheering us on...they make this race event problem-free. All we have to worry about is the cycling, and some traffic. 8. This race is well organized. They send email reminders and training tips before the ride. And post-registration instructions are helpful without a doubt. It's obvious that a lot of planning and collaboration took place with the cities that the bike route goes through, and with law enforcement to ensure the safety of riders and drivers. 9. Bike routes were safe. The 50 mile route level was easy to medium in my opinion. We passed through the bike-friendly cities of Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, and Del Mar. 10. "Taste the Coast" is the food expo following Bike the Coast...near the finish line. I expected this expo to be more grand, but just to have this available for finishers and families is a brilliant idea. It provides a celebratory feel for after the ride, especially with live bands playing. Riders also get free tickets that can be redeemed at all the different food booths...serving Japanese fare, Philippine Cuisine, Jamaican food, Street Tacos, Hot Sandwiches/Brats, and ice cream. After my first 50 mile bike ride in 2013, I immediately signed up for the 2014 ride. Like most races, the earlier you register, the cheaper it is. I was able to save 40% off the actual registration cost for the 50 miler. Finisher gifts (mug, water bottle), medal, food coupons and all of the above were included in the $50 registration fee. See you next year! #400 read more

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This was the worst event ever. EVER. Let's start with the packet pick-up, where I meet a humorless old woman, who wasted several minutes of my life because she couldn't find my packet. She apparently thought last names were listed first. The same woman didn't give my buddy a bracelet or inform him to get a "grab bag". It was inconsistent service at best. Before we even get to the ride, let's talk about the course map. They posted a map which you can navigate with using the "Ride with GPS" App. This app is terrible! Oh, and you have to pay to use it. WTF. Could they not have just given us a google maps route so we can use it for free? Ok fine, I suck it up and pay for the app that I'll never use again. Guess what, the app's map doesn't correspond to the course directions, given by poorly placed signs. Some of the signs were hidden behind bushes. I've talked to numerous riders who got lost during the ride. I along with a pack of 15 riders who missed the U-Turn on Sorrento Valley Road. The course is dangerous. There are paths without bike trails. The course also suggests left turns and U-turns across multiple lanes of traffic. Drivers were honking at confused riders crossing in front of them. Volunteers or at least more visible signs should have been placed around those areas so that both riders and drivers are made aware of the upcoming convergence between bikes and cars. The course is unpleasant and far too many stops. Even on roads where there were bike paths, the road had cracks and potholes, making for an uncomfortable ride at best. Going through residential streets with tons of stop signs and traffic lights makes this a tedious ride. So let's talk about those stops. There were cops positioned around the corner of many of these stop signs setting up traps. I saw more than 5 riders get ticketed by cops. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't stop at stop signs. I believe you should obey all traffic laws, for your safety as well as the safety of others. But instead of the cops hiding and ticketing riders, they could have stood next to the stop signs to make sure everyone obeyed the traffic laws and that everyone was safe. But instead, they had to fill their quota. At the end of the 100mi, I was ready for this ride to be over. Not because I was tired, but because I was annoyed at how awful this event was. So I walk up to the finisher's hut to collect my medal. There is no medal! You get a tiny metal pin, attached to a cheap braided bracelet. I attached a screenshot of the website where they state you get a Medal. I also attach a picture of the cheap pin and bracelet you really get. But that's not all, oh no. I was so starved after my ride and really looking forward to some grub. They give you $5 worth of food vouchers... and everything costs $7 and up. Just a final f*@& you before you leave the event. A word to the organizers: Hundreds, maybe thousands of visitors come to Oceanside, spend money on hotels, restaurants, and souvenirs, and I just didn't feel like the city welcomed us. Cars honked at us, partly because there didn't seem to be an organized bike event, with just a few cheap signs scattered at some intersections. Cops took advantage of us, ticketing riders instead of making sure everyone was safe. The organization really brought out the worst of the event and the city. Please do something about it or you will not get any repeat riders. I'm done with this ride. Follow-up. I contacted the race organizers directly to let them know about the issyes since they don't seem to care to respond to any of the criticisms on yelp. (I was not the first.) They ignored my email. I sent a follow-up email. They ignored that. Ok, maybe they just don't check their emails. I decided to send an email from a different account about an innocuous question and got a response the same day. So save your breath. Don't try to complain because it won't be heard. read more

Bike the Coast - On the website, it states finishers will get Medals (actual "medal" in next pic) - Bike tours Near Me - Oceanside, California

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Bike the Coast isn't a typical "Race." It's a ride. It was perfect for me because although I'm very competitive, I was competing against myself on this one. So it was a personal race. I didn't care for trinkets or medals. As long as I crossed the finish safely, I'd be happy. You have options. 7 miles, 15, 25, 50 and 100. If you sign up early you can take advantage of saving 40% off. I met other solo women riders and some drove a few hours to get here. They were friendly and made my experience enjoyable. I drove in through a little fog half asleep. Found parking with ease and got to the narrow start up line. No issues at all. Met lots of nice people and chatted up with the venors. Taste of the Coast consisted of 18 vendors with reasonable prices. I like my Jersey and my Swag bag. Nice breezy ride. Life is good. Will be riding again in 17. Come cheer me on or ride with me. read more

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Overall, this was a really fun ride, and I would recommend it to casual riders. Of course I can only relate my own personal experience; you may have other viewpoints. I'm writing this review to help others plan. My friend and I did this ride on 11/5/2022. We live in west Orange County and Long Beach, but we did not get a hotel room for Friday night. Instead, we left Los Alamitos at about 5:15 AM, and despite a bit of traffic due to an accident in San Juan Capistrano, we got there in one hour. When we got there, there was no real traffic around the pier area, but we knew where we were going anyway. If you go there expecting there to be signs directing you to parking, you may waste some time looking for it. Also, for some reason I was expecting free parking, but all 4 lots shown on their parking map are pay lots and were not free. Still, it was only $5 for all day parking, so not a complaint. If you arrive on your bike, the easiest way to the check-in is to go the the corner of Pacific St and 1st St, where 1st goes down the hill to The Strand. Turn right at the bottom, and go past the restrooms, where you will see the signs to check-in. If you arrive on foot, you can go straight to the base of the pier at Pacific & Pier View Way, and go down the stairs. Of course, you can also carry your bike down the stairs at the base of the pier, if you're comfortable with that. Check-in was easy and fast. It's cool that you can submit your waiver online, because I forgot my paper copy. There was only one vendor selling coffee at the start (Bistro at the Pier), and it was $5 for a small (12oz) cup, so I declined. The event itself does not provide coffee. Our ride (the 50 mile) was scheduled to start at 7:45 (first wave), but they actually started about 7:30. If I had wanted to start with the first wave, that would have been annoying. But technically, once you have checked in, you can start whenever you want. The rider instructions say "Follow traffic laws", "follow the rules of the road", and "stop at ALL stop signs", but when you are in a large bunch of cyclists, that's very hard to do, and may even cause an accident if you stop and the rider behind you can't stop before hitting you. Still, if there is cross traffic, cyclists should give them a chance to cross. After a few miles, the bikes spread out, making it easier to obey stop signs. I saw cops, but I didn't see any writing tickets. Following the route was not hard, but I was expecting "route arrows" on the pavement like other events use. Instead, they had their own colored arrow signs placed on posts and poles, so you had to keep your eyes peeled. Better yet, study the route beforehand and use the cue sheet. They provide a printed cue sheet at the start, but the print was too small for me, so I used one I had printed out. SAG stops were well run for the most part, and provided everything you would expect. I would have asked for a few trash cans out by the bike parking so that you don't have to fight the crowd to throw out your trash. I witnessed one nasty fall, but fortunately a rider support van arrived in just a couple of minutes. This rider was transported by ambulance. I would say the accident had nothing to do with how the event was run, but I was very thankful that the support van arrived so soon. The route was as safe as they could make it. Those who complain that it is a "dangerous" route, I think, just don't ride on the street much. There are a few places, where you have to turn left, that could be risky if you're not used to using the left turn lane. One bit of advice to riders: If there is more than one left-turn lane, USE THE OUTSIDE LANE. That should be self-explanatory, but if you use an inside lane, then you have to cut through the traffic to get back to the right after the turn. There was one turn where there were THREE left turn lanes, and the riders were still using the inside lane; this is dumb and dangerous. If I had one major complaint about the way the ride was run, it would be this: When I finished, I was not directed where to go to collect my medal, food voucher, and SWAG. There were two areas: the "booths" where everyone can go, and the "riders-only area", where food vouchers can be used. I eventually found the "booth" where I could pick up my medal, but it had absolutely no sign identifying itself. Also, the person who gave me my medal did not point out that the food voucher was tucked behind it, so I went back looking for it. My last complaint was that the music was too loud, and it was pointed directly at the food vendors, at close range. That was intolerable for me, so I ended up going elsewhere for food. Maybe if there had been more food vendors, the lines wouldn't have been so long. Thank you to all the organizers and volunteers; you do a great job making this event fun. read more

Had a great time this year compared to last year. Last year was a bit confusing as to where to go on the route, this year a lot better. This is our third year riding this event. My only complaint is why don't they have somewhere or something set up where you can get or take photos. You'll see photographs along your ride but can never find any photos. So that why I am giving this event a 4star. read more

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It was a fun gathering of people and we had a great time, but my complaint are very similar to those I read. Although the course was pretty clearly marked, it took us on some very dangerous roads without bike paths. Cars were speeding by with very little regards to our safety because they weren't expecting bikes on those roads. The first stop was after riding 15 miles. We were told 10 to 12 miles between aid stations. There were no emergency people at either station to help or check on the welfare of participants. If someone couldn't finish the ride, there was no emergency transportation. Nobody had any idea what to do in an emergency. Then, as I was finishing my 58 mile ride, there were people just starting their second loop for the century ride. When I got back, they were out of medals, food trucks were closing, everything was being torn down. What about the 100 milers? They come back to a dark empty pier with no food or medal?!!? You k ow how many people registered in advance. How do you run out? This was poorly planned, poorly executed, and poorly run. Next time I'll forgo the registration and just take a bike ride. read more

I and a group a friends participated in Bike the Coast event on October 2015. It was not a good experience overall despite the work of the volunteers who supported the ride. It just wasn't well organized or designed for an organized 100-mile route. It actually may have been more enjoyable doing a ride through this area on our own. The route incorporates a large number of intersections that force riders to stop frequently. The large numbers of riders would constantly bunch up and where there were bike lanes, it was hard to space out within the lanes. Many of participants (myself included -- my citation is several hundreds of dollars) received tickets from police who were rather aggressive in pulling over cyclists particularly around rest stops. The signage on this course wasn't great -- it was hard to catch the yellow arrows that were placed on the route, many of which were obscured by parked vehicles. This is what caused us to get lost within the first hour of the ride and led to me being pulled over by a police officer. Cue sheets were distributed but the complexity of the route and turns made it difficult to follow cue sheets as we rode. Many other participants reported getting lost after missing a turn because the signage issues. There were some outright dangerous situations on this course where we had to negotiate through very busy traffic and intersections with no assistance or presence of any police or event volunteers. This was made worse by the fact that there were so many participants squeezed into narrow bike lanes that space was limited. There were also several turns on this route that put us in risky situations, having to make left turns with poor visibility of on-coming traffic or in congested areas where cars were again impatient with the volume of cyclists trying to negotiate through in VERY narrow spaces. Again, there were no volunteers, police nor even signage to mediate these risky situations -- we were completely left to our own devices. The course design was not conducive to long-distance cycling. The route was made up of two 50-mile loops full of stop signs and traffic lights that impeded our progress and caused significant congestion of the cyclists. We could not maintain any kind of speed or rhythm, and with such slow progress in large groups, it meant we had to ride very slow (made worse by significant heat that day). The nail in the coffin for our group in regard to this ride was that the main aid station at the 50-mile point RAN OUT OF WATER. This was unbelievable for such an usually hot day (which was foreseen a week in advance by the organizers) and for the main aid station at the base of the ride. Despite signing up for the Century, we decided it wasn't worth trying to continue in this event. To their credit, the organizers invited me back with an offering, but I have no inclination to return to this ride after my experience. read more

The coordinators for this event are rude. The course was barely marked, half the time you are just praying you're going the right way. My friend was run over by another cyclist and the med vehicle took over an hour to get to us. There were only 2 rest stations and they were not allergy friendly which seems ridiculous in 2016. The event was out of water when we arrived for our wave. We were the 50 mile wave, which is only the 2nd wave of the day, that is brutal. The course itself was beautiful until mile 27-28 then it went from gorgeous to dangerous and severely under marked. Cyclist safety is clearly not a priority for this event. I'm very disappointed, was hoping to add it to my yearly roster. Also, the bracelets they have at the end instead of medals were lame AF. I just rode 50 miles (and some rode 100!) I want a damn medal. Food was chill though, beer options were minimal. read more

Apparently I'm not the only one disappointed by this ride, but I those who have ridden in other organized rides will know this is not the way it ought to be done. And if you were to take a ride out of Solvang or Santa Maria, you have less congested country roads. After all, I don't enjoy riding in heavy traffic through the center of towns, stopping frequently at red lights and stop signs, in Encinitas, Carlsbad, Leucadia, etc. And often in those rural areas to the North where there is a major intersection, instead of predatory police waiting to ticket you for failing to stop, they are out of their cars waving you you through. So contrast that with the police in Encinitas, Carlsbad and Leucadia who have put themselves in an adversarial relationship with the riders, anxious to give expensive tickets, knowing how notorious we can be for going through stops when we can see its safe to do so. And this adversarial relationship occurs with the blessings of the Ride the Coast organizers who choose not to use any leverage they have for adding so much to the economies of these beautiful villages. Bike the Coast, Oceanside could be implemented in a more caring way. There are many other rides to choose from. Never again will I be taken for this ride. read more

This was a total waste of time the ride was not marked correctly I spoke with more than one rider that got lost along the way. The festival at the end was the biggest joke I had to wait 20 min to get a beer and the $5 that they gave you for racing 50 miles didn't get me anything I still had to pay an extra $3 to eat and more to get water with my meal. Stay away from this race since it is not a race it's once for fun. read more

I personally will not do this ride again. The communication of the staff there to help you was non existent. The jersey that you pay $80 for was cheaply made, as was the finishers medal. The ride it's self was poorly marked with black signs hidden behind bushes. The festival afterwards was also very disappointing. The only reason there are two stars on my review is because of the view during the ride and the rest stops were also nice. read more

This was my first "ride/race" as I recently took up cycling as a means to get back into shape. I signed up for the 25 mile ride and picked up my jersey and packet the day before right by the pear. After some initial confusion by the workers about the merchandise pickup, it went smoothly and I was in and out in less than 10 minutes. The very next day I arrived to find THOUSANDS of riders eagerly awaiting their start time. The staff did a great job of going over all the rules of the road and gave a warning about the Encinitas Police that loves to give out tickets for rolling through stop signs. I appreciated that as I am guilty of that due to still getting used to clipping in and out of pedals. My one critique would be that at the SAG stop, by the time the 25 mile people got there (the 50 and 100 folks left long before us) they were already out of the peanut butter sandwiches and we just had trail mix and oranges. Just something for the event coordinators to consider for next year. I will definitely participate next year and will hopefully try the 50 or 100 next year! read more