Pete's story: Pescadero Road Race
BaseCamp athlete Pete Chargin shared his experience at the 2026 Pescadero Coastal Classic Road Race and District Championships bike race in California.
This was my first ever road race. Tim says, "Succeed or learn," and boy, did I learn.
The race itself is in a beautiful area. It is the NCNCA USA Cycling regional championship, so there were plenty of people there. About 40 in my group. A lap and three quarters around a 28-mile loop for a total of 46 miles, with 4300 feet of elevation gain. After about a mile into the ride, there are two hills, each 3/4 mile and about 5%. Three-quarters through the loop, there is a climb of 1.5 miles at 7.5%, with the finish of the race at the top of the second time up this hill. Redwood groves, views of the ocean, and downhill technical sections, combined with the climbing, leave you breathless on this ride.
Brian Hammond had me as fit as possible for the ride, and I entered as a Cat 5 rider; I think I was the oldest one in the bunch. During the "neutral" rollout, where we almost had two crashes, I was next to a 14-year-old, where this was his first race, too. We both had a chuckle at the other person's age. He couldn’t believe an old fogie like me was doing a race for my first time.
After the neutral start, I did okay in the peloton; racing in a group is definitely different than gran fondos and training on my own. I got dropped near the top of the first hill and never saw the pack again. Let's just say that I finished in the bottom quarter of the field. I thought that I was in pretty decent shape, but road racing is a totally different ballgame. The good news is that even though I was very disappointed, I pushed alone through the whole course as well as I could and finished with a resolve to do better next time.
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