Rice Valley Tandem Rally
February 8th

Tour de Ed
February

Tour of the Unknown Valley South
March 1st

Tour of the Unknown Valley North
March 29th

Chico Velo Wildflower Century
April 26th

Unknown Coast Weekend
September 19th-20th
Registration Forms
available May 1, 2009.

Quincy Weekend
October 17th-18th
Registration Forms
available May 1, 2009.

You can e-mail us at:
velo@chicovelo.org
for cycling related comments or questions. Please do not rely on us to answer your e-mail inquiries just prior to the Wildflower Century -- it gets kinda busy around here!

To report a problem or make a suggestion about our website, please contact us at scott@chicovelo.org

ANOTHER STAPLE OF THE CENTURY SERIES, THE UNKNOWN VALLEY has been in the Velo memory from inception. It's been done in both directions and seems to have settled in with two separate start points, even with all the problems that entails. We blatantly stole the name from the Tour of the Unknown Coast -- they have a coast no one knows about and we have a valley.
The century begins in Willows, taking old Hwy 99 south to Maxwell where the Metric Century starts/finishes. All riders zigzag south & west on farm roads toward the Coast Range. There are some short gravel* sections.
The riders, metric and full century, climb the serpentine switch backs of the Leesville Grade, hitting elevation at Windy Point Summit, 1,700' continuing north to Lodoga, 1,280'.
The ride from Leesville to Lodoga is the true Unknown Valley. It runs up the Bear Valley to Indian Valley to The Stony Creek drainage. At Lodoga the full and metric century routes split. 100 milers head north towards Stonyford and the Elk Creek rest stop. From Elk Creek you turn east onto Hwy 162 for the ride down to Willows. Don't miss the turn or you end up in a very pretty part of the Unknown Valley to Chrome and Burrows Gap.
The Metric riders stay straight at Lodoga for the short, steep climb up Grapevine Summit (1,844') and the very fast descent to Sites and back to Maxwell. To add a few more miles to the metric route, go through Stonyford, turn right on Rd 303 then right again on Rd 401, Rail Canyon Rd. It's not paved but is easily ridable on a road bike and comes out at Grapevine Summit.
The ride wraps up with a dinner at the Willows Fire Department World Famous Bean Feed. As always, there is a vegetarian option.
This ride draws between 200 and 300 riders depending on the weather. As of February 27, 2001, the off-road option on Old Wilbur Stage Rd. was closed to public traffic and is no longer available for off-road cycling.

*Note: This ride contains some gravel and dirt sections between Maxwell and Ladoga. In addition, there are sections of road that are VERY rough on this Century, so STRONG WHEELS and good tires are highly recommended(in other words, leave your 700x20s at home). Finally, the climbs up Leesville Grade and Grapevine Summit are not for the faint of heart - if you haven't been riding, don't make this ride your first one of the year! A sag vehicle WILL be present on this ride.....but the wait could take some time....so come prepared! Riders should be prepared for a variety of conditions - from wind to rain to heat.

You can download the registration packet. Click here.

You can download a detailed map (71K) of this ride in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format by clicking on the button below. However, because there might be minor routes changes from year to year, do NOT rely on this map for ride day -- always get a current map at registration.