Carmel Rouleur Week in November
Bill Bryant
Carmel Rouleur Week 2026
Please join us for the Santa Cruz Randonneurs Carmel Rouleur Week from November 9-13. It will be a fine week of randonneuring in one of California’s most scenic regions. One can earn RUSA’s Rouleur Award in only five days, and for riders thinking of Paris-Brest-Paris next summer, the Rouleur Week will provide an excellent training camp to help prepare for your early season qualifying brevets. Plus, the Rouleur Week 200k brevet itself will count as a PBP qualifier too. Riders can enter all or some of the events.
Vertigo 200K Brevet -- the series kicks off on a Monday with a visit to San Juan Bautista for croissant at a cafe named after Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Vertigo. The climactic scene in Vertigo was filmed at the mission that the route passes. This out-and-back brevet features the Pebble Beach and Monterey Coast, the recreation trail through the sand dunes of Sand City, Seaside, and Marina, the headwaters of Elkhorn Slough State Marine Reserve with its abundant waterfowl and sea otters, traverses a section of the San Andres Fault, and turns around in San Juan Bautista. Approximately 5,600 feet of climbing.
Carmel Valley 100K Populaire -- A delightful Tuesday ride to the headwaters of the Carmel River with two substantial climbs and more gentle false flats riding on the way up to Cahoon Summit. The ride starts with a tour of Carmel Point with its distinctive Frank Lloyd Wright home and gorgeous coastline. Approximately 4,200 feet of climbing.
Big Sur Corniche 125K Populaire -- Absolutely stunning cycling down the most beautiful section of the Big Sur Coast and back the same way on Wednesday. Approximately 6,400 feet of climbing.
Pastures of Heaven 150K Populaire -- The Thursday ride takes riders around the Pebble Beach and Monterey Coast and then provides agricultural scenery until it arrives at the namesake Pastures of Heaven as John Steinbeck referred to them. A delightfully obscure climb leads to Los Laureles Grade and a speedy descent to Carmel Valley Road, and back to the start. Approximately 4,600 feet of climbing.
8-hr/120k Dart – The team randonnée on Friday is the concluding piece of the Rouleur Award and we will have several suggested routes of 120 kilometers or longer or you can make your own. Each team needs to have three to five riders (tandems count as one team member) and you can make up your team with other Rouleur Week participants.
The rides are scheduled so that riders can arrive on Sunday and leave on Friday and take advantage of lower weekday hotel rates. We are currently trying to line up a local hotel with reduced prices. Feel free to use our Calrando discussion group to find a roommate if desired: https://groups.google.com/g/calrando
All rides start and end near the Safeway at the Crossroads Center on the outskirts of Carmel. Entry info can be found at: https://santacruzrandonneurs.org
And, if you want to spend some time in the Carmel region before or after the Rouleur Week, or you are bringing along a companion who won’t be doing
the rides, there are lots of things to do:
-Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
-Monterey Bay Aquarium
-Fisherman’s Wharf Monterey and historic early California buildings
-Carmel with its touristy/artsy downtown
-Carmel River State Beach
-Carmel Beach
-Carmel Mission
-Big Sur Coast featuring the awesome burritos at the Big Sur River Inn Store, Pfeiffer and Garrapta Beaches, and drinks with a world class view at Nepenthe Restaurant
-San Juan Bautista with its beautiful mission and rustic downtown
We hope you will join us!
Lois, Bill, and Jack