The Windmill Century will be held on July 17th, 2010. It will Begin and end at PIONEER PARK, in Santa Maria, California, off Highway 101 in northern Santa Barbara County. See lush valleys, picturesque wineries, and scenic country roads. Choose from a century, a metric or a 26-mile ride.

Entry fee includes: rest stops, lunch, SAG support, event t-shirt*, and a Santa Maria style BBQ!!! Proceeds from this event go towards purchasing bicycles, locks & helmets for our yearly BIKE SAFETY & GIVEAWAY CONTEST at local elementary schools.

Registration fee: $55 Late Registration fee: $65 Registration begins soon

Read some of our participants comments from last year's ride below.

Mark Lyon Wrote:

The Tailwinds did another wonderful job presenting this year's Windmill! I rode the century and had a great day. The food was yummy and well presented, course well marked and you had a good route sheet. The best part was the barbeque lunch. This was the best tasting bbq ever. The portions were generous. I brought home the leftovers and will eat for days! Good job all around! I will be back next year. 

Bill and Patti Jucha Wrote:

We hope you can share this with all the wonderful people responsible for this past weekend's event. Just a short note to say how much we enjoyed your Windmill Century ride last Saturday. It was the first time we've participated in one of  Tailwinds BC's events and we enjoyed every aspect of the day. We ride our Tandem in many events all over the Western States every year. We always find something enjoyable about each of the rides, but your Windmill Century is outstanding in every way possible and by a long margin. This includes:

The volunteers, in every instance, were the nicest and genuinely friendliest group that we have seen... from the moment we entered the parking lot until we left at the end of the day, everyone was consistently friendly, smiling and made us 'visitors to your event' feel very welcomed.

The rest stops were particularly well placed on the 100 miler and well stocked with good munchies, fruit and  managed by very friendly hosts.

The course was well marked, had a great layout (except for that little surprise uphill around mile 80 going up to the Vandenberg tracking station--yikes on our tandem! ) and is one course that we will certainly ride again.

The Tri Tip dinner was fabulous.... and again... the people on the line were super friendly and fun to laugh and joke with.

The weather was more than we could have hoped for in California in July...just fabulous. 

We think your ride is an incredible riding opportunity that more people need to know about....we promise that we will do our part to pass along the good word as our  way of saying 'thank you' to everyone.

Best wishes.

The ride routes can be found below:

Windmill 26 Mile Ride Route (14.5 kb)	Windmill 60 Mile Ride Route (15.3 kb)	Windmill 100 Mile Ride Route (16.6 kb)	Windmill 9 Mile Route - Wheelin Warriors (13.8 kb)

Our Windmill Century ride is a scenic ride that begins at Pioneer Park in Santa Maria, CA. (note location change from last year). Santa Maria is located on U.S. Highway 101, in northern Santa Barbara County, in the heart of one one of the nations premier wine regions. It is about 190 miles north of Los Angeles and approx. 260 miles south of San francisco. We are just 30 minutes from Pismo Beach and 12 minutes north of the historic community of Los Alamos. On your ride you'll see lush valleys, vineyards and ranches while cycling on country roads. You will have a choice of a full Century, Metric Century & 26 Miler. Your entry fee includes rest stops with snacks and water, route sheets, lunch, SAG support, an event t-shirt* and a Santa Maria Style BBQ at the end of each ride. You are also able to purchase extra BBQ meals for the price of $7.00 which include Top Block or a Vegetarian Meal. Be sure to State BBQ or Vegetarian Meal. A yellow wrist band will be worn by riders with a single meal. A red wrist band will be worn by riders purchasing an extra meal. Century Riders will be allowed to begin riding at 6:30 followed by Metric Riders at 7:30 and 26 Milers at 8:30 allowing rest stops to be set up in time for riders. Remember there is Safety in numbers but always travel with traffic on the right side of the road and ride single file. Please do not ride side by side even in a wide bike lane. Be sure to wear your helmet, make sure your bike is in safe condition and bring tools and tire repair kits. The roads will be well marked and please stop at all stop signs. Remember even if you have the right of way, always give way to the automobile. There will be a list of Hotels and Motels for added information and a map how to get to Pioneer Park soon. Also we hope to have Elevation Gains for the rides. The 26 miler is basically flat and easy.