Tour De Palm Springs

Did the 2016 25 miler with my girlfriend. We are both mid-​entry-​level road bikers. have been biking for a little under a year. The 25 miler was lots of fun and not too much elevation gain. There were a few slight inclines… but you could take your time getting up and then cruise back down. The event staff was helpful. The parking was easy (parked at a nearby casino. plenty of room) and online registration was easy… I just picked up my bib the morning of the ride near the event start.
Biking/​road conditions — the local police did an excellent job stopping traffic at busy intersections. There are so many cyclist that much of the time we took up an entire lane. which in the end was safe for both cyclists and car drivers. I always felt very safe on the road.
They provided LOTS of food and drink at the halfway point. Gatorade, water, bananas, Cliff Bars, gels, etc etc. They had a mechanic at the halfway point as well. Great volunteers too. Definetely for great charity causes and will be back again next near! Highly recommend.

This is my first time to attend the Tour De Palm Springs. I did 100 miles and felt everything was very organized from register, pick up my packet, to the police out on the route directing traffic and SAG support. I felt the SAG support can be a little better, instead giving us peanut butter jelly sandwich for lunch, I felt we should get little better than that. Plus every SAG stop, there is no one at entrance actually check if the rider has register number sticker in front of the bike. The weather was perfect to ride, had great time with my buddies. I would ride this event again hopefully they will improve the SAG going forward.

Really fun ride. 70% of the course had police present and if really felt safe. Did my first century ride here and may do it again next year.

I was nervous about this ride after reading all of the horrible reviews BUT. It was a ton of fun!
Sure it was close to 100 degrees out, but I’ll take heat over the «Satanic headwinds» I saw referenced in another review for the ride.
The road/​city riding isn’t as bad as everyone says it is. They have cops directing traffic and there’s not a lot of vehicle traffic. In fact, I’d ride the TDPS 50 mile route before I rode San Vicente on a Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. or the L. A bike path on the weekends.
The scenery was pretty dang good and there was plenty of food and Gatorade to go around at all of the stops (in fact, there were more SAGs then marked on our map!)
Bonus: The route isn’t heavily policed, making it easy to get a head start if you want. (9 a.m. is WAY to late to start a long ride when it’s expected to be that f-​in’ hot.)
Shuttle Riders Beware: I took the last bail shuttle available (did I mention it was 100 degrees out?). If this happens to you, expect it to take just as long if not longer to get back to your car (After about 45 minutes on board our driver said «Does anywhere know where the start is because I don’t know where I’m going.»)
Fellow cyclists were cool for the most part, but expect to have at least 1 – 3 aggravating moments.

I did the 2015 century ride and it was fantastic! There were cops at many lights and intersections helping to direct traffic, which was awesome because it made me feel safe and it made it so we didn’t have to stop at every light and stop sign. At each SAG stop there were plenty of volunteers, medics, bike mechanics and they have live music, which was really fun. The course was also well marked. There were a few times I was alone on the road without any riders in sight, but I was easily able to figure out where to go. The more signage the better! The only thing that was kind of annoying was at the end of the ride, about the last 10 miles or so because all the other rides (the 50, 30, etc.) all end together so it got really congested towards the end and you could ride as fast as you wanted. May be helpful to close off more lanes during the last 10 miles since every race is finishing at the same time. Overall, I had a great time and look forward to riding it again!

First year and such a poor experience. It was a great and challenging riding experience but it being the 17^th year, the event is so poorly organized and so unfortunately geared towards professional riders that it made it so underwhelming to get to the end.
There were 3 sag stops for the 55 mile riders. The first stop was closing up shop because they said they were the last 100 mile stop. Um, the 50 milers just started so we ended up with nothing more than a bathroom break at that stop. The next sag stop had most of the stuff in a truck already. Luckily we got some cool drinks and some sunscreen. We had to ask someone for something to eat and thankfully someone dug out some bananas from the truck. Third rest stop was a little busier but by then I had almost lost my will to continue on but I got another banana and kept going to the finish. The entire day I had my protein bar and 1.5 bananas to sustain me so when I crossed the finish line I felt horrible.
People always say it’s a ride not a race. Safety first. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel very safe riding through the desert.
On a personal level, it was a very challenging ride. I’m glad I finished it and even more glad I didn’t pass out from heatstroke and lack of refueling supplies.

I did the 100-​mile ride today. On a personal level, it was my best century. However, the safety on this ride was nonexistent and I had a few close calls. Riders wearing their headphones and not calling out before passing you on the left. And my favorite, running red lights!!! I yelled at a few of them. The organizers didn’t have a safety speech at the beginning of the ride like other events do. Very alarming!
There’s a lot of riders on this event that don’t hold their lines and are a complete hazard on the road. Too many to ignore. Even though I did great today, I won’t be doing the ride again. Not worth it.

Not the best organized event ever, gritty hotels, and the finish line is always a dumpster fire. But other than that: great weather, great scenery, and great restaurants!

Knowing how many participants there are & that they do this annually, it’s not good management to run out of «snacks» at the first stop & the slim pickings at the second stop.
There was a serious accident that crushed a biker’s bike into a ball & sent her to the ER when she was hit by a fast going car (hearing 65 mph). Of course, there are always risks with races, but just an FYI.
TIP: A lot of racers are at the start so the first few miles are very slow. To avoid this, you’ll want to start the race at a later wave. Heck, you could even sleep in an extra hour!

This was my first century ride. It was wonderful! A little windy and hilly for the first ten miles or so but that was good because it made me pace myself so I would have plenty of energy for later in the ride.
The first SAG stop was too soon at around 22 – 23 miles so I skipped it and didn’t stop until after the 50 mile mark at a very well organized and well stocked SAG with rest rooms, food, water, and a band! So much fun!
Three more SAGs well positioned over the last 40 miles made finishing the ride a breeze.
I’ll definitely do this one again next year!

Did the 100-​mile route this year. Surprised there was no bib or goodie bag at check-​in? Weather was great — the first 15 miles was near the area with all the wind farms, and guess what — it was windy! Police did a good job of directing traffic, but I have to say, the cyclists as a whole made this one less than safe — lots of passing on the right, taking up entire lanes, massing at stoplights (or blowing thru stop signs)…I’ve seen other rides where safety is really emphasized — not so much here. The ride itself was really nice — good weather, good route, good spacing of SAG stops. I got to them all early enough to get food, but some of the people after me didn’t…seriously — everyone pays $ 65, and you run out of food? I’ll do it again though — Palm Springs is a fun city to do this in.

This was my first year doing the Tour. I did the 55 mile ride. VERY DISAPPOINTED, NEVER AGAIN!!!
The Pros: Nice scenery.
The Cons: Poorly organized, poor support/​uninformed volunteers, illogical SAG intervals, rude riders, no bibs or goodies… generally lame!
We checked in the night before. We asked the vendors who has their booths set up where registration was and no one knew. There were no signs to indicate where it might be and the web-​site gave a vague area to look but nothing specific. When we found it, all we got was a lame wrist band… no bib or maps and we couldn’t pick up our T-​Shirt.
THE RIDE:
SAG stop were at strange intervals — 12 miles, 40 miles and 45 miles. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE CLEAR THAT I WAS NOT A LATE RIDER WHO WAS THE LAST TO GET TO THESE STOPS.
The first SAG stop «ran out» off food but promised they would be better supplied at the second. So all we got was oranges, water and Gatorade. No bike techs for minor adjustment etc.
At the 2^nd SAG stop, no bike tech and (you guessed it) — NO FOOD AGAIN! The volunteers got an earful from several riders (including myself). They said that they had «ran out». However, when we looked around all we saw were trash bags full of orange peels and empty water bottles — no bar wrappers or banana peels etc. So I called Bull — - on that one immediately! After filling myself with oranges (since that’s all they had), I continued on. When the next SAG stop came — just 5 miles later — I assumed that I would get the same BS story about running out of food there and just blew by it and went to the finish (as did many other riders). Of course, I found out later that that was the stop where they actually HAD food. When we got to the end, we got a cheap, cotton T-​shirt and that was it. No goodies etc.
Signage: It would have been nice to have people/​volunteers at certain intervals to be sure signage was correct and/​unimpaired. At the point where the 55 and 100 mile route split, there were a bunch of riders blocking the sign so many went off in the wrong direction. Instead of having 100 people handing out nonexistent food at the SAG stops, how about having them keep rude/​inconsiderate riders from blocking signs and/​or pointing riders in the right direction. Also, on the 100 mile route someone had covered up the signage with their own «yard sale» sign… and many 100 milers ended up on a little detour.
Riders: I am by no means an «experienced rider» but even I have the good sense to know to move out of the way/​single file when someone yells «car back», so that the car can safely pass. Instead riders would block entire lanes so cars couldn’t get through. They also blew through stop signs and some intersections. On the 100 mile route this ended in a fatality. And don’t even get me started on the idiots who would swerve all over the place when others were trying to pass… or would swerve out to pass without first looking to see if someone was alongside and/​or behind them!
DEAR ORGANIZERS: you may want to brief people on road safety and manner when riding.
Road Support: Someone that I did the ride with was stranded on the road with bike flipped over (clearly needing help) for an hour. She had a flat that blew through her tire. So it could not be fixed with just a tube. After several call to the main number and no recognizable support people on the road, a motorcycle finally stopped and asked if she needed help. It turns out, the people on the motorcycles were the road support — but they were all wearing their own clothes. NOT EVEN A RIDE T-​SHIRT! They phoned in that she needed help and to bring a TIRE, NOT a tube. And of course the van shows up with two women that knew NOTHING about bikes and… a tube… NOT a TIRE!!! So they load her bike into a van with no bike racks and take her to a SAG stop on the 100 mile route where they changed her tire… AND THEN THEY REFUSED TO TAKE HER BACK TO THE 55 MILE ROUTE! They then proceeded to sit on their butts in the van doing NOTHING! The van driver sent her to talk to someone who directed her to a large bus. She went and sat on the bus (again no bike rack). After a few minutes passed and the bus didn’t move, she asked the driver how long it would be. The driver informed her that he wouldn’t leave until the bus «was full»… however long that might take!!! This was now almost 2 hours wasted… so rather than sit there and wait she had to finish the ride on the 100 mile route. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WTF???
IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHARGE $ 50 – 100 FOR A FULLY SUPPORTED RIDE — THEN THERE BETTER BE ACTUAL SUPPORT. We will never do this ride again… wish I could sent them back the crappy t-​shirt and get my money back!

I did the century with a girlfriend this year and will NEVER EVER waste my time on this one again. I would preface this by saying ALL of the reviews I have read on this ride previously indicated it’s the «easiest century ever.» I call complete horse crap on that statement– quite simply for the first 10 miles. The most brutal headwinds I have EVER experienced– times 5. Then double that. I normally keep a clip of 15 – 20, so no Lance Armstrong by any means, but I’m in decent shape. However– it literally took me an hour to squeak my way through that valley of gale force winds. I would imagine that may be what hell feels like. I jest a bit, but it was awful. Rogue winds would fly by, carrying sand that would smack your helmet, stick to your face, go up your nose and get in your teeth. Super enjoyable. On the other hand, I won’t need a microderm this month, so there’s always that.
The century SAG stops had plenty of food, but they were TOTALLY terribly spaced out. I HIGHLY recommend the organizers add a stop around mile 12 – 15 to help the battered participants coming in from hurricane highway get their head back in the game. They made is wait until mile 20. MILE TWENTY. Seriously? And unlike other centuries I have done in the past, there is NO place for you to pull over and grab a bottle of water, snack or potty stop at a gas station. There is literally nothing between the starting line and the first SAG stop. So if you’re like me, and part camel, you will have to totally ration your water on this first leg to not completely dehydrate.
Besides the satanic headwind, the rest of the ride is a lot of long, gradual climbing and rolling hills. My only complaint there is that the scenery gets real old, real fast. It’s not like beautiful downtown Palm Springs with the impressive mountains right there, it’s a tumbleweed, a cactus, lots of dust, some sand, and an occasional piece of trash. Riding through Palm Desert was a different story, but that’s such a TINY portion of the ride, it hardly makes up for the other dull views.
I agree with the other riders who stated how irresponsibly people were riding. Hardly anyone used the courtesy calls, «on your left», «car back,» etc. People were passing on the right all over the place and very few people looked before pulling out to pass. One lady literally rode her bike in an S shape the entire ride. For one. hundred. MILES. Swerving back and forth and back and forth. I watched her almost cause an accident more times than I could count.
For things the organizers can control going forward– ADD SAG STOPS earlier in the ride. Have food for the riders on the shorter routes– the century riders had food for days at every stop. Also, start communication with the participants WAY earlier before the event. Not emailing us twice the week of.
Honestly, I won’t be back. Some people sounded like they had a very different experience. Next time I hit the desert it will be to stay at the Riveria with a Pina Colada in my hand. I’ll save the bike events for a better location with a more organized host.

This was my third Tour de Palm Springs since 2007 and it was such a great day – I could do this every weekend! The weather was the best!
I did the Century this year (minus 8 miles) because I couldn’t get my a_​s out of bed early enough to prep me and the bike and start riding until 8 am so I cut off the 8 mile century supplement at the start to catch up.
Such great folks come out for this ride! OMG, If you take the time to talk a bit you meet the most interesting positive people along the way from all over the country. I road a few miles with some retired and active firefighters from Los Angeles and the surrounding cities – great folks that are committed to certain charities; a man that came down from Anchorage, Alaska for the Century that has the best stories about riding in Alaska; an attorney from Vancouver, BC that rides there regularly; and then there were the school bands playing for you, the people that come out of their homes to line the road and cheer you on. It was a fantastic day!
The speeds at some points through the desert were exhilarating! Coming down some of the slopes on Dillon with the wind at my back propelled me over 40 MPH on three separate occasions!
As far as the rest stops – I did not use one until after the 50 mile point. I have done many a charitable ride in my day and I do not like to hang out in rest stops unless absolutely needed – I like to keep the ride moving. So I prepare myself beforehand with one bottle of water – and ration myself, a couple of Clif Shot Gel Double Expresso’s, a couple of Clif Shot Blocks w/​Caffeine, a banana, an apple, a Van’s Cranberry Almond Gluten Free Bar, and a Kind Vanilla Blueberry Gluten Free Bar works for me. Basically, I prepare to take the ride as if there was no support and I was riding alone for 100 miles. I bring some $$ to buy water if needed. The first 3 rest stops I road by were jammed, but the one after 50 miles – the 4^th looked civilized, about 25 cyclists there, and I pulled in, easy bathroom, refilled my water, refilled my Clif blocks and shots, stretched, and took off again within 10 minutes or so. Stopped at only one other one to refill water that was running low because it was getting hotter. They also had some great dates there wish I could have stayed all day eating. The 2 rest stops I did use after 50 miles were very well stocked and some of the best I have seen on charitable rides.
Here are some pluses and minuses and suggestions for cyclists planning on doing the next Tour de Palm Springs or really any mass cycling ride:
+Rest stops (later on) well stocked with Arrowhead bottled water to refill.
+Fast speeds through the rolling desert first 50 miles if you want to go fast.
+Nice fellow cyclists to chat with.
+Temps in the high 60’s to low 70’s most years – perfect for cycling.
+Easiest Century because there are no severe climbs and most hills are rolly – it’s a flat ride mainly although you may have pump into wind a bit especially at the start for 10 or so miles.
+Fun ending in downtown palm springs with bands and restaurants.
— — —
–You have to ride this ride like you are riding alone – after you leave the gate there are almost No police controls until you get within a mile of the finish. You must independently watch for cars passing, and at intersections. There will be a lot of cyclists around you, but you must exercise independent judgment. It’s not a closed course at any point.
–They do not give out numbers or bibs, just a wrist bracelet that allows access into the pits. I prefer numbers but they don’t do that here. They keep it simple easy.
— — —
Suggestions:
MOST IMPORTANT: 1. If you do not regularly maintain your bike, this is good time before this ride to bring it to a shop for a tune. Come to this ride with 2 good tires and healthy tubes and well lubricated chain and working dérailleur and brakes. You want to minimize any potential for breakdown as much as possible so you have a happy and easy ride. It’s well worth the investment beforehand. You will be riding in remote desert locations without services for miles.
2. Bring at least 1 new tube and a tire removal plastic tool and a mini pump. There will be people to help you, but it’s helpful if you have the tools/​parts ready to go.
3. Get as much sleep as possible the night before. I know a lot of people go to office work on 4 hours and coffee it up. If you do this for cycling, you will dull your divided attention mental abilities and place yourself at greater risk of an accident, not to mention fatigue after 75 miles.
4. Bring your favorite things to eat during the ride like when you ride with the club – you never know what is going to be in a rest stop.
5. Come to the ride to enjoy the scenery and your fellow cyclists. The people who ride this ride are the reason I love it so much, otherwise I would ride it alone. If you are not with your group or club, make it goal to make a new friend on this ride – it’s easy.

Keep in mind this is just my opinion… And, I might even give it another shot next year.
100 Mile Route:
Positives–
— Palm Springs is a great city
— Weather was amazing (it was really windy for the first couple hours but it was so windy that it was basically funny)
— Student volunteers
Negatives–
— Route poorly marked (large groups of riders, including myself got off route and had to spend lots of time on the 111)
— Lots of police presence at intersections early on but not enough police or other volunteers at busy intersections later on
— Lack of communication between organizers/​registrants
— Too many litter-​bugs
— Too many riders blowing through stop signs/​lights
— Too many riders using full lanes of traffic unnecessarily
Lastly, this year included a horrible accident where cyclist La Vonne Koester was killed.

I did the 56 mile course this year and had a great time. I love Palm Springs and it’s a great setting for a bike ride. I’m considering doing the century next year, but might want to do another one (in a less windy area) sooner.
The weather was freezing! (I know, event organizers can’t control this!) The day before, it was snowing in Banning, and it was raining in Palm Springs. The day of the ride, it wasn’t raining, but it was somewhere in the 30s when we started and warmed up into the 50s throughout the day. With wind chill, that’s cold!
It was super-​duper windy. I was actually pretty scared for much of the ride. My shoulders and hands hurt from constantly gripping my handlebars and trying to maintain balance on my bike. The winds were so strong I was afraid that I was going to be blown off of my bike into a ditch, or worse, into oncoming vehicular traffic.
I wish the 56-​mile course didn’t have such relentless inclines. I don’t mind pedaling like a madwoman up a hill, but it’s not as fun when the hill doesn’t end for several miles, only to be followed by another hill. The hills weren’t that steep, they just went on forever. Perhaps it was the winds that made the climbs seem worse than they were. The ride was pretty brutal due to the strong gusts. Maybe it would have been cake without the wind. It’s hard to tell without re-​riding the course on a still day.
The course map was wrong. The one listed online was correct, but then they gave us course maps in the morning that were different… and incorrect. Thankfully, there were so many people on the ride that there was always someone to follow, and we kept sharp eyes out for signage.
Scenery is majestic. The snow capped mountains are a breathtaking sight. Rolling hills dotted by palm trees and windmills are beautiful. The ride begins and ends in downtown Palm Springs, which is filled with shops, art galleries, and restaurants. It’s a fun place to walk around after the ride. (After a hot shower of course!)
SAG stops were fine. There was plenty of fruit, gatorade, water, etc. The second to last SAG stop was my favorite– there was a wide variety of energy drinks which were a nice change from the usual water and gatorade. I did find it odd that they had PB&J sandwiches at the last stop, which was a few miles away from the finish. It would have been better to have them at the second-​to-​last stop, instead of right before you finish and want to eat an actual meal.
The volunteers were great. It’s fun to get cheered on by high school bands and local families.
This ride supports a bunch of worthy charities.
A post-​ride meal would have been appreciated. Pasta or a burrito… anything. Give us a coupon that we can redeem for a meal right after the finish line.
The expo at this ride is one of the best I’ve been to. There are plenty of vendors with fitness gear and an impressive array of food trucks. It actually seemed that there were significantly more food trucks this year– crepes, Hawaiian food, pizza, gyros… there were many options for every taste. The sock guy was back this year, although, I did note that he raised his prices a little bit. There is a lot of clothing and gear at drastically reduced prices, but the down-​side is that not every vendor has a changing room area. I bought a jersey and a sweatshirt, from a couple vendors, but I was hesitant to buy a cute pair of cycling shorts for fear they would be too big or too small when I tried them on at home.
The t-​shirts aren’t the greatest. With all of the incredibly talented artists and designers in Palm Springs, frankly, I am surprised they don’t have better looking shirts. Palm Springs has so many gorgeous things that can be used as inspiration for a shirt design– mountains, palm trees, windmills, etc. The simplistic and cartoony design that re-​appears in slightly different formats each year is boring.
I’ll emphasize my comment from last year– get tech shirts! They’re much more comfy and people will actually wear them in public. I will gladly pay more for my registration to get a tech shirt instead of a cotton t-​shirt.

This ride was my second century and I thought it was terribly organized.
CONS:
The rest stops were at really irregular intervals — 17 miles, 11 miles, 27 miles!?, 18 miles, 12 miles — We did over a quarter of the ride from one SAG to the next.
Food was nothing special at the reststops.
Instead of having racks to store bikes, they had a row of like 10 people who could each hold 2 bikes… not so useful for the hundreds of people at every reststop!
Route arrows pointed the wrong way several times. Also, route deviated from the coursemaps they handed out right before the ride.
Despite the presence of many back roads, they had us ride on major streets in traffic for the last 20 miles or so. There were few cops at these points and we had to cross over several lanes of angry traffic to get into the left-​turn lanes on two occasions.
They ran out of my T-​Shirt size… what the hell is the point of asking me when I sign up?
SO many people and lots of them had no idea how to communicate basic things. Every mile or so there’d be someone on the side with their bike upside down and something wrong — just seemed like a lot of inexperienced riders slowing down the pace. My favorite were the three guys who decided to dismount and stand in the middle of the road after a left turn waving people on while blocking the path instead of moving their stuff off the course.
PROS:
They had local school bands at some rest stops which was nice.
Scenery was nice and there were some beautiful views of the desert.
After a pretty tough uphill in the beginning we were treated to an amazing downhill — almost hit 50mph and stretched for over 10 miles!
SUMMATION:
Glad I did it as I’m still building my endurance but not planning on doing it again. There are other rides that are executed much better.

Completed the 50 mile ride. This was an easy terrain what slows you down is the WIND! Otherwise almost anyone can complete this ride.

This ride was my first 100 mile ride in 2011. The course is great for any one making this their first 100. Last year we did the 50 mile course and with the winds I am glad I decided not to do the 100 miles. There is A LOT of people but once you get out there you start to spread out and the ride doesn’t seem to be so packed of course until you hit a SAG and then you realize how many people are actually out there with you. The riders on the ride were helpful, supportive and fun to be around. The volunteers were always happy and helpful, especially at the 2012 SAG Stops. Getting back into town both years it seemed the local residents were very frustrated with the amount of riders in their town and due to some riders with no regards to the laws of the road. So it made many drivers mad at all of the riders which made for a scary ride at times. But there was quite a bit of locals out during the whole ride cheering us on. We have about 20 to 25 riders in our group and this ride is the one that everyone seems to enjoy. We all will be back in 2013.
Tips:
1. There is a lot of people on this ride, just be patient.
2. Get there early so you can find parking if you need to drive there in the morning.
3. Coming back into town there is a lot of signals and drivers that don’t care that you have rode 40 or 80 miles already. So be aware and careful out there.
4. Make friends when you are out there. I met so many great people on this ride.
5. Get back before dark! They start taking everything down and you won’t be able to find your way back if you don’t know the area.

my first time at the Tour de Palm Springs. . rode together with my good friend, Sakabaka Dave, and in his words «it was an epic day!»
Yeah, the winds were brutal and being exfoliated by the blowing sand in 20+mph winds was no picnic. But it made for a truly memorable day. Ride organizers have no control over the winds. .
I found the registration easy and quick, tho’ it would have been helpful to have signs pointing the way to where it was located. I checked in after 2pm so missed the challenges that early arrivals mentioned. It seemed a much more efficient and fuller staffed registration than the Solvang Century rides that I have experienced. Numerous friendly and helpful volunteers. .. kudos to them for all of their help!
As for food: there was tons of stuff and lots of variety. .. water, bananas, oranges, cliff bars, fig newtons, several varieties of sandwiches… and other stuff I didn’t take advantage of. I never lacked for hydration or calories or energy sources. Well done.
As for signage: I agree, it could have been better. Note my registration comment above. Yeah signage on the road could have been better too. .. several of the turn signs were too close to the turn and made it difficult to get over to make the left turns. .. one left turn sign was on the island in the middle and could easily be blocked from sight by cars in the left turn lane. Yes, we did get off course once … briefly. No big deal. .. the course came right back to us … in fact, we followed a couple dozen who made the wrong turn and were followed by a couple dozen more.
As for variations in distance: the distance my GPS says that I rode seemed pretty close to the 102 that was advertized. .. I suspect if you lined up 10 people and compared their computer/​GPS readings you’d find quite a variety in the readings. My reading and Sakabaka Dave’s never match when we ride.
All I need to make it complete is an exfoliation treatment on the right side of my face to match the action taken on the left side. .. See you next year in the desert!