It’s hard to tell if you’ve never done a Taco Bell Century if it’s a good idea and maybe finishing one doesn’t clear it up either.
Kevin and Priscilla of Grizzly Cycles are veterans with this being their fifth edition and perhaps the toughest.
Doing a 105 mile clockwise loop out of Grizzly Cycles into the Central Valley you would be hard pressed to find enough locations to satisfy a cyclists need, but being the #5 franchise in the state it’s easy to Live Mas.
Our clockwise loop began in Bakersfield with an early stop in the southeast corner for our first stop for breakfast where I failed to be as able bodied with the app.
Most Californians don’t get a sense of the Central Valley whizzing by on the 5 or 99, but there are a number of modest sized towns as we rolled through the communities of Lamont and Arvin where there were plenty of non-Taco Bell options as well.
Heading to Wheeler Ridge (that most know for their outlets), we hit our first long stretches of dirt waddling through farmlands where we had to keep our heads up with a number of these oversized vehicles hard at work.
At about the halfway point, the heat and stopping started to hurt my pace not to mention my collection of tortilla based meals not sitting as well as others.
The California Aqueduct lay right behind where we followed fifteen miles along this waterway meandering around the gates impressed with all the engineering put into this vast infrastructure.
While all of our climbing was essentially done, we innocuously faced our toughest section of the day riding through the former lake bed of Buena Vista emptying the tank to stay upright riding through the deep salt deposits from way back when.
It took a few more miles to complete our longest stretch without stops (thirty five miles) settling in our most remote Taco Bell along Taft Highway.
This Taco Bell Century was taking its toll at this part eating what I want, not what I needed with twenty one miles left to finish off.
Strangely enough, a bike path connected us all the way into Bakersfield passing an isolated raceway and a number of planned communities that would have been great spots to call it quits.
Our final stop was only a mile from Grizzly Cycles and at this point, I went with what would barely qualify as food just to finish my requirements.
While not the ride we would normally choose, that’s the point of the Taco Bell Century to expand your thinking of what you can do on a bike…and maybe your stomach too.