If you want to ride your bicycle to the start and if Tilden Park is more convenient to you than the main start, you can sign in and begin the ride at a sign-in station at the first rest stop.
The first rest stop is at the Island Picnic area in Tilden Park. This is on Wildcat Canyon Road, near the Brazil Building (aka Brazilian Room).
The sign-in station at Island will be open 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. on Sunday May 2, 2010.
The sign-in station is only for pre-registered riders. There is no same day registration.
The Island rest stop has no parking for riders' cars. All available parking spaces there are reserved for century workers' vehicles. If you drive to Island to sign in, we will direct you to the main start.
You ride to the rest stop, next to the Brazilian Room, by any route you like. For the closest approximation to the regular route if you're coming from west of the hills, we recommend riding up Old Tunnel Road and Skyline, turning left onto Grizzly Peak Blvd and following the route from there. If these directions don't make any sense to you you're probably better off driving to the main ride start.
At the sign-in station you will get a wristband, a route sheet for the first loop, and other materials. After signing in you complete the north loop and end up at the regular lunch stop. After eating (and what is a GPC Century without eating?) you can do the south loop, ending up at the finish. At this point you can return to the west either by following the initial part of the North Loop route or by riding Moraga Rd, Moraga Way, Camino Pablo and Wildcat, or you can ride to either Lafayette or Orinda BART and take the train.