Doublecross metric century - ride report

[neilfein]

The day after riding a metric century, and I feel pretty good. This was my second 100k ride, and I'm getting better at them. The first took 9 hours (a lot of breaks!), and this time it took around five and a half for The Historian (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=82612) and I to finish. It's somewhat easier with the rest stops, where you have incentive to stop only when everyone else does. This ride was a large event, and a well-organized one. It's very different riding with a large group, and this was my first organized group ride of any sort.

Great fun! I'd do one of their rides again.

Full writeup on my blog (http://www.neilfein.com/2007/07/delaware-white-clay-metric-century.html).

[The Historian]

The day after riding a metric century, and I feel pretty good. This was my second 100k ride, and I'm getting better at them. The first took 9 hours (a lot of breaks!), and this time it took around five and a half for The Historian (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=82612) and I to finish. It's somewhat easier with the rest stops, where you have incentive to stop only when everyone else does. This ride was a large event, and a well-organized one. It's very different riding with a large group, and this was my first organized group ride of any sort.

Great fun! I'd do one of their rides again.

Full writeup on my blog (http://www.neilfein.com/2007/07/delaware-white-clay-metric-century.html).

My time came in at 5:45. Neil F. was at least ten minutes faster than me at each of the first two rest stops. Fortunately he slowed down for the second half of the ride. Well, OK, fortunately for me. :-)

[The Historian]

My time came in at 5:45. Neil F. was at least ten minutes faster than me at each of the first two rest stops. Fortunately he slowed down for the second half of the ride. Well, OK, fortunately for me. :-)

Not to be outdone by other Neil:

An Ordinary Metric Century

Laboring under a sense of obligation can put a damper on your fun. If you let it.

And for a small part of the White Clay Bicycle Club's Delaware Double Cross Metric, I was letting obligation run riot. Steve Scheetz had been kind enough to look over my bike a few days before the ride. However, his payment for the service was a steep one. "I want to read a full write-up on the BCP list" he said as I backed out of his driveway. And a "full write up" was very much on my mind as I and my friends Henry and Neil (yes, two of us) pulled into the Middletown High School parking lot, the start of the ride. How would I give this event, this ride, an epic and heroic cast? "Bikes and the man, I sing...."

Thoughts of a grand account of the ride was the last thing I should have had on my mind. The lot was full of bikes and riders warming up, metal and flesh joined in a controlled madness of color. Diamond frame mountain and road bikes, recumbents, tandems, even a folder was being ridden. The sky was clear, and the sun shone on the brightly colored jerseys and shirts the riders wore. The riders from the other side of the parking lot looked like a moving display of exotic butterflies.

And soon enough, I was one of them, and I and my friends were on the road. For the first few miles we rode as a pack, and exchanged conversation. Henry, a bike commuter and faster rider, soon grew tired of the Neils' fondness for puns and pulled ahead. "Other" Neil, 45 pounds lighter than me and 5 years younger, raced to keep up with him, and fell behind at the first rise. Other cyclists passed me, including BCP's Linda McGrane, although she rode with me and chatted for a minute.

By the 12 mile mark I had lost sight of my friends. And since I was getting hungry, I dismounted and 'fueled' on a banana and water. (Between my balance and structural problems and my inexperience, drinking and eating while riding isn't a good idea.) I arrived at the first rest stop, Odessa Fire Hall, about ten minutes behind my friends. This rest stop, like both of the others on the ride, was well stocked with food, water, and Gatorade, and staffed with friendly volunteers.

I and my friends left together again. The pattern repeated itself on the next leg; Henry sped up, Neil gave chase, and I fell behind. This wasn't unexpected, and it did have the side benefit of allowing me to view the beautiful Delaware countryside. I stopped again along the Delaware River and fueled. And to get off the bike saddle; like many people, I haven't found "the one" yet. Since Delaware is flat, it's hard to find a place to stand up on the bike. In fact, the only rise I walked during the entire metric, into downtown Odessa, I walked simply to get off the bike.

I arrived at the midpoint, the Middletown High School, 15 minutes behind my friends. After more fuel and water, and little rest, we set off. Henry pulled ahead from the first, but this time Neil stayed behind. Keeping up with Henry was too much for him. So the Neils on Wheels Bike Touring Team rode together the rest of the ride, with bad puns from Neil and mangled quotations from Shakespeare from me. It was fortunate no one else rode with us. Our average speed was 12 MPH, which was my average for the ride.

By the time we reached Clayton Fire Hall, the third and last rest stop, the strain was beginning to tell on me. My posture was horrible from riding bent over for hours, and I felt drained. Neil and I stopped more and more frequently, to get off the saddle and for me to try to straighten up. Despite constant fueling and going through 70 ounces of fluid, I was running low on energy. By the 60 mile mark on my computer, Neil was pulling ahead about a third of a mile. By mile 62 I slipped off the saddle and nearly spilled. Fortunately I landed on my feet and stopped the bike. After drinking more water, I got back on and caught up with Neil.

We both pulled into the Middletown High School after three PM, six and a half hours after the start. My rolling time was 5 hours 45 minutes. According to my computer, I had ridden 69 miles. Henry had been waiting for us for about 45 minutes. We posed for a group photo, and packed up and left.

So, you see, there was nothing heroic about my ride. It wasn't in the class of Boston-Montreal-Boston, or some exciting tour of the Westphalian wine country, or any of the 150 odd MS rides. It was just an ordinary metric century, and I was as perplexed about what to write at the end of it as I was at the beginning. But as I doze in the passenger seat of Henry's truck, I recalled a 385 pound man who could barely walk a city block, and who was winded by seven minutes on a stationary bicycle. That man had dreams too. One of them was to teach himself to ride a bike. However, he never would have dreamed he would one day ride 100 kilometers. And that he would consider the accomplishment of this task as 'ordinary'.

Who says you have to be epic or heroic in your accomplishments? I'll settle for being ordinary. An ordinary cyclist.

(Other Neil's account of the ride can be read at www.neilfein.com)

[Terrierman]

Great job guys and a great write up.:) Heartiest of congratulations.

I'm learning more about riding further. What works for me is to drink more - a lot more - than 70 ouonces on a metric. I rode my first century this past Saturday. I drank 48 ounces on Saturday before the first rest stop and drank at least 24 on each of six stops, with more in between. It helps a lot. Others told me if you don't need to urinate frequently and copiously, you are not drinking enough. I think they are correct. I drank that much on Saturday and never did feel thirsty. I drank mostly gatorade or powerade, with some plain water now and then. But mostly electrolyte and carb replacing fluids.

And you absolutely positively have to eat and eat smart on a long ride. I ate a half a banana at every rest stop too, and sometimes a cookie or two, maybe a snackwell or a granola bar. And I ate a light lunch at the lunch stop - half a deli wrap, one small boiled red jacket potato and a couple of tablespoons of pasta salad. And it sat fine on my stomach. Too much protein or fat does not set that well with me when riding.

I still got a little low on energy near the end. I had a couple of those CLIF shot goo thingies and used them both, one about 25 miles out and one about 5 miles from the end, they really helped a lot. I'm remembering that and won't go on another long one without several in my bag.

One of the other things that worked for me (us actually) was to stick together. Having someone to visit with, needle and provide moral support was critical.

[Terrierman]

Bump so The Historian gets his due, along with his alter ego, Neil.

[The Historian]

One of the other things that worked for me (us actually) was to stick together. Having someone to visit with, needle and provide moral support was critical.

I especially agree with this. You might like this posting from my blog:

http://historian2wheels.blogspot.com/2007/04/ride-report-april-26-2007-tour-de.html