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07-27-07, 01:50 AM
My first century was a couple of weeks ago. It was unsupported, 49 riders, and very flat. Weather was good, high of 89 with 84% humidity, partly cloudy. I was very skeptical of even attempting the ride, but a friend convinced me to try it. I will start with the finish. When I rolled back into the parking area the 100 rolled up on my Garmin 305. As I clicked out of my pedals I hit the timer which stopped on exactly 7 hours. At 58 and on a road bike for the first time this January, I was OK with the time. As I said, the ride was not supported, so a couple of convenience store stops were our substitutes for rest stops. I took a power bar and a large cookie, along with a few shots. Water and gatorade were in demand at the stops. This was an out and back ride and of course just as we were turning around at the 50 mile mark the clouds became darker and a wind started hitting us in the face. At 65 miles I was tired from the constant hard pedaling into the wind. We were working hard and only holding 14 MPH most of the time. At 85 miles we stopped for a rest under a large oak tree. I was actually a little worried about the final 15 miles into the wind, but it was OK once we were back on the bikes. At the 96 mile mark I decided to finish hard. I slipped my hands down into the drops and left the small group of riders. What a surprise. I held a little over 20 MPH into the wind for three miles, but dropped the speed as I entered the park area for the last mile. However, after placing my bike into the rack on my car I started feeling sick. I walked around for a couple of minutes and soon felt OK again. No more fast finishes in the future. My next attempt at a century will be the Hotter'n Hell Hundred in Witchita Falls, Texas the last of August. The two changes I am making are to use a camelback for more water and to install a mirror on my handle bar.