spingineer
05-05-08, 02:51 PM
I think Pete's spent waaaaay too much time in the saddle. He's now looking at cows chewing as being some erotic escapade ... :eek:
View Full Version : Wine Country Century Ride Report
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uspspro
05-05-08, 03:16 PM
Faster, faster, faster… I become something else, I am light, I am energy I am part of the Universe in total harmony with my brothers as we together become a lightening bolt of pure human spiritual joy! I snap a picture of Marco and we have the same thought I know, we don’t have to speak I see it in his eyes “ Dude… this is the bomb”!
Seriously. I was so happy to have caught up with you guys, and right on time for the best part of the ride. I felt amazing at that point. Just good good stuff, being out there with all of you.
:D
Seriously. I was so happy to have caught up with you guys, and right on time for the best part of the ride. I felt amazing at that point. Just good good stuff, being out there with all of you.
:D
taxi777
05-05-08, 03:39 PM
Crazy, Ruth's b-day is on Cinco de Mayo (today) as well!
Way cool...Two chicks...cinco de mayo... One word
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TEQUILA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEEEEE HAAAA!
Way cool...Two chicks...cinco de mayo... One word
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TEQUILA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEEEEE HAAAA!
x136
05-05-08, 03:55 PM
I had prophesized to Henry earlier that Marco is like a wild cougar and would try to be patient and pace for a short time… then the predator would kick in and nothing would stop him from taking off like an ICBM to catch us in a blink of an eye at any cost. Once He’s launched…Say goodnight friends Elvis has left the building!Yep, that's pretty much it. I was doing a fair job of keeping up, until the forces of outside mocking sped him up, while at the same time vertical elevation slowed me waaaay down, as it tends to. :)
It's okay, though. After a while, I was one of the last on the 200k loop, and by the time I rejoined the 100 mile route, all of the hundred milers were long gone, so it was like I was doing a supported solo century. At least up until I picked up a fellow bailer on the bail-out route. She was on a gorgeous orange steel Steelman bike, too. If you're out there, thanks for the ride!
It's okay, though. After a while, I was one of the last on the 200k loop, and by the time I rejoined the 100 mile route, all of the hundred milers were long gone, so it was like I was doing a supported solo century. At least up until I picked up a fellow bailer on the bail-out route. She was on a gorgeous orange steel Steelman bike, too. If you're out there, thanks for the ride!
uspspro
05-05-08, 04:04 PM
yeah sorry ;)
hill = attack mode. always.
hill = attack mode. always.
gpelpel
05-05-08, 06:19 PM
On the way there was a huge peloton coming the opposite direction. It was like two bullet trains passing each other in the French countryside. IT WAS AWSOME!
Before I passed them, from a distance, I first thought it was the rest stop until I realized they were going the opposite way. In fact they were starting off a group pee stop. Most of the group was still lined up along the road bank doing their thing, males and females. :eek:
Before I passed them, from a distance, I first thought it was the rest stop until I realized they were going the opposite way. In fact they were starting off a group pee stop. Most of the group was still lined up along the road bank doing their thing, males and females. :eek:
taxi777
05-05-08, 06:56 PM
group pee stop. and females.
OOh OOH can I join that group where do I sign??...
Pete...Aka the Gentleman
OOh OOH can I join that group where do I sign??...
Pete...Aka the Gentleman
jobob
05-05-08, 08:01 PM
Jo, was that the " La Cantina"? Cathy's birthday is on Cinco De mayo and that's where I took her last year to get drunk for her birthday... Are you the one she got in a slugfest with but ended up doing the Mexican hat dance and shooting pool with?
errr, not that I recall ...
errr, not that I recall ...
Beaker
05-05-08, 11:50 PM
That is a phenomenal ride report - man, I've gotta get some more free time and get on one of these things one of these days. Oh yes, that and get used to riding more than 30miles at a time ;-)
uspspro
05-06-08, 09:22 AM
Oh yeah ride stats:
Actual ride distance: 126 mi
My total for the day: 136 mi
Ride time: 7:17
Avg speed: 17 mph
Avg HR: 155 bpm
Max HR: 190 bpm (when I took off to catch the group)
Actual ride distance: 126 mi
My total for the day: 136 mi
Ride time: 7:17
Avg speed: 17 mph
Avg HR: 155 bpm
Max HR: 190 bpm (when I took off to catch the group)
mtnwalker
05-06-08, 07:30 PM
Awesome ride reports and pictures guys. :D It almost makes me feel like I was there riding with you all.
Oh, wait. I was. :D
Well, I don't have much to report except that was my first century that actually went to/over 100 miles. My legs are still feeling it today. My favorite part was the descent right before the coast. The optical illusion made the ocean's horizon seem higher than the mountain we were on. At first I thought it was fog but it wasn't. Awesome ride with some really great folks.
Oh, wait. I was. :D
Well, I don't have much to report except that was my first century that actually went to/over 100 miles. My legs are still feeling it today. My favorite part was the descent right before the coast. The optical illusion made the ocean's horizon seem higher than the mountain we were on. At first I thought it was fog but it wasn't. Awesome ride with some really great folks.
taxi777
05-06-08, 09:49 PM
Awesome ride reports and pictures guys. :D It almost makes me feel like I was there riding with you all.
Oh, wait. I was. :D
Well, I don't have much to report except that was my first century that actually went to/over 100 miles. My legs are still feeling it today. My favorite part was the descent right before the coast. The optical illusion made the ocean's horizon seem higher than the mountain we were on. At first I thought it was fog but it wasn't. Awesome ride with some really great folks.
It's not too late for the Davis Double! ... Go for it!;)
Oh, wait. I was. :D
Well, I don't have much to report except that was my first century that actually went to/over 100 miles. My legs are still feeling it today. My favorite part was the descent right before the coast. The optical illusion made the ocean's horizon seem higher than the mountain we were on. At first I thought it was fog but it wasn't. Awesome ride with some really great folks.
It's not too late for the Davis Double! ... Go for it!;)
bigbossman
05-07-08, 04:55 PM
A little tardy, but here's mine:
Last Saturday, Mhendricks and I joined a contingent of the NorCal BF members and rode the Wine Country Century out of Santa Rosa CA.
We got up there early Friday afternoon, to discover that Mike had booked us into Crack ***** Central - the Motel 6 on Cleveland Street. There were some interesting characters wandering or just sitting around the property, and to top it off they put us into a smoking room instead of the "reserved" non-smoking. Because everything was sold out for the ride, we grumbled a bit but took the keys. Even at 4pm, Housekeeping was not yet done with the room, so Mike and I rode lazy loops around the parking lot and chatted up the "ladies". After the room was clean and we ironed out a key-coding snafu, we were finally able to get settled into the room. It lived up to expectations - it stunk, there were cigarette burns everywhere, and everything about the room was shabby and dingy. I picked the two least repulsive pillows, and propped myself up to watch TV. Turns out, as an added bonus the remote was broken so I gave up and took a nap.
Refreshed from the nap, we wandered off to preregister for the ride and then to rendezvous with the other BF members at an agreed upon Italian restaurant. We had originally signed up for the 200k, and it was at this juncture that I cajoled, shamed, and guilted Mike into trying his 1st century. I reasoned that as centuries go this one was pretty easy, what with an advertised climb total of about 3,300'. Piece of cake - how hard could that be?
Victorious in my effort to get Mike into the 100 mile ride, we headed off to the restaurant. After about 1-1/2 hours and a comedy of errors, we finally got our food - the highlight of which was that it was A) very good, and B) mostly comped by a very apologetic restaurant staff. We finally got back to the hotel, and Mike stopped in to request a wakeup call at 5:30am. That turned out to be a mistake - we should have called it in from the room and saved ourselves a bit of grief. I awoke the next morning and checked the time...... 6:24 - D'OH! The wake up call had never come, and now we were behind the 8-ball. Mike grabbed the phone to complain, and it was at this time we discovered that an earlier occupant had evidently needed the phone cord - it was missing. double D'OH!
As we had agreed to meet the other folks at 6:30, we scrambled to get dressed. My morning shower was sacrificed, as was breakfast.....grrrrrrrrr........ At least now I fit in with the rest of the Motel clientèle. We got to the ride start a bit tardy, but still managed to hook up and ride with our BF pals up until the 100 mile/200k split about 20 miles in. It had started out being a bit chilly, but by now was warming up very nicely. We waved goodbye and hit our first descent through the redwoods and into the 1st rest stop at 25 miles.
Now we were in full sun and enjoying the ride immensely, and spent the rest of the day tooling around some very beautiful countryside while enjoying very pleasurable weather. After about 50-60 miles, the lack of breakfast teamed up with a freshening wind to slow me down a bit, but at the 75 mile rest stop lunch and a quick nap on the shady lawn perked me up enough to continue. It was at this point that I checked my Garmin to discover the ride organizers had lied - we had already climbed well past our promised 3,300' and we still had 25 miles and one major climb ahead of us.
Full disclosure time - I do a lot of centuries, and I'm pretty much used up after every one. What makes the difference for me are two things (besides hydration/eating management, and gel)... 1) Enduralites (electrolyte supplement), and 2)Cytomax (energy drink). For extended rides, these are a MUST for me, and make all the difference - especially in the last 20 miles.
I mention this now because when I reached into my back pocket, I discovered that my little bag of Enduralite capsules were gone. Damn. Oh, well, I still had one bag of Cytomax crystals left, so I mixed that up and we hit the road. As we left the rest stop I hit an expansion joint on a bridge, and watched in slow motion fascination as my freshly mixed (and last) bottle of Cytomax rolled out into traffic. It managed to roll across the highway unscathed, but as it reached safety it slowly looped around and rolled back out to near the centerline - just in time for a trailer-pulling truck to hit it dead-on. Double-damn.
By 75-80 miles I was pretty much tired of riding, but not suffering too terribly so we continued on. It helped that the scenery was still very enjoyable, the weather was mild, and the road was a fairly non-taxing series of rollers. Mike and I had a great time chatting during this time, and took turns pulling each other into the ever-freshening wind.
At 92 miles exactly, we hit the last climb - a relatively short but very sweet little double digit number called Chalk Hill. I ground my way up that to meet Mike at the top, and we then enjoyed the final glide back into town and the finish. Totals for the day were 5,180' of climbing, 100.6 miles, and 7 hours of saddle time.
After nailing down a nice lunch, we had a nice peaceful ride home and I finally got my hot shower and clean bed. Mmmmmm.
A few pics:
Garmin trace (note the last little climb at 92 miles):
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/untitled.jpg
Bridge across the Russian River:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/bridge.jpg
Mike, looking for floaters on some river at the 50 mile mark:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/mike-1.jpg
Getting dropped by some random stranger (this happens to me a lot):
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/passed.jpg
Water bottle - it was one of my favorites, and we shared a lot of good times together. RIP, My Friend:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/waterbottle.jpg
Mike, over my shoulder:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/mike.jpg
My Pinarello:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/pinarello.jpg
Dashboard shot:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/dashboard-1.jpg
Almost done:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/dashboard-2.jpg
Last Saturday, Mhendricks and I joined a contingent of the NorCal BF members and rode the Wine Country Century out of Santa Rosa CA.
We got up there early Friday afternoon, to discover that Mike had booked us into Crack ***** Central - the Motel 6 on Cleveland Street. There were some interesting characters wandering or just sitting around the property, and to top it off they put us into a smoking room instead of the "reserved" non-smoking. Because everything was sold out for the ride, we grumbled a bit but took the keys. Even at 4pm, Housekeeping was not yet done with the room, so Mike and I rode lazy loops around the parking lot and chatted up the "ladies". After the room was clean and we ironed out a key-coding snafu, we were finally able to get settled into the room. It lived up to expectations - it stunk, there were cigarette burns everywhere, and everything about the room was shabby and dingy. I picked the two least repulsive pillows, and propped myself up to watch TV. Turns out, as an added bonus the remote was broken so I gave up and took a nap.
Refreshed from the nap, we wandered off to preregister for the ride and then to rendezvous with the other BF members at an agreed upon Italian restaurant. We had originally signed up for the 200k, and it was at this juncture that I cajoled, shamed, and guilted Mike into trying his 1st century. I reasoned that as centuries go this one was pretty easy, what with an advertised climb total of about 3,300'. Piece of cake - how hard could that be?
Victorious in my effort to get Mike into the 100 mile ride, we headed off to the restaurant. After about 1-1/2 hours and a comedy of errors, we finally got our food - the highlight of which was that it was A) very good, and B) mostly comped by a very apologetic restaurant staff. We finally got back to the hotel, and Mike stopped in to request a wakeup call at 5:30am. That turned out to be a mistake - we should have called it in from the room and saved ourselves a bit of grief. I awoke the next morning and checked the time...... 6:24 - D'OH! The wake up call had never come, and now we were behind the 8-ball. Mike grabbed the phone to complain, and it was at this time we discovered that an earlier occupant had evidently needed the phone cord - it was missing. double D'OH!
As we had agreed to meet the other folks at 6:30, we scrambled to get dressed. My morning shower was sacrificed, as was breakfast.....grrrrrrrrr........ At least now I fit in with the rest of the Motel clientèle. We got to the ride start a bit tardy, but still managed to hook up and ride with our BF pals up until the 100 mile/200k split about 20 miles in. It had started out being a bit chilly, but by now was warming up very nicely. We waved goodbye and hit our first descent through the redwoods and into the 1st rest stop at 25 miles.
Now we were in full sun and enjoying the ride immensely, and spent the rest of the day tooling around some very beautiful countryside while enjoying very pleasurable weather. After about 50-60 miles, the lack of breakfast teamed up with a freshening wind to slow me down a bit, but at the 75 mile rest stop lunch and a quick nap on the shady lawn perked me up enough to continue. It was at this point that I checked my Garmin to discover the ride organizers had lied - we had already climbed well past our promised 3,300' and we still had 25 miles and one major climb ahead of us.
Full disclosure time - I do a lot of centuries, and I'm pretty much used up after every one. What makes the difference for me are two things (besides hydration/eating management, and gel)... 1) Enduralites (electrolyte supplement), and 2)Cytomax (energy drink). For extended rides, these are a MUST for me, and make all the difference - especially in the last 20 miles.
I mention this now because when I reached into my back pocket, I discovered that my little bag of Enduralite capsules were gone. Damn. Oh, well, I still had one bag of Cytomax crystals left, so I mixed that up and we hit the road. As we left the rest stop I hit an expansion joint on a bridge, and watched in slow motion fascination as my freshly mixed (and last) bottle of Cytomax rolled out into traffic. It managed to roll across the highway unscathed, but as it reached safety it slowly looped around and rolled back out to near the centerline - just in time for a trailer-pulling truck to hit it dead-on. Double-damn.
By 75-80 miles I was pretty much tired of riding, but not suffering too terribly so we continued on. It helped that the scenery was still very enjoyable, the weather was mild, and the road was a fairly non-taxing series of rollers. Mike and I had a great time chatting during this time, and took turns pulling each other into the ever-freshening wind.
At 92 miles exactly, we hit the last climb - a relatively short but very sweet little double digit number called Chalk Hill. I ground my way up that to meet Mike at the top, and we then enjoyed the final glide back into town and the finish. Totals for the day were 5,180' of climbing, 100.6 miles, and 7 hours of saddle time.
After nailing down a nice lunch, we had a nice peaceful ride home and I finally got my hot shower and clean bed. Mmmmmm.
A few pics:
Garmin trace (note the last little climb at 92 miles):
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/untitled.jpg
Bridge across the Russian River:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/bridge.jpg
Mike, looking for floaters on some river at the 50 mile mark:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/mike-1.jpg
Getting dropped by some random stranger (this happens to me a lot):
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/passed.jpg
Water bottle - it was one of my favorites, and we shared a lot of good times together. RIP, My Friend:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/waterbottle.jpg
Mike, over my shoulder:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/mike.jpg
My Pinarello:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/pinarello.jpg
Dashboard shot:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/dashboard-1.jpg
Almost done:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Wine%20Country%20Century/dashboard-2.jpg
BlastRadius
05-07-08, 05:50 PM
So sad about the water bottle. Heartless driver!
Thanks for the great report.
Thanks for the great report.
spingineer
05-07-08, 06:02 PM
Yeah, sorry to hear about the water bottle. However, our experience at the Motel 6 in South Santa Rosa was not as horrid as yours. It didn't stink, but we did not ask for a wake up call. We basically used our cell phone. One problem ... my cell phone was on vibrate ... doh! But luckily for me, I was half awake by the time my vibrating alarm on my cell went off. I could hear it vibrating, so no problem waking up for me.
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