Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - self-supported century complete!

:)

Well, thanks guys, I did it yesterday. Old town Alexandria to Purcellville and back. It was a cloudless day when I set out, winds 5-10 mph as headwinds on the way out. Total Ride stats:

100.68 miles
7:03:28
3,457 feet climing
14.3 MPH average

Bike is a Kona JTS with custom deep-vs.

It was a great ride. It got a little wierd for me on the way out when I got to sections I'd never ridden -- semmed like one long hill for the last 15 miles before the turnaround...into the wind. I seriously started thinking about the web search on the berry to find a cab home. But I made it to Purcellville, got some energy drinks (so i could mix it up a little from the food i had) and decided to try. Miles 55-80 were ver smooth and easy, and I stopped for an ice cream in Vienna as a carnival had literally blocked the trail.

Developed a cramp in my left quad at 88 miles, stopped and stretched at 90 and that took care of it. As I pulled into the driveway I almost went for another stretch to make it a double metric, as I felt fine.

Total consumption: 4 gel packs, a falafel sandwich, a power br and an ice cream. 4 liters of water, 2 mixed accelerades and 2 sport drinks.

BTW, aluminum is fine. The Kona was stable and very comfy for the ride. 2 advils this morning and am a little sore, but not what I expected.

So -- who wants to come next time?

Great!
Congratulations for a big milestone. Sounds like you also made it a fine, enjoyable bicycle ride, not just a grind. I was about to be critical when you alluded to a crackberry but you erased my purist's concern:notamused: by having ice cream:thumb:.

yippy!....another first century. I did my first recently. Doesn't it feel great?

It's so funny you mentioned how well you felt at the end because I was surprised how the last 10 miles was easier than the first 10. It must be a mental thing knowing that the end is in sight.

Congrats

I wanna go, I hear Seattle has real nice trails.
Utah is king of dirt bike trails, but hurts on the road bike thing, too many cars.

I wanna go, I hear Seattle has real nice trails.
Utah is king of dirt bike trails, but hurts on the road bike thing, too many cars.

You're more than welcome to come, but I'm in VA, just outside DC...

This thread is useless without pics!

wife had didgicam, alas...next time

Congratulations Adrien. Self-supported centuries are hard. I have yet to do one, but am hoping to make an attempt in June.

Nice work! Yeah, stretching and water are key ingredients. When I did my century I stretched every 10 miles and drank every 5.

how do you carry enough water for that?

On the W&OD trail there are a few drinking fountains (none at the Shirlington turnaround, unfortunately). Also, there are at least 3 7-11's on or near the trail, along with a couple other stores. Other than the long uphill stretch that he mentions and 2-3 other steep but short climbs, it's a fairly straightforward ride.

Nice job! As everyone else mentioned, I think a key to century success is regular rest stops during the ride and fuel. The Jake seems to be another very popular bike, for good reason, I think it's a heck of a nice combo.

Next time, pics! ;)

It is not that bad if you have lots of places to buy food and such. If you're riding out in the middle of nowhere, it is fairly difficult.

Good job! It feels good to know you can do something that only a very small fraction of riders will ever even attempt, eh?

GREAT JOB!!!!! Reading about these makes me want to do one. I don't know about you, but pictures is just not a priority for me while riding my road bike. If I was doing it on my other bike, I would probably stop and take some pictures.

I still haven't found a safe road ride in my area that is a 100 mile loop, but I did find a safe 40 mile loop, so I may do that twice and then throw in a short 10+ mile loop around town. The 40.2 mile loop takes me to a Casey's store if I need it and back to my garage, so I can put in some really cold drinks if I need it. And I can reload on energy bars if I need to.

Again - GREAT JOB !!!!!! And thanks for the inspiration.

Rode the recovery ride today -- did fine. 32.35 miles at average of 13.5

I'll be posting a Certificate for this as soon as I have all my software reloaded. I had a system crash and had to do a clean install on everything.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/adriencentury.gif

thanks, Tom!

how do you carry enough water for that?

You don't. Stop a local convenience stores and replenish.

My typical century rider has 4 bottles, two in the conventional positions and two more in a Profile Aqua rack behind the saddle. I can also stow another one on the aero bars.

Props for the 100 mile ride. I've done a couple of them in the past year, typically riding up into the Adirondacks.

:)

Well, thanks guys, I did it yesterday. Old town Alexandria to Purcellville and back. It was a cloudless day when I set out, winds 5-10 mph as headwinds on the way out. Total Ride stats:

100.68 miles
7:03:28
3,457 feet climing
14.3 MPH average

Bike is a Kona JTS with custom deep-vs.

It was a great ride. It got a little wierd for me on the way out when I got to sections I'd never ridden -- semmed like one long hill for the last 15 miles before the turnaround...into the wind. I seriously started thinking about the web search on the berry to find a cab home. But I made it to Purcellville, got some energy drinks (so i could mix it up a little from the food i had) and decided to try. Miles 55-80 were ver smooth and easy, and I stopped for an ice cream in Vienna as a carnival had literally blocked the trail.

Developed a cramp in my left quad at 88 miles, stopped and stretched at 90 and that took care of it. As I pulled into the driveway I almost went for another stretch to make it a double metric, as I felt fine.

Total consumption: 4 gel packs, a falafel sandwich, a power br and an ice cream. 4 liters of water, 2 mixed accelerades and 2 sport drinks.....

So -- who wants to come next time?

I'll take you up on that offer some time in the future, although I'd get dropped at your pace. It sounds a wonderful ride.

Congratulations - that's awesome!

Way to go!!!!!

Congratulations Adrien. Self-supported centuries are hard. I have yet to do one, but am hoping to make an attempt in June.

+100 on that.

I've read on other threads that self-supported centuries somehow "don't count". Bull. I've done organized and self-supported centuries, and the latter are much more difficult simply because they *are* self-supported: you must carry (or chose a route that allows you to buy) your own food, water, mechanical support, etc.

Well done, adrien! :beer:

Keith, here in Clyde\'s, a self supported Century certainly counts. :D It might not be sanctioned by any organization, but hey, we aren't racing for a titlew, either. :p or trying to qualify for any randoneuring medals. :p


+100 on that.

I've read on other threads that self-supported centuries somehow "don't count". Bull. I've done organized and self-supported centuries, and the latter are much more difficult simply because they *are* self-supported: you must carry (or chose a route that allows you to buy) your own food, water, mechanical support, etc.

Well done, adrien! :beer:

Total consumption: 4 gel packs, a falafel sandwich, a power br and an ice cream. 4 liters of water, 2 mixed accelerades and 2 sport drinks.

So -- who wants to come next time?

I'll come if we can stop for ice cream.

+100 on that.

I've read on other threads that self-supported centuries somehow "don't count". Bull. I've done organized and self-supported centuries, and the latter are much more difficult simply because they *are* self-supported: you must carry (or chose a route that allows you to buy) your own food, water, mechanical support, etc.

Well done, adrien! :beer:

I'll count a self-supported century as tougher than a fully supported one. I try to ride all my rides as though they are minimally supported. I use the stops mostly to refill my bottles; but I'm glad for things like electrolyte tablets and boiled potato wedges when I'm feeling low. Yesterday they had turkey and cheese sandwiches at the 60 mile rest stop, and I couldn't turn that down.
I was amazed at how super-reliant many people are on the food stops: There were lots of tri-racers out yesterday, with nothing more than a single water bottle, a CO2 inflator, and a single tube and tire lever.

If you check the UMCA rules for self supported century registration toward the Century-a-Month challenge, you only need to provide photos or dated store receipts from multiple points along the route to prove your course.

Well, I'll go on the record here...I will buy an ice cream for everyone who comes next time, especially if you let me draft you...

Congrats!

I have ridden that entire route, just not all at the same time :D

I grew up in Vienna, and I am glad to hear that they still block the bike path for their carnival :)

I would love to do this ride, unfortunately 1700 miles would make for a long commute to and from :(

BTW, that 15 miles before Purcellville is all uphill :thumb: