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09-11-08, 01:40 PM
I completed my first century ride a couple weeks ago, I would have posted sooner, but I got married in the meantime and went on holiday to northern California. :)
What a blast. The ride was tough, being that it was by far the longest ride I have done, and definetely the most elevation gain I have experienced. One hill in particular was a killer and I randomly teamed up with some girl to ride each other’s wheel. We pushed each other passed many who were walking bikes up and we just grinded up past them. At the top we high-fived, thanked remarked the others support and split up. It was an incredible feeling to accomplish that hill. At about mile 85 I ached in every conceivable, and inconceivable at the time, part of my body. At mile 90 a couple in their 60's or 70's both on high end carbon bikes, Orca and a Dama I think, blasted past me and gave me words of encouragement. I thought that if they can make it I can (35 year old male).
I am hooked. I will definitely do many rides next year and maybe even tours like Ride the Rockies, etc. To those out there contemplating doing a century and worried about making it - I say just do it. Make sure you have the right stuff in your saddle bag, fill your tires and lather with SPF 70. Riding in a group helps, and I was able to jump in a couple times, but other times people seemed a little annoyed with my intrusiveness. Oh well. Drivers can be a problem too though. One lady yelled, "there's something called a stop sign ya know!” I gave her a thumbs-up, laughed and speed on by. Her license plate read "grammy b" and she was in a huge white Cadillac. Not sure this woman struck me funny but it was at the time. I didn't care, I was having fun. Oh, I was doing 30 mile rides 3 times a week for about 6 weeks to prepare. Not sure how much it helped. Another thing, signal passing of other riders. This is very helpful and courteous. I got passed a lot on the down hills, but always caught them on the uphill. Lastly, look over the course map prior to the race. I didn’t and a couple times I got a little nervous seeing no other riders around.
Just wanted to share my experience.
What a blast. The ride was tough, being that it was by far the longest ride I have done, and definetely the most elevation gain I have experienced. One hill in particular was a killer and I randomly teamed up with some girl to ride each other’s wheel. We pushed each other passed many who were walking bikes up and we just grinded up past them. At the top we high-fived, thanked remarked the others support and split up. It was an incredible feeling to accomplish that hill. At about mile 85 I ached in every conceivable, and inconceivable at the time, part of my body. At mile 90 a couple in their 60's or 70's both on high end carbon bikes, Orca and a Dama I think, blasted past me and gave me words of encouragement. I thought that if they can make it I can (35 year old male).
I am hooked. I will definitely do many rides next year and maybe even tours like Ride the Rockies, etc. To those out there contemplating doing a century and worried about making it - I say just do it. Make sure you have the right stuff in your saddle bag, fill your tires and lather with SPF 70. Riding in a group helps, and I was able to jump in a couple times, but other times people seemed a little annoyed with my intrusiveness. Oh well. Drivers can be a problem too though. One lady yelled, "there's something called a stop sign ya know!” I gave her a thumbs-up, laughed and speed on by. Her license plate read "grammy b" and she was in a huge white Cadillac. Not sure this woman struck me funny but it was at the time. I didn't care, I was having fun. Oh, I was doing 30 mile rides 3 times a week for about 6 weeks to prepare. Not sure how much it helped. Another thing, signal passing of other riders. This is very helpful and courteous. I got passed a lot on the down hills, but always caught them on the uphill. Lastly, look over the course map prior to the race. I didn’t and a couple times I got a little nervous seeing no other riders around.
Just wanted to share my experience.