Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Finished my first "official" metric century

I went down to Myrtle Beach this weekend to support my wifes ongoing running efforts (she "only" did the half marathon this time) and decided to give the accompanying timed bike ride a whirl.

What a blast!!! being in a group of bikes at speed is a high I want to repeat again and again!!!!

Here's my ride data -- terrain was basically flat other than one highway overpass wind was a bit up maybe around 15 knots or so.... ignore the first 13.1 miles, that's my wifes run (I borrowed her Garmin).

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd275/spridle22/Bikes/Myrtle%20Beach%202009/racedata.jpg

Congratulations! :)

Way to go!

I hope to complete my first metric century sometime in April or May.

And then do a standard century in September.

Hopefully I'll be below 220 by the time I do my metric.

Good job. A metric is my next ride goal.

Let me "officially" congratulate you. Nice job, the imperial century is something you will be able to do in no time. The mental hump is greater than the physical challenge.

I went down to Myrtle Beach this weekend to support my wifes ongoing running efforts (she "only" did the half marathon this time) and decided to give the accompanying timed bike ride a whirl.

What a blast!!! being in a group of bikes at speed is a high I want to repeat again and again!!!!

<SNIP>

Copngratulations!

I could not agree more about the fun of riding in a group. The trick is finding one that pushes you, but not so much that you can't finish. It is also amazing how much faster you can ride in a group. When I did my first centrury ride last August, I averaged 17.5 for the first 75 miles. During the final 25 miles the wind picked up to nearly 20 MPH... that was not fun! I still averaged about 17.2 MPH over the 102 miles. There is absolutely no way I could average that kind of speed riding solo.

Happy riding,
André

Congratulations!

Well done!

Thanks guys for the friendly room. I like it here!!!

I spent the day today second guessing myself thinking I could have gone faster. Early in the ride (around mile 5) I made a decision to sprint up to the group ahead of the one I was first riding in. A couple of us managed to make it across and hang on.

The lead group (which apparently later broke into 2 or 3) was by then about 1/2 mile ahead and about 2-3 mph faster. I chose to play it safe and stayed put. Looking at my HR data I averaged 126 bpm and never was above 135 for very long. I think I can go faster, but I'm not sure there was enough reserve to catch and keep up with the speedy guys.

All good fun and highly addictive!!!!

Good for you! I think the metric century is my favorite organized ride distance.