Northern California - Wine Country Century Post Ride Report

Since nobody started one yet, I'll have at it.

Here's my quick summary:

1. Timing chain fell off and managed to loop on itself twice. (Thanks to gpelpel for rescuing us!)
2. It rained. And rained. And KEPT RAINING. It didn't stop. I think we were expecting a little spritz here and there.
3. We made it to the coast and decided to cut it short, but at that point you're pretty committed.
4. It rained some more. Did I mention it RAINED?
5. We made it back to the start and spent the next 20 minutes trying to change into dry clothes.
6. Returned home and spent ~1 hour cleaning the bike. Of course no rain here...

But everything else was great. Too bad the weather was so uncooperative.

We ended up with 70 miles and 3500 feet climbing. We definitely could have gone the distance, but the rain won in the end...

PS -- no pics b/c I forgot to put the underwater kit on the camera. :)

Started raining about mile 2, stopped about mile 98. I saw Spingeneer and JonB on the side of the road at different places. There was a flat about every two miles but neither I nor my century buddy Rick had any. It was really kind of fun for the first 50 or 60 miles and then it got less fun but it was still not too bad once you put on your Flemish Face and just do it. Finished up about 3 o'clock and had a pretty good meal in the big tent. The bathroom in a trailer was really gross though.

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Best thing about the ride: Hot peanut butter and jelly sandwichs! What a grand idea.
Second best thing: No problems with the rims heating up on big downhills.
Feature: Tricia say she didn't dehydrate at all, she just absorbed all the water she needed.
Feature 2: No wheel suckers. My massive rooster tail kept them all at bay.
Feature 3: Sunscreen savings!
Bonus fun 1: Missed the 100K turn and ended up on the 100 mile route
Bonus fun 2: Flatting in the rain. That makes it a full experience ride, and it didn't cost any extra!

Priceless: Bailing after 52 frozen wet miles and going wine tasting on the drive home.

Learning experiences:
Water resistant doesn't mean what I thought it meant.
"Thirty percent chance of rain" still leaves a lot of room for a downpour.
I worried about the weight of my bike, but failed to factor in 97.3 pounds of wet clothes.

200k route turned into the 100M route turned into getting to the Wohler Bridge rest stop and coming to the collective conclusion of "**** this" and going back to the 35M shortcut route, turned into getting a bit lost on the way back, but eventually making it. I got a metric century in (plus a bit, about 68 miles total), and I'm perfectly okay with that.

Of course, as I'd been saying all day, as soon as we sat down in the tent at the end, the rain let up and the sun came out. :lol: And actually, once I finally got back on the bike to ride back to my car at the motel, it started raining again.

I actually didn't mind the rain that much, but my body just wasn't in it for the long haul. Oh well. It was entertaining, to say the least. :) TFU was certainly H'd by all.

Good to see everyone.


3. We made it to the coast and decided to cut it short, but at that point you're pretty committed.

[...]

We ended up with 70 miles and 3500 feet climbing.Oh man, I thought you guys were still out there, grinding out the 200k with the other loons. When'd you make it back to the tent, or did you bother?

We signed up for the metric but decided to do the 35 miler because of the rain. For the ride, we both got new waterproof booties (that's a laugh) and a rain jacket. Our feet and shoes were soaking wet! We saw Alex(x136) on the road and we also got lost too. Missed a turn somewhere near Windsor so we ended up with over 40 miles. My wife was a real trooper and didn't complain riding in the rain! I owe her a present! Oh I forgot, we brought home 2 WCC jerseys, 2 T shirts and 2 fridge magnets. Can't wait to ride this next year!

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200k route turned into the 100M route turned into getting to the Wohler Bridge rest stop and coming to the collective conclusion of "**** this" and going back to the 35M shortcut route, turned into getting a bit lost on the way back, but eventually making it.

Well Trinity, MtnWalker and I wanted to keep going but Alex just refused... Or maybe it was the other way around, I'm not sure... :innocent:

Highlight 1: Seeing the group eagerly start out - damn the rain, full speed ahead! - about 45 miles of constant steady rain later, maybe a bit less exuberance and starting to think about where we bail out.
Highlight 2: Cruising three across on Mays Canyon (or was it Green Valley?) having a nice discussion with Tony and Alex, only to be interrupted by a group of women from a cycling club asking very politely if we could kindly move out of their way - then watching as they blistered us up the next hill. Tony's comment:, "I think it must be easier for women to climb."
Highlight 3: Looking down at my shoes at the Wohlers Bridge stop, thinking I was standing in a puddle - but I wasn't.
Highlight 4: Spending the day with the Norcal group on the road. Thanks to Alex and MtnWalker for hanging with me the whole way and to Trinity for "finding" us and helping bring it home. It was wet, but we had us some fun!:thumb:

"Finding you" Mark? i thought i was CHASING AFTER YOU. In reality it was the other way around lol....

Still all went well except the loss of my seatbag (2 tubes, multitool, tirelever other misc stuff) on a bump.

Looking forward to a light 20 for a recovery ride tommorrow...

Fact #1: Accuweather sucks! A shower at Noon and another at 4pm ended up being an all day rain.

Fact #2: It's called the Wine Country Century. I remember a lot of water but not a drop of wine.

Other than that it was quite a day. Richard (beaker) and I left Orinda around 5:15, way too early for my bio clock but it allowed us to arrive early at the start. Then it was time for the agonizing choice of what to wear; short sleeves with warmers and rain vest/jacket meaning I would sweat all day and be like in a swamp or full cold weather jacket with its weather protected front and breathable back. I opted for warmth and good ventilation which turned out to be good. We then headed to the meeting point and I noticed Richard's shoe covers, I had to go back to the car for mine (another good choice) and managed to have the group wait for me, sorry.

Aside from the usual suspects it was nice to meet some new faces. We started as a group under grey skies, the rain started after a couple of miles and never left us. I had a chat with Mark involving his 'ludique' business, seems fun. The rain plus an early flat and a dropped chain worked havoc on the BF peloton and we ended up quite scattered. A small group of Pete, Richard, Ron, Cliff, Chris, and the Miguel/Andrea tandem headed up Coleman Road and regroup at the first rest stop on top of the hill. What was a magnificent place last year (under blue skies) was windy, wet, muddy, and not very busy this year.

Pete and Ron decided to skip the coast and head back to Occidental and veer North to reach River Road for the rest of the ride. I was instructing the rest of the gang of the new option when a volunteer told us that the coast loop was a lot easier. I had some doubts but nobody wanted to add some additional work so we headed toward the ocean. The top of Coleman was epic, rain, wind, rain, fog, and more rain. The downhill was slow, everybody very careful to avoid a fall.
The nice surprise was the road up the coast, instead of the usual headwind we were treated by a tailwind. We made a quick photo stop, just for fun, at the place Curtis did his nice pano shot last year.
I saw Miguel and Andrea pass and thought it might be a good idea to draft the tandem. Well, I learn that road juice doesn't taste too good. So I stayed just out of spray reach and enjoyed the tailwind. Definitely the nicest part of the ride today.

Rest stop #2 was not very busy either, the crew was already starting to pack everything so I guess not many people opted for the ocean loop. That's the point when some of us contemplated shortening the ride if the rain continued. Well it didn't stop and River Road was no fun at all with the constant traffic and splashing. Mays Canyon was a nice alternative except for that nasty short steep bump, unfortunately it was short. We missed the Green Valley turnout and followed Guerneville Hwy up to Vine Hill Rd. I had to take a cramp stop at some point but was able to regroup with Cliff so we were the two of us for a while until we reached River Rd. again. Cliff wanted a full 100 miles so he continued alone, I headed back East towards the finish were I expected Richard to be waiting for me.
Turned out he had gone to the 3rd rest stop and was behind me.

I had the time to change to dry clothes. Wow, that felt so good! After Richard had also dried up we headed to dinner (lunch for us) where we met Alex and it was time to hit the road again.

All in all it was an interesting day weatherwise. Certainly no fun for the organizers and volunteers who spent the day directing us in the wet. It was nice meeting the BF group again, too bad the weather prevented more social regrouping.

Totals for the day: 70 miles and 2,800'

It rained. Started the 100M at 7:30 and by the first rest stop I'd reached saturation point where extra rain didn't matter any more. Then it rained some more. We had rain until just after the 70 mile point and a few sprinkles from there. The support was incredible. It rained a lot. I heard that a rider was seriously injured near the lunch rest stop at the dam. Anyone know about that. Hope they are OK. Finished the full century. In the rain. Wet. Soggy. My shoes were full of mud.

My Brookes saddle is a bit wet. That has me a little concerned. Other than that I'm in much better shape than last year when I hammered the whole time.

Now off to do the same (in the rain) on the Grizzly Peak Century tomorrow.

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You know, it was dry all day long on the San Mateo coast today. :D :p

Just giving you guys a hard time. Great reports, glad you all made it albeit a bit waterlogged! :thumb:

TFU was certainly H'd by all.

:lol: can I borrow that? :lol:

Very glad you all survived.

:lol: can I borrow that? :lol:Be my guest. :)


Very glad you all survived.Except for Pete, but no worries, he didn't go to waste.

On a completely unrelated note, that was some good lunch. Mmm mm!

Glad to see we (me and rydaddy) weren't the only ones who got soaked to the bone riding a century today... (:

All this detailed, colorful reportage and still no Ron or Pete...interesting.

Great job by all you ducks today. We wussied out on local tandem ride in a drizzle so props to all y'all for putting the H in TFU. Like I Tweeted Spingineer, I'm not worthy to draft your wheels.

The grime washes off, the wet clothes dry, and the memories stay forever. Good stories, good times.

All this detailed, colorful reportage and still no Ron or Pete...interesting.

From what I heard, they are still up there. :eek:

I think they are making it a two nights, two days in the rain event.

They are also sharing the same room, so who knows? :roflmao2:

Rumo(u)r has it that Pete carried Ron over the threshold, and they stayed up late just talking and watching Cinemax.

Mild scandal! :eek:

Pete's cheating on me? Darn!

I'm been working out what to write - quite a day - strangely enjoyable, sometimes frustrating. It was nice to meet so many faces and enjoy the BF peloton early on. I flatted only 5miles in so didn't see many faces again before people split on their various routes.

At this point, I was still trying to go for the 200K, the weather wasn't too bad, just light drizzle. Nothing to worry about. Pete, Ron, Georges and Cliff all helped provide moral support while I got sorted out. Mild drizzle turned into proper rain by the time we went through Occidental. Low fog/cloud, rain, mist on the glasses. The first rest stop on the 200 route was a pretty desolate affair - atop a hill, but with the canopies barely providing any cover from the elements. Riding down Coleman wasn't too bad for me, except for some hellish gusts of wind, and the fact that I learned that my stock Shimano brake pads suck. Royally.

Georges describes the next section well. The stretch along the coast was actually pretty good - the rain eased back a notch, wind wasn't bad and the pace was good. After rest stop 2, Chris and I became separated from Georges and Cliff - I knew that Georges had a shortcut in mind to take River Road and get lunch. I thought this meant "lunch rest stop" so planned to catch up then. However I ran into Cliff at the Wohler Road stop and he told me that Georges was heading back in. So I thought about it for a second and concluded that I'd follow my chauffeur, I wasn't getting the motivation to go long today - and hadn't really been able to appreciate much of my surroundings. To be honest this was my first full on rain ride, and it wasn't too bad, also my energy level felt good, but the coast loop had cost time, and the idea of getting home at a reasonable hour and grabbing bbq became lodged in my brain so I pedaled back to River Road and caught Georges and Alex. 76miles all in - 200k? Well that wasn't happening in any scenario for me today.

Cliff seemed fully motivated to get his 100, I hope you got it, it was good to hang with you today...

My day started at the Motel 6 - I blearily wandered out of my room to check out and there's Pete and Ron, getting ready to ride to the start. They asked if I wanted to join them, well, gee, my bikes already on my car - I'm driving!:innocent:

Ran into Beaker, Gpelpel, and others while trying to get our group together. Our 6:30 start didn't go so well - I think we rolled out around 7:15. And promptly started getting flats. One person in our group got 2 in the first 12 miles. On the 2nd one, Pete rolls by, swings back as if to help, and instead takes a picture and rides off laughing.....Once we convinced her tires to hold some air, we knew we had to make up some time. So it started raining. Hard. Oh, and the fog rolled in too. And maybe some hail just to add to the general misery. Did I mention the wind? Actually that helped - it was a southerly wind for a change, and helped push us up the coast.

Our group got scattered all over the place for a while, and I got a chance to ride with Amy and Melissa for about 20 miles. I never seem to talk to them so that was a nice change. However, at one of the SAG stops they decided enough was a enough and took a shorter way back.

After that, a couple of the folks I started with showed up, but we were really running late by this point - we made the 2:45 cutoff at the lunch stop, but not by much. One friend was kind of struggling, so the last 30 miles were long and slow. However, she's a trooper and never quit (even when her teeth were chattering!). Dirk and Priscilla(?) rode with us for about the last 20 miles. I had fun chasing Dirk up and down the rollers on Chalk Hill before he dropped me for good on the longish climb. Turns out they've each done the Death Ride and are training for the Triple Bypass this year. That made me feel a little better that he was able to drop me so effortlessly.

Anyway, of course we missed the turn back into the Wells Fargo Center, so I logged 132 miles (!) and 7,100 feet of climbing. Great ride - would love to do it on a nicer day!

JB

I logged 132 miles (!)I wouldn't have thought someone could fit so much understatement into one character. http://www.bikeforums.net/mysmiliesvb/mysmilie_116.gif

Congratulations on being the nuttiest nut so far. :P

Good to hear from you, JB! Sounds like the TNT crew are nearly all present and accounted for (I was checking facebook much of the day too). Can't say I fault Mel & Amy one bit, were I there I probably would have led the charge back to the finish. :o :D

Congratulations on being the nuttiest nut so far. :P Really, it's not like you get bonus points or anything ... er, did you fall for that one?? :lol:

Awesome JB - hats off to you. Nice to catch you (briefly)

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OK, so I ended up doing the whole 200k, plus a little bit extra because I missed the turn at the end.

It was rainy, it was very cold; I wore a garbage bag for 100 miles.

I rode with a girl named Erinn, who was the perfect pace setter for me. Discounting the slowness for the initial trip out to the coast, we averaged solidly over 15mph for the final 80 or so miles. I shamelessly drafted like 75% of that distance.

I'm sorry that I didn't see more of you guys. It was nice riding with Richard, George, and wheelsucking Miguel's tandem for a bit. There were points where I was eating so much road spray that breathing through my mouth was out of the question, and breathing through my nose was like being waterboarded.

Overall it was great. By far my longest ride. By far, the most satisfying to finish.

This was my first organized century (thanks Alan!), and I wasn't going to DNF, or cut it short.

Thanks to Mark for giving me a (cheap!) place to stay.

I've already adviled and iced up, now I'm going to go sit in the hot tub and hope that my neck/shoulders relax!

Good to hear from you, JB! Sounds like the TNT crew are nearly all present and accounted for (I was checking facebook much of the day too). Can't say I fault Mel & Amy one bit, were I there I probably would have led the charge back to the finish. :o :D

I think they would have kept on going, but Melissa was worried about her Brooks getting wet and Amy was worried about her 7 rusting.:lol:

JB

I rode with a girl named Erinn, who was the perfect pace setter for me.

Yes, she had a great pace and ... she was cute.
I noticed when you took her wheel, we didn't see you anymore. ;)

Well done Chris -- what time did you finish? Turns out that when I left you guys to wait for Georges and Cliff at the junction with Green Valley, it was a lost cause as they'd taken an alternative route! I waited 10mins or so, riding circles, then concluded that I was just getting too darn cold and started rolling.

Yes, she had a great pace and ... she was cute.
I noticed when you took her wheel, we didn't see you anymore. ;)

Fun you mention that, while talking to my wife about her ride (she did the 35mi, her longest to date, congrats hun!) she said that a few guys kept saying "handsome guy coming up on your left cutie" lol To which i remarked... "hmm they must have not been straight, i would have stayed BEHIND the cute girl not pass her??!"

Sorry off topic kinda but i thought it was funny.

#3 Mud on the outhouse floor looks a lot like dookie.
#4 My big Tub O' Icy Hot seems to have lost a lot of potency.

Well done Chris -- what time did you finish? Turns out that when I left you guys to wait for Georges and Cliff at the junction with Green Valley, it was a lost cause as they'd taken an alternative route! I waited 10mins or so, riding circles, then concluded that I was just getting too darn cold and started rolling.

Yeah, I saw you once after that. And Cliff kept coming into rest stops just as I was leaving. I couldn't stand still long without the cold/wet making me really cold.

Finished at 5:30. Wow, did I really spend 2 hours at the stops? I guess we lost another 15 minutes trying to figure out where we were when we got lost.

OK, so I ended up doing the whole 200k, plus a little bit extra because I missed the turn at the end.

Overall it was great. By far my longest ride. By far, the most satisfying to finish.

This was my first organized century (thanks Alan!), and I wasn't going to DNF, or cut it short.


Great job getting your whole route done Chris... unlike some of us other wimps. Well done! :thumb:

That a good time you made Chris.

I dropped some serious dough on Friday buying rain jackets, leg warmers, shoe covers, and a rear fender for the ride. I got one of those strap on rear fenders with a bend on it, mistake, my stoker's seatpost was too low and the fender ended up looking weird. Folks were envious of us having a fender on our tandem though. I had some Sugoi shoe covers which looked water proof but I ended up having a puddle in my shoe. We used the plastic bag technique for my wife's shoes.

We spent the night in Rohnet Park and tried to get there by 7:15 to meet up with you guys but ended up showing up at 7:30 ish. After getting everything together and figuring out the wardrobe, we ended up rolling out at 8 am. We must have been the last ones on the 100 mile route. This is my first organized ride and I noticed the signage was quite bad. The arrows on the road at the start were washed out by the time I got to them. Missed a turn early in the game and gained an extra 4 miles. We were thinking of doing the coast route, then cutting across River road but since we were that late, I was pretty sure the rest stops on the 200K route were closing up. There wasn't much good food left at the rest stop when we got there, only sandwiches, the food at the finish line wasn't that great either. We pulled in the finish at 4:30 pm. All in all we did 104 miles, this is our first century. We had a lot of fun meeting up with folks on the road. Fortunately we didn't get flats. Our pearl white Cannondale tandem needs some serious cleaning after this weekend.

All in all we did 104 miles, this is our first century.

Anything from now on will be cake!

The grime washes off, the wet clothes dry, and the memories stay forever. Good stories, good times.

This reminds me that the bike is still in the car. I couldn't bring myself to attend to it last night. :(

Wow. All you guys are truly HARD. Chris, JB and Tohso/stoker are extra HARD though. Great job all.

wow. All you guys are truly hard. Chris, jb and tohso/stoker are extra hard though. Great job all.

+1!

you know, if it weren't for this group, I'm not sure I'd have entertained going out in that yesterday, but I'm glad I did. The part that sucks most is the post ride clean up - clothes are drying, frame is clean, but there's a nasty layer of grime still stuck on my chain, cogs etc. More work to come.

Having said that the other interpretation is we're all such a bunch of tightwads there's no way we were letting that $50 go to waste.

#3 Mud on the outhouse floor looks a lot like dookie.


This is quite accurate.

I just spent 1.5+ hours cleaning our two bikes. Yeach, what disgusting gunk. I wonder how much of that stuff I swallowed during the ride...

you know, if it weren't for this group, I'm not sure I'd have entertained going out in that yesterday, but I'm glad I did. The part that sucks most is the post ride clean up - clothes are drying, frame is clean, but there's a nasty layer of grime still stuck on my chain, cogs etc. More work to come.



best way to clean a bike? I'm looking for suggestions. car-wash sponge? bristle brush? soap & water? just water?

The last 20 miles, I could barely shift. So much gunk in the cassette.

I use a soft sponge and warm water. One of those Park Tools chain cleaner gizmos, a toothbrush for the cassette and some very diluted orange oil cleaner for the drivetrain. Oh, and elbow grease.

JB

I buy the cheaper orange oil cleaner at Home Depot. It's not as concentrated as the hard core stuff from bike shops. It's not as pricey either.

I have it in a spray bottle.

I hose the bike, spray it on, hose it off then wipe it down.

I use either a park chain cleaner of just wipe with orange stuff and a tooth brush, depending on how gunky.

I spray orange on the cassette and use a big 'ol bristle brush, and water until it shines.

You really need to clean the rims and brake pads too. Orange on the rims, and lots and lots of scrubbing. Then water, then wipe. Sometimes alcohol if they still don't seem clean. Toothbrush, and sometimes sandpaper the brake pads. That crunch you heard yesterday when you brake? That's the sound of your rims going away. You want all the grit gone from your braking surfaces.

Then oil the chain. For fun, ask on BF what kind of lube to use. 2754 answers later you still won't know, but you'll get to watch some serious flaming.

This is my after-a-huge-ulgy-ride-in-crap cleaning. It takes me almost an hour. I hate doing it, but what's the alternative?

EDIT: I go through lots of "lonely socks" during a cleaning. Ask your friends to donate them to you.

I hate doing it, but what's the alternative?

The alternative. (http://www.bikesdirect.com/) Time for a new bike!

JB

Any of you guys try to put any other heavier lube on your derailleurs? I'm wondering if the rain/grit washed any of that out.

+1 to the comment on the rims, I think it was my Shimano pads disintegrating (water/debris degradation?) but my rims were completely covered in fine black crap. The other tool that works wonders for rim cleaning in general is the magic Mavic rim eraser/cleaner block. Really shifts stubborn pad marks that resist water, orange cleaner etc.

The alternative. (http://www.bikesdirect.com/) Time for a new bike!

JB


OK! But I was thinking more along the lines of...

http://www.bicycleoutfitter.com/bikes/images/orbea_orca.jpg

Any of you guys try to put any other heavier lube on your derailleurs? I'm wondering if the rain/grit washed any of that out.

+1 to the comment on the rims, I think it was my Shimano pads disintegrating (water/debris degradation?) but my rims were completely covered in fine black crap. The other tool that works wonders for rim cleaning in general is the magic Mavic rim eraser/cleaner block. Really shifts stubborn pad marks that resist water, orange cleaner etc.

I've squirted some chain lube in towards the pulley wheels, but otherwise nothing special. Not sure if it actually helps, but it makes me feel better.

As for brake pads I like the Kool Stop salmon colored ones. Not sure if they actually stop the bike any faster than the Shimano's, but it seems to be easier to modulate the braking force with them and easier to get the wheel rolling again without letting go completely of the lever if I screw up and lock the brakes. Plus, they do seem to work better in the rain and last longer. Best of all, they're usually cheaper too.

JB

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hSZo5vjiPmQ/Sfz8JJJmHmI/AAAAAAAAGAg/fkTRe1sy9J4/s800/P5020009.JPG

I just used a hose while it was still in my truck. This is my foul weather bike anyway; my best bike was home safe and dry and clean. :thumb: