Fifty Plus (50+) - WOOT! A century ride!

I had been talking about taking a day off to find out just what kind of shape I'm really in. I left yesterday about 7:15 and headed to Ames to see my daughter. It starts out on a bike trail so 7 miles of flat. Then into some good hills for about 30 miles. There I took a break for a candy bar (that's why I bike!!) and some coffee. After another hilly 8 it was onto an awful bike trail for 5 miles. I should have taken the adjacent hiway...it would have been much smoother. Then another break for a pbj and water refills.

The remaining 55 was pretty flat. There was one hill about a mile long up out of a river valley, but it was gradual so never below 8mph. The towns I went through for most of the ride were no bigger than 200 not including the dogs! I took a couple more breaks for lunch (brought with me) and a nap.

Made it about 3:15 with a little over an hour break total. That was a fantastic speed for me. I've never done a ride over 12 miles with that high an average speed. (14.1 mph avg.)

Met one other cyclist in one very small town that didn't even have a water hydrant. She was young college or high school. I first saw her ahead of me about a half mile up. She dropped down into a little vail and when I came over the top 1/4 mile later she was a mile up. She had stopped for a breather when I caught her. Chatted a bit and she went on while I looked for water.

The last 12 miles was an awful road with seams every 15 feet about 2 inches deep each.

I guess I'm feeling pretty good about this. Weather was perfect with light breezes and a high of about 86 degrees. I did this pulling my loaded BOB...I usually pull the beast so I'm ready when I do a couple 2 to 3 day tours. The attached route shows 98.8 miles, but with little side trips for water and benches it ended at my daughter's apartment with 100.41 miles.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ia/ames/969124406387538148

Sounds like a nice, relaxed ride. Those long rides can really be enjoyable when you take your time and enjoy the scenery.:thumb:

14.1 mph pulling Bob? Tell Bob to do his own pedaling. We don't need no stinking 100-mile wheel suckers!:p

Yeah, he's rather rude that way. :D

A few years ago on RAGBRAI I found a toy donkey and mounted the head on the front and the tail from fender. I told everyone that Bob had a gender identity crises and I discovered "he" was actually a "she" named Buttercup. Had lots of fun with that. The comments were especially funny when I passed someone and after I passed I would hear the comments ie: "Oh look, he even has a tail!" Fun stuff.

Sounds like a nice, relaxed ride. Those long rides can really be enjoyable when you take your time and enjoy the scenery

Here I thought I was bragging about my speed! ;) Thanks for popping my bubble. For me that kind of speed was very high. I normally average 12+ on rides over 30 miles.

Great minds must think alike. I did an 87 miler on Sunday in prep for a 104 hilly ride this weekend. This is a great ride for anyone in the Wheeling, WV area http://ridingforareason.org/

Check the profile of the 100 mile ride.

Nice report.

Maybe someday, I'll do a "meandering" type century.

Here I thought I was bragging about my speed! ;) Thanks for popping my bubble. For me that kind of speed was very high. I normally average 12+ on rides over 30 miles.

Ooops, that wasn't my intent! :o Your report sure made it sound like a relaxing ride.

That's the funny thing; it was a relaxing ride. Yet I averaged a higher speed than I've ever done before. I wasn't insulted at all with your comments. It's hard to get inflection with internet writings isn't it.

The meandering part was true too based on the roads I took, but I just tried to find roads with little traffic, yet direct to where I was headed. I think the speed I achieved (keep in mind that this was actual biking speed, not total average) was just a combination of the right food, the right resting stops and a near perfect day.

I love talking to my kids' friends that can't imagine riding even 10 miles on a bike yet we old farts here can do century rides!

I love talking to my kids' friends that can't imagine riding even 10 miles on a bike yet we old farts here can do century rides!

When I used to run, the neighborhood where I lived included some bored adolescents who would hang out in a small cluster in one driveway or another. I enjoyed running just in the 'hood; it was quiet and had lots of trees, and once around the big loop was just over a mile.

One day on about my third loop the kids decided to give me a hard time about running slow circles, so I challenged them to join me. After about 100 yards the last of them gave up. I never got any grief after that. :)

Sounds like a great ride. I will be in Des Moines in a couple of weeks and am looking forward to some nice rides. My wife is from Iowa and I always enjoy going there to visit. Lots of nice people and lots of nice trails to ride on.

Congrats..... not meaning to hijack but did my first century yesterday (56th birthday) and had a likewise experience. Till now, I had just been doing 30-40 miles at a time . Did about 105 miles in 7 1/4 hours. Only stopped a few times for 10 minutes or so. I was deathly afraid of bonking and just kept stopping whenever I could to gulp fluids and eat energy bars/candy/fruit or whatever was available. I drank so much I had to stop and pee at least 10 times, kind of like that TV commercial. Averaged much more then I would have guessed , was home at 2 p.m , left at 6:45. Not bad for the Adirondacks, although I went around the big peaks and not over them. Good news is that I'm ok today and ready to ride tomorrow. It is really amazing how far you can go if you take the time to nourish and hydrate. Next time there will be pie!!

Next time there will be pie!!PIE!! That's what I did wrong! No pie.

Did have a pretty good Chinese buffet with my daughter though!