Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - My first Cenury

Yesterday I rode the Highlands County Century at the Highlands Bikefest. My longest ride before was 65 miles so the century was a challange. Took us a little over 7 hours. Rode about 50 miles into the wind, 25 where the wind was not a significant factor and 25 miles where I could almost stand up and let the wind blow my oversize butt home. Great day, I'm finally a real cyclist:roflmao2:

Great job!!!! Where are the pictures?? :-)

There is something magic about that century mark.
Like all the best things, you never forget your first.

Congrats!

Cyril

Excellent job!! Always an accomplishment worth hearing about. I hope you pedal many more. :thumb::D

Great Job! If your backside was in good shape at the end you're good-to-go for many more centuries. They are addictive, especially the prospect of being able to eat moderately without guilt.

Congrats! :thumb:
Here's to many more. :beer:

Great Job!!!

Whoop! Whoop!

Congratulations!

Great job!!!! Where are the pictures?? :-)

Congratulations. And yes, we need photos.

Sounds like a fun time and your time wasn't that bad either! :) Hope you have many more!

That is too cool. Congrats on such a great milestone!

Congrats!

I subscribe to the idea that if you ride ride 60ish or so miles you can ride a 100. The hard part is pacing and overcoming the mental wall that seems to arise around mile 65 and lasts until around mile 85. Once the first one is accomplished you know you can overcome the mental side of it.

Congrats,

Be careful, taking long rides can become addictive!

;):thumb::)

As soon as I figure out how to upload the pictures I picked up yesterday, i will post them. I have prints not digitqal images

As soon as I figure out how to upload the pictures I picked up yesterday, i will post them. I have prints not digitqal images

Prints? What's that?:D

Congrats. I hope to get my first one in 2010. I did my first metric one last month.

Congratulations. And yes, we need photos.


You can probably tell me how to get me prints on the site. Can I scan them into the computer?
I'm just a low tech mind in a high tech world. But this is my garmin record http//connectgarmin.com/activity/20442707

A year ago at this same event I completed a metric. I'd only had the bicycle a couple of weeks and after 50 miles my butt was hurting so bad I couldn't sit on the saddle and my rear wheel was all out of shape. This year my butt was the only thing not hurting and my wheels my friend built for me were true as an arrow. Apparently 36 spokes is stronger than 24. :lol:

Our club went out and celebrated our success and I set next to one of our younger skinnier members who completed his century in well under 5 hours but I don't think he had anymore fun than I did.:)

Red

Congrats RedC. A century is quite an accomplishment.

Congratulations!

OK, OK. Enough with the accolades, already! Time to get on with it!

Red, a 200k brevet is only 24 miles further, and brevet season (http://www.rusa.org/brvreg.html)is almost upon us!! :innocent:

For the uninitiated, "brevet" is a french word that means, "Waaay too #$%*ing far for any sane man to ride his bicycle!"

OK, OK. Enough with the accolades, already! Time to get on with it!

Red, a 200k brevet is only 24 miles further, and brevet season (http://www.rusa.org/brvreg.html)is almost upon us!! :innocent:

For the uninitiated, "brevet" is a french word that means, "Waaay too #$%*ing far for any sane man to ride his bicycle!"

It's surprising (ok, it was to me), how much more difficult those "only 24 miles" are when attempting to move up from a century to the shortest of the brevets. I made 3 attempts at a 200k before learning how
- not to go out too fast
- to keep a constant steady pace
- to eat properly for an additional 2 hours on the bike
It was not easy. 100 miles was something I'd clang out without any preparation: Toss some food in my handlebar bag and go. The 200k was a totally different beast. It still is, especially since my recent 200k rides are part of my R-12 series, so they're totally unsupported solo Permanents. 11 cold and rainy hours all alone will really test your willpower.
BTW - you can't forget the definition for "randonee", which roughly translates as "Screw this. Let's go ride bikes instead."

Whomever said it earlier is right. Distance riding can be a powerful addiction. I started 2 years ago back into it with a 100k. Next year I'm planning over 4000k in RUSA/ACP events.

11 cold and rainy hours all alone will really test your willpower.

Our last 200k was in August of `08. The fool promoter was trying to hammer home the point to the masses, (with OUR bodies!), that if avid cyclists could ride 124 miles completely within the greater Tampa Bay urban area in the hottest month of the year in Florida, then they could get off their lazy arses and pedal the 5 miles to work.

The fool cyclists, (myself and my wife), decided to try this sweltering, masochistic, better-than-300-traffic-controls-in-a-125-mile ride on one of our tandems. We'd normally do a flat 200k in 7 or 8 hours. It took us thirteen.

To RedC: Obviously, these are the exceptions rather than the rule. Distance riding DOES get into your blood, and as we get older, it's the one thing we can still do with the youngsters. We may not go as fast, but we can still go as far ... and many times even farther!

Our last 200k was in August of `08. The fool promoter was trying to hammer home the point to the masses, (with OUR bodies!), that if avid cyclists could ride 124 miles completely within the greater Tampa Bay urban area in the hottest month of the year in Florida, then they could get off their lazy arses and pedal the 5 miles to work.

The fool cyclists, (myself and my wife), decided to try this sweltering, masochistic, better-than-300-traffic-controls-in-a-125-mile ride on one of our tandems. We'd normally do a flat 200k in 7 or 8 hours. It took us thirteen.

To RedC: Obviously, these are the exceptions rather than the rule. Distance riding DOES get into your blood, and as we get older, it's the one thing we can still do with the youngsters. We may not go as fast, but we can still go as far ... and many times even farther!
As you know, a lot of riding in Florida depends on which way the wind is blowing. I kept hearing how hard the last 25 miles on the century would be but we turned away from the wind instead of into about mile 75 and it just blew my tired butt home. At one point I was just standing in the pedals and doing 18-20 on the flats. If I hadn't stopped to wait on my friends I would have been home sooner. But you are right I'm hooked on long rides and will do between 65 and 100 tomorrow depending on the weather.:)

Congratulations Red..