bdinger

It was a metric, but I did it!

Miles: 65.91
Time: Lots
Average speed: about 12mph
Cliff Bars consumed: 2
Jimmy Johns subs consumed: 1
Ibuprofen consumed: 5

I had a blast. Most of it was on old railbeds that are now limestone, which definitely put in a "burn" factor. The 20-25mph head/sidewind for the last couple miles was sure killer, but I bet without it, I could have done the full century.

Anyway.. more soon! During the ride I test rode a Long Haul Trucker and.. that's my next bike. Seriously, what a sweetheart of a ride!

epcolt

Great job, I am planning on a metric as soon as it gets a little nicer weather here.

markhr

Good job dude - what've you got planned for next weekend?

Tom Stormcrowe

Good job!

Mazama

Alright! Nice ride. I only consumed 3 aspirins though

Tom Stormcrowe

Ibuprofen works better for joint pain during a ride You really need to keep up the hydration though using either.

StephenH

Congratulations!

Neil_B

Yes, please, more detail. And photos if available.

jaxgtr

Congrats

bigtruck

Congrats, Its a good feeling isn't it

Neil_B

No "but" about it. Ya done good, and you did a ride longer than most folks on two wheels take. It's easy on the Clyde forum to get sucked into the belief that EVERYONE rides centuries. Trust me, it's not as common as you think. Even leaving aside your struggle with obesity, it's an accomplishment. So Big Ben, suck it up.

bdinger

Well it was an absolute blast. The morning started and I couldn't decide which bike to ride. I knew that I'd probably be in for at least 50 miles, and might push further so I grabbed the bike with the Brooks (which would later be both a blessing and a mistake) - my 7.3 FX. I rolled over to riding buddy Oliver's house, where sitting in front of his garage was this:


Oliver recently bought a Salsa Mamasita for MTB racing, but apparently at a trip to the LBS they had this Dos Niner built up and he test rode it. They threw him a price that was unbelievable considering the build, and he took it. They also offered him a cot in case of fury of his wife (he's up to 13 very nice rides now.. ). Fortunately, there is no fury of his wife, which is good because that's an amazingly beautiful ride.

We were joined up by another ride partner where the picture was taken, and began to head south - straight into the tailwind. Both of the other riders were on 29er MTB's with front (and in the case of that Salsa, very interesting rear) suspension, while I was on a rigid frankenhybrid. As soon as we hit gravel, for the next 25 miles all I heard was "Hey corey, did you feel that bump?" "No, how about you Ben" "Funny..". The trail was kind of "loamy" and beat me up a bit. Thank everything for those ibuprofen, they took the "edge off" my shoulder pain.

We made it back into town with a nice tailwind, keeping our speed average deliberately low to extend the legs, and then headed north to meet up with the "10 AM" group. Stopped by the LBS to grab a couple Cliff bars as my stomach was growling something fierce, and they gave us each a free bag of Hammer Nutrition goodies. Score! Thanks guys!

Meeting up with the 10am group, there were three others who either hadn't ridden in years (congrats to him) or hadn't ridden much/yet this year. We headed east on yet another gravel trail, with more reminders of the soft plush ride of the 29er MTBs from the now expanded MTB committee. Some turned back at the 3 mile mark, but some continued, and so did I. Around the 5 mile mark I decided to kick it up a notch and bid them adieu. They were traveling around 10mph, and I knew that if I kicked it up to 15mph on the gravel grades I could probably get another 2-3 miles out before turning back and catching them when they turned around. I was at 41 miles, and I knew that a century was "in the bag" if I got to mile 43 and turned around. My plan worked perfectly as I headed out, celebrated mile 43 with two more ibuprofen and a cliff bar, then headed back at speed into the wind. Caught them right at mile 3, and we headed back together to the trailhead.

By the trailhead I was at mile 50 and felt fine. Legs were great, energy was great, and overall just felt good. The century in the bag, I relaxed. We headed downtown for lunch, and to drop Oliver's Salsa at the LBS for some fine-tuning to the disc brakes. By far, the lunch was the best idea we had the whole trip - second only to the slower pace we forced ourselves to do. Jimmy Johns sub, one full-strength Coca-Cola, and some potato chips. A ton of calories, yes, but it got the energy levels that were beginning to get depleted back up to normal. At mile 50 I said "yeah, I don't need lunch, I just had a cliff bar". At mile 53 I said "I'm game, you pick the place" . I guess the 15+ mph push west into the wind took more than one cliff bar could give me.

Feeling absolutely great, headed back to the LBS. They had a Surly Long Haul Trucker built up on the wall, so I asked about it. 56cm size, which should have been right about pefect for me. Took it out for a test ride through downtown. Two words: Pure love. I'm serious, that bike "spoke" to me, and was just an amazingly good ride. Had them up the saddle a bit for a second ride, then it was perfect. Glided through downtown having no problems picking up speed and enjoying the steel ride. Barend shifters? Awesome. Enjoyed it so much that I inquired about their stock - it includes a 56cm green one that they have yet to build - and costs for a complete rear wheel rebuild off the bat (their wrench is a highly regarded wheelbuilder), along with costs for adding "cross brakes" to the top bar. Told them I'd be back very soon to take one home.

The Trek must have known, because on the trip home the rear wheel went out of true and a spoke came loose. @#$(@#!$)*!@#$@$

I bit Oliver goodbye at the spot we started, now mile 61 after a 4 mile direct-into-a-25mph-headwind battle. Put the iPod on and headed North, letting the tailwind and my legs just cruise me down the MUP. 61.25 miles came.. still almost there.. 61.55... getting closer.. 61.75 cues up Mr Bob Seger and a downhhill, then 22mph through mile 62 and I pump my arms and get a tad teary. I made it, it's done.

Headed east/southeast to battle the wind for another 3.5 miles and arrived at home. Thanked the trek for it's service then cleaned up and waited for my family to get home - it was now 2pm. Overall a very good ride, my overall speed was right at 12mph moving, which is a perfect speed for distance it seems. On pavement the 15-20mph is good, it's amazing how much gravel can slow you down!

Then after the wife came home, I got unanimous board approval for the LHT. I'm putting my oft beloved, oft hated Trek 7.3 FX up on the local craigslist tonight, after all the extras have been removed and it has been cleaned up and had the rear wheel trued. So a milestone, and a goodbye to a good bike that just needs a home where it won't get such a hammering. (BTW, I'd be happy to offer it to BF members).

The thing that bugs me about the whole thing is that I know I had another 34 miles in my legs. So now I keep riding, keep living and wait until the time will permit me to put that notch in my belt. Since we did a metric on Oliver's Dos Niner's debut, maybe a century for the debut of my LHT?

bdinger

Thanks Neil! I was just beating myself up because I KNEW I had a full century in my legs, but I chose to end it. In all honesty, though, I'll save that for another time. I have a baby coming in a matter of WEEKS now, so that will give me a good 12 months to train up on shorter, but long enough, rides for a century next spring.

Or, like I said, maybe I'll christen my new bike with a century.

bdinger

I, and everyone else on the ride, concur completely. My shoulder always gives me problems during distance on my Trek FX. Like clockwork the pain began at mile 20, so I downed three. By mile 25 I felt great again. Same game around mile 43. By the time I got home it hurt, but I didn't care anymore .

bdinger

Hopefully not having a baby! Likely a 30-40 mile gravel ride, I think. I'm done with centuries for a little while, at least until the baby is here and allows us the freedom TO do things like that.

Neil_B

Before you work out any fit problems?!?

BTW, the problem with your shoulder and the Trek 7.3 implies the bike simply didn't fit you. Or you might have an elevated shoulder, which I don't wish on anyone.

badgermac

COngrats on the ride! It will be interesting to hear how you're feeling Day 2 and 3 post-ride.

So how you gonna build up the LHT?

bdinger

I'm actually pretty positive you are right on the fit. I know that on my Hardrock, I can put in 24 miles without any pain whatsoever - I did precisely that on Friday. I like the way the Trek fits my legs, but my arms are generally fully extended on it, so who knows.

The LHT, on the other hand, seems to be perfect. My shoulder hurt before I got on it, didn't while I was on, and did again after getting on the Trek later. So who knows on that

And.. trust me, I'll be going crazy on the fit with it. I'm seriously tempted to do an "actual" fitting beforehand. My Trek is a 57cm and feels too long (it also has a WTF 120mm stem), but the LHT is a 56 and feels great. I *might* get a stem with an upward angle on it, but not sure.

bdinger

Feeling great today, actually. I'm going to take the kids out to the MUP for a nice little half mile jaunt later this afternoon. I know my daughter will be putting the smack down, but not sure about the boy

The LHT is going to essentially be the "LHT complete" build that Surly offers, with some tweaks. Seriously, the stock build is very solid - lots of Deore XT and LX, along with high quality "other" parts. My tweaks will be a rebuilt stock wheel with DT spokes (it has a nice alex 36h rim and 36h XT hub already), some "cross" brake levers on the top bar in addition to the regular road brakes, my Brooks B-17 saddle, and maybe a different stem with a little more rise to it.

I'm also considering swapping the stock Continentals with some Armadillos, but that may wait until I give the Contis a chance. Really, my initial ride impressions of the bike were good - very good - in it's stock config. I thought for sure I wouldn't like the barends, but man, they really are great. Just click it into a gear and go. I'm one of those who generally stays in a cluster of 2-3 gears during most of my riding, and when I'm commuting it's 1 or 2.

I already told my wife after that, I only want one more bike. A 29er MTB, and I'm done. With the Hardrock, a 29er (Salsa or Surly) and the LHT I'll have everything I'll ever need. I know I'm fast enough, but I'll never be a Lancer so I don't need some carbon fiber wonder. Rather, I need something I can "get lost" on and enjoy the ride with. That steel frame fits the bill on the LHT, I can see myself owning that bike for a very, very, very long time.

bdinger

One note, today I'm feeling about 100%. It's really kind of odd, but I don't have any pain, and have generally been fine. I credit the lack of butt pain solely to the Brooks saddle, if you want a product endorsement, there's mine. They are the best thing ever. The shoulder was sore, but now I don't notice it.

The legs definitely have a lack of power in them, but nothing is hurting. I'm really looking forward to a nice and easy recovery ride with the kids in a couple hours - but until then - I have a little work to do! Enjoy the Sunday, fellow clydes, hopefully where you are is as nice as here!

Neil_B

Fully extended arms? You don't have a slight bend in the elbows? Perhaps that's the problem. Does the Hardrock keep you in a more upright position than the Trek did?

Even after getting a bike fitted, it can take a while to get used to the new fit. My 7.5 was fit to me "like a glove", as my fitter put it. Still, it took more than a month before I was used to the bike. So speaking as one fat guy to another, hold of on the century until the bike is fully broken in.

Neil_B

You are in better shape than me, Big Ben. I underfueled on the ride, and I clearly took on too much too early. My reason for doing so is I've felt guilty about not riding more often, and I have a week long bike tour in less than two months. Reading the century report by "Mazema" earlier this week also spurred the competitive urge.

bdinger

*bow* Well thank you . I kept getting complimented on my riding yesterday which was weird, as I only had about a "4" in me, not my usual ability to push it to "11". I had one hill, the one always attack that I was able to blast up at 20mph +. Beyond that, at one point on a slight downhill with a tailwind I actually got dropped by Oliver and his new MTB with MTB tires! Now, granted, his dang MTB weighs LESS than my FX...

Also I found yesterday that the whole "eating every hour-ish" thing is absolutely true. I was probably a tad on the dehydrated side (my two bottles were basically gone by 11am), but fuel-wise I was good. I read a big hammer nutrition thing last night that of course pushed the greatness of their products, but made a lot of sense. From now on I'm going to start going by the "250-300 per hour" rule of thumb on rides longer than 2 hours.

Oh, and the sore butt thing, well, I seriously believe that was alleviated thanks to the Brooks. My two hour friday ride left me with a little bit of a sore bottom, and that was on the Hardrock with the new Specialized saddle. Not bad, but not great. My ride partner yesterday also had a sore hind-side, and was pointing out once or twice how nice his Brooks would be right then . They look like medieval torture devices, and for the first hundred or two miles you'll think they are. But after a couple hundred miles and one or two particularly sweaty long rides - they're absolute heaven. I'm listing my Trek FX tonight on Craigslist for sale, but it will NOT be coming with the Brooks - I'm saving my used saddle for my new bike!

bdinger

Thanks Tom! I told myself that I'd FINALLY get one of those certificates if I completed this thing. That made me through mile 54 .

DanteB

Great Job!!!!