Biker395 

^ My last double century of the year. But unlike you, it's only my second! Oy.

The weather was just about perfect. It was a little chilly in the AM, but perfectly comfortable with a light windbreaker. Riding on Pacific Coast Highway in the early morning and late evening is sublime. There's very little traffic, you can often year the surf breaking, see stars in the sky, and if you're lucky, a moonset. We got lucky. No way I could get a pix of it from my bike without stopping, so this was the best I could do. Picture an orange nearly full moon dipping behind some distant clouds, and Point Mugu out in the distance. Really sweet.



I've ridden a lot in the area, but somehow, not on a lot of the roads we took. I love roads like this.



I unashamedly sucked Roland and Tiger's wheel all day. And at times, that was not easy. Oy, but tandems haul arse on descents!





Lunch was in Ojai ... sweet town. We rode through the residential section, and there are some cool neighborhoods. The tandem back wheel started making noises like an amorous couple in an upstairs apartment, so while the mechanic had a look, moseyed about and took some pictures:



Tell me this isn't a great bumper sticker:



The Bullshifters had far and away the best rest stop. Cup-o-Noodles, Costco sourdough pretzels, red vines, PBJ, Oreos ... OMG, did I make a pig of myself there. Great job, guys!



We rode back along highway 101 on the new bike path. This section used to be TERRIFYING at night. The shoulder was good and wide, but there was 70 MPH traffic to contend with, and with most headlights aimed to the right and in your direction, every passing car sounded and looked like it was going to run you over. Flippin scary, but no more ... this is what we have now:




And the view from there. Oh boy ... low tide, sun setting behind the Channel Islands ... there were even some horses on the beach.



And at the end, Adobo Velo (our Filipino Cycling club and probably the friendliest anywhere) had some chicken porridge soup, and all kinds of good stuff. This is a look of ecstasy.

jppe

Good going Vic! Always fun reading about your events. You do a commendable job with visuals as well.

jppe

Last century was Sunday, 100 miles of local roads with 3900' of climbing. A pokey 17.5 mph but brisk headwinds the first 50 miles.

az_cyclist

Great pics and report, Biker395!

It appears I will be adding the Dead of Winter Double to my cycling bucket list

OldsCOOL

While I respect anyone who rides a double, I do question your Az definition of "dead of winter".

OldsCOOL

17.5 is not pokey doing a headwind uphill for 50mi into a Century ride. Great job!

Biker395 

You should! The route is nice, and the weather this year was fab. BTW, give your fellow Bullshifters a pat on the back for me ... they did a great job!

Yea, that's what I say! 17+ MPH into the wind is about all I can do on a good day.

Rick@OCRR

Agreed, the Bullshifters did an excellent job, had all the right food and drinks available and served them up with friendly greetings and a very positive attitude. All Very Good!

Re: Weather, note that we had a lot of rain earlier in the week, mud-slides had blocked Pacific Coast Highway and we were extremely fortunate that Cal-Trans got it cleaned up in time (Kudo's to Cal-Trans!) and the weather cooperated perfectly.

This time of year, weather wise, we may not always be so lucky!

Rick / OCRR

3949dxer

Did my one and only century ride a couple of months ago, a few days before leaving on a long trip to Asia.

I started at about 7 PM, riding from my house to Alhambra, where I joined a group ride. We cruised around the San Gabriel Valley for a couple hours, then I said goodbye and headed off by myself. From the SG Valley I rode to downtown L.A., then south to Redondo Beach, they up the beach bike patch to Playa Del Rey, then north up to mid city, then through Hollywood to Lake Hollywood, and then down to Burbank where I live.

I used Strava to watch my elapsed miles while using a GPS to calculate the miles back to my house. When the total was 100 miles I headed back towards the house. I took it fairly slow and made several stops for snacks and such. The weather was perfect and I had a nice tailwind much of the way. I got home about 12 hours after I left.

There were a few group century rides around that time but I liked the idea of going (mostly) solo, so I could go at my own pace nd stop whenever I liked. I tend to ride at about 15 mph which is not especially slow, but there were a lot of good places to stop and rest along the way. I'm 61 and while my C-ride didn't set any records, doing it was very satisfying.

Rick@OCRR

Sounds like an excellent century route around the Los Angeles area! Please post a link to the Strava so I can see the route map and get a better idea of how you came up with it.

I live in South L.A. county (Whittier) but it sounds like a ride I would like.

Rick / OCRR

jppe

Rode the 2nd 100 miler of the weekly December century series yesterday that is put on by one of our local bike clubs. It was a nearly perfect ride. We had a great group of 24 riders that just wanted to get in base miles and keep an even steady pace. There was little to no wind although it was chilly at the start with temps in the high 20s. Clear blue skies, good conversation throughout the entire ride and temps at the finish pushed 60 degrees. I was noticeably stronger than last week, was able to stay with the group with minimal effort and was not the slowest rider. We averaged 18.2 mph with a riding time of 5 hr 31 mins. Rides that like get me really pumped up about cycling and thinking about future events. I need to bank that memory away for another day when the ride is all I can do to finish. 100.5 miles with 3800' of climbing. I've found these weekly December centuries really help me prepare for the next year's longer rides.

John_V 

Did a century with my riding buddy, Lou, yesterday. This was his first so we took it easy so he wouldn't burn his legs up. He's been riding for not quite a year and wanted to get a century ride before his first year was up. So far, for his first year of riding, he's clocked 4,000 miles and a century. The century came 15 years to the day of having a brain tumor removed. Great job, Lou!

jppe

Great stuff!

John_V 

Yep! He met me on another bike forum, in January of this year. When he found out we were both from Tampa, he wanted to come out and ride with me. The most he had ridden at the time was 15 miles and he was afraid that he would not be able to complete the 25 mile Honor Ride he signed up for. He showed up on a $150.00 mountain bike that he used to commute to work 3 days a week. I removed his bike computer and put it in my pocket and told him "let's get going." Got him up to 26 miles on that ride and he didn't even realize it. He completed the Honor Ride and was hooked. He's now on a nice carbon road bike and did the 210 mile, Florida Coast to Coast ride with me in October. I would have never thought that I would meet a 32 year old that would rather ride with a 68 year old, on weekend mornings, than go and hang out with his friends. He now has his dad involved and he's coming out every weekend with us. His dad is getting ready to purchase his road bike this week.

jppe

What a great story!

jppe

Getting a taste of what retirement could be like. Second century this week. 105 miles from the house around High Rock Lake with a manageable 4200' of climbing. Terrible 8:00 traffic leaving the house. Light headwinds the first 50 miles over to my in laws. Stopped for a couple peanut butter crackers. Stopped again at 75 miles for a cheeseburger and my favorite salt and vinegar chips plus a coke. Lots of hills the last 25 miles so glad I got recharged. Temperatures finally reached 50 degrees the last couple hours.

Rick@OCRR

Yes, jppe, Sounds like an excellent century, except for it being a bit cold (for me, probably not for you) and it's good that you had plenty of climbing too. I like doing that type of century, i.e. self supported and stopping for food and drink as necessary. Lots of fun and just as challenging or relaxing as you feel like on the moment!

Rick / OCRR

az_cyclist

Congrats jppe.

Most likely my centuries are done for 2014. The Heart of Arizona (by the Arizona Bullshifters, for those of you familiar with us from California doubles) was the last I needed to complete the Ultramarathon Cycling Year Rounder challenge. I had 14 in 10 calendar months. If the opportunity presents itself I might ride another century in December.

jppe

The last of the Solstice Centuries loosely organized by one of our local bike clubs. They do one of these each Saturday in December as a way to keep the weight down and build base miles for 2015. 100.6 miles at 18 mph. We had a terrific group of 17 riders to start the ride. The group was very disciplined and kept the pace very even throughout the ride. We stopped twice at 30 miles and 67 miles. There was a good headwind the last 30+ miles. I was able to do 4 centuries in December. One of my buddies did 11 centuries in December alone! In fact he rode 105 miles on both Friday and Saturday of this week.

I was much stronger on this 4th one than the first one we did earlier this month. That's a great sign of things to come.

az_cyclist

Congrats jppe! Was the 18mph average a rolling, or overall average?

jppe

This was a rolling average. I've done these off and on for almost 10 years. The 4 we did this year were the most controlled and fun that we've done. The last one felt like we were going way too slow at times but it seemed to work. Everyone made an effort to keep the group together and help anyone that was struggling. There were a couple of us hurting on the first one and several others dropped back to pick us up. I got stronger over the month and did the same for others. I sure liked being able to help much more than getting help. It only took one of the centuries to get me back into the swing of things. I hope you guys are getting in some good rides lately.

az_cyclist

We will ride a 200k brevet this Saturday, Jan 3, the Saguaro Lake 200k. It should have a brisk start at 28-30 degrees, and the forecast high is only in the 50's. Good for climbing though.

jppe, an 18 mph ave is impressive to me whether it is moving or overall

jppe

100 miles with 4200' of climbing today. My first one this year! I rode over and back from the house and joined an organized Polar Bear Ride. The organized ride was a 100k and the start was 20 miles from the house. It was 23 degrees when I left the house an 38 degrees when I got home. It felt great riding as my wool stuff really was perfect for the temperatures.

C0500

If you are looking for a opportunity for some fun Centuries this summer I host a ride called the Central Oregon 500. It is 5 days of 5 Centuries all starting and finishing in Bend Oregon. Great rides and there are 2 days with 150 mile options. Check out the links for more information. This will be my 7th year of making these rides on in early june. 2015 ride is 6/3 to 6/7.
Central Oregon 500+

Central Oregon 500

Biker395 

Did my first century of the year yesterday. Turned out to be a bit of a sufferfest.

You all are probably used to riding in the rain, but trust me ... I don't do it that often. Here in SoCal, it doesn't rain all that often and when it does, I either stay inside or go skiing. But the weather reports for Saturday were consistent ... no rain until 7PM, and we expected to finish long before that. What have I say to that? Well, there are 8 general steps to a ride like that:

1. You feel a drop. Nah … can’t be. The weatherman said no rain.

2. You feel further drops. No worries. Just a little sprinkle.

3. You see water drops on the ground. It will probably stop soon.

4. Water covers 100% of the ground. No worries, so long as the tires don’t start flinging water on you.

5. Your tires start flinging water on you. Crap. Why didn’t you bring fenders? The next step is only a matter of time.

6. Your chamois feels like a wet sponge. Although you are unaware of it, your shorts now look like you **** your pants. Well, at least your feet are dry.

7. You feel water flowing from your legs into your shoes -your shoes now feel like you are pedaling on wet sponges. Well, at least you're not cold.

8. Water enters the inside of your glasses. If you weren’t so cold, you’d stop and clean them.



Here's a photo of us at the start. See Teresa and Karen in the background there? No one near our age has any right to look that good.



We felt a few drops shortly thereafter. Step 1.

As we climbed up the Old Road to Valencia, the drops intensified. Step 2.

Little by little, they filled in all the dry spots on the road. Step 3.

I got a flat somewhere around step 4. We were lucky in that it was near a fire station, so the girls got to flirt a bit. One of the firemen said:

:Hey, you guys are in luck ... you're riding away from the weather."

I questioned:

"You know we're riding that way, right?" (Pointing west and into a load of dark clouds)

He shook his head grimly. "Oh ... well never mind."

We headed out on busy Highway 126. Plenty of shoulder and plenty of garbage on it. This is where I got my second flat. It is also where we transitioned into step 5. I tell ya ... nothing makes you feel alive more than getting sprayed by semis passing by your arse. Speaking of which, Karen caught me in another compromising position:

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It was a suitable position for the day.

About 10 miles from there, I got yet another flat. But at this point, there were enough puddles around, I could use the water to find the source of my angst. About the same time I saw the bubbles, Steve noted a tiny piece of wire in my tire near the sidewall. He tried to get it out with his teeth, but fortunately, I had some pliers and they did the job. By now we were in full "crap your pants" mode ... clearly in stage 5.



By now we were all pretty damn cold. I fortunately thought to bring a rain jacket (a last second thought!) so I wasn't too bad. Steve and Karen were freezing. But how we had the climb up Balcom ... that steep climb (18-20%) that is a crowd favorite on the Tour of California. Here is the money shot from the top:



We felt warm at the top, but soon chilled on the descent down to Simi Valley. A Mickey D's shone in the distance. Salvation. Poor employees had to follow us around with mops and caution cones, but for us it was all worth it. Among other things, I found a new use for my tire irons. I didn't want to risk another slippery slide down those hard tiles. I noticed a little girl nudging her dad and pointing at me while I did this.

"Ignore him, honey. Eat your lunch."



But it was fun ... Here is a shot of the group:



And us cyclists take care of each other:



We finished it up in a pouring rain ... so bad it was hard to see. 97 sloppy wet miles. My bike looked almost as bad as the tandem. Nice, eh?



Oh, and I also tried out a few new things. Here is my review:

1. Showers Pass Protech ST Jacket: Boy, am I glad I brought this. It is truly waterproof and windproof. I have used it before, and thought it was fab ... both packable and wind resistant. But I can confirm now that it is also waterproof too.

2. Cygolite Hotshot: I got this thing "just to be safe." It's purported to be daylight visible, includes it's own rechargeable battery, and is only about $30. What do I think? Well ... it IS bright, it went the distance, and it continued to work, even when soaking wet. Thumbs up.

3. Garmin VIRB: This thing went haywire sometime along the ride (it was exposed to all the rain), but it seemed to recover. The helmet mount (straps) leaves something to be desired, as the camera bounces too much. Gotta figure that out better. Anyway, here is the result.