akansaskid

October is in; 100 miles Sat; 100 miles Sun. Dug the tights out for fall. Saturday's start was in the dark with temps in the 30s. Frost on the roofs at daybreak. Sunday's start at dawn was a balmy 46.

2009 Century Log:
Jan 11, 17, 31 (3)
Feb 1 (4)
Mar 7, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 (10)
Apr 4, 10, 18, 25 (14)
May 2, 9, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 30 (23)
Jun 15, 19; 22 and 24: RAAM Spotting; 25, 29, 30 (30)
Jul 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 22, 26 (MTB - ugh!) (42)
Aug 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 (200K), 23, 29, 30 (56)
Sep 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 (64)
Oct 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 31 (73)

JimF22003

Saturday I did 30 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway from MP 0 to Rt 56, and then rode down the hill to Vesuvius. This is the hill I crashed on last March, and separated my shoulder. I took it real slow this time... Then I rode up the valley to Waynesboro, for about 56 miles, and finally added the remainder up to about mile 101 on Skyline Drive, about 8000 ft of climbing total for the day.

snaproll

October:

100.37 miles
5:39 - 17.73 mph

K4LK

10/4: 101 miles, 12.3 mph average, 1860 ft of climbing
10/18: 99.4 miles, 14 mph avg, 5400 ft of climbing

Registered for:
Santa Fe Century on 10/23
Horse Farm Hundred on 10/24
Gulf Coast Cycling Fest on 11/1
Horrible Hundred on 11/18

BlueJay66

Good Grief it has been awhile since I updated. I am still in for 2009. The rides for AUG, SEP, and OCT came late in each month, but they were good rides. THey were all cool. I am amazed that July was the only ride for me that had my knees seeing sunshine. Every other month they have been covered with leg warmers or tights. Looks like a few more people have found this page late with some real go getters!! How many actual CAM riders do we have for 2009? Has anyone counted? Happy Trails!

BlueJay66
Jamis Eclipse

K4LK

Santa Fe Century on 10/23, 100.5 miles, 15.7 mph average 2000 ft of climbing
Horse Farm Hundred on 10/24, 101.6 miles, 15.1 mph average, 2700 ft climbing

10 Wheels

Getting too old for Centuries:

Jan 2009 1762 Miles with Six Centuries
Feb 2009 1380 Miles with Two Centuries
March 2009 1352 Miles with Two Centuries
April 2009 1469 Miles with One Century
May 2009 1511 miles with Three Centuries

June 2009 932 miles with One Century
July 2009 1888 miles with Four Centuries
August 2009 1421 miles with One Century
Sept 2009 1361 miles with Three Centuries
Oct 2009 One Century

yeamac 

made October by the skin of my teeth!

October 31
121.9 miles
17.6 mph average speed
6:55:55 moving time
~ 8:10:00 total time

(had a flat that bulged the tire so I had to put in a boot and ride it 60 miles home)


nah, you're only too old when you're dead

akansaskid

November is in. Today's was much windier than yesterday's, but November weather is so variable that I thought I'd better ride them when I can.

2009 Century Log:
Jan 11, 17, 31 (3)
Feb 1 (4)
Mar 7, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 (10)
Apr 4, 10, 18, 25 (14)
May 2, 9, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 30 (23)
Jun 15, 19; 22 and 24: RAAM Spotting; 25, 29, 30 (30)
Jul 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 22, 26 (MTB - ugh!) (42)
Aug 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 (200K), 23, 29, 30 (56)
Sep 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 (64)
Oct 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 31 (73)
Nov 1, 7, 8, 11, 14, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, 29 (60th birthday! :-) ) (84)

10 Wheels

Nov 01, 2009 101.58 miles

Jasper Storm

November complete, 11/1.

Thought I'd take advantage of a dry day, the extra hour with the clock change, and less cars due to people sleeping in after wild Halloween parties.

Unfortunately, my route was pretty much fogged in for the first 60 miles, making for a cold, clammy ride ( I should have worn a l/s jersey instead of a s/s and a rain shell that doesn't breathe.) Never felt great, but made it back alive.

Distance: 101.34 miles
Rolling time: 5:42:12
Total time: 5:51
Avg. speed: 17.7 mph

yeamac 

Gonna get November done while the weather is gorgeous. It has been sunny all week, highs in the 70's, lows in the 50's.

November 6
105.4 miles
17.6 mph average speed
5:59:29 moving time
~ 6:35:00 total time

K4LK

Horrible Hundred
Nov 15
100.9 miles
14.8 mph average
4,680 feet of climbing.

My sixth century since Oct 1

sd_mike

Got another Century in this year, probably my last until next year when the days get longer. I just don't want to get up early enough. 100.3 miles, at least 30% dirt trail or dirt road. Basically, everything from freeway to singletrack. On a cyclocross bike. Lots and lots of fun.

TomM

Oct 11th I completed my R12 and since then I've ridden a century each week.

karjak

Okay the December Century is done here in Mitchell area of South Dakota. My son has wanted to do a century a month for as many consecutive months as he could. His first one was in May. I think I might have missed at least one month. Anyway today’s was memorable, our county was included in a NWS high wind warning. Sustained winds were above 30 mph with some gusts at least 40mph. Don’t think temp ever got up to 40 F.

Yesterday was beautiful with a high of 54 and I suggested to my son we do it then but he said it would not be December so we tried today. The two of us got started late around 9:15 am and cold front came through sooner than expected, a little after 10 am. Going west on highway 42 in a terrible cross wind of 30 mph plus. Our intentions were to beat the front and go west and north about 50 miles and then let the cold front winds take us bake home in our planned loop.

Anyway after completing our 30mile west segment we went 3 miles north before hitting a town to rest. We needed to go a little more than 20 miles to get where we wanted to go. Impossible with gusts of 40-mph. Just about got took down a couple of times. Went to plan B and instead went south and east to Parkston, South Dakota where my wife works and we could beg a ride back to the farm.

Was a fun ride going south and east but still needed another 32 miles when we got to the Parkston. So we came up with an 18-mile loop on paved roads, which we hoped to do twice. Trouble was half distance involved going north and west again. Finished the 8-mile west segment and I just about bonked. Anyway decided at the end to compete the last 14 miles by looping through the streets of town where we had some wind protection from trees and buildings. Has to be the toughest century I have ever done. Think I will pass on the January and February runs.

What amazes me in reading through thread was that Machka was able to do a century a month in central Alberta for 2 years and 1 year in Winnipeg. Went to Winnipeg once in January to celebrate Y2K New Year and see fireworks. Remember standing out in 60 below wind chill for about half hour waiting for bus. Actually had a great time and it is a neat city. However, it would be a super achievement to do a century in the winter months there..

BlueJay66

The Third Time’s the Charm
A Century a Month – November 2009

November’s 100 mile ride almost did not happen, but it was not for a lack of trying. I started out before sunrise on Friday November 27th , the day after Thanksgiving, but the temperature was about 33 degrees and I was not quite prepared for that. I needed a face mask, but I could not find mine. I had planned to do a series of out and back routes to keep coming home, but after the first 12 miles Beth was awake and I got an offer I could not refuse. The boys were still asleep and she was downstairs. That’s right! She asked me to stay home and catch up on one of our TV shows that we had been recording since September! Oh well! I thought there would be plenty more days over the long weekend to get a ride in; and the forecast said things were supposed to warm up. I had seen a nice sunrise, it was warmer in the house, and we had a nice day at home eating leftovers. I also had time to search the house and find my facemask in my winter coat.
Saturday we traveled to see relatives and friends, so I missed out on a beautiful day to ride. I could not convince Beth to let me meet them down in Tinley Park. The wind was from the South, so it would have been a tough ride anyway. That left Sunday to ride, and I was mentally psyched to get the century done. I had actually planned a route! That’s a big deal for me and it really played an important factor later when I was finishing. I had not planned every single mile, but I had a good idea that I was going to do 7 legs of approximately 7 miles one way, all leading out from Richmond. I started out at 8:00 AM – late by my standards – and immediately found myself in a pounding rain. My mental energy was still strong. I had wool on. I was warm. I even had a rear fender. I completed the first leg and then went on to the second leg. At mile 17 my back tire felt squishy and then I realized my mistake. I had removed my seat pack with my spare tubes. I had nothing to repair a flat other than a mini pump so I stopped, inflated the tire, went a mile down the road, stopped again, inflated the tire…etc. I had also forgotten my cell phone. Things were not looking good. After the third inflation I made it to Nippersink Golf Club. The workers thought the guys there to play golf were crazy, but then I walked in! I called Beth. I could have asked her to bring me a tube, but I asked for a ride home. My mental energy had waned, my feet were wet and cold, and it was just not a very nice day. I felt that I had given the century a try. I told myself that was what counted. I did have a nagging sense of failure though.
The Ultra Marathon Cycling Association allows rides from up to two months away to count in the Year-Rounder riding challenge. I told myself I could just do two centuries in December. Maybe I would do them on back-to-back days as a make up challenge. I was rationalizing. I still felt a little dejected, but I felt like I had given the goal a real attempt and I could still be eligible for the award. The bright side was that I got to spend the day at home with the family.
When I went to school on Monday I was trying not to dwell on my failure of a century ride in each month, but the thought going through my mind was that we were now in December and the chance was gone. I am not sure at what part of the day I realized that Monday was November 30th, but I got an e-mail from a friend that lives in Connecticut at about 3:00PM.
I had sent her an e-mail earlier in the day to thank her for a donation she had made for a Special Olympics fundraiser I participated in over the weekend. I had not only participated in the event, but I was also the organizer for kids from my school. In her reply she wrote:
“I have always admired your passions. You’re so good at really finding things you love and committing to the hard work to get to your goals. Kudos for doing so again.”
My friend’s name is Judy and I knew she was talking about doing good for others, but it struck a chord in me as I realized that I was passionate about cycling and accomplishing my goals. Realizing that it was still November, I e-mailed Beth and said, “ I am seriously thinking about going for a bike ride tonight.” Beth is a great wife! She replied saying that would be ok and that she would be home after running to the store with Flynn. I got home and helped Reed and Will with some homework. I fixed the flat tire on the bike from the day before, and got the bike ready to go for a long ride. I had to replace batteries in my lights. I got spare tubes. I had warm clothes. I put on everything reflective that I had. It had been a nice day. Temperatures were in the 40’s and the skies were clear. Beth got home at about 5:15 and I said I was thinking about doing a long ride.
She said “I thought you were already going to be gone.” I told her that I wanted to wait for her to get home. She still had not grasped what I was planning.
I set off at 5:30 PM and rode the same first leg that I did on Friday and Sunday. The wind was strong from the Southwest. I stopped in after the first leg and said to Beth tentatively, “I’m feeling really good. I am going to keep riding. OK?”
“OK.” She said.
The second leg started out going with the wind and that was really nice. When I came back to the house a second time it was about 7:00 PM and I had ridden 32 miles. I said to Beth again, “It is a nice night for riding. I think I am going to keep going. Is that OK?”
“You’re crazy!” she said. She had finally figured it out. Reed said to go for it. I explained that I had realized that it was still November and that I had to do this.
I was now fully committed with approval and that gave me a nice boost of energy. The rest of the night was just riding along underneath the stars and a nearly full moon. Cars, for the most part, had no trouble seeing me. I had three taillights, three headlights, a headlamp to read my computer, a reflective vest, a reflective sash, and reflective ankle straps. All that was left to do was ride 68 more miles.
I set off and rode my planned route. The out-and-backs with stops at home were a good idea, because I did not have legs of the route that were in the same direction for too long. The winds shifted to the west and to the south and stayed strong through the night. I was hoping to finish before midnight, but my pace after 50 miles made it look like I was going to finish closer to 1:00 AM. I really thought I was going to finish 90 miles in 6 hours of riding, but I just missed that mark. As the night went by mile after mile, I was having fun, but it was getting late.
The UMCA rules state that a century ride is any distance between 90 and 149 miles. I was really tempted to be done at 90 miles. I had ridden 110 miles for my July century, so rationalizations started popping up in my brain again. Darn those rules and the temptations they bring! I did finish 100 miles, but it was a strange reason that kept me going. The thing that pushed me to get past the rationalization was the route I had set up. I was trying to “draw” a picture on the map that would show up on my GPS computer. I needed to complete the right arm of a stick figure man that ended up having an enormous triangular head. (No art critics please. You try drawing a picture with a bicycle over a canvas of close to 50 square miles. J )
So that was what kept me going. I had to finish the arm! The one on the left. (Which would be his right.)
My total ride time was 7 hours 30 minutes. My time on the bike was 6 hours 43 minutes. I made stops at the house a total of 4 times. My average speed was 14.9 mph, which is pretty slow, but the wind and the dark slowed things down. I felt really good at the end. I suppose a real stickler for the rules would say I did not get all of the miles done in November, and I would agree. But I say I started the ride in November and rode 87 miles before midnight, so that is one rationalization I will hold on to. Thanks for reading!

akansaskid

Dec's done (Saturday). Only got in 62 today as winter set in with freezing drizzle and snow this afternoon. Doesn't look good for a while. National Weather Service said it was looking at a conveyor belt of storms for the month. Yuck. Fortunately they're wrong often enough that there's still hope!

2009 Century Log:
Jan 11, 17, 31 (3)
Feb 1 (4)
Mar 7, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 (10)
Apr 4, 10, 18, 25 (14)
May 2, 9, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 30 (23)
Jun 15, 19; 22 and 24: RAAM Spotting; 25, 29, 30 (30)
Jul 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 22, 26 (MTB - ugh!) (42)
Aug 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 (200K), 23, 29, 30 (56)
Sep 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 (64)
Oct 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 31 (73)
Nov 1, 7, 8, 11, 14, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, 29 (60th birthday! :-) ) (84)
Dec 5, 12, 13, 19, 20, 21 (90)

unterhausen

I did 130 miles Saturday, over 100 of it in snow. Don't even want to think about it.

Jasper Storm

2009 complete, 12/12.
A nice, sunny day but cool. Temperature at start was 23 degrees, warming to about 35 by the end.

Miles: 101.06
Rolling time: 5:42:28
Total time: 5:56
Avg speed: 17.6 mph

yeamac 

Woo-hoo! My 2009 Century-a-month challenge is complete!

December 18
103.8 miles
16.7 mph average speed
6:12:27 moving time
~ 7:30:00 total time

Almost didn't think December was going to happen with only 3 opportunities to ride, the first was cancelled by snow (in Houston!), the second by rain, both times a few days prior the forecast was for sunny and 60 degrees. But today it came to fruition -- started in the 40's and warmed to 60, beautiful, sunny day. I had two flats, the first was a simple tube change but the second was with 30 miles to go and I hit a 2-inch nail. I went to patch it but found out my glue was dried up. Fortunately the first flat was only a small pinhole, so I was able to use the tube with a slow leak and had to stop 3 times to air it up. I think the rear tire was around 35 PSI when I made it home. Plus I had gotten a late start and was racing darkness (only the rear tail light on my rack). It sure feels good to be done and to have been able to complete the challenge!

larryfeltonj

Congratulations! I've decided to do the challenge for 2010 (was actually filling out the form when I decided to browse this thread to give me inspiration).

BlueJay66

December and 2009 is done!!

Thanks for the inspiration everyone. I also earned the Larry Schwartz Award from the UMCA. Today's ride was by far the hardest, but it was more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Temps started and ended in the teens. High was only 24 I think. I did a straight out and back. I was surprised to see that it was over 3000 feet of climbing. It was touch and go with all the snow we have had in Northern Illinois, but I saw my opportunity today and nabbed it. Slowest century for me all year too I think. 6 hours 48 minutes riding time. 7 hours 30 minutes total time. My water bottles froze 30 minutes in to the ride. I should have just dropped them and picked them up on the way back to save myself a few pounds, but I didn't.

Looking over the rest of the posts here it looks like congratulations are in order for:

Yeamac
Jasper Storm
akansaskid

Have I missed anyone? Has anyone missed posting their rides? Unterhausen did you do a ride every month? I was not sure. Congratulations if so. The 130 miles with 100 in snow sounds best not to be thought of Cheers everyone! Here's to a great 2010.

the spin guru

Finally got Decembers century/200km permanent done yesterday. It took 3 try's and some cracked ribs but I got it done. At the same time I finished my year rounder challenge with the B.C Randonnuers.
I,m pretty happy to have it done as Decembers really was a tough one to finish with the weather being like it has been around here.

BlueJay66

And Congratulations to you Spin Guru! I can relate to the tough weather conditions! More snow here today, so I am really glad I had a window yesterday. An Arctic blast is on the way for the weekend. Time to hit the rollers I guess.