maxine

It's the annual "Who's riding the Seagull?" thread.

I'll be there, # 610, staying in Ocean City.

It could be a rough year. I went camping this weekend in Shenandoah National Park, and did a 9-mile hike that was mostly waaaay steep down and waaaay steep back up. The few flat spots were mostly scrambling over a sea of rocks. I cannot believe how much my legs hurt right now . . .

USAZorro

5598 - I'm procrastinating the sleeping arrangements too.

maxine

Yeah, I procrastinated quite a while before I finally decided on Ocean City again, and a lot of hotels down there (in the area I like to stay, anyway) were already full. Last year I camped at Assateague State Park, which was fun. But I'm not willing to trust my luck with camping again this year -- the odds that the Seagull will have lovely weather two years in a row are on the order of me winning the lottery.

zeBRAHz

#7676, staying with a friend on campus. i'll be riding a fixed gear, my friend will be doing the same. stoked.

davemd1820

#1452 I'll be staying at Sleep Inn in Salisbury. This is my first Seagull & only 2nd attempt at 100 miles. My daughter is a Junior at SU & will be handing out T-Shirts on Friday.

pmt

#22, driving down in the morning. I get up at 0430 every day anyway.

Beck

Doing the Civista century out of La Plata. Much closer and a fairly new event.

kle

#2541, one of the [strike]two[/strike] three (apparently) orange "HOKIES" riders.

It was pretty windy today, but it was somewhat a tailwind/cross-wind on the way out to Assateague, so that wasn't so bad. I was riding echelon in pacelines with other riders the whole way, going from 20.0mph average speed at the first rest stop to 20.4mph average speed at the water stop to 20.1mph average speed at Assateague. Riding back was where the pain and headwinds began, with my average speed dropping to 19.6mph at the Pie stop, and somewhere less than that at the finish (my bike computer was reset, but I averaged 18.something back). There was also a bit of rain at the start and some sprinkles off and on, but it wasn't too bad.

The worst part, I think, was the drop in temperature. Amazing what a 10° difference can do--at the start, it was warmish at 77°, but by the time we finished up, it dropped down to the mid 60s. That, coupled with the rain, made me wish I had my arm warmers on the way back from the Pie stop.

Lots of flat tires today...and lots more riders this time, too.

I had fun, and finally got a taste of the not-so-good weather that the Seagull is sometimes known for (my first was 2007 with perfect weather that day, and last year's weather was decent, too).

The craziest thing I think I saw today was the guy on the unicycle, with all that wind and all...

pmt

It was pretty fun; our rolling time was about 4.5 hrs. There were a shocking number of people stopped on the side of the road changing flats; I was really surprised. I didn't notice any glass or debris on the roads.

davemd1820

#1452 --- Had a great time riding the century. This was my first Seagull & my 2nd 100 mile ride. The wind really gave me a hard time on the return loop. I maintained 17 mph avg going out & 15 -16 coming back until we came along side the open fields where the wind was whipping. My speed dropped to 12 mph in some of the windy areas! I finished at 6 hours 37 minutes with an avg of 15.0 mph.

My daughter is a junior at SU & was handing out the seagull century t-shirts on Friday. I thought SU did a great job of hosting all of us.

I saw two different bike crashes near the Assateague Loop which required ambulances. I hope everyone is ok.

This ride has given me a measure of what to work on for next year & I am pumped up thinking about returning in better form.

maxine

Yeah, that temperature drop was something! I put my rain jacket on briefly, but it felt clammy on me, so I took it off. I was also wishing for my arm warmers!

I, too, was surprised by the number of "mechanicals" I saw, and accidents -- I saw the aftermath of 4, I believe, all of them with professionals on hand giving care. I couldn't see anything obvious to attribute the accidents to, but I'll make a guess (based on TOTAL stereotypes about bikes/clothing/equipment) that the 4 I saw were not terribly experienced riders.

Maybe the accident count was normal, and it was just coincidence that I happened to see so many? I did start the ride over an hour later than I typically do (due to some shenanigans involving an exploded tube, before I even got the bike away from the car!)

Kle, I was joking with some friends about all those poor suckers who had ridden their first Seagulls last year, or the year before -- they just don't KNOW, MUA HA HA HA HA! The wind was howling this year, but otherwise it wasn't *too* bad out there. The first year I rode it, it was windy, AND cold, AND raining -- the trifecta of cycling misery!

I really don't know why I keep going back, but I always seem to end up having a good time.

USAZorro

I attribute it to me riding. This was my third, after 2005 and 2006. I expect to ride again next year, so count on the weather being rough again.

The band at the first rest stop... People stopped way too soon going into the stop, and traffic management was a nightmare there. My only complaints of the day.

Felt great on the way out to Assateague. I was really starting to wear down when I got to Berlin. Realized later that I had gotten a little dehydrated. I still ended up pulling a small train of other hurting bodies along the last four miles into the pie stop. No pacelines until the last 15 miles, and even our little group of three was remarkably ragged. At least it gave me some respite from the wind. I felt a lot better after the turn off onto the road to the airport.

I give the school and volunteers kudos for doing such a great job. I also discovered Myoplex. Felt a lot better today than I would otherwise. Averaged a hair under 16. Definitely a better day than my previous two.

kle

Well no wonder! See, I was Good-Luck for '07 and '08 with the good weather, and all through this year on other events when it threatened to rain but held off, just for me. But then you came along this year...Zorro strikes again!

The band at the Pie Stop was pretty good, I thought, hitting all the classic rock songs, with the lead guitarist not fubbing as much as I expected (I daresay he was even good, soloing well where appropriate).

I figured out my statistics, extrapolating from what I remembered at the Pie Stop and from other people's computers.

Bike: Trek 5200
Distance: 98.94mi
Saddle Time: 5h6m57s
Actual Time: 7h45m
Start Time: 8:15AM
End Time: 4:00PM
Start Conditions: Warm (77°F), Rainy, Windy
End Conditions: Colder (65°F), Rainy, Windy
Max Speed: 31.0mph
Avg Speed (saddle): 19.3mph
Avg Speed (actual): 12.8mph

Tack on a little extra to ride through the finish again (so that my friend's dad--being the stereotypical Asian-with-a-camera-hanging-off-his-neck tourist that he is--could get a picture of me finishing), and a bit more to ride to the parking garage for the start, and a little more to ride to the middle school where I parked, and I'm certain that I got over 100. But I don't need no stinkin' odometer to tell me that!

The Water Stop at mile-40:


The road to Assateague Island (yes, those are shadows on the ground--we actually had some direct sunlight for a bit, there):


The Assateague Stop at mile-63ish:


The hero of the day, crankin' along on his unicycle:


(the rest of my pictures are here; I'm in just five pictures, wearing the orange Hokies costume with the yellow gloves)

USAZorro

I got to the pie stop when they were on break. In years past, the band there was good. I definitely could have done without being subjected to "She's a Lady" and "Macho Man" at that first stop though.

98.94 miles eh? So my odometer isn't miscalibrated?? Was thinking my 26's might have the same diameter as 98's.

kle

Nope, and all the guys I rode with reported similar mileage. I don't think the Seagull Century has ever actually been 100 or more miles. In 2007 I got 96.33mi--I missed the first rest stop (the paceline I was in skipped it, and I was feeling good enough to stay with them), but I'm certain that would've added no more than a mile or two to the ride--and last year I got 103.16mi by riding from my hotel to the start (+1.5-2.0mi), stopping at the first rest stop (+1 mile, maybe), and riding back to the hotel after finishing (+1.5-2.0mi). This year I wasn't so keen on seeing the thing say 100 miles, because I know I got it and I've done it before.

I was actually starting to "h0 hum" when I thought about this ride earlier in the season, thinking "yeah yeah, 100 miles in flat country, big deal". But I always have a good time when I do this ride, whether it's the speed (I always go way faster on this ride than I do in my home stomping grounds) or the impromptu pacelines (you can always find a paceline to latch onto) or the challenges of the weather or the awesome ride support or my friends enjoying the ride with me or the ride being essentially the end of the season for me (one last blaze of glory!); I always seem to enjoy myself, and this year was no exception.

USAZorro

It was over 100 before... if you went all the way into the first rest stop. I thought it might be comparable with the new rest stop and the little detour. Oh well. Looks like I'll have to put in 50 laps of the industrial park to get a proper century in.

kle

Oh yeah, that little detour in town. Took us over a short little climb, and I was thinking "yes! they put in another hill!". Okay, it wasn't really a hill, but it did cause a couple guys to get up out of their saddles.

Mrgiz

Number 6456. My first post after lurking for a few months. My first Century at 59.5 years young. My first ride with any group! Had no expectations about times but was dealing with some insecurities about being able to finish, being able to hydrate properly, being involved in or causing an accident. I rode a Redline flatbar fitness bike with a rear rack added so I could carry a drybag with stuff I didn't need. Despite insecurities I was one of the first into the garage (about 5:30 am). Having worried about rain all week (coke bottle lense glasses and I cant see when wet & salty) I thought the weather was perfect for a rookie. I left the parking garage between 7:15-7:30 in a little rain. My guess is the rain and wet roads slowed the start for many allowing me to get a comfortable start. I saw the unicycle early and then saw him at the first reststop. Did anyone see him finish?

I tried to relax and not press because I had no idea whether I could finish so I cruised at a comfortable pace. At 40miles I was thinking that the ride was gonna be a long one. Going into Assateague I felt strong but was uncomfortable with the bike lane going over to the island.. two bikes wide and lines were trying to race over the bridge while bikes infront of me had a problem going over the "hill". I spent about ten minutes at the beach and got back on the bike so I wouldn't cramp up. There were a couple of people stopped on the bridge back and I wondered whether they were enjoying the view or trying to get their sh*t together. After a piece of pie and a little ice cream off again for the ride back to the college. I got a little emotional with about 15 miles to go thinking I was gonna make it....but got my stuff together to make sure I wouldn't self destruct. I did follow a group down the wrong fork on a poorly marked intersection but the group discovered the mistake quickly and got turned around after about a half mile. My Garmin said 100.3 miles at 6:00:03 hours. average speed 16.7 mph. average heart rate 130bpm maximum 161 bpm.. my other bike computer had me at 5:57 hours at 100miles and 102 miles at 6:03 hours. I was back to campus at 2pm

For a reward I sat in my van and ate two donuts (I had been donutless for two years). Then went to where I was staying and mixed a couple of Gosslings w/ Diet Coke (great muscle relaxer) and to bed by 7pm.

I guess that I proved something to myself if no one else...and I have a whole year to figure what it was before the next one.

Mrgiz

xbikeridex

My hometown's century! This thread makes me so happy.

kle

I was nearly falling asleep in the car afterwards (my dad was driving), almost completely wiped out after the effort, but we stopped off at the Walmart near Ocean City and picked up a bottle of (regular) Coke--there's something about Coke that picks me right up after a hard ride; caffeine to wake me up, and calories to replenish my supply, most likely.

I think one of my friends saw the unicycle finish after he had finished and went to the gym to get his shirt.

Congratulations on your first century! You picked a good one for your first, with some of the best terrain and support that I've seen of rides in this area. May you complete many more (and others; other events have other challenges and rewards to offer)!