Finished my first century ride with tears in my eyes...
08-17-14, 03:00 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Long Beach, CA
Posts: 421
Bikes: Trek Domane 6.2 Project One
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Finished my first century ride with tears in my eyes...
...but perhaps not for the reason you'd think.
Remember in junior high and high school when you'd pick teams to play baseball, basketball or football? Remember the awkward, nerdy kid who was always chosen last?
That was me.
Flash-forward many decades. I'm now 57 years old. Discovered cycling three years ago, and finally found an athletic activity that I was actually good at and really enjoyed. In particular, being 6'01" and 160 lbs, I'm a very good climber. I've been riding 100+ miles a week, but I put off signing up for a century ride because the thought of riding 100 miles sounded very intimidating. Finally, after the urging of many members of my cycling club, I decided to do the Cool Breeze Century, which is a ride in Southern California that features 4,000 feet of climbing along the 100-mile route.
There were two separate climbs on the ride, and on both I passed up pretty much anyone and everyone in my path. (It reminded me of watching the Tour de France where you see the climbing specialists reel in and overtake those who don't climb so well.) After reaching the crest of the hills, flying down those canyon roads was a blast!
The final rest stop was at the 80 mile mark. I was starting to feel fatigued at that point, and by the 90 mile mark it really hit hard. When riding I'll normally glance at the odometer on my bike computer every now and then, but don't make a habit of it. However, by this point I was looking down every minute, counting down every last mile.
That final mile, when the finish line was in sight, I get very emotional. I thought about all of my frustrations in traditional sports, and all the times no one wanted me on their team. This ride was by far the hardest I had ever pushed myself physically and mentally. I set a huge goal, and I achieved it.
I'm glad my eyes were hidden by my sunglasses so no one could see....
Remember in junior high and high school when you'd pick teams to play baseball, basketball or football? Remember the awkward, nerdy kid who was always chosen last?
That was me.
Flash-forward many decades. I'm now 57 years old. Discovered cycling three years ago, and finally found an athletic activity that I was actually good at and really enjoyed. In particular, being 6'01" and 160 lbs, I'm a very good climber. I've been riding 100+ miles a week, but I put off signing up for a century ride because the thought of riding 100 miles sounded very intimidating. Finally, after the urging of many members of my cycling club, I decided to do the Cool Breeze Century, which is a ride in Southern California that features 4,000 feet of climbing along the 100-mile route.
There were two separate climbs on the ride, and on both I passed up pretty much anyone and everyone in my path. (It reminded me of watching the Tour de France where you see the climbing specialists reel in and overtake those who don't climb so well.) After reaching the crest of the hills, flying down those canyon roads was a blast!
The final rest stop was at the 80 mile mark. I was starting to feel fatigued at that point, and by the 90 mile mark it really hit hard. When riding I'll normally glance at the odometer on my bike computer every now and then, but don't make a habit of it. However, by this point I was looking down every minute, counting down every last mile.
That final mile, when the finish line was in sight, I get very emotional. I thought about all of my frustrations in traditional sports, and all the times no one wanted me on their team. This ride was by far the hardest I had ever pushed myself physically and mentally. I set a huge goal, and I achieved it.
I'm glad my eyes were hidden by my sunglasses so no one could see....
08-17-14, 03:34 PM
#3
Gold Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
Posts: 1,313
Bikes: Pinarello Dogma F8, Pinarello Bolide, Argon 18 E-118, Bianchi Oltre, Cervelo S1, Wilier Pista
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 34 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Congrats. I was one of those kids too, but luckily I discovered a bit earlier that there were other sports that better suited my size and body type. You can now safely laugh at those guys. 
08-17-14, 04:27 PM
#7
Senior Member
Way to go!!! I can identify with the sports thing and being picked last. Tears of joy and accomplishment.
08-17-14, 05:16 PM
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: northern michigan
Posts: 13,317
Bikes: '77 Colnago Super, '76 Fuji The Finest, '88 Cannondale Criterium, '86 Trek 760, '87 Miyata 712
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 659 Post(s)
Liked 595 Times
in
313 Posts
Good job on the finish. You are among good company!
08-17-14, 05:26 PM
#15
SuperGimp
Cool Breeze is a good one - I did the hilly century version this year and I HIGHLY recommend that one for you next year. It's the same route after the first rest stop but before, you go up and around Casitas Lake instead of riding on the freeway. 
Congrats on your first century! Solvang, Windmill & cruisin the conejo are others near us that are enjoyable (about 6k feet, probably right up your alley.)
Congrats on your first century! Solvang, Windmill & cruisin the conejo are others near us that are enjoyable (about 6k feet, probably right up your alley.)
08-17-14, 05:31 PM
#16
Farmer tan
I really wanted to do Cool Breeze this year... oh well. Glad you guys enjoyed it.
08-17-14, 05:42 PM
#19
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Long Beach, CA
Posts: 421
Bikes: Trek Domane 6.2 Project One
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Here's a couple of pics from yesterday:
Thought about taking a few laps around the parking lot at the end, but my right knee and ass said "NO!"
Pre-ride photo. My club had one of the larger contingents participating in the ride.
Thought about taking a few laps around the parking lot at the end, but my right knee and ass said "NO!"
Pre-ride photo. My club had one of the larger contingents participating in the ride.
08-17-14, 05:44 PM
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: San Diego
Posts: 201
Bikes: 2007 GT Avalanche 2.0, 2011 Felt Z85
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
That is so awesome! Congratulations and here's to many more fulfilling miles 
08-17-14, 08:26 PM
#23
Senior Member
Congrats! I was also one of those kids, I am now 56 and I hope to complete my first century in 3 weeks. I'll be thinking of your message here when the going gets tough!
08-17-14, 11:12 PM
#24
SuperGimp
Some attractive woman in a new zealand jersey went by and I figured I'd rather watch her than you guys. She and her husband had matching jerseys, very cute.That's the funny thing about a long ride - the end is the end, whether it's 90 miles or 110, that finish line is where I stop pedaling. I went for a long ride one day from my house, and the "loop" was 91 miles and I thought - hey, if I feel good when I get back I'll just tack on another 10 miles to make it 100. NOPE!
08-18-14, 12:51 AM
#25
Zoom zoom zoom zoom bonk
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 4,624
Bikes: Giant Defy, Trek 1.7c, BMC GF02, Fuji Tahoe, Scott Sub 35, Kona Rove, Trek Verve+2
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 551 Post(s)
Liked 722 Times
in
366 Posts
Good work mate. Now try for a 200k.