Originally Posted by
kaos joe
Did something gloriously dumb today.
A young (24) co-worker of mine, bike commuter (8 mile trip), intrigued by but completely inexperienced with long distance riding, decided a couple of months ago that dammit, he was going to scratch that itch while he can and do a loooooong ride. Bought himself a Trek 520 and all the trimmings, and has been working to build strength and stamina. He has been on some club rides, and been "destroyed", but a little less severely each time. Up until today his longest ride ever was 61 miles, done last week. He decided that today he was going to try a century, and in spite of the fact I had to work tonight, I got up early and together we lit out from my house for Montauk. And......HE DID IT! He was pretty stoked to have knocked off 104 miles. Great ride on a fantastic day. We had to hit a 251pm train, and unfortunately we lacked the time to get to the lighthouse even though we had the legs. Next time.
So we stopped in town, toasted his achievement, and set out for the LIRR station with 15 minutes to cover the mile or so. And, HIIISSSS! I flatted almost immediately. Next train was at 10 something. Records were broken fixing that flat. We made the train. I'm at work.
And about that loooooong ride; in a week he and a friend are pointing their bikes at the Pacific Ocean. I'll be rooting for them.
Where's the coffee?
You are being way too modest when you said "He Did It". You mean "We did it" as you too rode the 104. Yes I know you are a multi-decade experienced cyclist with multitudes of century's under your belt, but it's an accomplishment for you as well, especially as you didn't really do any training - just those past decades.
I feel for anyone going that distance the first time, especially on a 30 lbs touring bike with 30+ mm tires. He now knows that he can handle distance and that's a huge psychological advantage when going cross the country.