I arrived in Creston around 6:30 to register and meet other SoCal BFers for a 7AM start. Creston is a tiny place that was overrun by cyclists at that point. The Wildflower volunteers seemed well organized and were very nice. One odd thing was that lack of water at the start. I and a number of other cyclists hunted around for a way to fill bottles. I ended up at the school restroom. No big deal.
Mark (efficency), Tracy and Wayne showed up at the start but I never saw Karen, Bernie of any other BFers who may have been there. It turned out that the 50 and 75/100 mile routes took off in different directions so Mark and I left to begin our rides before Karen and Wayne. Around mile 11 the 100 and 75 mile routes diverged and I said bye to Mark. The morning was initially cool and pleasant but I knew that it was going to get hot, so I started drinking to ensure that my bottles were empty by the time I reached the first rest stop at mile 27. I also resolved at the beginning to keep a steady pace and avoid pushing too hard. This ride was about heat, not hills or time.
After the first rest stop the heat began to make its presence known. I am not sure what the temperatures were at that point but I began to feel the sun beating down harder, the wind getting hotter, and the heat radiating off the asphalt. By the time I reached the second stop at mile 57 (which I was surprised to discover was not the lunch stop), riders were scrounging for shade and lining up for the "Ice Lady" who was doling out ice cubes for water bottles. That the stop I tried to call (my) Tracie to let her know how I was doing and discovered there was no cell coverage, something that was true for most of the ride.
At this point I also began to see significant numbers of riders SAGing out because of the heat, as they knew it was just going to continue to get hotter. for the rest of the day. SLOBC had excellent SAG support, at least 8 SAG vehicles if not more, plus CHP cars patrolling the route will water and Gatorade. All the vehicles were kept busy throughout the day. I have never seen more riders SAGing out on an organized ride.
From the 2nd rest stop there was a 16 mile, flat, completely exposed straight run up Shell Creek Road to the lunch stop at Shandon. This was the only time I hooked up with a paceline going, which was going about 20-21mph. I think we all just wanted to get out of the sun as soon as possible. In the paceline were a couple in their early 60's who were just amazing. He was the size of a Polar bear and she was short, squat and egg-shaped, and they both a veritable freight train, pulling the rest of us along like we were empty train cars. The lunch stop at Shandon was wonderful. There was a large beautiful park with cool grass and shade trees. The food was great. I made a giant dagwood sandwich, but realized partway through that I would be better off not eating the whole thing, as I has been eating steadily throughout the morning. I resolved not to stay at the park
too long so after about 30 minutes I headed off, towards what by reputation was the hottest climb of the day, the climb up Hwy 41. Wildflower veterans said that even in cool years it was a hot climb
.
So about two miles past the lunch stop , I reached for a water bottle and discovered that I had left them at the park, thus adding an additional 4 miles to the 107 mile route, Doh! As for the climb up Hwy 41, it was long but not steep, and it was already so hot that I can't say that it was significantly hotter than the rest of the ride. There was a water stop at the peak, were we filled bottles, doused outselves with water, and even more riders SAGed out. Throughout the rest of the ride, many riders including myself took mini rest stops in those infrequent places were shade could be found.
After the Hwy 41 water stop there was a nice descent, and a ways past that an intersection where Century riders needed to take a left to do the final loop into Creston. I think more than a few chose to take the right turn to a more direct route back to Creston, as the number of riders thinned out significantly after that. We fools who stuck to the course were treated to more of the same - long gradual climbs, occasional shade trees, and more salt crust developing on our skin. There was one last water stop marked on the cue sheet at mile 95 at the intersection of La Panza and Hwy 58. I was more than a little alarmed when I discovered it wasn't there! I had about a 3rd of one bottle left. Twelve more miles with little water would normally not be that bad but yesterday I thought I was screwed. Fortunately it turned out that they had moved the water stop about 2 miles down Hwy 58 because the original spot was too dangerous, but neglected to update the cue sheet.
Past the last water stop was about 300 vertical feet of gradual climbing and about 4 miles of riding into a stiff headwind. The last leg was a 5 mile straight run into Creston. At that point I was later than Tracie was expecting me and just wanted to be done, so I picked up the pace, pulling for some young european guy in a polka dot jersey who seemed equally anxious to be done.
I ended up rolling into Creston just before 4:3O after traveling 111 miles at about 14 mph. The temperature was 96 Degrees. As planned, we met Tracy, Wayne, Bernie, Mark, and a number of people I didn't know in Paso Robles for dinner before heading back to SD at about 8PM. Bernie planned to do the Century, but wisely SAGed out at mile 57. Tracy and Wayne did the 50 mile route and Mark and Karen did the 75 mile route. Thus I think I am the only SoCal BFer stupid enough to so the full 107 mile (111 in my case) Century.
This morning I am down 4 lbs despite eating and drinking with wild abandon all day yesterday. I consumed at least twelve 24 oz.bottles of water during the ride, plus lots of fuids afterwards. Overall I am glad I did this ride, but if I had really known how hot it would be I might have passed or done a shorter route. I have now done one really cold Century (Stagecoach) and one really hot one (Wildflower). Next time I want one that's just right.
Oh, and there were
NO wildflowers this year. Not even one.