A few weeks ago, one of our club members said he wanted to ride 100 miles 'while he still could". I said I'd go and it took off from there. Word went around the club that we were planning an easy (flat) century that would be perfect for that "first time" (everyone in my club is at least 55). We had no idea how many would show up.

Twenty did, albeit not all planned on doing the entire ride.



We started at 7:30 am on a chilly April 3rd, with a bit of fog.



The first leg was over roads we have all traveled many times and included just about the only hills on the entire ride. None of them are serious. Here we are at the first rest stop. This bridge used to be the turn around point for the club. Riders never crossed it into the Forbidden Zone. It's 14 miles out from home.



The bridge is the highest point on this 100 mile ride. We headed down the hill. Many of the riders had never been out here. We traveled through some fields with cattle grazing and eventually made it into some walnut groves. We tended to break into two groups, but were never more than 100 yards apart. One thing I really enjoyed, as one of the organizers of the ride, was that everyone seemed to be having a good time. The pace was pretty good, but people were talking and laughing. The roads were mostly pretty smooth.

The second rest stop was at a little market at an intersection in the middle of walnut groves. One of the spouses of one of the riders met us there. He had carried extra food and had water for us. If anyone had wanted to lose some jackets, he would have taken them, but it never warmed up.

After a potty stop a few miles on, we made it to the levee that sometimes keeps the Feather and Sacramento Rivers from flooding the valley. Many of the riders had never been on this road, which is really pretty interesting. We stopped to regroup at about mile 63. We had seen almost no cars to this point.

The road goes under Highway 5, bends around and we then we turned on this little road, that began our trip home. It was very narrow at the beginning, but widened out near the Sacramento Airport.



We had lunch at mile 77, at a Subway Sandwich Shop. Sandwiches never tasted so good. Everyone was feeling very good. We were averaging about 15 mph, which on such a flat route was not terribly fast, but a good pace for these folks.

The last stretch has a reputation for being head-windy, but not today. We made the next 15 miles in good time. After a brief regroup about 8 miles out, we all rode together back to the starting point. When we pulled into the parking lot, there were about 15 people there to greet us. Lots of fist-pumping and woo-hooing. Beers all around. Here's me (waving) crossing the finish line.



My stats, which would be near the average for the group were 15.1 mph, total time: 8:40 including breaks. It was a really fun ride for me. Easy. I went a little slower than I needed to as I was sort of the "sweep" and made sure the slower riders were "In sight and Up right".

Here are the "Century Virgins" at the end of the ride.

Looks like a great ride and a lot of fun. It is great to have a sag wagon on a long ride.

What a great idea! A bunch of folks riding a century together, with good support if needed but no fancy organization (or fees!). Looks like a fun day.

Great write-up; thanks for the post.

That's about the best 1st century plan I've heard of. Good route. Good support. Good group of riders. Moderate pace. Plenty of stops. Way to go.

Great ride and write up. Fantastic idea. Virgin Century. Love it.

Movie title: The 55+ Year Old Virgins

15 is a very respectable pace for a century.

Very nice post and pics.

Good job and well done to all, would have liked to been along for the ride

Well done, lad. And congratulations to all the first time century riders.

nicely done young man! :-)

Nice account. Centuries are often adventures.

Excellent report. It sounds like a great day! I've done many centuries, but I never take one lightly, no matter how well-conditioned I think I am. They're always tough and I always feel like I've really accomplished something worthy when I finish. I've heard lots of whoops of joy and excitement at the finish line, and I can understand the sentiment. Congratulations ex-virgins!

I'm thrilled for the folks that completed their first. Quite an accomplishment!

I'm still a virgin.........maybe this will be my year!

Very well done Mojo Slim.
By any account you, heck all of the riders, did very well.

I tried my first century by myself two weeks ago and it turned into a Well! (of) an adventure. I really need to buy some cycling bibs. I am a clyde also at 275 lbs


My great bicycle adventure.
Please follow along on Google maps or


https://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united...26874516281570





So the idea was to do a 100 mile bike ride around Lake Livingston TX. I started the ride In Coldspring at about 7:15 in the morning. The loop began in a counterclockwise direction well enough. I was traveling light with a wind breaker, two water bottles, some tools and my road crew reflective vest. Expecting to have plenty of places to stop for water and gateraide. The plan was to make 10 miles per hour, mathematically a 10 hour trip. Other groups ride the same route at a 20 mph average speed. I based that on what I had done two weeks earlier with a heaver bike and heavy backpack. The backpack had a 3 liter water bottle and among other things a roll of toilet paper. I was heavy and with a strong wind I did 62 miles in 9 hours. So, mathematically, I should be able to average 10 mph with a light load and a real road bike.


I made to my lunch at Sonic in Onalaska, yes we have Alaska (not only that it's On.) in Texas along with Webster and Paris. At that point, after missing a turn off going 3.6 miles out of my way and back, I was behind schedule by about 1 hour. But that could be made up on the flat section of the next leg to Trinity the far point at 52 miles. I was out of water six miles before town and it was in the mid 70's and no convenience stores for the 21 miles from Onalaska. I was not only cooked on this leg but had to take extra time to rehydrate and stretch to get rid of the cramps in my legs and back . With no other option , because I had the car in Coldspring, was to continue.


I made it to Riverside it we still light but I was making slow progress and light was fading. And I was in agony physically still suffering from leg soreness getting more tired tired. So Into the fading light I rode. Not to mention my sore butt. Oops i just did
I hooked up a flashlight for and put on my reflective vest but with a 70 mph speed limit and no berm this was tricky. One good thing I had some moon light. Try doing 20 mph down a hill, with your zip tied flash light to the handle bars that shines up into you face, any way I made it to just before Waterwood where a security guard came by and ask me if I was ok. I told him I was in a pickle and my car was in Coldspring and if he could help. He could not help so I went up the road a few hundred feet and fell off the bike when I could not see the road because oncoming traffic. I realized I was ok but it hurt trying to keep my self from hitting the ground. I realized this was was bad with 25 miles to go.
The security officer came back and said he had called the sheriff. If I could make it to the main entrance, under the street lights. I road up the road another 300 feet.


The Sheriff came checked my ID and gave me a ride to Coldspring where I got the car drove back to Waterwood, to get my bike, and then home. It was almost midnight when I got home. I believe I would have gotten killed if I continued under those conditions.
This goes right up their with the tree I cut down on the farm and got the ticket, the blizzard, and Thanksgiving at the clinic (27 hours).


P.S.
Mom called me and ask how I was doing and told me to be careful, she is 93. I cant remember where I was when she called but its a real thrill to have the phone set to outdoor to ring in your shirt pocket. So I did 80 plus miles in 14 hours not a stellar day. I was chased by at least five different sets of dogs and a woman pulled along side, as I was riding, to ask for directions.


I am planning to try again in June 19th the longest day of the year with a real headlamp and using a hardtail and hopefully a set of bibs

Great job! It's fun when a group gets together and just has fun doing a ride.

Very cool report. That was a ride your "virgins" will surely remember. It brought back memories of my first century (which fortunately was similar) and quite a few smiles.

JamesW2: Come out and ride with us next year. We'll show you a good time and help you complete a century without all the drama!

A century is a real milestone for any cyclist. I am certain that every one of them will remember it for the rest of their lives. I know I vividly remember my first.

Drama is right. This is a study in extremes. It sure seems that JamesW2 bit off more than he could chew. You may want to try some organized rides before setting out on another solo century. I am very far from being a speed snob, but I would sure think about working on getting fast enough to be able to complete a ride between daybreak and sunset. That story could have ended in tragedy.

+1. I will ride my age on my birthday in May, which will be 65 miles. Next my target will be a Century in October. Gives me time to add distance every month to reach it then. My route that i have planned will be 22.5 miles away from my home at the furthest. If i bonk i won't have far to go and there is plenty of rest stops, water and food. Hope your next try will have better results.

I have found that for a long ride (75 - 100 miles) with a group, one can plan on just about 2 hours of "breaks" -- lunch, rest stops, flat tires, regrouping, etc -- and think about 11 mph counting the breaks.

I did one of those a few years back - it was along the Hudson and the Champlain canal - a beautiful ride. I century at a leasurely pace

Hi Mojo Slim
Thanks for the offer. The organized rides are out of Kingwood TX and they average about 20 mph. I bought a new longer quill for the Trek 1420 to put me in a more upright position. I can use that for the road work i need to do to get my average speed higher. They are rebuilding the road, what they call in Texas a farm to market road, to five lanes. It will be 5 lanes wide with a full width sholder. I will be able to teach my mus_culs , or lack of them, (hee hee) how to work.
I now have a camel back. I loadeded it and it weighed in at 21 lbs and hauled it for 40 miles on the Globe Carmel 700. That was another adventure because of a construction zone I had to walk the bike through. Then a flat 3 miles from home.
The life and times at Ridgemont High, Bad Day at Black Rock, Who Shot Liberty Valance and Dr Phybes

Hi Jamesw2 - yes, bib shorts may help. May I also suggest chamois creme. I use Assos but there are several different brands and people even just use bag balm. You can check on Amazon. You can even bring a bit with you and reapply as needed. For longer rides this is a real plus.