joewein

The rules are simple, as always:

1. Ride a century every month.
2. Post a report here. Pictures are always nice if you have them.

Just to answer a few questions that may come up:

(a) A century is one 100-mile (160.9 km) bike ride completed in one 24-hour day. Feel free to be more strict on how you define a century, but here we'll try to include as many people as possible.
(b) A century is not necessarily a group ride. It is simply a 100-mile ride which may or may not be done with a group and/or part of an organized event.

2020 thread: 2020 Century A Month Club

Cyclist0100

My 1st Century of 2021

joewein

I rode my first January Century on Sunday. It came to 200 km (on Strava), with temperatures between -2 C and 8 C (28F to 46F). I left late-ish around 08:00 and didn't get back until almost midnight, riding the last 7 hours after sunset.

Soon after I got out of Tokyo and rode along the Arakawa river, I got my first view of the year of Mt Fuji.

First Mt Fuji:


Besides extending my CaM streak to 101 months, the main objective was to clear some Veloviewer tiles, i.e. ride in places I had never visited before. My Max Square was at 29x29 which put me at the #2 in Japan (my friend Mike is way ahead at 49x49), but if I cleared 19 tiles I could extend it to 31x31 and stay ahead of the third ranking cyclist. I managed to do that and clear another 33 tiles, paving the way for a further expansion.

The last 10 or so tiles were collected in the dark.



I stayed comfortable most of the ride by wearing enough layers. I wore old socks over my shoes, with holes cut for the SPD cleats, to keep my feet warm. Long underwear under my fleece pants and four layers (base layer, LS jersey, fleece jersey, wind breaker) on my upper body for the colder part of the day. I also used a neck warmer and covered my ears when it got to freezing or below.

Most of the riding was around farmland, with some gravel sections and in small towns. Despite the cold I found it very enjoyable. It was sunny and mostly clear. The Kanto plain is pancake-flat and I saw snow-capped mountains to the north in Gunma and Tochigi and to the east in Ibaraki, but the Saitama mountains to the west didn't seem to have any snow yet.

Family home:


Cotton needs picking:


Rallye graveyard:


I felt very satisfied when I came back home, with all my goals accomplished. Because of frequent stops for navigation to plot a course through the map tiles, my bottom never felt uncomfortable despite the distance.

I will probably ride my first brevet of the year in March, followed by a Fleche ride on the first April weekend. I still have almost three months to prepare for that 360+ km ride.

Brett A

I did my first century of 2021, and my 13th consecutive monthly, two days ago. Being half way through the month already, I jumped on one of the few days in the forecast with temps above freezing. (The sun was predicted to come out, but it never did.)

I did a big square loop around the Quabbin Reservoir which is the large body of water you can see on my map. It's Boston's water supply and was created in 1938 when they took four towns/seven villages by eminent domain and dammed the Swift river (see the Goodnaugh Dike in one of my photos). So we have this huge, heavily regulated and patrolled watershed preserve in the middle of the state. It's an interesting history. My grandfather used to live in the flooded town of Dana.

It's such a blessing to have the time and space to do this.




Inside one of the Quabbin Gates, somewhere in the town of Ware, MA



Looking north from the bottom of the Quabbin.



Sometimes I think those of us doing centuries in these conditions should get extra credit; like a metric should count.



In a supermarket parking lot



If it was daylight, you would see the French King Bridge in the background.



See you in February!

2WheelsNYC

So, I found out about this "club" late last year but I'm not going to miss it this time. I did 10k miles with 9 centuries for 2020, so I'm pretty happy about that. After many delays, I finished getting my Lynskey build ready in late December. So new ride, new year and our first century together.

From Queens to Yorktown Heights


GWB bridge


Tappen Zee bridge


New Croton Reservoir


It was a lot colder than expected and pretty uneventful... it's good for clearing the mind though. I didn't have much energy for the ride but didn't feel the need to stop anywhere to grab a bite either.

diphthong

102 miles today. a bit windy second half of the ride but as far as winter weather goes in this forum, no complaints. southern california coast from dana point south to mission bay/old town area of
san diego (about 4 miles north of dtown san diego. travels took me by a hallowed socal surf spot-trestles. took the train from san diego to santa ana (just se of disneyland) and rode back.
my route had me nibbling at the edge of the 1984 olympic men's/women/s road race course in mission viejo.

OnTheTarmac

Philly suburbs -> Valley Forge Park -> Schuylkill River Trail -> back with misc. detours. I left at 8am when it was 25 degrees F. Had boot covers, gloves, hat, 3 layers and was still frozen in my feet, hands and tip of pp (lol). Once it got above 30 degrees I defrosted.

pic wont upload because Im a new member but its on my profile :/

Brett A

Nice to see another Northeasterner in this thread. Come back and upload pics when you can.

twa

For January, did a 100.08 mile urban ride in Southern California. Rode from home to my son's campus out in the suburbs and returned home. Route was mostly along bike lanes and about a third on Class I bike paths following LA's cement rivers. Not sure I can keep it up for the rest of the year. This was a pretty flat ride and it still took me 9.5 hours. Not too scenic but took some photos along the way. Unfortunately I can't post for another 7 forum contributions.

diphthong

congrats! it will get easier the more you do it.

Bulette

Almost missed January this year; I have been spending more time on a mountain bike, specifically to ward off "mile hunting". But I really enjoy the long rides -- so on Saturday I set out for Dripping Springs with an out-and-back route entirely in the Hill Country. Looped through Wimberley, up and down both Mount Sharp and Mount Gainor (which are both relatively popular routes).

The roads (and road bike) rolled so much easier than I what I had been training on, I didn't stop for much -- just an Arizona Iced Tea and a big bag of Peach Ring Gummy candy. The ride went so well, I almost ventured on for the double-metric, but I had already promised my date a timely Saturday night dinner.

Next time I might try for Blanco -- it's been on my 'destination' list for awhile now, but I'm wary of some of the route options and traffic out that way...

OnTheTarmac

likewise. just uploaded it!

joewein

February Century done! (on Strava)

I rode 165 km from Tokyo to Odawara, an old castle town on the historic Old Tokaido road from Tokyo to Osaka, and back.



The plum blossoms are out, which is normal for late January/early February in Tokyo but the weather was unseasonably mild (16-18 deg C at midday). It was still chilly at night though, down to 4 deg C. I took two major roads on the way out and the way back, but it's all good. I have my 360+ km Fleche ride coming up in 8 weeks and this was good training for it.



Odawara is a lovely place, I could see the east coast of Izu peninsula from there and I saw some views of Mt Fuji around sunset.

Bulette

Sunday's weather was supposed to start out a bit cool, but the afternoon would top 70°F. It was a great chance to get out for a century. Unfortunately, my Garmin had mysteriously discharged during the night. Now, I recognize that a GPS is not a prerequisite for riding a bike, but I had reasons for waiting around for a bit of a charge. For one, I'm personally interested in the data tracks -- not just the statistics, but the points themselves, and keep extensive backups. Two, and primarily, I am hoping to try an unsupported backcountry tour where the GPS coordinates and compass will be vital for navigation: a hasty charge and a long ride offered the perfect real-world trial.

Messing with the Garmin meant I didn't leave until 11am -- despite prepping my jacket and arm warmers, by the time I left it was sunny enough outside to trim down to base layers. The late start left me charging confidently (and stubbornly) into a headwind to buy as much time as possible. I was also trying to hit the donut shop before close at 2pm -- I was quite happy with myself, arriving at Naeglin's bakery just in time for a oversized cinnamon roll. Being one of the last customers offered a clear picture with the larger than life mural across the lot.



After the bakery was the lovely ride up (and eventually back down) River Road -- with 10 miles of slow two lane road with great views. Traffic was light (which might have been because of the Superbowl game); I made record time on the trip.

By mile 70, I had made up my time and more. The last 30 miles were mostly flat with a comfortable tailwind, but it had been a strong ride and even the easy hills were starting to hurt. The tailwind helped maintain my average speed. I made it home just before sunset; rather than stand, I sat to dice my vegetables for dinner.

diphthong

squeezed in the february c-note. just over a hundred miles after taking the train from san diego, ca up to dtown los angeles, ca. rode from dtown la to the beach and south down the coast to the irvine area. temps got into the high 70’s. inland and the mountains were super-windy but the coast was perfect.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4832991310

joewein

I rode a second Century in February, as the 5 person Fleche team with which I attempted a 360+ km ride last October will have another go at riding from Aichi prefecture near Nagoya to Tokyo in 24 hours on the first April weekend.



This was our first training ride together this year. We did a 120 km course together which started 15 km from home, so I ended up with 150 km by the time I got back. I then added a local detour to bring the total to 162.3 km (100.8 mi) to make it my third century this year (on Strava).

I met one of my ride mates on the way to the start, so we rode the last 8 km there together. It was about 10 deg C (50F) at the start, warmed up to about 15 deg C (59F) at noon and then dropped to 6 deg C (43 F) in the evening. Most of the climbing was in the first quarter of the 120 km course and that is where I had to work hardest to keep up because drafting doesn't help on climbs. Other team members had done less riding this winter than I had, but I am not a fast cyclist to start with. I enjoyed riding together with other randonneurs again after 4 months and it was an excellent preparation for the upcoming event.

Unfortunately we had an incident on the way back, when the 4th person in our group (two bikes behind me) crashed after I had to slow down because a car indicated to turn in front of me and the rider at the back was taken by surprise, slammed his brakes and landed under his bike by the curb. We had been using hand signals to indicate slowing or stopping to people behind us, but that didn't work for a sudden slowdown for a turning vehicle. When drafting closely, every rider also has to watch not only the person they're following but also what's further ahead. Fortunately the team mate was OK, nothing broken, only a few bruises and a scuffed jersey sleeve. I will definitely call out more in the future!

Brett A

Did my February century the day before yesterday. It was my 14th consecutive. This time of year, when temps rarely rise above 20 degrees Fahrenheit, I don't get out on the bike much (I just don't find myself riding indoors, even though I have the equipment). But I was happy to see the cold stretch end in time to get this ride in, with a forecast in the 40's and nighttime temps not dropping below freezing.

Since I don't really ride much in Jan and Feb, (my last ride was my Jan cent, five weeks ago) I picked the flattest route I could from the house. This is always some version of up and down the Connecticut River Valley. However, there's a ridge between my house and the river that I need to climb to get back and forth to it. You'll see the elevation map is pretty much a mirror image with a flat-ish middle.

It was an enjoyable fifteen hour outing. These rides are like long road trips in the car. I pack all the food I'll need and a SteriPen to safely refill my water bottles from streams. I bring music, extra clothes, etc. I think my days of doing sub-6 hour centuries may be past and that's okay.




Northfiled, Massachusetts. Dropping down the to western bank of the Connecticut river off RT 142.



On VT30: This is the I-91 overpass over the West River just north of Brattleboro, VT. The salt spray from the road above is an interesting visual. This was mile 35 break, then the mile 70 break on the way back down.

.

This is what much of the ride looked like during the day. The rolling hills of north-central Massachusetts and southern VT.




Dirt road along the West River


The turnaround point was the Scott Covered Bridge in Townsend, VT. It was recently restored and is closed to cars.



.Goopy mud


.Newfane VT.


.

DocJames

What's the bottle on the down tube? Seems to have a nice cover to keep crud off the mouthpiece.

joewein

My guess would be it's a bidon-sized tool box. Many people carry those in 2nd or 3rd bottle cages. Under the downtube a water bottle may get dirt on it, but for a tool box it wouldn't matter that much.

Cyclist0100

It's a tool bottle.

2WheelsNYC

I was able to squeeze one in. Bad weather throughout the month limited destinations and routes, so I decided to try something that probably hasn't been done before... a century around my local park! It took 78 laps and it was a lot more taxing than what I was expecting.

There was some serious cross wind and temps were still freezing, so I took breaks at the 1/3 and 2/3 marks of the century. Part 1 was OK, just very uninteresting and cold. Went home for hot chocolate and a rest stop. Part 2 was just as boring and I had trouble concentrating. Really wanted a nap but was I past the half-way point. Went home to warm my feet, and to watch WandaVision. Part 3 was very frustrating as it stretched into early afternoon. Terrible drivers were all over the place (elderly drivers, delivery trucks, drivers that don't signal) not to mention the people tossing snow into the street and joggers in the bike lane. Nearly got hit a couple of times with cars thinking they can go into the bike lanes.

An observation... the B17 Brooks doesn't seem to fare well on centuries for me. I'm not wearing padded shorts but it wasn't necessary on my other saddle. I was also getting some pain in my knee which hasn't really happened before. Not sure to also attribute this to the B17 but I'm wondering if I need to reexamine my bike fit.

Still looking forward to the next ride!

joewein

Congratulations on completing what must have been an extremely boring Century! :-D

I also use my B17 with non-padded clothes and felt a pad was overkill with a B17 as both the saddle and the pad yield to pressure. Having both just felt overly squishy.

Having said that, I do need to make sure I periodically spend some time not seated, either by standing on the pedals or by getting off the bike for a break. I often stand on the pedals when coasting and the hardest part for my rear end are long climbs where I can't coast.

Your knee pain could be to do with saddle height more than with saddle type. Either try modifying the saddle position or ask a bike fitter to check you out.

OnTheTarmac

Got my February century in on the last day of the month. I took a quick trip to Florida but might end up staying here for awhile, I forgot what it’s like to have sun. Rode 60 miles the day before, then did the 100 all on route A1A. Northward winds were strong but got some drafting from a big group ride and then a Tesla Y.

2WheelsNYC

Thanks Joe! After using the B17 for awhile, do other saddles give you any trouble? I have a new bike with a B17 this year, and have about 1k miles on it. I recently rode my previous setup and immediately noticed some discomfort.

I'll try experimenting with the height. Someone also mentioned to look into my crank length. Fortunately the pain (at the knee and elsewhere) has been temporary.

DocJames

What's the route like from a safety and traffic standpoint? Wide shoulders?

Planning at least one (will probably be more) trip to Florida this year myself. Have been there many times, but never with a bike.