Well, I had a lot of really nice rides during the week, but on Friday, it was raining, so I drove my Ramcharger to work. Poor old thing has been sitting for over a month, so it was probably good for it anyway.

This morning, I got up at 4 AM, and loaded ol' Blue (the name of the new Paramount!) into the van, and headed for a friends house. Pulled into his yard at 5 AM, and loaded his Rivendell into the van. Then, another hour of driving, and we were in Kearney. Why, you may ask?? Because that was the starting point for my first-ever century ride!

After topping off the air in the tires, and saying hello to some other friends, we were off. The first 40 miles of the trip went terrifically! My friend and I easily maintained an average speed of 16.5 mph as we rode along, sometimes in pretty heavy fog. The fog at one point was so bad that I had to take off my glasses and put them in my jersey! We stopped for some fruit at a sag stop in Lexington, and as we were leaving town, my friend suddenly developed cramps in his left calve. We had both been regularly drinking, me water and he was drinking a sports drink, so I don't really know what caused them. He decided to push on, however, at a reduced speed. I think that this was an amazing feat, as he finished the ride! That's 60 miles, up and down the hilliest part of the course, with a calve that would cramp for a while, then relax, and pretty soon cramp again! I rode with him most of the way, however, once when my friends from Cycle Sports whizzed past in a pace line, I tagged along for a little ways! I then dropped out of the line, and returned to my buddy to continue the ride.

When we ended the ride, I had logged another 101 miles, and had an average speed of exactly 15 mph. The ride went really well. I am not saying that I was fresh as a daisy when we were done, but I really felt pretty darned good! Another milestone in my life on 2 wheels, made a little more special because I got to share it with a friend!:thumbup:

Congratulations :thumbup: I've only got a couple of long rides under my belt and they were a really long time ago. I think 80 miles and 110 miles were the distances. That was about 11 or 12 years ago when I had a road bike. For awhile I was doing 40 miles a day (out of neccessity) and that had to be the healthiest time of my life.

Keep up the excellent work! And congrats again~

:dance:

Congrats, Fujidude!

"It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster."
Greg LeMond

Congratulations! There is nothing quite like your first century. It's the great milestone that marks you forever -- like that silly tan we all have -- as a real cyclist. You accomplished a great feat -- I hope you tell everyone you know, even if THEY don't get the significance.

But I'll bet that you legs felt cooked for a day or so afterwards... :-)

Thanks for all the kind words!

That is what is really great about this forum, you all understand! I know that many I tell (and believe me, I will!) will think it was just crazy!

Actually, my legs are a little sore, but not bad at all! I know that I need to give my muscles a day of rest, but I am looking forward to getting back in the saddle tomorrow morning!

It was foggy again this morning...so I took the bike up to the park, and shot some pictures of it! I have already processed the negatives, and will make a print or two this afternoon! Maybe I better post one so you can all see ol' Blue!

Okay, back from the darkroom! Here is a picture of ol' Blue! If you want to see a larger picture, you can follow the link!
Ol' Blue

Congratulations Nebill! Being the in the 10 mile/ride class, a century looks terrific.

Thanks for posting a picture of one of your bikes. I'm riding a $100 discount store bike now, but looking to see what I features I may want to have in my next bike.

Kevin S.

Good deal, Kevin!

I started out riding 7 miles to work, then 7 home on a used cross trainer. Then, a used road bike, and 7 miles didn't seem quite long enough, so I started adding little detours to my route. Now, with yet another used road bike (ol' Blue) added to the stable, my route to work is 27 miles, and the way home is 13!

I have learned a lot from each of the bikes, and I am sure that you will learn from yours, as well. If there is a local bike club, you might want to consider joining them on a few rides. Being around other bikes will help you see what others are doing, and give you some ideas about your next purchase. Just keep riding, and soon the miles will start piling up, and you will be doing a century too!

Congratulations Nebill! The first Century feels good, really good!

I had a chance to do the Oak Leaf Trail around Milwaukee this weekend. It's a series of trails through the parks and golf course that totals about 76 miles. The only problem is that some of the trails are in bad repair. I wish I had my mountain bike for those sections. I punctured a tube at one point but it was the first time I got to try out my co2 canister instead of the minipump. It works great by the way.

Also looking forward to this Friday. I'm picking up a friend flying in from California and we are heading up to northern Wisconsin for one week of road biking. Life is good!

BJ