Yes. It was well organized and plenty of PB&J sandwhiches, cookies, oranges, and bananas. I didn't particularly like the Heed carb replacement drink, though. Even when I filled up with what they labelled as Gatorade, I'm sure that it wasn't. It was Heed.

Vesuvius -was- a hell of a climb. It seemed like that it wouldn't end. Turn after turn, up, up up. My first set of cramps started after that climb and I was able to hold them off until I reached the Wintergreen resort.

Me on the Vesuvius climb - note the straining arm muscles

Camera phone shots from today's Bay Country Century:

https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v2...slideshow=true

I met John (FatguyRacer) at one of the rest stops--the one at the beach. The weather was just about perfect and I felt like I could have gone longer by the end.

And the legs a blur.

Awesome shot! It really belongs in a cycling magazine.

I guess I missed the Lake Montebello thing. I sorta wanted to go to that, but I'm glad I did the century. It was a good ride. Lots of rollers--4400ft of climbing.

The Lake Montebello thing was fun and a lot of racers showed up but one thing it did not have was climbing. So I think you made a good choice too.

+1

Was that an event photo? One of the best I have ever seen.

-D

I think it was an event photo, but I ran it through some more processing (PhotoSuite 4). It has an auto-enhancer that balances the picture attributes. The original picture was a little too dark for my tastes.

No Racer - Yesterday's Bay Country was great, what a change from the year before. Unfortunately I got a late start (8:45) and rode slowly w/ my wife for the 1st 25 miles (she did the metric), the rest for the century was mostly solo, though there were a few people out there on the road. Great weather, good rest stops, only wish the event was staffed at the end, it would have been nice to get some more water when I got back to the car.

Great photo up Mt. Vesuvius - he got me earlier, luckily not on Vesuvius. I would have been green I believe, not amount of photo processing would have helped.

https://www.photoshelter.com/c/jasono...4&pagtotal=214

I agree about the staffing at the end. I was sort of expecting that there'd be something at the finish, but they had massages and -lara- bars. Some cold water would have been nice.

I'm sure I saw you at some point during the BRE. It's not like jerseys of our color don't stick out.

Btw, one of my team mates found another site that had the Vesuvius climb pic on it, but he didn't provide the link. I'm sure that it's a different photographer.

The original lacked the proper highlights to best showcase bulging muscles

By the way, you going to be on the Civil War Century this coming weekend? Might run into you out there - I'll be in the same jersey. I usually don't wear stuff that's so bright (OK, so pink), but when I was in Italy this summer a 70 yo former racer gave it to me as a gift so when I wear it I'm reminded of him (plus it is a Pantani jersey so I'm always hoping it gives me a little more power in the hills and mountains, but sadly, it doesn't seem to work that way).

I'll be camping in the parking lot Friday night and then manning the Loy's Station Rest stop which is on the 25 and 63 mile routes. It's a great ride/event/party and for me it's a major kick just seeing so many cyclists. Everyone come on out! Registration is still open for CWC07 at https://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1441102

Hey keep an eye out for me then. I was going to do the century, but promised my wife I would ride with her, so we are doing the 25 mile route (she has only been on the bike maybe 5 times this year). I don't know if we will be on the tandem or solo (She is deciding) but I will wear my BF.NET jersey either way.

-D

I'll be there. I'll wear my race jersey again.

Also, I'll be trying out some new wheels--Topolino carbon core CX2.0 clinchers. According to the manufacturer, they weigh in at 1,360 grams!

I'm also doing the Seagull. Signed up yesterday.

Today, I did a solo 65 mile ride out of Ocean City, MD to the far side of Lewes, DE (Nassau area). The trip out was great due to a tailwind. The trip back was a constant fight with the aforementioned wind. I was working on leg muscle endurance, doing the entire ride in the big chain ring and most of it in the 12T cog.

Great. Not only will I look for your jersey, but also for your bike. I have the same TCR2 (2005) - love it.

I did the same around St. Michaels. Tailwinds are great until they turn into headwinds. Darn invisible mountains.

Yup! That's what the workout was supoose to simulate--constant pressure on the leg muscles to simulate a long time climbing.

Another note about the CWC try and get there early or late or take the back roads into Thurmont. Last year the main route was seriously backed up.

NoRacer or others who rode the Bay Country Century - do you know the total elevation gain on the ride? I use a Garmin 305 and I think I recall it was something like 4,700 feet. However when I uploaded the data to MotionBased, it showed something like 6,700 which seems way to high. Any idea what you rode?

My iBike recorded about 4,400ft.

How is the ride? I haven't done a century (50 or so miles in a single ride is my peak) and would love to do it.

Joel,

I'm no expert, but I would venture to say that the full century might be a bit much for you if the max you've done is 50 or so miles. It's not just the extra 50 miles (which is not something to take lightly), but it is the terrain as well. The full century has a fair amount of climbing (7.400 feet) - that's pretty significant. As mentioned above, the local century last weekend (Bay Country) had 4,400 feet - there were plenty of people hurting from that. You may want to try the metric century - here's what they say: "On this ride you get to look at the mountains, not climb them, as you meander along pleasant country roads through the lush rolling farmland of the Monocacy and Carroll Valleys to Gettysburg and back. As a bonus, you'll see five covered bridges on this route."

Now you might be a monster and the full century may be a stroll in the country for you, but it's something I'm taking seriously and have been training for for several months. There's also a 77 mile route as well and you can bail out of the full century at 66 miles for an easy downhill back to the starting point.

Regardless, it will be a great ride and it would be nice to see you out there!

Bob

A few years ago I would laugh at the climb, but moving away from the Berkeley Hills has killed my legs. I'm thinking about the metric, which looks like a mellower ride, and more realistic for where I am now. I do want to get the routes for the others since I've been dying for some good long rides in the area since I moved here.

(Which is a nice way of begging for anyone in the B'more area who wants to share/invite me on rides to please do so)

Nice to hear folks had a good time at the BCC. I had fun working the North Beach rest area and meeting folks. I left my house at 6 am and got home at 6:30 pm. Long day indeed. I did ride the PPTC labor day metric yesterday from Southern High School. That was a tough ride. I got gapped off the chasing A group after the last big hill on Ponds Woods and missed the turn off road to the rest stop. I got halfway to Prince Frederick before i realized i was boned. By the time i got to the rest stop, everyone was pulling out. I ended up finishing with the last group out on the road. Which was ok since i knew them and i was dead meat anyway. Note to self: A slice of apple pie is not a good breakfast before an A ride metric.

I'll probably be doing the Civil War ride. Most likely the 100 mile route and then bail at mile 66. Depends on how i feel. I'll be riding to enjoy myself and will probably take it easy with a slower group of friends. Sunday is the encore Church Creek 40k TT and i'll be working that event too.

Alright, I decided to do the Civil War Cent. Right now I'm thinking the metric but I know better after my ride tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to find/identify some other posters when I get there. Other than the lack of hair (see avatar) and approaching ancient bike (see sig) I don't really stand out.