Ok so that was f'ng windy. I got dropped from my group around 60 miles, just after orcutt and rode with a teammate for 10 miles, and then solo the rest. 3 guys, a pro and 2 cat 1s finished in 4:18, I limped in at 4:31. Pictures and power data when I get home, still waiting for two of the guys I drove up with.

it was a bit windy out there wasn't it? I only did the half, so it was pretty good on the way back from Lompoc... The best was the chicken and the egg riding the tandem!

Agreed. A bit windy is an understatement. It was so bad that people were rushing into the first sag stop at 10 mph DOWNHILL. I thought I was going to get blown off my bike a few times. I will make another attempt at the century next year.

Which was the first rest stop, was that the one in Lompoc? My group didn't stop so they all kind of ran together.

Yes, at mile 23.5.

Ah ok, I see the dip in speed in my data where we had to slow down to get through the area. We had to hop on on the sidewalk. It took us just under an hour to get there so it would have been about 9am.

4:31? Mann, I wish I could limp that fast!
I ended up finishing in 5:18, but riding solo much of the time. I was really looking forward to the right hand turn that would surely result in a tailwind, but they managed somehow to engineer a head/crosswind for about 80 of the miles.
I participated in two packs (they seemed to collect behind some of the tandems that were moving well) but the echelons required meant they were either taking up the whole lane, or passing the slower rides too closely for my liking. Many times we'd yell "on your left" and the slower riders would look (and veer slightly) to the left. Also, there seemed to be more exploitation than cooperation going on. After having some little turdbird with carbon-fiber eyebrows and a 2007 state champion jersey* lean on me after I'd taken a pull and then watching some hapless slower rider get shouted at for getting in someone's way I decided fluid pedaling form for the whole ride was better than riding in that kind of negative energy, even if it meant riding alone. So I stopped at a Foxen Canyon Rest stop and stretched for a few minutes.
The tailwind finally came on the downhill of Foxen Canyon. I sustained ~40mph for several minutes there, but that road alternated from wonderfully smooth section to brutally rough with little in-between.
I'm glad of the time change; all this time on the rollers on weeknights has made me soft. Still it was fun fun fun!

*Clearly not a state champion in any event involving climbing or crosswinds, however.

I missed my sub 5 goal by only 2 hours... LOL. I lost part of our group after 2 miles and stayed back with my friends.
Total time from start to finish was 8.5 hours. That is the longest time on a bike ever. Crosswinds on my Zipp 404's were challenging too.

Wind wind and more wind!!! The first 50 were definitely not fun! Once we got into Foxen Cyn it became muuuch more enjoyable! All in all it was a good weekend! It was my girlfriend's first century and she did awesome! Probably the most embarrassing part for me was falling over while clipped in right after crossing the finish line... its gotta happen to us eventually right? All in all it was a good experience.. for the record I'm welcoming 90 degree weather and no wind!

Heres a couple pics from the ride!

No

Other than the wind the temps, especially in the late morning/early afternoon were perfect. 90 degree weather sucks, wind or no.

Data from the ride:

You're probably right.. maybe I'm tired of the layers lol. I've been night riding a lot and I'm probably just craving the vitamin D

Limped!

I enjoyed each and every rest stop. And rolled in to Solvang in 8.5

But I was on a fixie.

mashing that thing into the headwinds was nuts.

Great report from one of my teammates. I was the last to get dropped before the formation of the "Solvang Seven".

https://marcofanelli.blogspot.com/201...-raceride.html

Limped is relative, I lost the protection of my group but reading my teammate's race report, I wouldn't have lasted much longer regardless, when ex-pros started skipping pulls in the rotation. Bottom line is I was stupid and did too much work early on in the ride but I'm still proud I lasted with that select group as long as I did.

I blew my wad pretty early too, but I still wouldn't categorize it as stupid. After pedaling into that head/crosswind on the way out to Santa Maria, we were all expecting a tailwind on the way back in. Something about the shape of the hills was creating some kind of swirl, because that tailwind didn't come until after mile 75, and then it was sporadic.

[Edit. Just noticed your average wattage was only 211. Maybe I should have stuck with those gaggles. I averaged 231 watts and finished half an hour slower. (Of course hauling an extra 50 lbs of oxflesh up the hills probably had something to do with it too.)]

Well it was stupid for me because my coach specifically told me not to do any work in the first half, and yet I still found myself on the front hammering from time to time. And then of course he goes on crush everyone else and finish 14 minutes ahead of me

Underhanded, that. Some guys will do anything to win.

I'm sure the fact that he is an international-level professional has nothing to do with it

His point to me was for me to save my energy to the end so that I wouldn't get dropped.

Garmin data if anyone cares
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/27103576

Nice job.... I didn't expect anyone to go below sub 5 let alone sub 4:30 in those conditions. WOW.

Nice job.... I didn't expect anyone to go below sub 5 let alone sub 4:30 in those conditions. WOW.

Wow, your average heart rate was "only" 157bpm. You guys are machines.

In any case, thanks for skipping the rest areas. I certainly enjoyed more than my fair share of bagels, bananas and trail mix. This was the first time I finished a Century and wasnt dying of starvation within 30 minutes.

Oh damn! That was funny.