This weekend was the PFW event and Laura put a group together to ride the century. I hadn't done a lot of long rides this year but was feeling I was in good shape so I wanted to try the century since it has been a while since I had done one.
This was a safe way to do a century because I would be with a group that I could cruise with and draft off of and I knew it would be a relatively flat ride. Since I knew the roads we would be riding if I really wasn't feeling it I could always bail out early.
I started from my house and pick up the route on Windsor Rd. I arranged to meet Laura's group as they rode by. Herb also decided to join me for the start of the ride and plan to bail out half way through.
We meet Laura's group as expected, sort of. They waved as they went by where Herb and I were waiting but then keep going at full speed so Herb and I never really caught up with them until the first rest stop. I saw Ron there who was recovering from a bad fall last week. He ended up with a lot of road rash and a broken wrist but is on the mend so hopefully will be riding again soon.
At the rest stop we reformed the group and all rode on together at a good pace. I was feeling pretty good despite it being a little hot and humid. One of my biggest problems on long rides is keeping hydrated. This seems to get a little harder as I get older. I use to be able to just drink water as I ride and Gatoraid at the rest stops but this has not been enough lately. I have been trying a couple of different things and now have started taking electrolyte tables a couple of times during the ride. For century rides I also bring a bottle Gatoraid with me and drink that as well as water as I ride.
Our second stop was at 40 miles and a little while after that Herb peeled off to follow the 65 mile ride home. The next stop was at 60 miles and it was starting to get hot but I was still feeling good and strong. I had developed a clicking sound in my right pedal which didn't affect the riding and was hoping it way just dirt in the cleat.
At mile 70 I notice my Gatoraid bottle was moving around a lot in the cage. When I took it out I saw that the cage was broken on one side. The bottle cage still seem to be able to hold the bottle in but I keep expecting the bottle to jump out at any moment.
Mile 80 was our last rest stop in Walenford. I was starting to feel the strain of the heat and long ride. Around 80 miles is almost always where I question why any one would want to do a century because no matter how hard you prepare for a century you never feel good after 80 miles and know the last 20 miles be a little tough. It's more of a mental game than physical. I did spend a little extra time at the last rest stop and when I saw Chris asking if any one wanted a sag I almost took him up on his offer.
After this rest stop I left the group and headed for home on my own because the way the century route was mapped out would have taken me out of may way and added more miles than I wanted. Once I got on the road again I actually felt okay and although I slowed down a little I still maintained a decent pace.
From the last rest stop it was only 15 miles back to my house so I ended up with just 95 miles. Close enough. I could have extended my ride home to get to full hundred miles in but if I had I would have been caught in the down pour that occurred about 10 mins after I got home.
Completing a century is tough and takes a toll on equipment and body. Besides the bottle cage it looks like my cleats reached their end of life as there was no metal left on part of the cleat where I normally step out of the petal. I was also getting a little sore in the saddle and felt like I was starting to cramp up. The century definitely pushed me to my limit but I'm glad I decided to do it.
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