100 Mile Funk

I don't like to do centuries. 60 to 70 miles are the longest rides I like to do. Anything longer can be painful. However every couple of years I do a century just to prove to myself that I can do it. Today was the PFW Event and since I didn't volunteer this year I was able to ride the event. My plan was to do the 65 or century depending on the weather and how I felt. Laura put a group together so I planned to join her somewhere on route as I left from my house instead of the college. It was a cloudy and humid day so my main concern was cramping.

I left my house just after 7am and did this route. I meet Laura, Bob, and a couple of others at the first rest stop 18 miles in. I went through a little rain just before the rest stop but it cleared up quickly. It just meant that I got dirty early in the ride.

We cruised through mostly familiar roads as we made our way in the general direction of New Egypt. The route kept us on some busy main roads which was unusual for the event where they usually keep riders on less traveled roads for safety.

We pulled into New Egypt with 45 miles and here was my decision point 65 or century. I felt good and had been steadily drinking Gatorade so I knew I had more miles in me I just didn't know how many. It was cloudy and humid with a chance of rain so the longer I road the better chance I had of cramping or getting rained on. However for some reason I just wanted to do the century so off I rode with the group come what may.

Laura keep the group at a good pace. On a flat ride like this it is easy to go faster than you should and use energy you are going to need later to get you the last 10 or 20 miles. As I told Bob, who was doing his first century, the ride really begins at mile 80 when you body and mind just don't want to petal anymore.

The distance between New Egypt and the next rest stop was over 30 miles. The route took us around Fort Dix and through Pemberton on some more busy main roads that I normally won't want to ride on. Bob had a flat about 7 miles out from the rest stop which gave us a mini break we all kind of needed. He flatted again a few miles later as we were going up Arney's mount. It seemed he had a bad tube. Luckily the sag wagon pull up and made a quick work of the tire change.

We pulled into the Island rest stop with 75 miles complete. I was tired but still felt OK. We took a little longer at this stop before heading out. The route back to the start was different this year than the standard route. It took us through Columbus and Bordentown and had us cross RT 206 and RT 130 twice in the space of about 6 miles. I'm think I'm going to volunteer to design the routes for next years events because I know I could come up with a nicer and safer routes.

At mile 90 a few miles before the last rest stop I hit the wall. I was feeling the dehydration and my muscles were feeling fatigued. I was not cramping but I had to slow down. Jim and Don were at the rest stop so as I was trying to rest and build energy for the push how I caught up with them. The good news was that it looked like it won't rain anytime soon. The bad news was the sun was peaking out from the clouds when made it feel really hot. I probably spent a half hour at the rest stop before heading out.

The last few miles back home were a little slow because of the accumulated miles and dehydrated state. When I feel this way at the end of long rides I get into a mental funk that lets me push through the fatigue and get through the last few miles. You mind just gets to a point where you concentrate enough to get you home but you have no energy for any other extraneous thoughts. Kind of like the picture I took at the beginning of the ride of a church sign. Century Bad, Finishing Good

At the end I had 103 miles in (The RideWithGPS shows 101.7 because I didn't record the very beginning or end of the ride to hide the address of my house). I'm glad I was able to do the century especially in the humid conditions. Doing a century is more about eating and drinking right than anything else so I'm happy I was able to do it with out cramping. It also about mental toughness. I may not do a century for another couple of years but as painful as it can be it still feels good to be able to do one.