July Century Riders!

[Aggie_Ama]

DH and I have signed up for the Katy Flatland Century, July 15. We did this as my first organized ride and were looking for something to test our saddle time and gain some miles. A century in July in Texas is a bit nutty, but this one is flat (I think the only hill is an overpass- seriously).

Our goal is 6 hours of ride time to get off the roads by 2:00. This will be second century, we have done 90-95 miles on Day 1 of the MS150 and then the Shiner GASP. Lately our weekend 50-60 milers have been getting fairly easy.

Anyone else logging a century this month?

[Aggie_Ama]

The silence is deafening... I must be the only nut! We have been riding a lot, DH is convinced we will "thrive" instead of "survive" on this century. :cool:

[kabewyou]

I did one last weekend on June 30th, but not in July, does that count? It was actually quite fun overall. It got up to about 93 degrees; the humidity is what does me in more than the heat though. It was humid, but I could still breathe.

[Kimmyt]

I have one the same day as you. Haven't trained enough. Isn't that always the story.

[HoosierGiant]

Well... a century plus some. Does that count?!

Will be doing the 160-mile Ride Across INdiana (RAIN) on July 14.

Imperial century scheduled for August; metric century in September.

Kudos to everyone, regardless of the distance!!

[GLC1968]

Our first organized century of the year is August 11th...so not too far past July!

Last year, we trained for it by riding at midday to acclimate to the heat. Then it was 60 degrees and pouring the day of the event! This year, with our luck, we won't train in the heat and it'll be 100 degrees and humid for the event (as is typical for Aug)!

Good luck with your ride! We'll be climbing Roan Mtn in TN the weekend you are riding your century, so I promise that I'll be wishing I was riding a FLAT ride with you. ;)

[maillotpois]

I only have 2 organized centuries planned for the whole year, Aug 18 or something (Holstein) and October 10 or something (Grizzly). Oh and Tucson in Nov, though that's 11 miles. I've done several non-"organized" training centuries this year, 2 doubles, 2 200ks and the 300 and 400k.

As for July I have the Death Ride 7/14 (130 miles) and then some time off the bike before my next double century 8/5.

I just haven't been doing that many organized centuries in the last couple of years. I don't think I did any last year.

Good luck to all the century (and century plus) riders who are riding in July - the heat can be a challenge!!

[nicole309]

I'll be doing my first century ever on August 26. The Portland Century...
http://www.portlandcentury.com/

[Fredwina]

I'm going to do a 200K permanent on 7/21

[Aggie_Ama]

It got up to about 93 degrees; the humidity is what does me in more than the heat though. It was humid, but I could still breathe.

I am pretty nervous about this part of my ride next weekend. It is in Houston which is basically riding through soup!


I have one the same day as you. Haven't trained enough. Isn't that always the story.

I think I am better trained than our first century. I am hoping we are not over confident. We haven't done an organized training plan, just riding lots and hydrating well.

[Aggie_Ama]

Well... a century plus some. Does that count?!

Will be doing the 160-mile Ride Across INdiana (RAIN) on July 14.

Imperial century scheduled for August; metric century in September.

Kudos to everyone, regardless of the distance!!


Definitely counts! Is it across one day? If not the hard part is getting back on the bike day two. :D

[HoosierGiant]

Definitely counts! Is it across one day?

Yes, it's one day. Starts west of Terre Haute, just over the Illinois border, at 7 a.m. Follows U.S. 40 (the Old National Road) across Indiana, except for a detour around the southern edge of Indianapolis. Must be to the finish line at Earlham College in Richmond on the eastern side of the state by 9 p.m. to be counted as an official finisher.

[cambuhl]

I'll be out there also doing the Katy Flatlalnd but first must help with the parking, as I am a member of Northwest Cycling Club, the club putting on the ride. I'm looking forward to doing it. I'll be in a group who will be one of the last to take off...after registration/parking is wrapped up. Look for a group of NWCC riders passing on the left! Last year I averaged over 20mph! I'm hoping for the same this year.

[Starfish]

Not until August 5th, for me!

[CR400]

I did mine last Monday on the 2nd of July it was a solo effort so not organized. To the lady who feels she didn't train enough it'll be fine, if you have done a century before you can do it again.

[Aggie_Ama]

Yes, it's one day. Starts west of Terre Haute, just over the Illinois border, at 7 a.m. Follows U.S. 40 (the Old National Road) across Indiana, except for a detour around the southern edge of Indianapolis. Must be to the finish line at Earlham College in Richmond on the eastern side of the state by 9 p.m. to be counted as an official finisher.

Wow! Hope the weather cooperates and you have a fabulous ride. Please post a report on this one!

[Aggie_Ama]

Look for a group of NWCC riders passing on the left! Last year I averaged over 20mph! I'm hoping for the same this year.

Well if the winds are right, I have averaged 18-19 mph on Day 1 of the MS150 two years running. I am in as good of shape as I was for those, albeit a little heavier :(. I anticipate this being a fast century, but you may still pass us. Have a good ride!

[rabidgirl]

Good luck on your ride. I completed my first century on Saturday (07-07-07, lucky seven day). I did a ride in Ottawa, KS. It was 92 degrees. Luckily, the wind wasn't too bad and there were only a few f-word caliber hills. Be sure to drink plenty of sports drink AND water. I wore my 3-liter camel back full of gatorade and brought a 20 oz water bottle. The bottle was good for drinking and dousing my head. I am by no means a fast rider, but total riding time was only 6.5 hrs. If my spouse & I can do it, anyone can!

Oh, another handy tip... carry a bandana along. You can wet it down & put it on your neck while you ride. It'll keep you cool.

[jobob]

I joined in on a 2-day, 100 mile/day club ride that went around the San Francisco Bay. The first day was June 30 and the second day was July 1st.

Trouble was, I developed a cramp in my calf near the end of the first days' ride, which was still bugging me on the second day so I pulled out after only 25 miles :p So I've yet to do a century this month.

[SJCzar]

I did 3 in June, but this month has too many other events going on ... family wedding, baby shower, work, etc.

I'm hoping to get one in towards the end of the month.

[Aggie_Ama]

Kimmyt- How did your century go?

Ours went awesome! The morning started with pouring rain and a thunderstorm (just thunder no lightning), I was so worried they would call the ride off. We had to ride in rain for the first hour or so, that meant an average speed for the first 5-10 miles of about 11 mph. This century was flat so that is really slow. A lot of people were just too nervous and/or inexperienced in the rain. We saw a couple wrecks and it was pretty nerve racking. We have been caught in the rain lately, so I felt pretty confident but the others were scaring me!

After the clouds rolled back we got a nice tail wind and an even nicer DH pulling a huge paceline. At one point I swear there was 10-15 riders grabbing on and he is just chugging along at 22-23 mph. What can I say, he is a biking stud. :D Miles 40-60 were difficult, after taking a rest stop for fluids and potties we hit a headwind. The NUUN I drank before the stop was not agreeing with me, I had a nasty taste in my mouth (sorbitol) and felt bloated.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful though. Stopped at 63 miles for more fluids, this stop had ice. I am not sure why but the ice water was just heavenly. Ran out of water at the 88 mile rest stop, so we had to get some more. At about 95 miles I was ready for the ride to end (it was getting hot), so I let an older gentlemen pull me (I thanked him later). Then at mille 99 I bumped DH's back wheel and surprisingly did not eat it! Pulled in to free snow cones- YUMMY.

Stats:
101.16 miles
17.7 mph (this is great but I know it would have been over 18 if not for the beginning)
5 hours 37 minutes, ride time. With three rest stops 6 hours, 10 minutes.

[Kimmyt]

Sounds like you had a great day!

Mine was... okay. The weather was gorgeous, supposed to be warm to mildly hot. We figured we'd be done by 1pm so wouldn't be in the heat the whole time. But, the direction the route took us from Philly to the Jersey Shore, and we had a quite windy day of it on the flats in Jersey.

We started out pretty fast, with three of us in a line, averaging around 21 but I knew I couldn't hold it like that for 100 miles. there were some nasty accidents near the start, too many people trying to go too fast down the bridge and one poor lady wiped out on her bike. Saw her lying on the pavement with medics around her, her face was bleeding and it looked like she might have had neck/back injuries. It was really sad, we think she must have jammed on her brakes and hit the front one too hard and gone over her handlebars. Really hope she's okay...

Avoided some accidents ourselves from inexperienced people not calling out when they slow down, before the route finally cleared out. Slowed down by this point (actually, got in a fight with The Boy and ended up pulling myself the entire way to the 50-mile mark, so my speeds here were pretty slow especially with the headwind). Made up with The Boy at the rest stop and we continued on our way, got to average a pretty good 17ish pace I think and even cought up to our fast friend who had dropped us earlier.

ended up finishing 20 minutes faster than last year, perhaps an average of 17-something? And it wasn't quite a full century, only 95 miles.

Afterwards the heat was really brutal and we all felt blasted by it, almost all of us felt like we were going to be sick, despite that we'd hydrated and taken in lots of calories. We loaded in the car and headed down to a nearby beach and soaked our leg muscles in the freezing cold ocean and felt like new people. Laid in the sun and had dinner before we headed home. All in all not bad, considering I've ridden all of 300 miles this year, and The Boy hadn't even ridden 100 beforehand! (I think the fast guy had ridden maybe 150, so we were all pretty poorly trained).

K.