Seagull Century help

[Jeanne]

This will be my first century. Can anyone tell me about this ride in particular? wind? hills? things to carry with me (besides bike repair)? I am excited and nervous as I have been reading, most people are. Any help would be great. What about food and drink. how much, how often. oh oh, and what to wear? what do i buy for rain gear. ahhhh. :eek:
thank you thank you--jeanne

[madscot13]

Hi jeanne,
I have not done the seagull century yet, but I have heard that it is a very flat ride but with a lot of wind. Last year's had very nice weather but in the past it has been very rainy- tropical storm rainy. I am going to bring rain booties if that is the case. I will also have a thin wool sweater and leg warmers for the morning. I am also going to bring a little bit of food just in case I don't like what is available at the sag stops. I will have 2 water bottles and that should hopefully be enough to get me through to the sag stops. I like to finish a bottle an hour.

good luck!

[Zen]

I would suggest some type of rain gear. You don't need anything fancy or expensive, something like this (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=6364&item=10-0646&slitrk=search&slisearch=true) will keep you dry.

Or there's always my go-to garment, the Hefty bag :D

[7rider]

This will be my first century. Can anyone tell me about this ride in particular? wind? hills? things to carry with me (besides bike repair)? I am excited and nervous as I have been reading, most people are. Any help would be great. What about food and drink. how much, how often. oh oh, and what to wear? what do i buy for rain gear. ahhhh. :eek:
thank you thank you--jeanne

Hi, Jeanne! Welcome to TE forums and welcome to the Seagull Century!
Are you doing the full century (100 miles) or the metric (100 km/62 miles)?

I've done this ride 2.5 times (finished twice, aborted half way thru, once). As others have said, the ride is flat, and has a reputation for being windy and rainy. Hopefully, the rain will hold off this year! Keep an eye on the forecast for Salisbury, MD, in the days leading up to the ride to determine how best to dress for it. No sense bringing and wearing rain gear if it's sunny, right? And as for the course, flat does NOT necessarily mean easy. Flat means you have to pedal more...no coasting! So pace yourself.

I try not to think of it as "100 miles" and try to think of it as "4 25-mile rides". It helps me prepare mentally for it. Food and drink will be provided at the rest stops, so unless there is something you gotta have, it's not really necessary to carry much with you. But do take advantage of the food and drink that is available. Depending on the weather, you should probably take advantage of every rest stop to fuel up. Always top off your bottles. And remember to drink, especially at the start when you are feeling fresh. Letting yourself go at the beginning because you feel good means you'll pay for it later on.

Make sure your bike is in shape, too, for a long ride. Be ready and able to fix a flat, if you should get one. There will be many folks nearby, including the ride organizers, so hopefully a kind spirit will be there to render aide, if you should need it. I have always found that to be the case on these big group rides.

That's about it.
Remember to dress for the weather.
Eat and drink before you feel like you need to.
Pace yourself.
Smile and wave hello! This is a FUN ride!
Good luck!