Next Year's Centuries (or other long rides)

[andtckrtoo]

So, I'm trying to get some ideas for planning my spring, summer and fall rides. What centuries or other rides did you do last year, and which ones are you considering this year?

[makbike]

If you like climbing and some breathtaking scenery I would highly recommend the 3State3Mountain Challenge in Chattanooga, TN. It is held the first weekend in May. I rode it for the first time this year and will return next May to climb those mountains once again.

I also rode RAIN (Ride Across Indiana) this year for the first time and had a blast. I will return to Terre Haute next July to cross the state of Indiana again on my bicycle.

The other centuries I've completed this year have all been club centuries. Most have been great rides and are on my list to do again rides. There are a few that have been logged on the "never do again" list but those are few in number.

[maillotpois]

Last year was a super off year for me - no doubles or super long rides.

The organized rides I did last year:

Wine Country Century 200k (in May)
Death Ride
Marin Century
High Sierra Fall Century (50 mile route on tandem with my kid)

and I think that's it! wow. We're also doing tour de Tucson in November w/tandem and kid for the 110 mile route.

Next year, tentatively:

some doubles (I need to plan out the Death Ride training and see which ones I can realistically do).
Wine Country 200k
Death Ride
???

I really do like the Wine Country course - and the ride is well supported. They have several different distances for it. We use the 200k in our Death Ride training program as the distance is a great confidence booster but the course is pretty easy.

We may do Tour of the Unknown Coast. That ride gets SUCH great feedback - it is just a beautiful area. Much of our travel/expense decision will be made in early December when we decide on whether it's possible to do a "big" cycling event. If we do the big event, we won't be doing a lot of rides that require hotels, etc.

[andtckrtoo]

Thanks Everyone!

Sarah - that Wine Country Century looks like the perfect one to con, er ah, encourage, my friends to ride with me! I am considering the Death Ride. We'll see how I feel. And wow on the Tour of the Unknown Coast. I actually have friends in that area I can stay with ... (they are runners so they understand the weird hours of events). So many centuries so little time... (And why are they all on the sames dates?)

[maillotpois]

Yeah that one weekend is crazy - there's also the Grizzly Peak century right then, too, which is a good one.

[jobob]

I might actually go for the Mt. Hamilton Challenge next year. I was hoping to do it this year but my training/motivation took a nosedive around then.

Now that I've ridden my permanent route twice, which has about the same distance & nearly as much climbing as the MHC (altho the climbing on my perm is more spread out), I'm much more confident I could tackle the MHC.

Apart from that, I'll need to complete a 200K+ brevet or permanent in each of the first 7 months of 2009 if I want to earn a RUSA R12, so I'll probably do some of the local 200K brevets this spring. A 300K, I don't know, we shall see.

Oh, and I have a plan brewing to get a team together for the Fleche on easter weekend.

[melissam]

Last year was a super off year for me - no doubles or super long rides.

The organized rides I did last year:

Wine Country Century 200k (in May)
Death Ride
Marin Century
High Sierra Fall Century (50 mile route on tandem with my kid)

and I think that's it! wow. We're also doing tour de Tucson in November w/tandem and kid for the 110 mile route.

Ahem, um, Ms. Maillotpois, I think you forgot Waves to Wine.

I wish I could have a super off year like that.

My 2008 rides included:

Cinderella Century
Tierra Bella Century
AIDS/Lifecycle
Crater Lake Century
Tour di Stupid
Waves to Wine
East Bay 200k Permanent
Winters 200k Brevet

andtckrtoo, you might consider the Cinderella, Tierra Bella, and Primavera centuries for next spring.

- Melissa

[maillotpois]

Ahem, um, Ms. Maillotpois, I think you forgot Waves to Wine.

Oh duh! I guess I just didn't really think of that as an "organized ride". It was more just a good ramble with friends.

And I notice we're all talking about "last year" - as if it's done. I'm assuming we're talking about "last year" as 2008 (i.e., "this year") as opposed to 2007?

[jobob]

"All"? I know what year we're in, thenkew.

( Except I realized today that when I signed up for Plus 3, I indicated my age was in the 49-54 bracket, and I won't be turning 49 for another couple of weeks. Maybe it's a way to show my support for my dear old friend SK. Yeah, that's it. )

Hey Mel, I think the Mt Hamilton Challenge* is roughly the same route as your Tour di Stupid. If you're gonna be stupid, may as well have company.

Oooh Crater Lake, I'd love to do that again. Cooler temperatures would be nice though.

Ed to add: *Although at the rate Mel is progressing, she'll probably want to do the Devil Mountain Double instead, which as far as I know is always(?) held on the same day. Brat

[dachshund]

"All"? I know what year we're in, thenkew.

( Except I realized today that when I signed up for Plus 3, I indicated my age was in the 49-54 bracket, and I won't be turning 49 for another couple of weeks. Maybe it's a way to show my support for my dear old friend SK. Yeah, that's it. )

Hey Mel, I think the Mt Hamilton Challenge* is roughly the same route as your Tour di Stupid. If you're gonna be stupid, may as well have company.

Oooh Crater Lake, I'd love to do that again. Cooler temperatures would be nice though.

Ed to add: *Although at the rate Mel is progressing, she'll probably want to do the Devil Mountain Double instead, which as far as I know is always(?) held on the same day. Brat

Brief hijack:
Hey, I'm in that bracket! You can be in our bracket, Jobob. What's a couple of weeks?

I was reading about the DMD recently. I had to stop because it was making me tired. But, tough choice!

[maillotpois]

Tired? I was practically asleep for the last 30 miles of DMD...

[aka_kim]

Although I didn't do it this year, the Tour of Napa Valley in August is one of my favorite rides. I prefer the 100k to the 100 mile though, because the food is better on the metric (and it is all about the food). The Holstein 100 is always the day after Napa, and the metric there is fun too.

I did the 100k rides at the Sequoia and Monticello Solano centuries this year for the first time. Both were very pretty courses (with good food!), but Sequoia was really tough, and MSC had pretty heavy boat traffic.

I always like Grizzly Peak and Primavera too (the metrics of course ).

[Veronica]

I didn't do any organized centuries this year. I kind of wish we were doing Spooktacular. We did the metric a couple of years ago - good support, good food. I'm planning on doing a duathlon Nov. 1.

I have done a 200K every month since March. Three of those were with clubs. The other five were with Jo or on my own. I tried to do one with Mel....I need to do 4 more for the R-12.

I am really digging doing triathlons. Next year I want to do the Olympic distance of the World's Hardest Tri. It's in May. I'd love to do the Half Ironman version of it. Maybe in 2010. I need to work on my running.

I also want to do Barb's race in August again.

I don't know if I'll ever do another double century. I enjoyed them, but it's kind of nice to be done before dark.

Veronica

[maillotpois]

Just some thoughts on some rides others have mentioned:

Mt. Hamilton Challenge is a super fun ride. The way they bring your own food up for the rest stops is a pretty cool system.

Holstein 100 is EXCELLENT. The food is great and it's staffed by all these super sweet senior citizens because it supports West Marin Senior Services. And it's roads we ride on all the time, so that's fun.

Mel - what's "Tour di Stupid"? Sounds like something I'd do....

[melissam]

Hey Mel, I think the Mt Hamilton Challenge* is roughly the same route as your Tour di Stupid. If you're gonna be stupid, may as well have company.

Oooh Crater Lake, I'd love to do that again. Cooler temperatures would be nice though.

Ed to add: *Although at the rate Mel is progressing, she'll probably want to do the Devil Mountain Double instead, which as far as I know is always(?) held on the same day. Brat

Um, yeah...DMD. Uh huh. We'll see.

I have done a 200K every month since March. Three of those were with clubs. The other five were with Jo or on my own. I tried to do one with Mel....I need to do 4 more for the R-12.

Hey V, I'd be happy to join you on another 200k.

Mel - what's "Tour di Stupid"? Sounds like something I'd do....

Oh boy, Tour di Stupid. Basically, it's the Mt. Hamilton Challenge route done on one of the hottest days of the year.

OK, here's the recipe/ride report:

1 - overconfident cyclist
1 - bicycle
1 - water bottle
1 - Camelbak (optional)
1 - cell phone
miscellaneous bars, gels

Sleep in. Answer phone call from mother who can talk a LOT. (You know how an hour's ride is a short ride for a lot of us? Well, an hour's phone call is a warm up for my mom.)

Begin riding at 10:30am with temp set at mid-80's. Allow temp to rise at roughly 5 degrees F per hour, until it reaches its peak at 105 deg. F.

Climb Mt. Hamilton without refilling water bottles at Grant Ranch Park. Run out of fluids about 1 mile from summit. Struggle to summit.

Refill bottles at Lick Observatory and cool off. Forget water bottle in Lick Observatory restroom. Proceed down San Antonio Road.

Look down, see that you've forgotten your water bottle. Proceed back up San Antonio Valley Road and driveway to Lick Observatory. Call self a blonde bonehead.

Proceed down San Antonio Valley Road. Do not speed on the 12% descents, since you don't know the road that well. Allow hands to become sore from braking.

Attempt to cool self in minimal shade on San Antonio Valley Road after the descent. Send text to roommate. Oops, no cell phone reception! Ponder the fact that San Antonio Valley Road looks as desolate as something you'd see in a desert crossing scene in a western. Be on the lookout for circling vultures and cattle skulls.

Struggle to Junction Cafe, order food, refill bottles, drink water, Red Bull, Gatorade. Assure the cafe's owner that you're just fine. Really.

Proceed down San Antonio Valley Road. Heat up. Think about how hot it is. Think about how thinking about how hot it is doesn't help. Try not to think about how hot it is. Unsuccessfully.

Begin a moderate climb - convince (beg, plead, cajole) legs to keep pedaling. Flip off a few vultures. Descend a bit. Curse the descent because you know you have to make up the elevation you're losing. Start climbing again. Get off bike and walk because you're sick and tired of pedaling up hill. Check cell phone reception -- still a no-go. Try not to think about how hot it is. Unsuccessfully.

See one of the few passing motorists, who happens to have a bike in his car. Ask how far to the summit. Try not to cry or throw things when he estimates that it will take about an hour.

Get back on bike, and get to the summit waaaaay before you think you're going to. Uh oh, does this mean there's another climb?!

Alternate thru the lovely thought carousel of:
* it's really hot
* I really don't want to do another climb
* am I going to get out of here before it gets dark?

Decide that singing might be a good distraction. Unfortunately, the only songs that come to mind are angry Alanis Morissette songs or a few blues numbers. Go back to the lovely thought carousel.

See the Alameda County sign and realize that there's no more climbing!! Practically weep from the sheer joy of it all.

Get to the bottom of Mines Road. Discover that there's cell phone reception and call for a ride home.

All in all, 67 of the hardest fought miles I've ridden. It looked so EASY on the Krebs map.

Oh well, I'm definitely up for trying this again when the temps are much lower.