Covington Century 2007- Southern riders

[denny]

Title should say 2009 century.

Got a bit further with this ride- I signed up for 50 and did 50! NO MORE NEEDED!!!

I'm glad I finished this ride without too many mishaps. Of course I couldn't escape them all. This time I was prepared for the Kentucky derby like start. At least 1,100 people rode to benefit Project Adventure Kids.

Snyopsis of the day. Weather was beautiful and overcast..here it goes.

5:00 am- woke up earlier than planned due to nervous energy. Coffee,muffins and eggs did the..uhm.. "job" to make sure I would ride light.

6:55 am - Only a quarter of a mile away from the registration point, but waited almost half an hour to get to "campus" parking. The nice fellow directing traffic told me I could go to the Single ladies parking but refused, when I saw the almost BF parked on the side. Changed my mind when I saw that said almost "BF" was parked quarter of a mile away from registration- so I did the Single ladies option of walking a few steps to registration. Love can be cruel at times.

7:10am - met upon riding buddy who reminds me that the rest of the peeps are already at the front of the pack- hurry up! No problem mon!
Forgot I just installed a new bike rack the night before. Couldn't remember how to pull the lever down to get in my SUV. Had to haul the bike out of the rear passenger door. Felt like I was forgetting stuff, but oh well.

8:00 am- the horses.. I mean riders are getting ready to go. Said hello to a few folks and winked at a few of the cuter peeps including almost BF who were all sinewy and muscled up in lycra to the irritation of my riding buddy who felt we were going to be left by the rest of our group starting at 7:30am. So she was right! But who am I to argue with cops flashing blue lights telling us to back off from heading up the front? I've seen enough videos of police beat downs to know to obey the officer in charge.

8:15- It is now clear that I won't be able to keep pace with my buddy, so I just let her peel off ahead. Everyone is tearing out of there and the dreaded rail road track crossing shows even the best of cyclists can be taken down if not done carefully. Luckily I'm not the best of cyclists so I didn't have that problem.

9:00 - The big debate occurs as to whether I should hit the 12 mile rest stop or not. My buds have already left me and I'm a bit panicked that I'll be left in the back hills of GA to figure out I'm lost yet again. Haven't been able to drink the entire time but I decide to press on again just in case my riding partner had kept going- I hoped I would catch up with her.

Somewhere in this span of time I meet with a few riders I'm aquainted with who decide to chat a bit along the way. I truly don't mind this little social interlude, but the problem comes in when they simply have to speed away to get ahaed. You can tell it's almost killing them to keep a pace of 17mph. My ego takes a bit of a beating during these times and I have to remind myself that they have been doing this a lot longer. It also helps to play a song from Sesame street in my head. Don't ask me why folks! It just helps the stress at the time. Dadadap pi pee pi pe didi.. badadap pip pid dip... dancing muppets-sounds familiar? OK I forgive you if it doesn't, but you would know it if you heard it.

10:00- drum roll please! Huge moment in my cycling almost career (if you count the amount of time spent on this activity in the week, including thinking about riding). I fnally had the guts to drink water and pedal at the same time!! Yee haaaaw! Pure desperation brought this on and watching a chick riding in front of me do it, somehow it finally clicked. Just in time! I was parched and I could hear the theme song from "The good, the bad and ugly playing in my mind." Then anyone with a Coca-Cola jersey get's a good eyeballing from me as a craving for that beverage causes me to draft behind them. Thoughts of ian ce cold soda can against my head and downing 2 or 3 cans of the sugary hip expander dog me at least 7 miles of the ride. I'm like a dog with it's tongue rolling out with thirst by then.

11:00 - Finally did rest stop#2. Got off the bike and stretched and that's when it hit. The most obscenely painful sensation going down the right side of my crotch to my knees. All I can think is, it had to be too much pressure placed on the inside of my sit bones during the ride. I was hobbling along when my riding buddy insisted we move along because the sun was now starting to come out. I'm in obvious pain by then, but she figures i'll handle it. WRONG!! She darts off up the hill and I'm left with a full bladder, pain in the nether regions and I'm now unable to do a full rotation on the right side and almost fall off the bike from a lack of mometum. The little girl in me is dying to scream and cry in frustration and pain, but instead I man up and sob silently to myself wondering why the heck I continue to try and do these, @#$%* centuries.

15 mins later - Still asking God for forgiveness for my @#$$%% thoughts earlier and ask him to bring me through the pain and not get dropped in the country side and be able to keep up with the group in front. Prayers answered! No candy and I have to be really good all week as a trade off!

12:00 - and cramping later, I managed to run into a humongous rump doffed out in orange lycra! I honestly couldn't stop myself due to cramps in my calf and it happened in slow motion. OK- the rump wasn' huge but when you're begging your body to cooperate and you can see your front wheel heading squarely for someone's bent over rear cleavage all sorts of visions come to mind. Luckily the lady was very understanding at the tread marks my tires left on her behind. I'm still blushing at that accident, but she shouldn't have stopped in the middle of the street either.

12:30 - 40 mile mark. Everyone is now deciding whether they are physically cooked or ready to stoke out another 40+ miles. I emphatically decline, because frankly- I really don't feel like a woman anymore and I can't WAIT to get back to the start line. I head back to the start line with a group of experienced lady riders and once again, one of them is taken out by the railroad tracks and get's a small case of road rash. Nursing her wounds, a group of 200+ riders come swooshing by. I'm thinking I'm about to see if the tracks will take out these guys and astonishingly they all cross smoothly and without mishap. They have my utmost admiration for hauling in 100 at 4 hrs 20 minutes.

The promised land- gosh I've neve been so happy to see green Georgia, probably moccasin infested pond water at the start line. 2 helpings of sphagetti, iced tea and garlic bread made me think, this isn't enough for me to torture my body this way- Then I met the Project Adventure Kids and decided.. OK it was worth it. These are kids who are in the state foster system who have been either abused, neglected or all of the above. I had the opportunity to talk to the kids and realized what an impact the proceeds from the annual century has on their lives. They were so enthusiastic to ride their 30 miles and the difference the camp has made in their lives, that I decided to take on the pain again next year at 100 miles. Some where a bit withdrawn but that's the purpose of the camp, to get them to communicate honestly and without fear that people really do like them.

See link http://www.projectadventurekids.org if you're ever interested in donating to a worthwhile charity. These kids made me want to cry.

Well folks..until the next century..Cheers to everyone who finished their rides and to everyone who gave it their best shot.

[redrhodie]

Congratulations, you did it! It doesn't sound like it was any fun at all, but I'm sure the kids appreciate your effort!

[Pedal Wench]

Woohoo! It sounds like it was a great ride.

My BF was visiting, and we just didn't feel like a big organized ride, so our plan was to sleep late and then we had a mission. After hearing that the Cycles Gladiator wine has been banned in Alabama, I put on my Cycles Gladiator jersey, and we headed for the 'bama state line. Unfortunately, the skies opened, complete with lightening, when we were 5 miles from the line. So, I rode 90 miles towards Alabama. Next time!

[skibum]

Great job, denny! Sounds like you encountered a few challenges along the way but still managed to achieve your goal.

I was out there too. I am training for a half ironman so I let the masses go ahead of me at the start so I could focus on riding in an aero position without drafting. It was a bit of a mental exercise for me because I'm used to riding with a group. It's a little tougher when you don't have someone to chat with along the way. I ended up doing the 80-mile option and was thrilled to see my husband waiting at the end with a diet coke in his hand. That's become one of our rituals on this kind of ride. He's much faster than me (he rode with that fast group you saw until the 80/100 route split) and we've realized over time that it works best for us to each ride at our own pace. While he's waiting around for me to finish, he tracks down a diet coke since by that point, I'm ready to have something other than water or gatorade to drink.

I agree that the kids are great and make the ride worthwhile. I think that's why so many people come out and do this ride. Next up on my ride calendar is the Wilson 100 (although I probably won't do the full century). It's another great ride if you're looking for a new challenge.

[Pedal Wench]

I ended up doing the 80-mile option and was thrilled to see my husband waiting at the end with a diet coke in his hand.

Congrats!!!!!

(I agree about the Diet Coke. I need the bubbles to cut through the muck left from the Gatorade.)

I'm gonna miss the Wilson this year - I love that route and have done it unsupported because it's nice, but I'll be doing the Denver Breast Cancer walk that weekend. Looking for a few rides over Labor Day though. (MACC One Love and Share The Road, most likely)

[geekgirl]

Hey, I was out there, too, and in a fit of insanity opted for the full 100 (it's bad that the decision point came at about 45 miles -- I hadn't thought about it yet!). It was actually really nice weather, at least for August in GA. Sun didn't peek through until about 11:00 or so. Great support and a beautiful route -- lots of little rolling hills to keep things interesting.

My first organized ride, my first completed century! Pretty much rode it solo, did it in about 6.5 hours of saddle time, not bad considering I hadn't been on the bike in about three weeks, and I didn't exactly "train" for this. I was supposed to ride this with a buddy who just got diagnosed with leukemia 2 weeks ago, so he was on my mind quite a bit during the lonely period (miles 60-80) when I felt like I was the only one out there on the road...

Anyway, so now I'm hooked! Thinking about trying some other centuries this fall -- maybe Beautiful Backroads or Camp Twin Lakes Spin For Kids? We'll see if with a little actual training I can get a more respectable finishing time...

[denny]

.

I ended up doing the 80-mile option and was thrilled to see my husband waiting at the end with a diet coke in his hand. That's become one of our rituals on this kind of ride. .

What is it about the very idea of a Coke or Pepsi that keeps us going? Hmmm..

[/QUOTE]
I agree that the kids are great and make the ride worthwhile. I think that's why so many people come out and do this ride. Next up on my ride calendar is the Wilson 100 (although I probably won't do the full century). It's another great ride if you're looking for a new challenge.[/QUOTE]

I think I'll do the Beautiful back roads ride next. I'm still miffed at my 30 mile Cartersville ride and getting lost out there so I've come prepared with..... tada... My Garmin Edge 705, which I haven't figured out how to use yet, but it's ok cause I'll figure it all out before Sept and I now have a riding partner (even if it's virtual) if nobody else shows up to my party.