My fiirst century

[AuntieK]

Here I am in beautiful St. George, Utah. I just "finished" my first organized bike ride.

However, I did not finish the way I wanted.

Starting out in the morning, it was so cold!! Since I knew it was going to warm up to around 70 degrees F, I opted not to wear long-fingered gloves. This was a mistake! My fingers were so frozen for the first 30 or so min.

I took off from the park and headed out toward Zion National Park. At the first rest stop, I ended up taking off the jacket, tights, and booties because I had just climbed a big hill and had really worked up a sweat!
I was pleasantly surprised at how well stocked the rest stops were...trail mix, candy, cookies, gatorade, fruit, bars, ect. They even provided a bag to put all my stuff in. I labeled my bag with my name and number and handed all my stuff to someone to take back to the finish (still looking for my stuff though...it hasn't made it back yet).

Right after stripping everything off on the side of a busy intersection, I hit a BIG decent. Then it was cold again! But not for long because this route was all up and down...climb, decend, repeat.

Anyway, my happy ride ended up with my bike getting a flat at 37.3 miles in! There was a lot of glass on the road and I managed to get some in the back tire. DH had opted to not to pack along the tube and tools, so I was stuck. Luckily, my brother lives nearby and was able to come to the rescue.
I must say that I am way proud of myself anyway because I climbed all the hills! Just wish I could have finished my goal.

I will know better next time that you MUST bring the tube and tools!!

[Nanci]

Well...too bad you didn't have a tube, or wait for someone to bring one. I can't imagine riding a Century in that area! It must be so beautiful. I had a similar hot/cold experience at Six Gap in Georgia- kind of a cool misty day, so I got almost warm climbing, then froze decending. One thing I like about randoneuring is you don't look like a dork if you have a rack with panniers to stash stuff in. I'm too chicken on a Century ride to bring more than my small trunk bag, though. When's the next one? :-)

Nanci

[yellow]

Congratulations! Yay! It was a beautiful ride, and yes, it was darn cold in the a.m. I wore my full gloves (light ones) and toe covers all day and was comfortable. I shed my jacket at the first rest stop and was a little chilly for a while but OK after the climbs started. One of the guys I was riding with got a flat from a STAPLE! The shoulders were very debris-ridden, for sure.

So sorry I missed seeing you on the route! I frantically looked for you at all the rest stops figgering we'd overlap somewheres...but no one of your description. Glad you met CyclaSutra. I'll post some pictures here in a bit.

We did a century in February!

[CyclaSutra]

K-

Sorry to hear about your flat... if I had been behind you I would have helped you change it! I must have been just ahead of you, because I dumped my hoodie at that second rest stop and took off, trying (in vain) to catch Yellow. :-) She hauled major booty, and was wonderful company on the drive down to Zion and back.

Don't ever let the DH dictate proper gear... a girl's gotta be prepared. Between Yellow and I, we had enough duct tape, pain medications, electrolytes and tire levers for almost any situation.

I only brought shorts with no knee warmers because I anticipated the warm temps ... 70 was 65 degrees warmer than my last outdoor ride (studded tires rule). You're right, fingers and legs were chilly, but only for about half an hour. I couldn't bear to give up my windbreaker, so I stuffed it in a pocket "just in case" instead of giving it up in a baggie. I'm so glad they didn't lose my fave Sugoi hoodie!

C U @ Little Red Riding Hood?

[SadieKate]

trying (in vain) to catch Yellow. :-) She hauled major booty

La-la-la! Not listening! I just figure I better take enough beer to Solvang so there's one left for me by the time I get back to the car.

Don't ever let the DH dictate proper gear... a girl's gotta be prepared.

Yeah, what they said.

SK (whose managed to flat both tires simultaneously with a staple and a piece of glass)

[AuntieK]

Don't ever let the DH dictate proper gear

Okay, okay!! Lesson learned!

In hindsight I would have done a lot differently...aside from bringing essential gear, at least I could have asked my brother to bring a tube instead of a ride! But, at the time, I was just thinking that I didn't want to be any more trouble for anyone...bro already thinks I'm crazy enough!!

trying (in vain) to catch Yellow. :-) She hauled major booty

Yellow, I thought you told me you were going to take it slow and easy??

CyclaSutra, I'll keep my eye out for you at LRRH!!

[yellow]

Yellow, I thought you told me you were going to take it slow and easy??

See my other post. I had a whole lot of help since I found some big-shouldered friendly Whydahoans to get behind.

I'm sure we'll ride together before LRRH. Once the weather improves for good, I'm coming down there to ride with you & Lifesgreat and hopefully sulis.

[AuntieK]

Crossing my fingers that the weather keeps up like it is now (I should be out enjoying it, not sitting here at the computer!!) Then we'll ride together sooner than later!

[sulis]

I'm sure we'll ride together before LRRH. Once the weather improves for good, I'm coming down there to ride with you & Lifesgreat and hopefully sulis.

Sounds like you all had a wonderful time. I wish I could have been there. As it turned out, I had to go on a last minute business trip last week. So while you all enjoyed beautiful weather back home, I was experiencing an east coast winter. Thanks for the wonderful reports. I am so exicted to ride. I took my bike in for a tune up- just got him back yesterday. He is all shiny and pretty and lubed in all the right places-- primed for a good ride.

The first weekend the weatherman says, no snow or rain.. lets go riding!

[Adventure Girl]

DH had opted to not to pack along the tube and tools, so I was stuck.

What was the reasoning behind this? Rarely I will ride without a pump. But only when I know for SURE that someone else will have one. But even that is risky. What if my pump-buddy and I get separated?

Every once in a while somebody posts that they had to call for a ride because they didn't have tubes or a pump, and I have NEVER understood why the let that happen.

I'm glad you had a good ride anyway.

[AuntieK]

CorsairMac, no I didn't finish . Once bro fetched me I was done. Could've gone for the tube and stuff, but wasn't thinking. I think I left my brain by the side of the road somewhere that day! My lesson is learned...won't go without necessities again!

Adventure Girl, the reasoning is that we're still learning I suppose. In defense of DH, I guess I had just as much choice in it as he did. My bags were packed to the hilt with food (heard horror stories about organizers not having enough, so I made sure to pack plenty), so I didn't have the room. DH is all about keeping weight to a minimum, so he wanted me to pack the gear. As we're sitting there deciding what to take and who should take it, we noticed that everyone was leaving, so we just up and left. Plus, I think we both had a case of wishful thinking!

Note to self: Do as SadieKate does and keep everything I need in bags, and stop repacking everytime I ride.

[Lifesgreat]

Good Job AuntieK, doing your very first organized ride!

I was thinking about you riding in that WONDERFUL weather. I am sorry you flatted and had to end early. I have never flatted on a ride (there, I am now jinxed) but Audra did on our West Mountain ride and we both learned how to work CO2 cartridges

[AuntieK]

Hey there, Lifesgreat!
I WAS great weather too!! Wish you could have come!
I came back home and learned how to use my CO2 cartridge right away...so much better than the ol' pump anyday!
When shall we go for a ride?