cool breeze - august 19th

[Ninabike]

Hi Girls, Just checking in. I only did the Metric, and after hearing about the elevation on the Century, I'm glad I opted for the Metric. Hills are NOT my friend!! But I've made a resolution to start hill training.

I thought the ride was great. the SAG stops were the best I've seen on any ride. After I split off from Pam, Tracy, Judy and Wayne (all doing the Century), I hung around and talked to some of the Channel Island Bike Club people who were manning the SAG stops. They were great. Also spent some time with the SAG people at the last SAG (popsicle) stop - all very nice. At the end, I sat with a guy during lunch who was from the area. He was having knee problems and was going to have to ride back home- elevation 700 ft. from where we were. (Am I into SAG stop eating and food, or what??) Went riding on Sunday. I told Alex that was my "reovery" ride. His knee was feeling good and he probably could have made the CB, but couldn't get off call at that late date. Anyway, I had a great day.

[Trekhawk]

Hi Girls, Just checking in. I only did the Metric, and after hearing about the elevation on the Century, I'm glad I opted for the Metric. Hills are NOT my friend!! But I've made a resolution to start hill training.

I thought the ride was great. the SAG stops were the best I've seen on any ride. After I split off from Pam, Tracy, Judy and Wayne (all doing the Century), I hung around and talked to some of the Channel Island Bike Club people who were manning the SAG stops. They were great. Also spent some time with the SAG people at the last SAG (popsicle) stop - all very nice. At the end, I sat with a guy during lunch who was from the area. He was having knee problems and was going to have to ride back home- elevation 700 ft. from where we were. (Am I into SAG stop eating and food, or what??) Went riding on Sunday. I told Alex that was my "reovery" ride. His knee was feeling good and he probably could have made the CB, but couldn't get off call at that late date. Anyway, I had a great day.

Hey Nina
Glad to hear you had a good ride and a Metric is still worth bragging about in my books especially if it has hills (they are not my friends either). Did you take your Col or did you use your bike with the triple??
Well Done

Leslie

[caligurl]

ok ok ok!

let's see! i got up at 12:15.... we left the house at 2.... we got to ventura and i was shocked at how many people were already there! last year there weren't that many people THAT early! first people i saw were brandy and james... (and the mean ole lady at registration yelled at me cuz i was talking to brandy and no paying attention to her! THE NERVE!)

i saw a bunch of other bikeforums people and saw tracy! i got ready... ran to the potties and back (that's when redhot saw me! lol!) i lost my cleat cover... so had to retrace my steps to try to find it... never did!

i left without hubby (as usual! lol! he always gets me ready THEN himself ready... so i leave and he has to catch me!) i rode with the fixer/roadfix... it was nice not being alone for the "slasher movie set" portion of the ride! (plus there were a lot more riders on the route this year than last!)

hmmmm funny moment.... i was riding along with hubby, fixer and some other guys behind me... and i saw an orange arrow pointing right... so i TURNED! and they followed! they followed me right into someone's driveway! lol! i was so embarrased!

we continued along..... and then i saw a couple of guys.... so i was trying to keep up with them.... actually passed them for a minute! then they passed me.... then a couple more guys passed.... i kept following them.... then i realized that hubby and fixer weren't back there! uh oh! i called and hubby said just keep going... ok.... well... i shouldn't have followed them! cuz we missed an arrow! we're going and going... i'm thinking "WOO HOO" this is great! until they made a turn and i realized... there was no arrow there.... they stopped... and were looking at their route slip... i went across the intersection and was looking at my slip... then called hubby to say i missed a turn! ugh! had to double back.... what a mess! lol! got back on course finally!!!!

met a bunch of other bikeforums folks at the 2nd rest stop.... some i had met before... some that recognized my name (one new person i met said "so you must be the one that "cali hill" is named after!" lol!)

anyways... again... as usual.... i left the rest stop before hubby... told fixer "you guys will catch me".... sure enough... here comes hubby with a train behind him (and one of the guys said "he didn't even say hi, honey" as he flew buy... yes he did! lol!) the continued on up casitas... then next thing i know... there's fixer! i TOLD him they'd catch me! lol!

the ride continued... up and down... around.... well marked (i liked that they marked the U turns so you knew to slow down!) on one particularly long, steep descent... we did leave fixer behind.... then a while later he caught us again! he's an ANIMAL! it was funny cuz he said "you didn't have to wait"... uhm... we weren't lol! he's just FAST on that thing!

the rest of the day was more of the same.... riding.... climbing.... descending.... eating.... seeing peeps from the forums! we passed brandy and her gang as they were leaving lunch (the routes meet up at several times during the ride)..... after lunch we saw green machine on the side of the road... hubby asked if she was ok... she said yes... so we kept going (i don't think she knew it was us! lol! hubby had recognized her bike as we were coming in to lunch!)

*sigh* then it was time.... we were back at manning park... and that meant "cali hiill".... so off we go.... i had a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie for instant fuel just before beginning! and up we went.... the "funny" thing.... after we got to the top... after my year of griping and yes... B!TCHING about that hill.... it wasn't nearly as bad this year as last year! don't get me wrong... it's a steep, tough hill! but i just remember it being more grueling last year!

after that it was some rollers then downhill to the last rest stop... then the coast back to the start/finish!

we got back and brandy and the gang were pigging out! some more riders came in and joined us... then it was time to shower and change for the long drive home! just as we were driving over to the showers fixer showed up! can you believe it! 130 miles.... 8000+ feet of climbing... on a FIXED GEAR! (my edge showed 9522 feet when i uploaded it!) (that link should be viewable for a little over a week... or until i upload 9 more rides!)

we showered... changed... then went back to see if tracy was in... she was! YAY! then we headed home!

we got home some time after midnight... so by then we had been up for 24 hours! UGH! (needless to say i did NOT get up at 4 a.m. on sunday as i usually do!)

anyways... here's some pics:

[Trekhawk]

Wow Cali what beautiful pictures. One of those shots looks like Aust with all the Gum Trees.

Sounds like you had a great ride and a very long day. I think you deserved a sleep in after that.

[caligurl]

i think that's my favorite picture!!!!!!

[Ninabike]

Great pix Cali. And, Yes, Leslie, I did take my Col, but I had switched it out for a triple a couple of weeks ago - do you believe that, and I still had trouble on the hills!!

Nina

[bikerchick68]

want to add my HUGE congrats to everyone who rode this! It is a really beautiful century... with a decent amount of climbing! great pics Cali...

can't wait to be able to get back to it myself... my second surgery is this Thurs! Just wanna get it over with, get healed and RIDE BABY RIDE!

[tprevost]

okay, here's a brief report...

Pam and Wayne and I stayed in Ventura and picked up our numbers etc. and had dinner the night before downtown (very cute, btw)...

I got to the start before Pam and Wayne did but then fiddled around until it was them waiting for me ...

Anyway, we started out a little before 7 and ended up being in a group of 5(Pam, Wayne, Nina, Judy & Me)... several other people we knew were ahead of us but riding at a pace I couldn't keep (BikeMomma, Redhot3368, Judy's friend Sylvia and a few others!).... anyway, it was a beautiful ride with one hill before rest stop 2... then the hills began in earnest after RS2 . Actually, they weren't that bad by themselves... its just the 50 miles on the other side of them that I was concerned about! At rest stop 2, Nina headed out to complete the metric while we plugged ahead on the century route; we were sad that she wasn't riding w/us but it turned out to be the best thing as the hills were a bit more than advertised! After the hills, my legs were pretty much done and I was wondering if I was going to make it to the finish... and this at mile 50... so you've gotta know I was thinking CR*P, what did I get myself into????? but Judy, Wayne and Pam kept encouraging me and even though they could have been finished much earlier, stayed w/me and made sure I finished! We made it to the lunch stop okay and sat down for a little while; my legs felt fine when we were stopped but it only took a little while after getting back on the bike for the fatigue to start setting in! Anyway, I had a great time and just kept plugging along until we got to the end.... I DID IT!!! YEAH!!! Brandy was already there; telling me that Caligurl was looking for me to see if I had made it back okay... you all are the BEST!!! I didn't really feel like eating so I just got my stuff together, hung out for a few minutes and headed home (it ended up taking me almost 3 hours to get home!) Even though I was really really tired at the end, I don't really feel any ill effects other than some fatigue in the quads; so I don't think I was as bad off as I was actually feeling on the ride itself! At one point, Wayne started covering my eyes whenever a SAG wagon appeared and he did actually push me up one of the overpasses (okay, I could've made it but it sure was nice to get a little help! )

All in all, it was a great ride and I have decided that I'll definately make this an annual event!... especially since I've got lots of room for improvement

Thanks Pam, Judy, Nina, and Wayne for keeping me rolling forward! You guys are wonderful!!!

Tracy

[bcipam]

Trac...

next year when you do CB... you will wonder why you thought the hills were hard...

Just an FYI for anyone who is interested in trying the "back half" hills (and seeing what we are fussing about) but don't want to commit to the century...

A number of my friends do the metric - but the "back half". They drive up and park at the Bates Rd. sag, start from there. Get all the big hills and the lunch stop and then they finish up at Bates. Can sit and enjoy your popiscle knowing the ride is done. Great way to do a harder metric or challenge yourself on the hills.

PS:

Consider this ride for next year - Wildflower Century, in April, put on by the SLOBC bike group (see SLOBC.org). Talk about great sags. And talk about awesome scenery. But warning - hills are tough.

[Trekhawk]

Nina - mate I have a triple and I still suck on hills so your not alone. LOL - perhaps you and I could become a club of two - The 4 C Club ( The Colnago Crappy Climbing Club) or something like that.

Tracy - Congratulations. Im impressed your first hundred and plenty of climbing- you DID GOOD. Hey LRRH sounds so easy in comparison. Just imagine how easy a flat century will feel for you. Well done, Well done, Well done.

[tprevost]

Trac...

next year when you do CB... you will wonder why you thought the hills were hard...

Consider this ride for next year - Wildflower Century, in April, put on by the SLOBC bike group (see SLOBC.org). Talk about great sags. And talk about awesome scenery. But warning - hills are tough.

Actually, other than being really slow at them, the hills weren't bad at all... it was the distance that killed me! I would've rather granny'd up more of those hills than deal with the slight grades at the end... those were really hard on me for sure!

Unfortunately, I think the Wildflower will be too far for me to travel next year with all that I'll have on my plate... I will definately do it some time though!

I think DH is not wanting anymore overnight rides on the schedule after this weekend.... I just can't wait to tell him that I'll be gone for a week for my training!

t~

[tprevost]

Nina - mate I have a triple and I still suck on hills so your not alone. LOL - perhaps you and I could become a club of two - The 4 C Club ( The Colnago Crappy Climbing Club) or something like that.

Tracy - Congratulations. Im impressed your first hundred and plenty of climbing- you DID GOOD. Hey LRRH sounds so easy in comparison. Just imagine how easy a flat century will feel for you. Well done, Well done, Well done.

Thanks Trekhawk!

It was a great ride, for sure They advertized 3500 feet of climbing and it turns out (based on all w/computers... they can't all be wrong) that it was more like 4700+... I was really tired at the end but the hills themselves were fine (I just go very slowly). I definately did not get enough long rides in beforehand so I am pretty pleased that I finished and that I am not suffering any aches and pains!

So, Trekhawk, I have to figure out how to get to meet you before you head away on your next adventure!!! What rides do you have scheduled?

Trac'

[Ninabike]

Leslie, For sure, I'm a member of the 4 C Club!!

Tracy, Since the hills by themselves were Okay, I wonder if the new saddle will make a difference on the distance. Alex says it makes a huge difference for him. Also your hand. On the way back, I noticed there was a lot of rough pavement along the Freeway section that was tough on the hands. I was thinking of you as I was going through that section. After as long of a ride as you had, I can see that last section being difficult.

I envy you for being able to do the Century!!

Nina

[bcipam]

You know I thought about the elevation changes - I think when I first did this ride it was about 3500' of climbing but over the last several years, the course has changed and even this year was different. I figure the ride organizers just haven't re-measured the route and noted the elevation changes. I know that long, grinding right turn out of Summerland is new and adds lot of elevation. I did like some of the route changes. I definiately liked the Loop inland, from the second to last sag to Bates. Before we always did 101. Not certain if I liked the Loop before lunch. Before, since the route was out and back, I just shortcutted (don't tell anyone...) into lunch. Now they make us work for lunch. Darn.

Tracy - too bad you can't do Wildflower but good ride for others to consider.

Another good ride coming up is the Kern Wheel SPOOKTACULAR. An interesting ride especially the longer options (90 and the 2 centuries). I have driven up the morning of but it's always a long day. Much better to stay overnight. Spook always has the best jerseys!

Anyway - I done with roading for awhile - time to concentrate on mountain
biking unless someone wants to talk me into doing another century...

[bcipam]

Leslie, For sure, I'm a member of the 4 C Club!!

Tracy, Since the hills by themselves were Okay, I wonder if the new saddle will make a difference on the distance. Alex says it makes a huge difference for him. Also your hand. On the way back, I noticed there was a lot of rough pavement along the Freeway section that was tough on the hands. I was thinking of you as I was going through that section. After as long of a ride as you had, I can see that last section being difficult.

I envy you for being able to do the Century!!

Nina

OK my one beef about the route... anyone else other than Tracy and I notice... along 101, the Bike Lane signs had been painted over so many times as to be a hazard. Everytime I hit one I was reminded I had been sitting on a bike all day. OUCH!!!