Spetember 21st Rides

[Triskeliongirl]

So, today was our annual club century. DH set off to do the 100 miler with the fast men, and I set off to do the 70 miler (bit more than a metric). Unfortunatley the attendance was very poor, so I was the only one doing the 70, although quite a few folks did the 51.

I actually made pretty good time on my own, although the heat was beating down (90 degress). I had a stretch of road with a great tail wind, but then turned and had to battle a head wind alone for the last 8 miles, and I had to dig deep for those last 8 miles. But, I finished with quite a few of the 51 milers, so I was feeling pretty good about the ride. But, I was expecting DH in at around 5 hours, 6 hours max. When the fast men were still not in at the 6 hour mark I phoned to find out that they went out so fast they missed a couple turns, and their 100 mile route turned into a 125 mile route. These are guys used to doing a fast century, so not used to being out there for 7 hours in the hot sun.

DH asked me to run a sweep with the car (no support on the ride) cuz there was a fellow that he thought wasn't doing so well. He got dropped from the main group, but then a couple guys went back to ride in with him, but by the time I got to him (he had done ~115 miles at that point) he had bonked so bad he lost concentration and took a fall that damaged his wheel, so his bike wasn't even rideable. He had some nasty road rash, and while there were 2 guys with him, no one had reached anyone with a vehicle so they were just all on the side of the road. SO, I was able to give him a ride in, and fortunately I had some bananas and gatorade in the car, so he could rehydrate and eat something while we drove. The other 2 fellows were feeling strong and wanted to ride in, but I made sure they had fluids and food before we set off.

Then I felt like a race support vehicle, as I held fluids and bananas out my car window (DH was driving at that point) and passed them to the other guys that wanted to finish.

So, that's the first time I ran sag after completing a 70 miler on my own. I was pretty hungry and tired, but we waited to have lunch until we were sure everyone either got in safe, or had what they needed to finish.

But then we went to our favorite outdoor restaurant, and had a nice cold draft beer with buffalo wings, hmmmm good.

[Aggie_Ama]

Did the 4.5 mile mountain bike trail at Pedernales Falls State Park. The trails are pretty fun for a state park, some technical parts, some real easy parts, perfect for an advanced beginner. I tried some new stuff, crossed the Pedernales (cold wet feet) and had a great time. It is so warm out still, yesterday we went swimming in the river after doing 16 miles of mountain biking. Of course we didn't complain about the 60 degree night time since we were tent camping.

[tygab]

DH, friend, and I did the metric century today for the annual Seacoast Century. I had a blast even tho I got hungry at the end.

We originally planned to do the half century and our friend's wife was to join us. It's not like my husband and I have been riding consistently this summer, so it seemed a good distance for the group. Friend is a very good rider and the kind to tackle any daunting ride (this was not a challenging ride in any way for him). His wife a newer rider. His wife got a cold however and was unable to go. My husband and I experienced enough but not prepped for long rides at this point.

We headed out with the cue sheet for the 50/63. It was cool so had leg and arm warmers on for the first 20 miles, but it was perfectly sunny (this really has was one of the best outdoor weekends in our area alllll summer). It warmed up after the first hour or so, and we pulled off the leg ones. At the rest area we were all feeling good. While this is a very flat century, I was riding with the guys and a bit faster than usual (they were also going slower than their usual, kind of a meet in the middle).

At the first stop we studied the cue sheet and decided the metric looked good as we were making good time. I felt very good with how things were going. It really just added a 12 mi loop to the 50 route, in fact returning to the same rest area. Before I knew it we were back at the rest area right around 45? miles or so, and then we connected to the route back to the fifty.

The rest area had a good array of food options, but no real lunch, mostly ride snacks (orange slices, cookies, bananas, pb squares). I had some cookies and orange slices, as well as some of my gus etc. Somewhere around mile 52 I got hungry, and uncomfortable on the bike. Pace slowed... knew I was nearing empty on my energy.. Long story short, after we arrived, 5 minutes off the bike with a bit more food and a stretch, all was good. The worst is we had to ride by some yummy smelling seafood shack type places the last two miles [I would have stopped if we had more miles, or I thought my mental state could be affected, I'm pretty good about knowing what won't fly w/me].

The scenery on this route is stellar, beautiful mansions along the rocky shore, several state parks and beaches. Many long flat stretches, with some mild rollers. No bad hills anywhere on the metric. I had done a 45 miler along this road last summer so I knew what to expect terrain wise, but it was the first for my husband and our friend. Route markings were great (just spray paint but easy to spot), and lots of people doing a day two ride (this century allows you to ride Saturday, Sunday, or both at whatever distance you pick - 1600 total riders). I think Saturday probably had more people but I'm not sure.

He took pictures but I haven't pulled them from the camera yet. We both have sunburned strips on our arms where our sleeves ended, and our arm warmers (pulled down around the wrist) began. Too funny!

[Brandy]

Everest Challenge baby! I finished!!!!! Still tired so report to come.