first century report

[nscrbug]

Congratulations on a milestone ride! Just curious though...if your computer konked out at the beginning of the ride, how did you know how far you had ridden at any given point? How did you know when you hit 100? That would have drove me nuts not knowing how much further I had to go.

[blue_angel]

Congratulations on a milestone ride! Just curious though...if your computer konked out at the beginning of the ride, how did you know how far you had ridden at any given point? How did you know when you hit 100? That would have drove me nuts not knowing how much further I had to go.

For the most part I didn't. But I was riding the century in an organized ride, so there were scheduled rest stops, and I knew the mileage of those from the cue sheet: the store was at mile 35, the lunch stop at mile 50, the last rest-stop at mile 78, and then 100 miles was at the fairgrounds where the ride began. When I was riding with the group of guys, I asked them at one point how far along we were and was told we were at about 70 miles. So at least I had a general sense.

[nscrbug]

For the most part I didn't. But I was riding the century in an organized ride, so there were scheduled rest stops, and I knew the mileage of those from the cue sheet: the store was at mile 35, the lunch stop at mile 50, the last rest-stop at mile 78, and then 100 miles was at the fairgrounds where the ride began. When I was riding with the group of guys, I asked them at one point how far along we were and was told we were at about 70 miles. So at least I had a general sense.

Ahhh, I see. I guess I should have picked up on the point that it was an "organized" century...but must have missed that. I've only done 1 organized century so far, the rest (about 8 total) have all been self-supported. One of these days, I'd like to do another organized one simply because the route is already planned out, and it's great to have rest stops stocked with good snacks.

[beccaB]

Blue angel.. if it was "one helluva Ride" I was there too!

[Rebekah H]

That is so awesome! Congratulations!

[Bike Writer]

Congratulations! and thanks for posting about your insights. It really does help to jot notes for the next time. I find myself rereading some of my blog to discover things about how my riding is evolving or different issues I have had along the way and how it compares to now.

My first thought was that you went on the "one hell of a ride" also because I knew it was that weekend and it had a century in it. I was planning on going but a quick trip with my sisters for a few day getaway popped up and that put the kabosh on the organized ride. I hear it's a lot of fun! Maybe next year.

[MKRookman]

Congratulations!

[Bike Writer]

Blue angel.. if it was "one helluva Ride" I was there too!

How did you like the OHR and which mileage route did you do? I've heard it's pretty big with lots of riders.

[blue_angel]

BeccaB, it was OHR! I wonder if we passed each other at some point--I ride a baby blue Giant and am visibly/heavily tattooed.

BikeWriter, I would definitely recommend OHR. It was nicely organized--route well marked, other riders friendly and conscientious, registration was easy, there were even extra jerseys (I didn't register in time to pre-order, so I was concerned I wouldn't be able to get one), and well-stocked rest stops. I liked my strategy of starting as early as possible. The last 15 miles of the ride were heavily trafficked by the people doing the shorter courses, so that made things challenging sometimes. Mostly because those are the riders who are less familiar with proper road etiquette and do things like ride 3 across, or weave around a lot. For the most part, it all went really smoothly and it was a very nice route to cycle.

[beccaB]

I like the OHR too. I've done it 4 times, the first time I did the metric and then centuries after that. At one point I decided to pass a woman and I stayed with her and chatted for a minute. We are allowed to ride 2 side by side. I didn't stay there very long, but this fast group of paceliners passed me and one of them told me I shouldn't ride in the middle of the road. Normally I would have a nasty comment like "who gave you permission to talk to me" or something with more character. But I just let it go. I don't consider this ride one of those elite events that people like me shouldn't participate in. People look at my hybrid bike and turn up their noses. At one time I was riding alongside a guy on a fancy bike and he commented on my hill climbing abilities. My husband was with me for the first few miles but he was grouchy and I rode on ahead to be out of his space. He ended up riding with a friend of ours who was struggling. As it was I beat my personal best by 15 minutes!