Savannah Century Labor Day weekend

[cyclingmom01]

This is my 1st Century and I'm so very excited. I'll get out this weekend and do a metric on Sunday and a 30+ miler on Saturday. I need to practice my fuel intake. Planning on taking it slow and would love to hook up with someone that might be willing to take me under their wing for a few miles.
This route is pancake flat and I am riding a lot of hills now averaging 15+mph.
I am an injured marathon runner and although the sport is different, I think I'm accustomed to the mental aspect of endurance sports.

[Bad JuJu]

Hey, I just saw this and wanted to wish you luck. I don't live in your area but have visited Savannah and Beaufort a few times--seems like a nice area for riding. Have fun and ride your own ride!

[aicabsolut]

Hey cyclingmom, I'm from the area but I don't live there now (or else I'd do the ride with you!). Are you down there now or just going for labor day?

If you want to get to know some very friendly and very helpful experienced cyclists, show up for one of the weekend rides from the Gallery Espresso coffee shop downtown (Bull St). 8am on Sat, 9am on Sun. The ride, especially on Sat, will usually be pretty big, and it'll break off into different pace groups, sometimes with different distance options.

It sounds like you're pretty strong holding that pace on hilly rides, but I'll warn you from my experience going home to train for a while this summer that the flat roads are more challenging than you think. It's mainly because you never get to rest as there are no descents. So you might be able to hang just fine with a 20mph pace group for a long time, but be careful. I think it's a great idea to use the century as practice on fueling. In the heat and humidity plus no rest, it is pretty crucial to keep the calories and fluids coming.

You can also get some tips and introduce yourself to some of the local crowd by stopping by the Quality Bike Shop on Montgomery Crossroads or the Bicycle Link downtown on MLK.

I was really challenging myself with the pace groups and ride distances when I was down there last, and if I started having problems like cramping because I had trouble eating and drinking enough at 26mph, some of the older guys were so nice to me. They were also always giving me training tips and tips on my position. I learned a lot.

Some of those guys are hard core, and I'm not sure how many of them do more social centuries (a lot of them are racers), but they can definitely help you out if you talk about your needs and goals.

[cyclingmom01]

I am actually from outside of Athens, GA. A bedroom community, if you will. I know exactly where the coffee shop is and have been there many times. My daughter has her first football game on friday night. She plays the flute in the marching band. Our plan is to get on the road super early and get to Savannah by 10 am on Saturday. I will ride on Sunday. Eating at The Pirate's House on Saturday night because my 9 y/o son swears that it's haunted. Will get out to Tybee for a short romp in the water. My daughter wants to cruise the water front shops. They will do some of that stuff while I'm pedaling my heart out. I'm sure my family will meet me out on the road at some point for pictures and support. They're awesome as they've trekked along for many a marathon and seem to manage quite well.

[aicabsolut]

Enjoy your weekend!
PM me if you want a short route to do on Saturday to get your legs moving. I don't recommend trying to ride out on Tybee. There are some short out and back rides from downtown, and you could always go down to the Army air field and do some easy laps. I can send you a link to the usual saturday morning loop. Some of those roads are (I think) on the longer bikefest routes.

Might be good to pop into a shop to see if anyone is going to participate. There are a lot of tri people in the area, who you might be able to relate to well from your marathon days.

At least you're used to the heat and humidity, but be careful out there. At some of the recent training races, people have been having problems with dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Tell me how the Talmadge Bridge goes. I've never trained over it because I've been terrified of getting run over or getting flats at inopportune moments.

[cyclingmom01]

aicabsolut,
If you wouldn't mind sending me some of the shorter routes, that would be awesome. I'm not sure that I'll have time to get out on Saturday as we probably won't arrive until 11 and my family is coming with me. I don't want to push my luck.

[nonsmoker3]

Hey Cyclingmom - did you ride? We came in Friday night (in the rain), got up Saturday morning (in the rain), drove out to the starting point (in the rain) and chickened out. From what I understand, only 8 riders went Saturday. Brave souls, because it wasn't just a drizzle. We decided to ride Sunday come He!! or highwater, and it was just that, highwater. We rode the 25 miler in the pouring down rain. I just wasn't brave enough to ride that bridge in that weather.

I have to say, the police escorts in Savannah were awesome for our little group of 12 or 13. The local cycling club served as ride leaders and were super. When they tried to release us we refused to be released , and ended up doing a slow, very enjoyable group ride in the rain. It was as nice as could be in that weather.

How did your ride go?

[cyclingmom01]

I rode, but only did the 56 mile ride. I woke up that morning with it in my head that I would only do the 50+ mile ride. I emptied the extra food from my bag and headed out. I got to the start and as we were taking off, I signaled to my husband that I forgot my gloves. Yep, I'm the virgin Century cyclist. My dear husband wanted to make a mad dash back to the hotel and bring them back, but I said no. I was totally soaked before we actually even left the start. This was my first ride in the rain, as I've been in a drought all summer. Remember, I've only been cycling for 7 weeks.
My thought was, as long as there was no lightning or thunder, I was ready for an adventure. The police escorts stopped traffic so we had the whole bridge to ourselves. That was very cool. It was also the only time I was in my smaller front gear. The rest of the ride, I stayed in my big gear. There were times that we literally pedaled through 6" deep water and I asked myself wtf was I doing out there. When I got warmed up and settled in, I tried to lead as much as possible, only to keep down the splash from the other cyclists tires. Selfish yes, but as I told my kids, this weekend was all about me! When I was able to, I broke away from the group and rode by myself. I love to use that time just as in my marathons. I think about my family, my friends, my health and the charity for which the ride sponsors. I realize how very rich my life is and I embrace it. I also tried to work on my cadence because Savannah is so very pancake flat. We don't have that in the Athens area.
At 27 miles, I stopped at the 2nd rest stop. Nutter Butter cookies rock! They're my all time favorite. The rain had let up and I pondered with doing the 100. Made a phone call to DH and he was supportive. He just asked that I let him know what my plans were. I talked with a Boy Scout leader that said the storm had just parked over Savannah and it wasn't moving. That was enough for me and I went on to do the 50 miler. Thank God, because 2 miles down the road, the sky poured rain by the buckets. The only animals I saw were road kill. Armadillos by the dozen. A few snakes, a deer, a turtle and the largest damn frog I've ever seen. I'm telling you that they all probably damned drowned! No dogs to contend with as they were smarter than me and stayed inside. When the rain, was light, I heard the croaking of frogs, the singing of birds and the chirping of crickets. It was a beautiful ride and I hope that when I do it next year, the sun is bright and shining.
I will tell you that there were a couple of times when I took my glasses off because they were either fogging up or they were so wet that I couldn't see. I ended up with a laceration and a bruise on the side of my eye. I didn't even realize that I got something in my eye. So now I'm on an antibiotic and steroid. Lesson learned that I will keep the glasses on, no matter what.
I'm still looking for my 1st Century ride and I'm thinking of Claxton.

[aicabsolut]

oh no! Sorry the weather was so terrible. I suppose it's good for the drought situation, but bad timing, huh? Good for you for pushing through the mayhem for so long.

[HoddyToddy]

I'm still looking for my 1st Century ride and I'm thinking of Claxton.

The Beautiful Backroads Century in Cartersville, GA is a gorgeous ride. I've never done the full century, but it is one of my favortie rides, by far. It is Sept. 22.

http://hugeelvis.tripod.com/

The Wilson 100 is also this month, the 16th.

Sorry about the Savannah Century! Good luck on your next one!

[cyclingmom01]

Hilly & hundred in the same sentence kinda scares me. I think I'm going to do the 50.

[nonsmoker3]

Fair on the Square in Lumpkin, GA is a really nice ride. We did it last year, and it had good support and was a nice group of people. Some rolling hills, but nothing too wicked, plus the T-shirts were really cool! It is on Oct 15th this year.