Almost my first century..some thoughts

[denny]

Well ladies I almost completed my first century in Cartersville, GA. This was my second attempt at a century after the first one bombed..almost literally (note to others-do not eat a huge breakfast of cramberry pancakes on the morning of these events!) So I ate a bowl of Oatmeal and had everything ready to go on a day predicted to reach 94 degrees with a heat index of 114. I got there on time with time to kill and mentally relax. There were hundreds of riders and I was prepared to have a good time. As I looked across the glorious rainbow of helmet colors I thought how utterly cool it would be to ride with them.

I was in the middle of the group for the 100 mile participants. Well as soon as they said "GO", I was out of there with them. It didn't take me very long (about 1/2 a mile) into the ride to realize that this would be very much like an Olympic sport for a lot of the riders: People were starting off at 25MPH and up! Talk about a reality check when I realized that many intended to maintain these high pace rides. I've compiled a few thoughts before and after the ride.

1. Maintain your own pace and ride easy to the finish- yeah right! So I ended up in the back of the pack in what turned out to be poorly marked roads. Didn't know it till.. oh well, look further down.
2. You will find other people riding at your own pace- there doesn't appear to be a group of 15-17mph riders in GA who weren't already in a nursing home and they didn't show up for this century either.
3. Gently rolling hills- this is a subjective term based on whether the speaker LOVES hills that incline on a 8% grade or higher.
4. Meandering through the country side- winding roads with ambiguous road markings as you meander through several miles trying to find a street that actually has a name on it that matches the que sheet.
5. You don't really feel the heat because of evaporation, hill descents etc. True to a point, but then the trees opened up and there was the sky, blazing sun, camels in a distance or was that a mirage?
6.Skinny people are in better shape for a climb- frankly i wish I had more fat on my rump if it meant feeling less like ground up meat on the hill.
7.Getting lost- why is it that dogs seem to have a sense for lost riders? While I tried to figure my way back, I was chased 3 times by dogs. Luckily they backed off at a friendly "not today doggie!" but highly stressful wondering if Cujoe the bad a** dog was gonna be next.
8. Not all biking shorts are made equal- equally thick that is. I saw enough butt cleavage through riding shorts to make a Baptist blush. This apparently is an acceptable dilema in cycling as it is understood the thinner the shorts the cooler you will be in humid rides. Note to self-check rear view in outdoor mirror to make sure I don't have a similar cleavage issue which explains the long line of guys following this not so fast rider.
9. All chamois lubricants aren't applied equally either- back to butts (I had to focus on something else other than the heat, being lost, dogs,etc) Is it acceptable to let another rider know that their lubricant is now copiously oozing out of their black shorts? I'm sure it was lubricant and not laundry suds because as hard as he was puffing up the hill he probably would have blown some bubbles out the rear. Ok not nice, but do you tell them they have this uhm..issue? Not too much they can do about it until after the ride.
10. SAGGING- the deflated feeling realizing I only did 27 miles and had to take an A/C ride back from the organizers in order to avoid being lost and alone in the middle of nowhere. Also, wondering "Why the heck did I agree to this" Oh well, next century is 2 months away.

Would be nice if they had organized pace groups... but oh well! My hats off to everybody who completed their distance rides this weekend!!

[Jiffer]

Well, good for you for giving it the ole' college try. The only time I've been to an organized ride that was #1) not marked (at all) and #2) never really found a group going my pace (for very long anyway) was on a major climbing timed century I recently did. There weren't very many turns, because it was in the middle of pretty much nowhere on very mountainous terrain. You just had to pay attention to your route sheet and/or people around you. I only found people going my pace a couple of times on the rare flats or mild inclines. As soon as the hills came most everyone passed me (I totally relate to that!).

Good luck on your next try. I'm just SURE you will succeed!!! At least you have some experience behind you of what to potentially expect and can better prepare, even if just mentally. Good luck!!!

[Pedal Wench]

Good on ya, Denny! You at least tried, when most people I know stayed home! Was that you sportin' the Filagree jersey this morning? Saw a woman wearing it and commented on how good it looked in person. At least I think I did- it was on a hill and I might have been huffin and puffin too much to be audible.

The route wasn't very clearly marked at all. I saw a group ahead of me completely miss a turn, and a few times, came up on the markings way too quickly to make the turns. Plus, a few rather busy intersections with no confidence marks, and for quite a while, no marks at all. On the good side, there was plenty of ice at the rest stops, and they put in a few extra water stops to help in the heat.

I couldn't find a group either, so I was my own 15-16mph group!

It was a hot one, for sure. My car said it was 97 degrees on the drive home.

[Mr. Bloom]

Denny, no shame in tryin'!

You'll make your goal. I was at Reynolds Plantation a couple weeks ago, and that Central Georgia heat nearly killed me in my 50 mile solo ride (on roads that weren't on the map!) If it hadn't been for my iPhone map and 5 bottles of water/gatorade, I might have been back to ashes in that heat!

Also: If you want your first century to be an organized event, I encourage you to look for one with a lot more than 100 riders.

[denny]

Denny, no shame in tryin'!

You'll make your goal. I was at Reynolds Plantation a couple weeks ago, and that Central Georgia heat nearly killed me in my 50 mile solo ride (on roads that weren't on the map!) If it hadn't been for my iPhone map and 5 bottles of water/gatorade, I might have been back to ashes in that heat!

Also: If you want your first century to be an organized event, I encourage you to look for one with a lot more than 100 riders.

Hey Silver- that ride had over 700 riders! Now the next ride in September is rumored to have about 900+ , gotta figure out a way to recruit medium paced riders. Maybe I can leave a comment on active.com to try and start a seperate group.

[Pedal Wench]

Hey Silver- that ride had over 700 riders! Now the next ride in September is rumored to have about 900+ , gotta figure out a way to recruit medium paced riders. Maybe I can leave a comment on active.com to try and start a seperate group.

Which one in September? We always call that Century Month. Seems like there's a good one every weekend in September.

A lot of the markings were hard to see. I was alone for most of the ride, and was always really happy to see someone else to confirm I hadn't missed a mark.

Like I said - at least you tried. I think only four women from my club did the century.

[denny]

Good on ya, Denny! You at least tried, when most people I know stayed home! Was that you sportin' the Filagree jersey this morning? Saw a woman wearing it and commented on how good it looked in person. At least I think I did- it was on a hill and I might have been huffin and puffin too much to be audible.

The route wasn't very clearly marked at all. I saw a group ahead of me completely miss a turn, and a few times, came up on the markings way too quickly to make the turns. Plus, a few rather busy intersections with no confidence marks, and for quite a while, no marks at all. On the good side, there was plenty of ice at the rest stops, and they put in a few extra water stops to help in the heat.

I couldn't find a group either, so I was my own 15-16mph group!

It was a hot one, for sure. My car said it was 97 degrees on the drive home.

Hey Pedal- No that wasn't me, although it sounds like I would have really liked that jersey too. I agree the rest stops were fairly well stocked with ice, although what was up with that awful Gatorade pale yellow substance at the 15 mile mark? Talk about skimping!!

A few friends pointed out the deficient marking on hill descents as well. I took a ride back with one of the lead organizers and he is aware that the 24 mile mark had confusing markings, but ONLY the 24 mile mark. Nice guy though- gave me a running tour of Cartersville and the homes etc on my SAG ride back.

Yeah it was hotter than I realized. One of the guys completed the 100 miles but we had to call 911 to come to the park and assist. When I left they were going to take him to Cartersville Medical because he was still so out of it despite receiving fluids. Maybe my not completing the ride was simply God's way of protecting me from that outcome.

Let's team up for the next ride if at all possible.

[skinimini]

[QUOTE=Pedal Wench;440742] Was that you sportin' the Filagree jersey this morning? Saw a woman wearing it and commented on how good it looked in person. At least I think I did- it was on a hill and I might have been huffin and puffin too much to be audible. QUOTE]
Hey Pedal, that was me! I should have introduced myself! I agree it was blistering hot! At mile 42, I had to take about a 20 minute breather--sat down and everytime I stood, nauseated and dizzy (is that a bonk?). Finally got my act together and made it back without further problems. I think it was a combination of the new bike fitting (he changed everything, and I'm not happy), the heat, and the hills. I've done longer rides, but those 50 miles were definitely my hardest.

9. All chamois lubricants aren't applied equally either- back to butts (I had to focus on something else other than the heat, being lost, dogs,etc) Is it acceptable to let another rider know that their lubricant is now copiously oozing out of their black shorts? I'm sure it was lubricant and not laundry suds because as hard as he was puffing up the hill he probably would have blown some bubbles out the rear.

Denny What a hoot! I agree, I saw more than I really ever needed to see. I loved your summary--my sentiments exactly.

I also agree that the route was poorly marked. Sometimes, I saw the markings only after we made a turn.

Did you all see the little boy "shooting" the riders as we went by? I heard this funny noise, and there was the cutest little blonde boy, about 3-4 years old with a toy machine gun. They start training 'em early here in Georgia. No dogs chasing me, but I did see an Airedale that almost caused a crash and a black lab that was chasing a pickup truck down the road. No one screamed at me to get off the road this time, and best of all, no snakes! I guess it was too hot.

[Pedal Wench]

Hi Skini!!! Well, nice to sort-of meet you!!! I should have stayed and chatted a bit more, but I just wanted up that hill!

The dogs were okay - just chased by one. There were a few big ones hanging out, but it seemed too hot for them to bother with a run. Good dogs.

Oh my - there was a guy on Ride the Rockies who wore his shorts, ummm, quite low. My BF and I were wondering if there was a bike signal to warn riders behind us. I was tempted to say something to him at a rest stop though, because it was going to be a really bad sunburn to explain.

[tctrek]

Congrats to all the Georgia folks that did ANY MILES at Cartersville yesterday!! We saw how hot it was going to be and opted out for a short 20 mile ride in Alpharetta. Just 20 miles and I was done... I am not anywhere near acclimated yet to this stinkin' heat.

So, awesome job if you did anything in Cartersville 'cause that's a tough ride on a cool day!