|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
New Years Day century
New Years Day in Southeastern Massachusetts dawned beautifully: an
almost clear sky with just a few wispy clounds, and mild temperatures in the mid-40's. At that time our four (fool?)hardy riders were about 25 miles into the first (as far as I can tell) NBW New Years Day century. We met at 5:00 AM planning to do the 68-mile loop of the club's fall century, then ride to the regularly scheduled New Years Day ride, do it, and then ride back. This would give us about 109 miles for the day. Except for not actually getting on the road until about 5:20, the first leg went nearly without a hitch. Getting dressed, loading up the bike, etc, always take a little longer in the dark. We all had good lights (mine being brand new as a Xmas gift) and made good time in the full darkness. Watching the sky slowly brighten in the East as we rode along was a beautiful thing, and the sun finally made its official appearance shortly after 7:00. We stopped several times over the course of the ride to unload the residual fluids from sports drinks and to munch on carbo's, but mostly kept up a decent pace when we were moving. The only untoward event on the first leg was a front flat I developed as we approached the end of the leg. I was close enough to walk the bike the rest of the way to the parking lot, so I was able to sit in my car while changing the tube and resting a bit. One of the riders was thoroughly cooked and another was not far behind, so they both decided to log it as a New Years Day metric century and call it good. I and one other rider continued on our quest for the statute century, and after unloading the lights and batteries and reloading on water, headed out again down the highway toward the club ride. We started out with a head wind out of the Southwest, but by the time we reached the ride start, it had turned to come out of the West, and then the Northwest. We were both getting a little drained by this time, so we decided to figure out exactly how many miles we needed to get a century, rather than following our original plan of doing the long loop and getting well over 100 miles. We ended up doing the 12 mile loop and adding a small side trip to add a few miles, and then headed back to our starting place. The Northwest wind was nearly a direct headwind most of the way, so our pace back up the highway was very slow, probably about 9-10mph, but we kept moving. My partner developed a slow leak somewhere along the way and had to stop to pump up the tire 3 times before finishing up with right at 100 miles. Going up the last big hill toward the finish was a challenge, and my granny gear didn't feel very granny- ish at this point in the ride, but we made it without major problems, and rode into the parking lot somewhere between 2:15 and 2:30. My computer said we had a moving average of 12.7 mph with 7 hrs 42 min of riding time. I was thoroughly amazed that I was able to complete the full ride. I expected to be able to finish the 68 with no major problems, but didn't expect I'd have the stamina to complete the full 100 because I had only been getting in around 30 miles per week of riding for the last 2 months. The slower pace helped a lot on saving my legs, but it put a greater strain on my butt than a faster pace would have. I guess the tweaks I did on my saddle position a couple of weeks ago made the difference. The most amazing part of the ride was my friend's endurance. His road bike developed a flat which he just noticed this morning as he was leaving his house , so he did the entire ride on a non-suspended mountain bike with knobbies on it. He gets 50 miles of extra credit for that feat! I hope this ride can become a tradition for us riders with more ambition than brains in future years as long as the weather permits grin... Dave |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
"David Kerber" wrote in message .. . New Years Day in Southeastern Massachusetts dawned beautifully: an almost clear sky with just a few wispy clounds, and mild temperatures in the mid-40's. At that time our four (fool?)hardy riders were about 25 miles into the first (as far as I can tell) NBW New Years Day century. We met at 5:00 AM planning to do the 68-mile loop of the club's fall century, then ride to the regularly scheduled New Years Day ride, do it, and then ride back. This would give us about 109 miles for the day. Except for not actually getting on the road until about 5:20, the first leg went nearly without a hitch. Getting dressed, loading up the bike, etc, always take a little longer in the dark. We all had good lights (mine being brand new as a Xmas gift) and made good time in the full darkness. Watching the sky slowly brighten in the East as we rode along was a beautiful thing, and the sun finally made its official appearance shortly after 7:00. Dave In my quest to ride a century in each month here in Southeastern Pennsylvania, I find that lights are a must. My century for December was 12/17/04. I left home 7am still dark as the 7:03 was the time of sunrise, however, since my average speed was 10 mph for the 114 miles, there was many hours of riding in the dark. http://www.billcotton.com/gps.htm This page has pictures of my latest gps/light system. Both to be inproved very soon. I plan for hours of riding and get more than 12 hours with one battery pack now. I have a 1 watt Lexcon LED on order and considering a Garmin gps that give vioce direction with external power. The reason for the car 12 volt adapter on the bicycle mount. Thia page of my bicycle log http://www.billcotton.com/MY_rides.htm#Bill%20Cotton'%20Ride%20Log Shows the centuries for 2004. Bill www.Billcotton.com |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
|
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"David Kerber" wrote in message . .. In article , says... ... Dave In my quest to ride a century in each month here in Southeastern Pennsylvania, I find that lights are a must. My century for December was 12/17/04. I left home 7am still dark as the 7:03 was the Is that 7am a typo? If sunrise was at 7:03, it would be pretty well light at 7:00 unless it was very cloudy. No typo. Light is needed well after the offical time of sunrise according to the gps. However, 14 hours later when I arrived home I had use my lights since 4:15 pm about 5 hours. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
I did my 6th New Year's day century this year. The first time was to ring
in the millenium, on 1/1/2000, and I've done it each of the years since. Sunrise and sunset in Milwaukee that day are at 7:23 and 4:28. I started from my home in Germantown at about 5:50 a.m. in 22 F weather and cloudy skies (I use a Cateye Opticube headlight), and rode 23 miles to downtown Milwaukee, where I was scheduled to serve 7:45 Mass at Old St. Mary's Church. After that and a couple Dunkin Donuts, I headed south along the Lake Michigan shore (ice-free this year) to downtown Racine, where I encountered a group of about 20 bikers assembling for a local ride to watch the human "polar bears" take their annual plunge into the Lake, and otherwise enjoy the New Year. From Racine, I turned west, and northwest along routes 20, H and K, with a nice easterly tailwind, until a lunch stop at 11:30 at the K/I94 intersection, with 62 miles for the day so far. From there I took V, H, and 38, plus a couple other roads back north into Milwaukee, where I stopped at 1:30 (and 82 miles) at ST. Luke's Hospital, to see my mother, who was recovering from surgery. I started the 24 mile trip from there back home at 3:15. I made my century but didn't get home, at least not by bicycle. Soon after I left, it began raining. This was a concern in 32 F weather, but for quite a while, it was all water. Then I started noticing slush on the road, and then ice building up on my bike. Suddenly about 3 miles from home it was all ice. My helmet and shoes had a coat of it, as did the luggage carrier, headlight and odometer. Worse the road was getting quite icy. I nursed it along another mile to a business district (102 miles for the day), and then called home for a ride. So despite the achievement, I ended the day as a wimp. As it happened, salt trucks were soon out in force, and had I waited a couple of hours, I could have finished. "Bill Cotton" wrote in message ... "David Kerber" wrote in message . .. In article , says... ... Dave In my quest to ride a century in each month here in Southeastern Pennsylvania, I find that lights are a must. My century for December was 12/17/04. I left home 7am still dark as the 7:03 was the Is that 7am a typo? If sunrise was at 7:03, it would be pretty well light at 7:00 unless it was very cloudy. No typo. Light is needed well after the offical time of sunrise according to the gps. However, 14 hours later when I arrived home I had use my lights since 4:15 pm about 5 hours. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Ron Wallenfang wrote:
I did my 6th New Year's day century this year. As I did in 2003, I'm trying to do a century a month this year. But as it's my personal goal (and nobody else cares), I get to make up the rules. I decided if it's below freezing, I can do a metric century. So, I was out there on New Year's Day also, doing 62 miles. I'm only suggesting this because there may be others out there who's like to try to do "a century a month" but aren't quite up for 100 miles in the cold and partial dark. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"Mike Kruger" wrote in message news:1104891575.0206562e79306c9e96c6cc9457e2adc9@t eranews... Ron Wallenfang wrote: I did my 6th New Year's day century this year. As I did in 2003, I'm trying to do a century a month this year. But as it's my personal goal (and nobody else cares), I get to make up the rules. I decided if it's below freezing, I can do a metric century. So, I was out there on New Year's Day also, doing 62 miles. I'm only suggesting this because there may be others out there who's like to try to do "a century a month" but aren't quite up for 100 miles in the cold and partial dark. Today's century started at 6 am and ended about 8:45, 110 mile and 5800 feet of climbing. Details are here http://www.billcotton.com/MY_rides.htm I have improved my lights, I added a Luxeon 1 watt light, picture is at the bottom of this page http://www.billcotton.com/gps.htm www.billcotton.com |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
New milestone: metric century | rubic | Unicycling | 16 | September 21st 08 10:26 PM |
Bicycle helmets help prevent serious head injury among children, part one. | John Doe | UK | 3 | November 30th 04 03:46 PM |
Lake Nockamixon Century, Doylestown, PA - August 22 | Jack19446 | Rides | 4 | August 3rd 04 01:49 AM |
Lake Nockamixon Century, August 22 - Doylestown, PA | Jay Sitkin | Rides | 0 | August 2nd 04 03:03 AM |
"Actually you are the first person to bring up this issue" | James Annan | Techniques | 848 | April 6th 04 08:49 PM |