All-You-Can-Eat Metric Century

I've never been in a CM ride, but after reading about them, don't have a
lot of desire to get involved. I think the idea is good, but the
execution is off, and teh end result is not always very positive for
cycling.


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StephenH
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Less than 3 weeks to go now before my first attempt at a road 100km
unicycle ride. This past Sunday I did a fairly comfortable 50km ride
on my 36er (125mm cranks) in around 2hours 44minutes. I'd go further
in training but I just don't have the time! Anyhow I'm feeling pretty
confident about covering 100km within the time limit of 8 1/2 hours.
Anybody around northern Alabama it's not too late to come on out...


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MuniSano
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Well I did it! I accomplished my goal of completing a metric century on
my 36" unicycle!! I covered the 100km distance (~62 miles) in five
hours and forty five minutes. I'll write some more later after I get
some more rest and have a bit more time...


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MuniSano
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All You Can Eat Metric Century!!! 62 miles in 5h 47m!!!

The route takes you through the country side and farm lands of
northern Alabama and into southern Tennessee and back. Essentially a
long, skinny North-South loop. The hills were almost non-existent and
the traffic fairly thin except for a couple of busier sections. With
all the turns and road crossings I expected to have to dismount fairly
frequently to wait on traffic; to my surprise I made it all the way
around the course without having to dismount at a turn or intersection.
Typically your line of site was pretty good so I could either speed up
or slow down so I'd hit the turn or intersection with a free pass.

Anyhow, I started out in the very back with a bunch of slow riders
on mountain bikes. I soon realized this was a bit too slow and passed
them all on the first slight incline! The road was a bit damp from an
early morning rain so I was cautious in this first section. It was
also in this first section that I saw the most traffic with the least
courteous drivers. Typical for this pedestrian unfriendly part of the
world!! So after around an hour and a half I arrived a bit tired at
the first aid station ~19 miles. I was suprised to see my wife and one
of my running buddies at the aid station. They had driven out to find
me!

So a bit psyched up I started on the next 17 mile leg to the next
aid station. This was a long section but it was made much easier when
my co-worker Jody rode the whole next section with me on his mountain
bike! This next section was all in southern Tennessee and amazingly
the traffic thinned out nicely and what motorists there were were much
more friendly! Still it was a long section and I was happy to get to
the next checkpoint at 36 miles! By then I knew I was going to finish
I really just needed the psychological boost of getting over the
half-way point.

The next section to the final aid station at ~51 miles I was all
alone again. However I was occasionally overtaken by some of the full
century riders as I was now on the common inbound leg for all the
riders. Man what beautiful country this was, rolling farm land and
some deep woods. Not to the standard of Aspen Mike's rides but not bad
for the south flat lands! I rode this section fairly strong and arrived
at the next aid stop a little bit spent. My legs seemed to be holding
up, but I still don't think I had the seat adjusted quite right as I
was having quite a bit of crotch pain. But I quickly learned numbness
is a good thing!

Anyways I called home real quick to give a status update to my wife
i.e. I wasn't dead, then I was back in the saddle, sore crotch and all,
and on my way on the last section to the finish. I rode the whole way
with my Garmin GPS which seemed to be tracking with the queue sheet
fairly nicely so I knew how far I had left to go. Still the course
designers started putting out mileage to go markers at every turn which
was kind of nice! Did I say this course was not very hilly? Well for
the first 60 miles that was true! All of a sudden the course turned to
the right and up and up! With fresh legs I might have been able to ride
my 36er up this hill with my 125mm cranks but this hill was just a bit
too steep and my tired legs a bit too trashed. I made it perhaps half
way up and then lost it and went over the front!! I scraped my knee
but really this wasn't too bad a UPD. I really tried to get up that
final hill! So then I just got up and jogged up the incline pushing my
36er ahead of me. I had my next UPD (really a PD) shortly thereafter
because I now had to go down a simularly steep hill! Well even with a
brake it was too much for my tired legs and I started to feel like I
was getting out of control so I just popped off the back and ran part
way down the steeper part of the hill and then remounted. Such drama
in the final miles! After that it was an easy sprint to the finish to
little fanfare; just the clock and a couple course monitors! Most
people were in the cafeteria of the high school eating there large meal
(hence the All You Can Eat race name) or had gone home by this point!
Still the radio operators said there were still over 60 cyclists still
out there so I wasn't the absolute last person out there! In fact I
finished up right behind that early group of Boy Scouts I'd passed, and
they had done the 50 mile option! So I'd made up 12 miles on them!

Overall I'd highly recommend this route as it really is fairly tame
in terms of hills and traffic. Just a few places were the traffic was
a little sketchy and that last incline/decline in the final miles
weren't very fun. Still I now feel a lot more confident about taking
on a 100 miler sometime in the near future!


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MuniSano
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