100 miles never felt so hard

I haven't been putting in the big bike miles this year, but decided to do the Dog Daze Century yesterday... on my new bike (pictured left).

Initially I was going to get up at 5am, ride the second 50 mile loop and be back to the start at 8am, then ride the first 50 mile loop with a group from the WCCC club.

At 4:30am I got up and started to get ready, when I realized how dark it was going to be and I didn't want to carry a bike light all day long.

So at 5:15am I went back to sleep, got up a 7am ate a banana and a bagel with peanut butter and rode 5 miles to the start with a new goal of riding straight through - no rest stops.

At 8:10 we (a group of strong WCCC riders) finally got rolling and the pace was quicker than I would have liked for a 100 mile ride, particularly on the uphills. On the other hand, the downhills were slow - something that normally happens with a group ride.

Victor and I rode at the front in the beginning to keep things at a reasonable pace. Over the next few miles, Tim, Bob P., and others started to hammer like we were doing a 50 mile ride.

I wasn't really feeling it - my legs were tired - not a lot of energy, but I kept going.

About 15-20 miles into the ride the group needed to 're-group' at the top of a hill. I started to wait with them, but remembered my goal of no rest stops, so I forged ahead solo, passing small groups along the way.

My right arm was getting really sore and cramped, but I just kept stretching it out - I missed my aero bars. I was beginning to think I would quit after mile 50.

The strong 'peleton' that I started with caught up with me a couple of miles before a rest stop at mile 39. I drafted behind them which was so much easier (except on the uphills which they pushed pretty hard). When we got to the rest stop, they stopped, I kept going.

At mile 50 I had to sign-in, get a new cue sheet, and get some water. The peleton came in right behind me. They stopped for lunch, I kept going.

There was another solo rider just in front of me. My right knee has been sore lately and I'm just not climbing hills fast. So he slowly pulled away, but eventually I caught up with him - we rode together side-by-side for a short while - nice guy (Mike from New Jersey). He had never done this ride before and he reminded me of how beautiful it was. He said the first loop was too hilly and preferred the second loop since it was more wooded and less farmland. He stopped at the mile 68 rest stop, I kept going.

There was some seriously steep climbs soon after I left Mike - Bucktoe Road being one of them. I kept looking back to see if Mike was going to catch up - he never did.

The volunteer at the mile 81 rest stop was tempting me to stop - I think he was bored and I would have been his first customer. I kept going.

A mile or two later I sucked on my Camelback and it was empty. Crap! I kept going.

At mile 86 I stopped at a store and bought some water. It was getting warm and I was dehydrating. Getting off the bike felt great and allowed me to stretch my back and legs. I'm not sure how people do these rides without aero bars - it was painful.

As I crossed the road, I noticed lots of bikers apparently on the first 50 mile loop, or perhaps on the 27 mile loop. Anyway I figured I would take the 'blue' course and maybe shorten things a bit (I knew I was already doing an extra 10 miles by riding to and from the start and I really only wanted to do 100 total).

Soon after I saw another rest stop intended for the first loop and I asked the volunteer how many miles left - 14 miles he yells to me. So I didn't save many miles and, as it turns out I added a lot of hills. Oh well. I kept going.

I made it to the end and never saw New Jersey Mike or the Peleton. I even stopped for a quick snack, but I couldn't seem to get excited about solid food except watermellon and potato chips.

On my ride home, I rolled up to Frank heading the same direction. We had a nice chat on the way back. I slowly made it up Hillsdale and was happy for my ice bath. I watched Sena crush all of my Wii Fit scores, then I sat on the couch and watched the olympics the rest of the day.