my first century
woke up at 5am on saturday, the fantastic bf treated me like a starved princess with a breakfast of sausage, eggs, pancakes, oj, oranges, tater tots, AND an apple-berry-banana-yogurt smoothie. thanked the bikey gods that the night before, i had already checked my tire pressure, cleaned my chain, and prepped my riding gear, then bolted out the door, just barely remembering to fill up the camelbak, slather on some sunscreen (50 spf!), and smooch the chef. picked up jen around 6:15 and after a quick hit to our favoritest friendliest coffee bean, we were on our way to santa clarita for the paul hulse / positive pedalers annual century bike ride.
cooooooold
the ride met up at 7am, with a (hopeful) rideout at 7:30am, but with 170 bikers to check in, an opening speech, and stretches, the head of the pack didn't set out until 8:15.
i would've been right up there with them...if not for the fact that my helmet was still sitting in my car as i attempted to ride out.
there were rest stops every 15-20 miles and the miles melted away as we sped west on highway 126, avoiding snakes, rogue tire tread, shattered glass, and chunks of plywood. we stopped in piru, a small town with "u scream ice cream" for a refill on bananas and oranges. then we pushed onward, past fragrant honeysuckle-sweet orange groves, and reluctantly declined to partake in honey-tasting rooms and 25 cent avocados.
todd & me & jen
(yummy honey via steve-o)
todd, who jen had ridden with before on a shifting gears training ride, got a flat right before lunch, but he got it fixed super fast and even found cause of his troubles (4 flats in 5 weeks!) - a tiny sharp quarter-inch skinny sliver of metal.
jen & todd have got it under control
i was surprised when we hit the halfway point of the ride, ventura & the beach. we'd ridden 50 miles more quickly than i expected, and after a quick lunch of a 6-inch turkey subway sub, strawberries, bananas, and cheetos, we hopped back on the bikes.
jen & ginger brewlay & me
steve-o is ready to ride
the sun was out all day, but it never got truly hot and i kept my long-sleeved jersey on for the whole ride. my shorts came off quite often though...at each rest stop for another complimentary dose of chamois butter. i've never tried the stuff before (hooray free samples!) and was honestly pretty grossed out that it even exists. bikers go commando when they wear padded shorts, and the "butter" is slathered in heaping quantities directly on the inside of the shorts...which means it definitely gets in your nooks and crannies. verdict: i approve, the stuff is vital for long distance rides. granted, i was wearing a brand spankin new pair of ultra d shebeest shorts, but it does help keep things fresh down there.
win @ the 2nd to last rest stop...only 35 miles to go!
the route from ventura back to santa clarita pretty much mirrored the morning trek, just with a touch more city riding. i was going strong up until the last 10 miles or so. my legs just gave up and i'm sure if i wasn't riding clipless pedals, they would've been flailing about a bit. we also got to see six flags magic mountain from the back (too tired at that point to stop and take pics!).
i survived. it was 4pm. we'd been out for 8 hours; 6 of those hours were actual ride time. and contrary to the route slip, 104.62 miles was our actual mileage.
next year i'm doing it on a mountain bike.
um.........not!
+the rest of my pics from the ride
+a sweet set from steve-o
+lots of pedalers on paul's flickr account
cooooooold
the ride met up at 7am, with a (hopeful) rideout at 7:30am, but with 170 bikers to check in, an opening speech, and stretches, the head of the pack didn't set out until 8:15.
i would've been right up there with them...if not for the fact that my helmet was still sitting in my car as i attempted to ride out.
there were rest stops every 15-20 miles and the miles melted away as we sped west on highway 126, avoiding snakes, rogue tire tread, shattered glass, and chunks of plywood. we stopped in piru, a small town with "u scream ice cream" for a refill on bananas and oranges. then we pushed onward, past fragrant honeysuckle-sweet orange groves, and reluctantly declined to partake in honey-tasting rooms and 25 cent avocados.
todd & me & jen
(yummy honey via steve-o)
todd, who jen had ridden with before on a shifting gears training ride, got a flat right before lunch, but he got it fixed super fast and even found cause of his troubles (4 flats in 5 weeks!) - a tiny sharp quarter-inch skinny sliver of metal.
jen & todd have got it under control
i was surprised when we hit the halfway point of the ride, ventura & the beach. we'd ridden 50 miles more quickly than i expected, and after a quick lunch of a 6-inch turkey subway sub, strawberries, bananas, and cheetos, we hopped back on the bikes.
jen & ginger brewlay & me
steve-o is ready to ride
the sun was out all day, but it never got truly hot and i kept my long-sleeved jersey on for the whole ride. my shorts came off quite often though...at each rest stop for another complimentary dose of chamois butter. i've never tried the stuff before (hooray free samples!) and was honestly pretty grossed out that it even exists. bikers go commando when they wear padded shorts, and the "butter" is slathered in heaping quantities directly on the inside of the shorts...which means it definitely gets in your nooks and crannies. verdict: i approve, the stuff is vital for long distance rides. granted, i was wearing a brand spankin new pair of ultra d shebeest shorts, but it does help keep things fresh down there.
win @ the 2nd to last rest stop...only 35 miles to go!
the route from ventura back to santa clarita pretty much mirrored the morning trek, just with a touch more city riding. i was going strong up until the last 10 miles or so. my legs just gave up and i'm sure if i wasn't riding clipless pedals, they would've been flailing about a bit. we also got to see six flags magic mountain from the back (too tired at that point to stop and take pics!).
i survived. it was 4pm. we'd been out for 8 hours; 6 of those hours were actual ride time. and contrary to the route slip, 104.62 miles was our actual mileage.
next year i'm doing it on a mountain bike.
um.........not!
+the rest of my pics from the ride
+a sweet set from steve-o
+lots of pedalers on paul's flickr account
posted by cattv at 12:04 PM
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