Century Notes
Woke up at 5:40am -- stumbled around trying to get ready for the ride. I threw on my jersey, bike shorts, socks, and gathered the other needed items (gloves, hat, helmet, camelpak, etc) into a pile on the floor. Then it was time to wake up Missy so that I didn't have to bike to the start -- I was being lazy and driving in. I wanted to be on the rode by 6:30am but as with most early mornings, I was moving s l o w.
Got to the Royal Scandinavian Inn where the race started and finished at 6:15 and went to sign in. I had forgotten my bib number sheet at home so I had to track that down but everyone who was helping out that morning was quite obviously more awake then I was and on top of that, they were all extremely helpfull. I got my starting pamphlet from them which included my bib numbers (one for the helmet, one for the bike, one for my shirt) the course map, and some other misc. goodies. It did include a Carb Boom Energy thingy which was actually quite tastey -- but more on that later. Headed back to the car and finished getting ready. At 6:55am I was heading up to the start all ready to go.
It was rather foggy with the temperature right around 36. Freezing cold if you don't have a jacket on and you have to bike through it. Not only do you then have windchill but you have the cold droplets of fog clinging to your body cooling you down even quicker. At 7:01am I was out the start and on my way. A mere 2 minutes later I realized that I had forgotten my sunglasses in the car. Ah well -- it was still foggy -- I won't need 'em until later!
I headed on down the road, drafting behind people when possible -- it was hard though. Not many people were going the speed that I wanted to go. I wanted to warm up at about 16-18mph for the first leg. Everyone who was starting close the time I started seemed to want to go 14-16mph. So I was passing peeps left and right. Right around mile 6.5 I got a flat tire in the front. I pulled over, popped out my spare tube and got it all fixed -- down time? 5 minutes. It really amazed me the number of riders passing who asked if I needed help with anything. It's nice to know that a large ride like that can have good/friendly people on it.
At mile marker 9 I got a flat in the rear tire. Now I'm not supersticious or anything, but this was almost the exact spot where, on my last time riding this century, I had lost a rear-derailur-sprocket. The thing the chain goes around on the rear-derailur. Right at the top of this hill. With a great downhill looming right in front of me. I think the hill is out to get me. I only carry one spair tube in normal situations so I was forced to patch it. I didn't ever discover what caused this flat (the first was a thorn which was still in the tire). It was just a small puncture so it was easily fixed. Total down time? 12 minutes.
Back on the bike I get, with tires a little less full then I like (you just can't get 100psi from a hand pump! (Thats what SHE said). But I make it the rest of the way to mile 24.1, the first SAG stop in Lompoc, at the Elk's Lodge. I grabbed a bannana and some Fig Newtons and headed over to the bike mechanic's station. They had a bike mechanic at each stop which was really nice. They were fixing *everything* -- from broken spokes to broken cleats; from loose bike computers to loose rear derailurs. I picked up two bike tubes, replaced the one with the patch and put the second in my bag in case I got another flat. I was also able to use their floor pump to get my tires back up from the 55psi I had them at to the 100psi I like to ride them at. yay!!
After about 10 minutes at the Lompoc stop I was back on the road. Because we are possibly going to war soon, the ride was not able to go on Vandenberg AFB (just outside of Lompoc). Instead we skirted around it, riding down portions of highway 1. I ended up in a group of 3 (including me). There was a guy who was great at the downhills so he'd be out front, a chick who was great on the flats so she'd pull us on those sections, and me on the uphills, my forte. On the flats, I was pushing a little harder then I normally would have. We kept the pace right at 21mph for those sections. The downhills, being nice and long, averaged between 35mph and 40mph, and the uphills we rarely dropped below 14mph. We continued this all the way to the second SAG stop which was in the middle of nowhere on San Antonio road (mile 42.6).
Another bannana and half a peanut-butter&jelly sandwich later and I was ready to go. I also had my first Gu Sport's Gell. This is a gell-like-drink that is basically just good energy and easily absorbed by the body. It sure worked well -- but it sure didn't taste very good. I waited for the other two peoples (I never did get their names) and we were off to Santa Maria.
A quick juant until the last 2 miles, this was one of the quickest sections of the ride. Our average speed was 26mph for this section. It was primarily flat or downhill with only one short climb near the beginning. Again, I don't really like the flat stuff so it was nice to have someone else setting the pace. We got passed by a firetruck and two police cars about halfway through this 20 mile section. As we caught up to where they were stopped, our worst fears were confirmed. A bicyclist was down -- by the damage done to his bike, I'd say it was hit by a car. With the front wheel bent almost at a 45 degree angle, the front carbon fork shattered, and who knows what other damage, this was a serious accident. I did not see the rider, however I heard his riding partner ask which hospital they were taking him to as he had to tell the hurt rider's wife. Ah well -- it was the only accident I saw the entire day.
The Santa Maria stop was at the Radison Hotel -- mile 60.7 (actually I believe my bike puter said it was 58.6 but who's counting?). I stayed at this stop for about 20 minutes. Ate another bannana, an entire pb&j sandwich, and several more fig newtons. I had carried a water bottle as well as my camelbak so that I could mix Gu2-0 in it -- a powder that was supposed to help fluids get absorbed quicker. I finished off my first water bottle of water and mixed the second one up and decided I'd been resting for long enough. It was time to move on.
The following 14 miles are probably the tuffest for me. They always have been. It's like 10 miles of steady climbing followed by 1 mile of downhill and then 3 miles of minor climbs and flat sections. It just kills me. It's not the steep climbs I like either. It's the slow -- straight road climbs that depresses you cause you can see where you are going and how much farther you have to climb. *ugh* I think my average speed during this section was around 8mph -- and thats after the sweet 1mile downhill towards the end of it!
We stopped at Sisquoc, mile 74.1. This really looked like someones house -- well a small ranch really. But it was a good stopping point. The next section was a 20 mile stretch with major climbs in it. I stayed here for about 10 minutes and was getting ready to leave when I heard someone go "Brent Bain???" I looked up and saw this guy with sunglasses just standing there looking at me.
Now the Santa Ynez Valley (which houses the cities & towns of Santa Ynez, Solvang, Buellton, Los Olivos, and Ballard) is rather small so quite a few people knew me -- in fact on the way out of town we stopped by Albertsons and there was someone whom I had worked with at another grocery store currently working there) is rather small so it's not uncommon for people to recognize me and for me to have no clue who they are. I'm puzzling out the voice and the scruffy face and just can't do it so I plead my ignorance and off came his sunglasses. Who should it be but Cory Evans. This great guy was someone whom I had gone to Dunn with. He and I had done some bicycling in High School so it was great to see him still riding. On top of that he said that he now owned the only (?) bike store in town, Dr. J's Bicycles. Now thats an entire different story but we shall diverge for a short amount of time.
Dr. J's Bicycles was owned by Dr. J for many many moons. In fact my uncle, Darin, worked for him as a teenager. I got my first road bike from Dr. J in 1989. He sold the store to Dale (? -- my memory is going foggy on names) whom I then became good friends with as I was doing a lot of riding right after I got out of high school so I was in the shop buying bits and pieces all the time. Now, Dale has sold the store to Cory, whom I went to high school with. What a small world (well at least in that valley it is).
So anywase, Cory and I chatted for about 5 minutes and I agreed to stop by the store the next day and I was off. From mile 75 to mile 93.5, its incredibly hilly. I mean INCREDIBLY hilly. My legs were so pumped that each pedal stroke on the hills was pure agony. I honestly don't know if my legs were cramping on each stroke or just so tight that it was just hurting. After about 10 miles of this I just had to take a break so I pulled over to the side of the road and rested for about 5 minutes. I ate the Carb Boom Energy gell thing that they had handed out at the beginning and relished in it's wonderful taste. I enjoyted the scenary. I did my best to let the tension go out of my legs. When I got back on my bike it was like the past 20 miles hadn't happened. I was ready to push again. Of course this didn't last forever, but it did allow me to get up and over the bigger/steeper hills of the ride. And then it was a great downhill for several miles to the last SAG stop at the Firestone Winery. Mile marker 93.5.
From this stop you could see what they call "The Wall" -- it's a short, incredibly steep climb over another ridge of hills. It's probably 1/5 or 2/5ths of a mile. But it's probably 400ft to 500ft of elevation gain. Short and steep. I've never had problems with this part of the ride -- especially so close to a stop/breaking point. So I smoothly pedalled my way over the top, down the other side, and then I was on "home turf".
When I was younger, I lived in Los Olivos, but worked in Buellton. Instead of taking the main, heavily trafficed roads to get there, I took the back way. A hilly 10 mile ride to Buellton. Since I did this every day in both directions, I know (still!) where to sprint, where to coast, where to push, where to relaxe. While we weren't ending in Buellton, the road does a Y only 1 mile from Solvang (one side going to Solvang, the other going to Buellton). I was home free and was able to really push myself through this last section -- keeping my average speed around 24mph.
We then arrived in Solvang to a cheering crowd and proceeded to cross the finish. My total time of riding was 6hours, 3 minutes, 55 seconds. My average speed was 16.7mph. I arrived at the finish just after 3:00pm.
I took a leasurely time to ride from Solvang back to my Grandparents house in Santa Ynez. It was only 4 miles but I made it last 35 minutes!!
So thats my tale of the Solvang Century of '03. At no point in the ride did I question my sanity (as I had on previous occasions doing this ride). At no point did I think about giving up. I just rode and enjoyed myself. It reminded me just how much I do enjoy riding my bike. I ride every day to and from work, but that was becoming a chore. Something that just needed to be done. This ride brought back the excitement and feeling of accomplishment that I have always enjoyed about riding.
Enough of that though. I completed 106 miles on my bike on Saturday.
Yay for me!!!
--B--
Posted by BBBach at
12:36 PM
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