Centurion

I only had one real goal for this summer, fitness-wise.   I wanted to ride a century (100 miles, for the uninitiated).   I didn't have a real clear notion on how I was going to accomplish this feat, but there it was.   At first, I had a vague notion of biking solo from Decorah to Harmony and back some weekend.  However, a rider in the bike club convinced me that for my first century, I would want to do a supported ride.   Then, a few weeks ago, Maureen suggested doing the Jesse James century, and it all sort of fell into place.

Very long post after the break.

The Big Day

I was up a 4:30 AM the day of the ride.   I'm never one to sleep in when looking forward to something, and this was no exception.  The temp outside was a decidedly chilly 45F.   On the other hand, it was supposed to get up to 80F later in the day.   So, clothing choice was a bit tricky.  I settled on knickers and a convertible windbreaker, with long fingered gloves.   Appropriately attired, I loaded up the bike and was on the road by 5:30.    As I only had a 45 minute drive, that was probably too early, but I have a long and storied history of getting lost so I figured I'd leave a little bit of slush time.   

I was in no way the earlier person there, even though the sun hadn't even risen yet.   I took my time getting ready, making sure to pack my endgame food (caffeinated Clif bar, guaranteed to make the last 20 miles suck less) and my little baggie of prescription pain meds.   If you recall, not having pain meds for the 70 miler I did earlier in the summer was nearly the end of me, so I wanted to make sure I was set.   Dressed and ready to roll, I then proceeded to spend the next half hour waiting in the cold for someone else to show up. 

Finally, the rest of the OBC crew trickled in and we took our group photo.   

Looking pretty good for 7AM

Then, off we went.   Kathy, Maureen, Larry (not my Larry) and I started off as the "cruising group" aiming for a 15 mph average.   The ride to the first rest stop was predictably a little fast than that, as we were fresh and ready to roll.   Also, there was a giant hill to bomb down.   (I hit 35 mph and I'm a weanie.)   The first rest stop was welcome for me, as it seemed like breakfast had been hours ago (and it had), so I was feeling hungry.   A handful of easy to digest carbs and we were off.  

Between the first and second rest stops we had a fair bit of climbing out of the lovely Sogn Valley.    Beautiful scenery, especially in the early morning light of late summer.   It was a fantastic ride, but I started to feel my pre-ride pain meds wearing off, so I decided I would take my first Tramadol at the next rest stop.   When we rolled in, however, my meds were nowhere to be found.   They had been in my front coat pocket, and somewhere on the winding roads, they had fallen out.   I don't mind telling you, I was in a state of dismay at this point.  We were maybe twenty miles in and I was already hurting.  The notion of doing 80 more unaided was not appealing.  Fortunately, Larry's wife was already planning to meet us at the next rest stop, so he arranged to have her bring some Aleve.   

We picked up the Aleve and good rest in Faribault.   My back was in bad shape by then, but I grabbed a handful of the little blue pills and popped two down.   After about 15 minutes and a good bit of stretching, I was feeling like I could ride again.  This would be my pattern for the rest of the ride, as my low back pain was a recurrent issue.   Aleve is good, but it isn't really designed for the kind of searing pain my spine is capable of producing under stress.   

I was doing pretty good up until around mile 70(?).   I was between two rest stops, and had gotten separated from everyone in the group.  For whatever reason, these two rest stops seemed to be placed further apart than the rest, and I ran out of water and Gatorade between them.   I'm a pretty happy rider, in general, right up to the point that I can't suck down water at will.   At that point, all bets are off and my only thought becomes "WATER.   WATER.   WATER!!!"   On the plus side, this distracted me from my back nicely.  

Rolling into that next rest stop was heaven.  I filled up my bottles, grabbed an obscene amount of food and chowed down.   As it was also mile 80 (or so), I busted out my magic super food and got my shot of caffeine for the day.  Sadly, it was at this rest stop that we lost Larry.  He had not been feeling well all day, but had gamely stuck with us.  However, the combination of illness and no food had finally taken him down.   Kathy and a couple of guys from OBC that we had picked up early in the day took off, and Maureen and I kept each other company for the rest of the ride.

The wind had been a major factor all day, gusting up to 20-30 mph and generally just slowing us down.  However, on this home stretch it was doing its best to be both devil and angel.   When we were heading due east, it was amazing, pushing us and our tired legs over the hills.  When it was against us, it gusted and threatened to knock our bikes and bodies off course.    Still, the miles kept ticking by and finally I looked at my Garmin and it had 101 for the mileage.  Yay!  But wait, we were still in the country!?  

Yep, that's right.   The total mileage for the ride was just over 108 miles.  And let me tell you, I was not excited about those extra 8 miles.  I had signed up for 100, darn it!   When we got off the bikes at the school, I think it took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to use my cell phone.   Still, a few slices of pizza and some chocolate milk and I was coherent enough to drive home.

All in all, a fantastic experience.   I had a great time riding with the OBC crew, and was super grateful to have such awesome people around to help get me through the last miles.    This was a major accomplishment for me, and I'm super proud to be able to knock this one off the list.   I'm already looking forward to the next one.