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Sat. Oct 2, 2010
Two months ago, Brett and I set a goal of riding our bikes 100 miles in one day. The few people I have told this to have one question: WHY?
There are two reasons:
I already own what I thought was a pretty nice bike - a hybrid - a hardy street bike that can also be rode in the hills. Unfortunately, it is really not good for either. So I borrowed Wes's (my son-in-law) road bike and it was amazing. It goes very fast with relatively little effort, kind of like rolling a ball bearing across a marble floor - it just goes and goes. So I bought a nice road bike. All of a sudden, I think I am a competitive biker. NOTE: I will NEVER wear one of those ridiculous, colorful, tight bike shirts. The shorts, however, serve a purpose: they provide padding on the seat and keep the boys in check. So I wear one under my regular shorts.
Brett has been into wrestling, weight-lifting, and generally working out. He was planning to join the military when he graduates next spring. So I thought this would be a 'badass' goal that we could work towards together. He didn't hesitate.
Wes, being the nice guy that he is, offered to let Brett ride his bike for a while. So we started training, which is nothing more than going on rides together. We started with several 20 milers, then 35, then a 60-mile ride. We have also been up Mt St. Helena a couple times. Nothing could be harder than that!
But I figured that, for an old fart like me, doing 100 miles in one day would require several good-sized breaks in the middle. This means that we would be pushing the available day-light hours. It would take us about 8 hrs in the saddle to complete the ride at about 13 mph. Then 10 min breaks every hour or so, and two long breaks in between would extend the day to about 12 hrs. Since we have lights we could do a little riding at night.
We picked a route, broken into three distinct rides, separated by significant breaks: Technically I suppose, this is not a "Century" ride, as it is not an endorsed event that is done is one sitting. Big deal - it is still hard.
So we set a date for the big ride, sometime in late September. Unfortunately, we got an early-season rain and had to postpone the big event. Until Sat, Oct 2, 2010.
I did absolutely NO exercise the day before to rest the body, and had a nice pasta dinner with June that night, and turned in early.
Brett had done some serious dead-lifting with weights the day before. Then that night he went to the high school football game with friends, then went to bed late that night, hungry. BAD IDEA.
We planned to start at 7 am. The morning fog was very heavy, and it was still very dark and cold. So we took our time and left at 7:30am. I have a set of head and tail lights, so we decided that Brett would get the headlight, I would get the tail light. We had to wear sweat pants, light jackets, and gloves. Although, when it warmed up, we had no place to store all that clothing. We could always leave it at Lindsey's.
Brett complained throughout most of the morning about pain in his legs. Duhhh, I wonder why?
It was much wetter than expected and it actually rained on 116 near Cotati. Brett learned that following 6 ft. behind another bicycle going 20 mph when the streets are wet is a lot like taking a shower.
We arrived at Lindsey's at about 11 am. Wes was power-washing windows, and his truck! He volunteered to drive us in his nice clean truck with no paint, and go to Mr Pickles for sandwiches. What a treat! Lindsey and the girls came home from gymnastics. I reclined on the comfy couch while Brett played with the girls on the floor. We left at noon and I felt great. Brett took off like we were racing.
The ride to Windsor was nice and warm. We did leave the sweatpants behind and wore the jacket part way home. We stopped on Petaluma Hill Rd to celebrate the 50 mile mark. Actually, I didn't feel much like celebrating. When we eventually turned onto our street, Brett offered to race the last block. Obviously, he is doing much better than me at this point.
With 68 miles under our belts, another 1-hour break seemed appropriate. I soaked in the hot tub, ate some more pasta, then reclined on the couch. BIG MISTAKE!! I woke up 40 minutes later, VERY groggy, like I passed out. In fact, it felt like my whole body was still asleep. I coaxed it back to life, then it all came back to me - we still had 32 miles to go!
The last thing I wanted to do was get back on the bike. My thighs were tight, my butt was sore, the shoulders and neck were very creaky. But I knew that if I didn't, the chance at 100 would NEVER come again. My brain thought "just go through the motions and the body will eventually get on board".
Brett played guitar and laughed at me.
After one block I was doing fine. The first part over Chalk Hill Rd is the most hilly, difficult part of the entire trip. What was I thinking? I would lead the way most of the time, but as soon as we hit a hill, Brett would surge past me.
We sat on a bench in Geyserville on main street just before sundown. We are getting a little silly now, laughing about my homemade power bars. He complains about the flavor, and he complains that I am not giving him enough! We realize that we will be riding in the dark on a Sat night though the wine country. The lights go back ON.
The South end of Healdsburg, the grand finale!! We were about 6 miles from home, and after 94 miles that seems like a stones-throw away. While looking at this spectacular sunset, I called June. She generously offered to take us to dinner to celebrate. Although Brett and I weren't sure about going out, on the way home we caught a whiff of someone barbecuing steak, and we became recharged with motivation to get home.
When we finished, the CATEYE showed 102.45 miles with 7:37 in the saddle for an average speed of 13.4 mph. Hard to believe that professionals ride this distance at about twice this speed, and they do it day after day. I don't think I will quit my day job just yet.
Once home, we both showered quickly (not together). Suddenly, I felt like my thighs were on fire, a burning sensation coming from the core of my muscles. I could NOT stand. June said something about lactic acid and gave me 3 Advil geltabs, and I felt better almost instantly. We went to Johnny Garlic's and we had a great dinner.
Needless to say, we went to bed pretty early. Brett slept from 9:30 pm to 2:10 the next day. Both of us were sore, but it was manageable. We both agreed, no more 100 mile rides, at least in the same day.
Special thanks again to Wes for the contribution of the bike!