Soggy But Successful Century

Dry, hot and humid weather turns to cool and rainy just in time for my annual 100-miler club ride. The first weekend after Labor Day is the traditional scheduled time for the Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club (MHCC) century rides. This year marked my sixth MHCC century since taking up cycling in 1999, and in total 9.5 Century Rides have provided some memorable cycling experiences.

My first 100-plus mile bike ride, or Century Ride, was in 2000, the day after my mother married Jim. I had just lost about 45 pounds from dieting mostly and had limited group cycling experience. My red FujiClub 12-speed bike had carried me many solo miles and I felt I was up to the challenge having logged the miles on our hilly roads. The day of the event was perfect weather-wise and I was caught up in the excitement of being in a group of over 100 riders all starting out on a day of adventure. As a result I found myself in the lead pack for the first ten miles as we curved around Saratoga Lake early in the morning. I was psyched to be up front with all those others trailing behind me. Soon the road started to kick up and the climbing started. I soon realized that the lead pack group was just soft-pedaling and chatting, and now the real riding started. Quickly I was all alone. I turned over the pedals at my own pace for awhile before a couple caught me from behind. We rode together the rest of the day. Unfortunately, at mile 65, as the women veered away from some gravel, I clipped her rear wheel and I went down over my handlebar hard. I had some deep cuts and a separated shoulder. But, the adrenalin was still working and I gutted it out until the end. We rolled across the finish line together. Donna and Alix had me at the Emergency Room getting stitches and x-rays before the day was over.

The initial century was, fortunately for me, the most eventful one. However, over the years I have had other things happen on the 100-milers that are worth noting. On one MHCC Century I again was stuck between the lead pack and the chase pack all alone. Probably due to hypoxia or just not paying attention, I made a wrong turn and became lost off the course. I wound-up doing an extra eight miles and had to stop at a Stewart's to get water. Another MHCC had me involved in a mass crash as the lead pack started to accelerate. The rider in back of me clipped my wheel as I had to brake for the rider in front of me. He went down and took about five others with him. He broke some ribs and was taken to the hospital. It was sickening to hear all those bikes go down in back of me. On a Tour de Cure Century ride Art G and I were having fun in the lead pack until a severe thunderstorm forced the event to be canceled when we were at the 50-mile mark. They trucked us and our bikes back to a school and Donna came and rescued me.

I have managed to do some century rides very well. In one Tour de Cure I got there late so started 10 minutes behind everyone, but managed to chase down all but three riders in the first 10 miles. I was in really good shape from training for the Tupper Lake Half Ironman that year, which would follow the century in three weeks. By the half way mark I had caught all but one rider and he finished just a few minutes ahead of me. On another MHCC ride I got in with a good group that pace-lined well and averaged over 20 MPH.

Recently, I have not had good luck in these century rides. I have eaten poorly or had back luck in choice of foods. You are taught, or soon learn, to not try new foods or drinks during events - experiment with them during training. Well, I ignored this common sense one year by trying some new energy drink they were handing out at the 50-mile rest stop and soon had an allergic reaction to it. Needless to say, I death-marched that one home. And just last year, at the 20-mile to go mark, I had severe muscle cramps and had to really go slow and stop to get it done.

So, this year I was determined to have a good century ride. The weather has been very hot and humid and dry. So, when I awoke to find it raining and 60 degrees, I was almost glad. I felt I could do better in the cooler conditions. The MHCC rides are held both Saturday and Sunday, so you can choose which day to go, or do both. On Saturday, a hot and humid day, they had 126 century riders. On Sunday, the day I chose, we had 12 riders! Not everyone likes to ride in the rain. Of the 12 riders about six of us formed a lead pack. One rider was out in front on aerobars and he dropped us at about the 35-mile mark, never to be seen again! The rain was steady until about 45 miles - when it poured. We made it to the 50-mile mark and dried off some, but it was in vain. Even if the rain stopped coming down, the rooster tails off the tires sprayed you anyway.

We were down to six riders in our pack and then we caught some other riders doing the metric century course (62 miles). When that course split off again we lost three of our century riders as they were too cold to go the distance. So it was down to myself, Brian - a terrifically strong rider who did the century yesterday, and Jim, a young racer on a cyclocross bike. We stopped at 82 miles to fill up the water bottles and Jim was shivering, so I knew he would be in trouble before the end. Brian and I were in good shape. I passed the spot where muscle cramps forced me off the bike last year and just whizzed on by feeling pretty good about myself. Jim dropped off towards the end but finished just a few minutes behind Brian and I. Good weather, smarter pacing, nutrition and better training paid off with a good strong ride for the distance this year. We averaged 18.5 MPH, which considering we could not ride on each others' wheel for fear of drowning in the spray, was pretty good.

There is another, more hilly, century being run right past our house at the end of the month by Cambridge Valley Cycling. I may be up to do that one this year as well.