50k Delta Century report

Quoted message said:

Good job Kevin! (and the patient Dad too)

Last fall I took my 12-year-old on his first century.
http://www.geocities.com/banquo_lives/photos/
Previously, he had ridden 50 slow miles in a day but the 100 miles was
excruciatingly slow for me. I think that the only person who finished
after
us was a pancreatic cancer survivor who had had his last chemotherapy the
day before. Towards the end the rest stops were packed up. My boy was a
month short of his 13th birthday so may have been a bit older than Kevin.

My kid actually doesn't seem to like riding with me much but he will humor
the old man by going on a ride with me now and then. It is getting to be a
challenge to keep up with him on the steep hills.

He loves riding with other kids. He is in a club now with kids as young
as
8 and rides several time a week with them - He loves it. In a fund raiser
on
Saturday he did 60 miles in a little over 3 hours. It was a 4-hour no stop
ride but his bladder forced an early stop. One 13-year-old boy managed
something over 80 miles in 4 hours with a little help from adults pulling.

Your son reminds me of myself at that age. I believe it was the summer
between 5th & 6th grades that a friend of mine & I did our first ride up to
Skyline Boulevard (on the San Francisco peninsula), and not long after that
my first ride to the coast. These days parents wouldn't even think of
letting a couple of kids do something like that.

Cool photos; didn't notice the tag line at the top at first, and wondered if
they were near Mono Lake. Very distinctive area.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Quoted message said:

Your son reminds me of myself at that age. I believe it was the summer
between 5th & 6th grades that a friend of mine & I did our first ride up

to

Quoted message said:

Skyline Boulevard (on the San Francisco peninsula), and not long after

that

Quoted message said:

my first ride to the coast. These days parents wouldn't even think of
letting a couple of kids do something like that.

Cool photos; didn't notice the tag line at the top at first, and wondered

if

Quoted message said:

they were near Mono Lake. Very distinctive area.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

In 5th and 6th grade my bike was a big part of my world. I went everywhere
on it. We lived in the country and I would go many miles in all directions
to swim, hunt, fish and just explore. Dad was a field guy with the USGS out
of Menlo Park and we moved - usually twice a year. Northern Idaho, Eastern
Oregon, Utah, Arizona, etc.

My freshman year of high school we lived in San Jose for awhile. I got my
1st "10 speed" and we would ride over to Santa Cruz for the weekend on the
terrifying Hwy 9. I recall carrying an old army blanket and sleeping on the
beach. Something I am sure I wouldn't let my kid do.

Here's my boy at the Sacramento Early Bird Crit in his Twinkie the Kid
socks.

http://www.wolfpak.biz/artwork/Wolfpak%20Aggie%20crit%20pics/pages/Dscn0129_jpg.htm

Distinctive, and a great century to ride if the weather cooperates.
Due to other obligations I have not done it since 2001 (9/15/2001 -
lots of flags on bikes that day). And only one 'legal' stop - the stop
sign in the first half-mile; after that no traffic controls so you can
go, and go, and go. We are thinking of doing it again this year; the
wife has not done it, nor has she ever been to Mono Lake.

- rick

It used to be I could ride with my son and he would lose me on the
hills...Now he just loses me immediately!

He is racing, and very good at it. An easy ride for him is my top average
speed. It's GREAT!

Cycling is such a diverse sport.

Bartow
"Dan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

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From the writeup & photos found at www.ChainReaction.com/delta05.htm

I could have ridden the Grizzly Peak century today, but that wouldn't
have
been challenging enough. So instead I did something far more brave- I
took
my 12-year-old son out for his first organized ride- the 50k (actually 35
mile) Stockton Delta Century. Given that he hasn't ridden more than 10

miles

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at a time before this, it had the potential to be a rather trying day.
And
the first half of the ride did drag a bit, as we rode almost entirely
into
the wind and there was a bit of that "Are we there yet?" followed by the
far-worse "Why aren't we there yet?"

The reality is that 25 mile & 50k rides tend not to be as well

thought-out

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as their longer counterparts. In particular, rest stops are too few and

too

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far apart. For this ride, there were no rest stops prior to the main
psuedo-lunch-stop at New Hope School, nearly 18 miles into the ride.
18-25
miles isn't bad spacing for a 100k or 100 mile event, but something like
8
miles or so would seem more appropriate for the families, often with

pretty

Quoted message said:

young kids, who do the shorter rides.

But once we hit the lunch stop/turnaround point, it was pretty smooth
sailing for the next 12 miles or so. The tailwind really helped, along

with

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joining up with all the returning 100k & 100 milers, many of whom Kevin

was

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able to not only keep up with but also pass (presumably these were 100k
riders, as I doubt slower 100 milers would have returned by then). All
was
well until, with about four miles to go, at a time when most of us would

be

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motivated by having the end in sight, Kevin's sore shoulders and butt
were
winning the battle. Speeds that had been literally running upwards of

15mph

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plummeted to 6 or 7, and all the logical talk of being close to the

finish,

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and how riding faster would end the pain sooner, seemed to be in a
foreign
language that makes sense to Dads but not their kids.

We did make it though, and he didn't seem too much the worse for wear

when

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it was over. It will be interesting trying to find the next ride for him,

as

Quoted message said:

he's not a fan of hills (which may be a reactionary thing to his Dad's

love

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for them), and most of the rides 'round these parts involve a fair amount

of

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climbing. But who knows, maybe we'll make a climber out of him yet. No,
probably not, but we did have a really nice ride today. --Mike--

(Check out www.ChainReaction.com/delta05.htm for photos and more info).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Good job Kevin! (and the patient Dad too)

Last fall I took my 12-year-old on his first century.
http://www.geocities.com/banquo_lives/photos/
Previously, he had ridden 50 slow miles in a day but the 100 miles was
excruciatingly slow for me. I think that the only person who finished
after
us was a pancreatic cancer survivor who had had his last chemotherapy the
day before. Towards the end the rest stops were packed up. My boy was a
month short of his 13th birthday so may have been a bit older than Kevin.

My kid actually doesn't seem to like riding with me much but he will humor
the old man by going on a ride with me now and then. It is getting to be a
challenge to keep up with him on the steep hills.

He loves riding with other kids. He is in a club now with kids as young
as
8 and rides several time a week with them - He loves it. In a fund raiser
on
Saturday he did 60 miles in a little over 3 hours. It was a 4-hour no stop
ride but his bladder forced an early stop. One 13-year-old boy managed
something over 80 miles in 4 hours with a little help from adults pulling.