First Century!

[jpr95]

No, I'm not talking about 2000 years ago.

On Sunday I participated in the Apple Cider Century in and around Three Oaks, MI. My previous long one-day ride was 72 miles. Due to my business lately (good), I have not been able to ride much (not so good), so I would have been happy if I had done the ride in 8 hours. Well, the rain set in from the get-go, and stayed around for 75 miles. It was a long ride, but I managed to cover the 105 miles (route changes due to construction) in 6h59m--a 15.1 MPH average (by GPS and cyclometer). I don't think I've ever ridden more than 20 miles at that pace. Maybe the cold rain motivated me to work harder to stay warm, but while lots of people were bemoaning the weather at the SAG stops, I really didn't mind the rain.

 

[An old Guy]

Attitude is important. Glad you enjoyed the ride.

 

[64Paramount]

Way to go, Jason. Good job! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/icon14.gif

 

[davereo]

Well done. Good for you.

 

[alienator]

Typically when you do something for the first time, you owe the group a beer. I'll take a Stella, thanks.

 

[davereo]

Great idea. I'll take any beer that comes in a pry open bottle. No twist caps or cans please./img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

 

[jpr95]

Ride on over, there's beer in the fridge. Right now, I only have Sam Adams Summer Ale, but soon hope to put a double tap in the fridge to hold corny kegs of homebrew, though I may occasionally have one filled at the local brewery whose taproom I have been known to frequent. It would be about $60/5 gallons, which is a good deal for their beer.

Davereo, that's typically my initial screening for quality beer as well.

 

[jpr95]

I need to clarify a bit. I didn't mind RIDING in the rain, but now that I've been home for a few days and cleaned up the bike...yuk. We got about 2" of rain at the campsite that night after the ride, so that helped clean the bike up cosmetically, but I ended up having to take apart the bottom bracket to clean and re-grease it (had a slight grinding noise the last 10 miles--drove me bonkers), plus I had to take off the rear tire and tube to drain the RIM out the valve stem hole. I probably still need to take the cassette off to clean and grease it as well. Nobody has shown up for any beer yet.

 

[alienator]

Originally Posted by jpr95 .

I need to clarify a bit. I didn't mind RIDING in the rain, but now that I've been home for a few days and cleaned up the bike...yuk. We got about 2" of rain at the campsite that night after the ride, so that helped clean the bike up cosmetically, but I ended up having to take apart the bottom bracket to clean and re-grease it (had a slight grinding noise the last 10 miles--drove me bonkers), plus I had to take off the rear tire and tube to drain the RIM out the valve stem hole. I probably still need to take the cassette off to clean and grease it as well.

Nobody has shown up for any beer yet.

Please ship me mine COD.

Out here, in Tucson, riding in the rain is a holiday, and the holidays are short and intense. The monsoons are very good at quickly washing a bit or a lot of grease out of places where grease should be. Still, it's a hoot riding in the rain. Even more, uhm, hooter, is descending mountains in monsoon rains while lightning strikes all over the mountain, and the echoing blasts chase you down the mountain.

Definitely clean your cassette. The road grit that the gets deposited from road spray is great at wearing chains and cogs.

 

[jpr95]

Definitely clean your cassette.  The road grit that the gets deposited from road spray is great at wearing chains and cogs.   
 

I've already cleaned the outside--I just decided I am going to take it off the wheel to clean the inside, too. I don't know how you guys can ride in those hot, dry climates out west. Dry weather (hot or cold) really screws with my sinuses. I'd need to strap a 5-gallon drink cooler onto my back to ride in hot and dry I think. Not that hot and humid is much more fun--I went out this summer at about 4:15PM once on a day that was 95ºF and very humid (dew point over 70ºF), and that was downright miserable. What didn't help was that I had been stuck in a cool, damp new-construction building all spring until mid-July, so I hadn't really spent much time outside in the heat and wasn't at all used to it.

 

[Froze]

Yes indeed, congrats on your first 100. Don't worry so much about how long it took you, it was your first time so 7 hours is a decent time with decent 15mph average, your not racing so don't get worked up about the average speed, be more excited you did the 100 miles. The more you do these 100 mile rides your average speed will slowly increase naturally, but you and I live in Indiana and bad weather is a coming so doing 100 miles on a indoor trainer is something I personally have and will never do! Thus by the time spring comes around I will have to again work up to doing a 100 mile rides then watch the average time decrease to do them, then winter comes back and the whole process starts over. I have an indoor trainer but it's very boring to ride indoors, so I usually start the indoor season riding about 2 hours on it 4 times a week, then as the winter progresses and it's time to go outside for the first spring ride I have slowly tapered down to 20 minutes 2 times a week on the trainer! I hate indoor riding.

 

[jpr95]

I know what you mean about the indoor trainers. I have the Cyclops Wind, and even when I'm watching TV, I get bored out of my skull, so I don't end up doing much in the winter. My longest session on the trainer was 45 minutes, though when I started training 20 months ago to be able to get back on a bike, I would do up to 75 minutes on an exercise bike. I just mentioned my average speed mainly because it surprised me--I didn't expect to be able to maintain that for 105 miles considering the amount I've been able to ride lately (not much--only 50 miles in the week prior to the century, and probably only one or two other rides in the month prior).

 

[alienator]

Originally Posted by jpr95 .

Quote: Originally Posted by alienator .

Definitely clean your cassette. The road grit that the gets deposited from road spray is great at wearing chains and cogs.

I've already cleaned the outside--I just decided I am going to take it off the wheel to clean the inside, too.

I don't know how you guys can ride in those hot, dry climates out west. Dry weather (hot or cold) really screws with my sinuses. I'd need to strap a 5-gallon drink cooler onto my back to ride in hot and dry I think. Not that hot and humid is much more fun--I went out this summer at about 4:15PM once on a day that was 95ºF and very humid (dew point over 70ºF), and that was downright miserable. What didn't help was that I had been stuck in a cool, damp new-construction building all spring until mid-July, so I hadn't really spent much time outside in the heat and wasn't at all used to it.

You adapt. Most of the year, when the humidity's very low, it's easy to dehydrate (if you aren't persistent about drinking regularly) since sweat doesn't drip off you. It just evaporates. During the monsoon, the sweat is very noticeable and doesn't evaporate nearly as well, but with that also comes increased temps. When the temperature is 140° on the road and there's no wind, it feels oh-so special. Some ride with Camelbaks and the like. My neck can't tolerate that, so when it's hot I'll carry lots of water (3 24oz bottles) and plan on stopping to refill as necessary. I split the bottle so that I've got some with just electrolytes (like Nuun tabs) and some with energy drink.

I don't how many suffer from sinus issues, but the number of folks out here with allergies is seemingly large. When I lived in the midwest, I took allergy meds from May to July. Out here I take them year round.

It's not all suffering though. Seeing the lack of clothing that a lot of girls wear at the University is stimulating, even though it causes its own special sort of suffering.

 

[alienator]

Originally Posted by jpr95 .

I know what you mean about the indoor trainers. I have the Cyclops Wind, and even when I'm watching TV, I get bored out of my skull, so I don't end up doing much in the winter. My longest session on the trainer was 45 minutes, though when I started training 20 months ago to be able to get back on a bike, I would do up to 75 minutes on an exercise bike. I just mentioned my average speed mainly because it surprised me--I didn't expect to be able to maintain that for 105 miles considering the amount I've been able to ride lately (not much--only 50 miles in the week prior to the century, and probably only one or two other rides in the month prior).

Trainers were invented by demon spawn, and using the damn things is a bleak living hell. I much prefer riding in winter to the soul sucking, mind killing experience of riding a trainer.

 

[jpr95]

Hey, alienator, tell us how you really feel about trainers. We'll see what happens when the temps really drop around here. I may try for some cold-weather rides, but the biggest problem is lack of daylight. I'm not going to ride in the dark, and in general in the winter I leave for work at daybreak and get home around dusk. In the 95ºF and humid weather, I burned through two 22 oz. bottles in 70 minutes no problem. Normally I drink about half that. I have thought about looking into ways to mount more bottles on the titanium steed.

 

[swampy1970]

Trainers really are devices that are borne of the imagination of sick, twisted and thoroughly evil men...

... but they're a fantastic place to do very specific work. Spending several hours on one isn't on my 'to do' list though. Around two hours at the most inc warm up and cool down.

Boredom on trainers - it's simple to solve. Cut down the length of time to something more manageable - like an hour to start with. Chop that into intervals that allow you to ride really fecking hard. When you're riding hard there's no need to meaningless fluff like music or tv. I discovered that when riding at or very close to my threshold that listening to music made it harder to keep the effort constant without having to reference the power meter more often...

The other big thing is having a goal. If you have a specific goal and a plan that's reasonably laid out and realistic, then that in itself provides a lot of motivation to do the required work.

Jpr, congrats on the century. When the days of long nights arrives, train indoors during the week targeting shorter sessions for more power and use the weekend to ride outdoors for longer 2 to 4 hours rides.

 

[Froze]

Originally Posted by jpr95 .

Hey, alienator, tell us how you really feel about trainers. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif
We'll see what happens when the temps really drop around here. I may try for some cold-weather rides, but the biggest problem is lack of daylight. I'm not going to ride in the dark, and in general in the winter I leave for work at daybreak and get home around dusk.
In the 95ºF and humid weather, I burned through two 22 oz. bottles in 70 minutes no problem. Normally I drink about half that. I have thought about looking into ways to mount more bottles on the titanium steed.

I use to live in the Mojave desert areas of California so I been where your at! Actually I think I burned through 2 24 oz bottles in 90 minutes, so about the same as you. I carried 3 bottles though on most rides but about once a month I would do over 100 miles and then I would carry the 3 24oz bots plus a 70oz Camelbak and still had to refill everything at the half way mark. I was riding in heat like that plus climbing mountains, and that would suck the water right out me.

I bought a cheap Bell water bottle bracket that came with a cage from Walmart that was actually rated the 2nd best behind the Minoura's that people who toured a lot recommended. And the darn thing was cheap, and I still use it today after 10 years. Walmart was still selling the Bell as of 6 or 7 months ago when I happen to see one. The Bell is strong enough to hold my 24oz Polar bottles so it's not a flimsy piece of junk. You can mount it on the top tube. Or if you don't like that kind of mounting you can get a Minoura that will allow you to mount on handlebars or rear seat. TwoFish also makes a way to mount bottle cages to either bars or rear seat.