While I have come to be a cycling enthusiast later in life, I did enjoy cycling in my youth for the freedom it gave. That is, until I hit driving age and other interests took precedence. Fast forward a few decades, add a few military-related injuries, and cycling has become a good option to get some non-impact exercise. So, one day on a whim, I stopped into the local bike shop to look around. I had no intention of buying anything. I was merely gathering information on cycling, see if it might be of interest to me, and get some information to possibly purchase a bike in the future. However, on this day I ended up purchasing a very good used bike. I say all this to emphasize the point that I was not on a mission to get into cycling at this point. Nevertheless, my journey into cycling had begun, albeit slowly.
My purchase took place in the fall so there was limited time to get many rides in before the weather made it difficult to ride, especially without the right gear. I had also bought an indoor trainer to use with my bike so I was able to get a few rides in over the winter. I say “a few” because my passion for cycling was in its infancy; and, the “bug” had not bit yet. In the spring I bought a bike for my son and one for my wife because they were insistent that they wanted in on the fun. Occasionally we would ride together, but this situation proved challenging on many levels. I was probably in better shape to begin with; and, in addition, I had a few months of riding under my belt at this point. Then you add in a very Type A, competitive personality and you can imagine how this might be challenging. On top of all that it was about this time that the cycling bug began to bite me. I was often torn between wanting to enjoy riding with the family at their pace and wanting to push myself farther and faster.
Another thing I found challenging was my struggle with my comfort on the bike. I had quickly got to the point where I was doing 20 mile rides that would take me a little over an hour. It was at these distances and timeframes that I experienced numbness in my hands, sometimes numbness in one or both shoulders, numbness in one or both feet, and numbness in my groin. This was not an enjoyable situation. This began a journey to find a solution and resulted in the cycling bug biting me even more. Remember, I’m a Type A, competitive person and this was a challenge to overcome. The solutions to my challenges will be detailed in future articles, but suffice it to say that the numbness issues were eventually resolved for the most part.
As you can see, the journey to completing my first century was neither quick nor without some struggles. In addition, completing a century was not my original goal; however, once the cycling bug bit me it did eventually become one of many in a growing list of goals. The point here is that nine months prior to this point in time I had not even thought of getting into cycling. Are there any lessons to be learned here? Some of the main things I have taken from the journey so far is that cycling is addictive and expensive, but oh so rewarding. It has not only helped me get back into shape post-injury but it has helped with some other military related injuries such as PTSD. For me it has become almost like a meditation; but, there was more to learn so let’s continue the journey.
Now that accomplishing a century had become one of my goals I began looking for century rides. I also continued my research on cycling to include nutrition. Several weeks before my first century I did a 62.5 mile ride. Ironically, it was not a planned ride of that distance. I started out at 2pm with a temperature in the low 90’s as I recall. Originally, I had only planned on doing an hour ride due to the late start and the temperature; however, on the way to my original turn-around point I decided that I would go farther. Nearing the end of what would become the first leg of this extended ride I felt really good so I decided to keep going. I should also note that I had brought extra bottles of water when I started since it was so hot and this contributed to my decision to keep going. I stopped along the way of what would become the second leg of my extended ride to fill up my water bottles. I was still feeling really good at this point; and, rather than turn around, I decided to keep going further. Once I hit the 40 mile mark I decided I had gone far enough. I turned around and began what would be the final leg of this extended ride. This meant that I had about 20 miles to get back to my start point.
In case you haven’t seen the pattern yet, it is one of very little planning. This will become a key point a little later in this journey to completing my first century. Now with a 62 mile ride successfully under my belt, especially since I completed it during the hottest part of the day, I felt confident that I could achieve a century. I mean, a century would only be 40 miles more and with all things considered it shouldn’t be a problem, right?
As my first century ride drew closer I ordered a new cycling computer to use on the ride. One of the reasons I chose the particular computer that I did is because it had turn by turn navigation; and, I did not want to be worrying about the route while I was trying to focus on the ride. Basically, I wanted to focus on finishing and not on directions. I also stocked up on food and repair supplies such as tubes and CO2 cartridges. On the night before the ride I felt well prepared.
On the day of the ride I arrived a little early and got registered fairly quickly. I slowly changed into my gear, got my bike ready, and prepared to leave. This is when I realized that my computer did not have the route loaded. I thought I had downloaded it the night before but for some reason it was not there. I struggled for several minutes trying to figure out how to download the route with no success. In addition to the several minutes spent fiddling with my computer, it took longer than I had anticipated getting ready to ride. This meant that I got started later than I would have liked.
I eventually got started; and, despite having to carry the route map, I made good time. I followed small groups when I could and passed them when I felt they were going too slow for the pace I wanted to maintain. At the first rest stop, 20 miles into the ride, I discovered that I had only drunk one half of one water bottle. I quickly topped off my bottle and I was off again. The next 20 miles ticked off fairly quickly even with a slight wrong turn which added about one quarter mile to the route. This wrong turn was caused by the route description not matching the road signs and this problem might have been avoided if I had gotten my cycling computer to work. At the second rest stop I discovered I had emptied one and one-half bottles of water. I quickly filled up my bottles with water again and quickly got back on the road.
The next 20 miles went fairly well. For most of this leg I stayed with a small group; but, towards the middle of the leg I began to pull ahead of the small group. With some new found energy I lost sight of the group I had passed. I eventually came to a point where I could not reconcile the road signs with my route map. I finally stopped and pulled out my cell phone. After a few minutes I discovered that I had missed a turn a little over a mile back. I retraced my route; and, I eventually found the turn that I had missed. I got back on track and pushed my way to the next rest stop.
At the third rest stop I caught up with the group that I had previously passed. I filled up my water bottles and took a little longer rest this time. I got back on the road; but, I was by myself this time. I maintained a decent but slightly slower pace on this leg of the ride. Midway through this 20 mile leg a small group passed me and I tried to pace behind them; but, I could not maintain their pace. I eventually lost sight of them as I simply tried to maintain my own pace. Several miles later I came upon the group that had passed me earlier. It looked like they were having tire issues or possibly mechanical issues. I asked if they needed help and they waved me on indicating that they were ok. I eventually got to a point where I felt like I had gone too far. I pulled over to stop and pulled out my cell phone again. After a few minutes I figured out that I had once again missed a turn. I back tracked my route about a mile and found the turn that I had missed. Once again I discovered that the route map did not match the road signs. Now that I was back on course I eventually made it to the next rest stop for a much needed break.
I filled up my water bottles with water; and this time I added the Gatorade powder that was provided to my water. After a few minutes break I got back on the road. On this leg I maintained pace with a small group who was using a GPS. I felt this was a good idea due to my previous wrong-turn excursions. We made good time and having a group to pedal with made the ride more enjoyable. This was even more important at this point in my ride because this was the 60-80 mile leg and I had no experience beyond 62 miles. Ironically, this is also the range where some riders hit a wall and struggle. Near the end of this leg I had a small burst of energy and I pulled slightly ahead of the group that I was riding with. As I pulled into the final rest stop I could tell that I was feeling the effects of the ride and the heat. I took an extra-long break and drank two bottles of ice water. After my rest I refilled all my bottles and prepared to get on the road with the same group I had rode with on the previous leg. I chose to stay with this group for safety due to how I felt at the last rest stop. This was the last 20 miles of the ride and the achievement of my goal was getting very close. On this last leg I was a little concerned with my energy level so I decided to switch to my smaller front chain ring to make the pedaling a little easier. This combined with a slightly slower pace made the final leg a little easier.
Finally, after approximately six hours and 45 minutes, I reached the finish line. The course was mapped out at 101.3 miles; but, with all of my wrong turns I ended up doing 108.6 miles. That means I averaged about 16 miles per hour. I do not think that is too bad considering that my goal was to simply finish and this was my first century.
What have I learned by this experience? The main thing that I learned is to plan a little better. By planning a little better I could have started my ride a little earlier. This would mean that I would have spent less time pedaling during the hottest part of the day. Another thing I learned is that it is important to plan your nutrition. This includes eating and drinking at regular intervals during the ride. If this means setting an alarm as a reminder then do so. Lastly, riding in a group is not only more enjoyable and safer, but, with a good pace line, you can share the duties of breaking the wind instead of fighting the wind by yourself for the whole ride.
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