First Century

I completed my first century this weekend. It was ‘The Flattest Century of the East’ starting at UMASS in Dartmount, MA. I think Doug was also going to be there but I couldn’t find him in the mass of 1900 riders.
The day started with soaked roads from heavy rain overnight. Luckily the rain stopped before the start and we eventually saw the sun later in the ride. It was a perfect day for a long ride, not too cold, hot, or wet.
It was a rough start for some, I passed 12 punctures before we hit the first rest stop at 30 miles. Somewhere near mile 65 I stopped to help a guy that looked a little confused. I asked if he needed help and he said he never changed the back tire before. By the time I swung around he said ‘well actually I’ve never changed either of them before’. I think it was his niece who was a pro rider and gave him a top of the line Giant frame that he had built up and just recently started riding. With so many riders it was great to do some people and bike watching. It was quite a mix of bike manufactures and types. Everything from high-end TT bikes to suspension mountain bikes.
The route was beautiful and included some great shoreline views. The roads consisted of mostly good pavement and very little traffic. The route had full police support to help us whip though all the intersections.
I did see someone in a Nerac kit, didn’t get a name but he said he worked at Nerac a few years ago. Also ran into the LG rep that we get our Nerac Earth kit though. He was riding with about a dozen TCC jerseys. I rode with them for a while and make sure they knew about the Ashford ride. TCC has an event to Cooperstown for that weekend. But it seems like those who decide to skip the trip will join us, pending a weather check.
So you’re asking how flat is the flattest century of the east? Depending on the software used GPS reports total climbing of 3100-3700 feet consisting of a lot of small rollers. Highest single climb was only 200 feet and that was spread over 3 miles. Highest elevation was 250 feet. I would consider that pretty flat for New England.
My objectives were to complete my first 100 mile ride and to average 18 mph. I pushed pretty hard for a while, mostly riding solo. I joined 3 other guys at the start but our abilities varied too much to keep an efficient pace line going. At mile 85, which was 15 miles beyond my longest previous ride, I was averaging 19 mph, could I keep it up? I quickly realized that even these minor climbs where feeling bigger and bigger and the legs started getting heavy. I ended with a respectable 18.6 mph average for a total ride time of 05:23. I was very happy with that. I’ll definitely do this event again.
Now to decide if I want to take on the Ashford century or stick with the metric. See how the recovery and my travel schedule goes.
Here’s the details of the ride.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/13243613
John Roberts