Solvang Century - Cycle

This was my first century ride and the first time I've ridden 100 miles. My previous longest ride was 67 miles. I know, underprepared again. But I made it through. I had a hard time between miles 60 and 80, but after the 80-mile rest stop, I got my mojo back and was able to do well to the finish.

One of the things that threw me off at mile 60 was that my bike computer seemed to stop working correctly. It's a wireless unit and I must have been to close to another bike or something because the computer seemed to think I was using a second bike and it started the time and mileage over again. I was so frustrated because it really threw my game off. At mile 80, the same thing must have happened again (maybe these units are very popular -- I did see a number of them) because magically, my computer came back. That also helped me feel better from that point on. Funny how something like that can really throw off your game mentally.

This was apparently one of the coldest years of the ride. Last year it was 70F and sunny. This year, we were lucky if it got into the lower 50's and at one point there was some pretty serious rain and hail. You know, hail hitting you in the face while going down a hill at 25 mph is kinda painful. Thanks to my balaclava, tights, and gloves, I was able to cover just about every square inch of my body. That helped to get me through that.

I rode hard. It wasn't a leisurely pace for me. My actual time on course was more like 7:45 counting all the rest stops, but the time above is the time that was on my bike computer that I spent riding. I'm hoping to do an Ironman late this year or early the next, so this is part of my training for that. I think I did pretty well relative to my goal (6hrs) given the conditions.

Max speed: 41.6. All that climbing rewarded us with some fun downhills. There was one section right near the end that was on these backroads winding down a hill. It reminded me of TdF kinda rides. I don't know how the tandems got down it, but they did OK.

Looking at the elevation map on the website, the final couple of hills look deceptively small, but at that point in the race, they're pretty tough. I had to walk up one hill prior to the 80-mile rest stop, but I wasn't alone. I was amazed by the people going up those hills on doubles (two chain rings in the front). I had a hard enough time going up on my triple with the easier gears. That turned out to be the only hill I had to walk up though. I think my hill training served me well.

My butt was kind of sore, but what hurts the most for me is my neck and my lower back. I really need to get my bike professionally fitted or at least do some more analysis of my position myself. It's pretty much still just set up the way I they adjusted it at the LBS (a very rudimentary setup).

The scenery was really beautiful. That area is gorgeous anyway and rivals many of the pictures I've seen of Europe. Everything is so green this time of year, and the intermittent clouds added to the dramatic scenery. No wonder Team Discover Channel comes here to train.

As usual, I probably didn't eat or drink enough. I think that was my problem for miles 60-80. I was on the edge of nausea for a while and didn't feel like eating or drinking anything. I was pushing myself pretty hard and I remember telling myself to back off so I could drink. I did some, but it's hard for me to do that. I think at the 80-mile rest stop, I finally was able to get ahead of the game nutritionally.

More riding would have helped, of course. More experience with longer rides. I'm still learning my nutritional needs and what works for me but it would have helped if I had had that ironed out. I probably spent a little more time than I needed to at a couple of the rest stops, so I could have saved a few minutes there. I should work on my bike fit (or have it professionally done) so it is more comfortable on longer rides.

Got a 15-minute massage, walked around the mini-expo they had, then went over and bought a meal (that included a half of a BBQ'd chicken. Yum!). My fiancee drove back down and met me there shortly after I finished.


Probably my nutrition was the biggest thing that, if improved, would help my performance. That and my weight. 30 less pounds to pull up those hills would have been nice.


This ride was well run by local cyclists. I thought they could have had more rest stops (every 20 miles doesn't seem like enough, but then again there would have been even more down time if there were more stops). I also think they should take some coaching from the ultramarathon folks about what food to have. Mostly it was OK, but I witnessed one rider asking for salt, and the volunteer didn't get it. It would have been great to have the boiled potatoes with salt like we had at my ultramarathon. Maybe I'll bring them myself next time.

Anyway, the course was very nice, I saw support wagons all day, there were a lot of volunteers at the stops, and everything seemed to run smoothly. I'd recommend this ride to others with the caveat that they better do some hill training beforehand because the hills are not easy.