Sea Gull Century - CycleCentury

Set off at a deliberately low effort, given how far there was to go. I was curious to see if I could make a 20mph average for the whole ride, but knew that might be hard given my limited of preparation and the winds that inevitably attack the riders in the later part of this ride. My personal rules for this: no drafting, no TT bike, and no aero gear allowed. That's how I rode it when it was one of my first events, so I like to do it the same way each year, as a bit of an anniversary.

Felt comfortable through the first 50 miles, which went by fairly quickly. I was a few minutes ahead of the 20mph schedule, but I knew that was unlikely to be enough, as the last third is always slower. Passed hundreds of riders, on all manner of different bikes. Passed by a handful of triathletes riding solo on their TT bikes. That looked like fun, except for navigating the traffic. Passed by a few triathletes in their TT gear and aero helmets who had joined the packs that zoom along the course -- I felt tempted to call them out for going over to the other side, but resisted the urge. In a couple of places I found that I had sprouted a peloton of my own, with a train dragging along behind me. Then somebody from the peloton would offer to come up and give me a break for a while, and it was hard to explain that I wasn't interested in a break.

No ponies at Assateague Island (mile 63) this year. Big disappointment. But the cake at the rest stop was as delicious as ever. One foot was starting to go numb, which hasn't happened in a while. I managed to hold the 20mph average through ~75 miles, but the wind was getting worse. It was less brutal than the normal westerly wind in that area, but this year it was more evil, as it changed direction through the morning, so that we had a cross wind or a head wind for what seemed like most of the ride. I hit my low point at around 80 miles; legs were drained, and I was going slower. The apple pie and ice cream at the 85 mile stop helped a lot, and I was able to ride more strongly for the last section, avoiding the big packs, and picking off riders one by one into the wind. I always enjoy the end of the ride: the route dips through an underpass and then emerges into the main quad of Salisbury University.

Not disappointed with my ride time. About 15 mins slower than I've done in the past, but also faster than other years. Main thing, it was a fun long workout. The drive back to DC was a lot more crowded, but I still enjoyed seeing so many cars with bikes.


Bike training. Or rather, lack of it.


A fun event with a massive turn-out. This was my 4th Seagull, and I plan to come back every year.