Solvang Century & Half Century - CycleCentury

Headwind, tailwind, cross-winds! Started out in the fog, but it was lifting around the time we started (8:20 am). We all got to ride together (2 of us were riding the 50, 2 the century) to the first SAG stop at about 23-24 miles. It was rolling hills, 100-200 feet up and down, up and down. Much harder start than I anticipated, but we made it a felt pretty good. We had some snacks, filled our water bottles, took our natural breaks and set out again. The 2 riding the 50 split off pretty soon after leaving the SAG stop and Mimi and I rode on our way. Somehow, we missed a turn and ended up on a 800-900 foot climb up Harris Grade Road! It cut about 6-7 miles off the ride, but it was definitely not worth it! Our legs were toast and we missed the second SAG stop since we re-joined the ride after that point. We rode on to the 3rd SAG stop, but I was pretty much done at this point and ready to quit. The 3rd stop was at about 50 miles or so and we were riding against the wind at that point. It was brutal. We decided to ride to the next stop at 63 miles since that would put us over our previous max distance (we had already far exceeded our max difficulty!). About 5 miles into the next leg, I realized I had a flat (front) so we stopped and changed it. I almost forgot to check for burrs in my tire, but found a little piece of glass at the last minute. It felt like I'd removed it, but subsequent events proved otherwise. We rode on to the next stop at a little farm in the middle of nowhere. We'd already called our friends to meet us on the route, so we rode on. Unfortunately, as we rode out, I found I'd flatted again. I went back to the SAG stop and found that I hadn't closed my presta valve, so I thought that's what had made the tire flat. I re-inflated it, closed the valve and set out. About 3 miles later, I started to flat again! Unfortunately, I didn't have much CO2 left, so I re-inflated and kept riding until I couldn't steer any more, then hopped off and started walking. Some guys rode by me and gave me another CO2 cartridge, so I started to patch my tire, but got picked up before I'd even got the tire off! So, my century was only about 72 miles, sadly.

Well, I would have patched my first tube, I think, and checked my tire a little more thoroughly.

Walked, stretched, drove home.


I wasn't really very prepared for this ride - it was overreaching for sure. I think I should work up to another one, maybe this one next year by doing some long rides. This one may be too early in the season, though.


A little disappointing in the support. Our only other long ride was the Riverbank Cheese & Wine Festival 100 km, which is really nice, so maybe we should stick to that one. I don't know, but I'm real tired!