Sea Gull Century : Official Thread

We haven't signed up yet, but B and I are planning on doing it.

We are now!!

I am in.  My first century also.  Like you, my longest ride to date was also 75 miles but I felt like hell afterward. I'm comforting myself that ride was very hilly terrain, while I'm told Seagull is pancake-flat.

My hotel called me this week to tell me they had a "computer glitch" and had to cancel my reservation.  Now all hotels in area are booked.  Not excited about waking up at 4am to drive out there before the ride.

We booked in the Days Inn in Cambridge today, and they seemed to have a few openings.  It should only be ~30min away.  Food for thought.

I'm in.  Did it last year.  Tons of fun.  Especially the stop with the Apple Pie.  Be prepared to say "on your left" a thousand times.  Try to arrive earlier than you think, the main parking garage is a nightmare, so plan accordingly.  People tried to park at places such as grocery stores, etc, they were being pretty strict about prohibiting it.

Pick your lines, some of the roads have those rumble strips on the sides, occasionally to get trapped behind slower riders ( i was not comfortable with jumping those last year).  Hopefully the weather holds (last year rained for first hour, scary wet roads with that many riders).   I remember only one dangerous intersection making a left hand turn on the way back from Asseteague, otherwise good roads.   Gotta love the eastern shore head winds as well.  At times, I was wishing for the rolling hills of Columbia.

I'm doing the metric ride (I think it's new this year) because my buddy that's riding with me hasn't trained nearly enough to ride the 100 and I don't feel like having to carry him back.  I'm a proud Salisbury alum (class of 2k6) so I figured this would be a nice way to close out my first year as a triathlete.

Is this ride tri-bike safe?

Yes and No-there are 2 centurys this year. The traditional one from SSU and a second from Snowhill. Snowhill is new.

I say No ( to safe TT) because there are a lot of tour types who ride 2,3 and 4 (yes 4) abreast. I rode last year and was calling on your left many times per mile through the first 65 miles. Countless times over the double yellow's to pass clustered slow moving cyclists.

I say yes (if) the second century draws enough off the SSU century to bring the # down.
I think the second century is geared more toward the faster rider. I believe its course shuts down sooner...

Not to be a total downer the Seagull Century is a super fun ride. I'm undecided at the moment.

I was wondering the same thing myself.  The only concern I have is that it draws many new riders, who can be unpredictable at times (especially with rider safety/etiquette) .  I will probably ride my roadie, even though 95% of miles this year have been on tri-bike, mainly for the fear of the unknown, and the sheer volume of riders.  I am very confident that I can be safe, but I cannot speak for the small percentage who might pose a safety threat for riding wrecklessly.  If there is any rain, then I will definitely be on the roadie.  I am riding with 5 others, so if I take my tri bike, I will try to ride in the middle (but off wheel if in aeros) to shelter myself from others.  

Hope that helps.  (I want tri, but gut says roadie)

What are your thoughts? 

I'll be using my tri bike


Josh - Do you have an off season at all?

Yes, plenty of newbie's that aren't "aware". Couple of ambulances in action last year...saw a giant puddle of blood....then again I saw a bib with the # 7,000....so guessing 6998 didn't SAG in the ambo....

I am bummed that I am missing this ride this year  ... it is a great ride for a good cause. I rode my roadie in 2009 but was planning on riding my tri-bike this year ... to avoid the temptation to jam (Last year we were in a seventy-person 26MPH freight train paceline for twenty miles .... but in retrospect that was not such a smart move! Lots of paceline newbs in this crowd so be sure you know who you are jamming with.)

If you can not get a room in Salisbury (UGHHHH I just cancelled my reservations at Salisbury Courtyard) I would stay at Holiday Inn at Easton and enjoy killer pasta at Scossa 

Edited by jsselle 2010-09-28 4:15 PM






Attachments
----------------
2009 Bike Crop Compress.jpg (41KB - 14 downloads)

Depends on your goal for the ride and whether you can deal with the crowds going slow. In 2007, a buddy and I did tri bikes together. You're not supposed to paceline with tri bikes due to the aerobars being a hazard in a crash, but we're used to one another and took turns pulling the other along And we made it known that we would be doing the rotation so others wouldn't be in front of us who wanted to catch our draft. Yeah, we did have to work around the congestion in spots. But, we still had a great time doing it. Think it was my fastest century to date. I've also seen tri bike folks out there alone training for an IM as there of course isn't supposed to be drafting during one of those. But, again, you'll have to deal with congestion due to the number of riders. Still, worth the terrific support, party before, party during (pie at 80 RS - yum (unless it's chilly and pouring like one year)), and definitely party afterwards. Enjoy!

Oh, BTW, can't make it this year Training for JFK 50 in late Nov. Concentrating on pure running until after then. Hope everyone enjoys! It was my first century in 2001 and I've done it 4 times. They just kept getting better! The only iffy part can be the weather. I think in 2005, the remnants of Tropical Storm Tammy just pelted us with stinging rain and high winds nearly the entire time. The only saving grace was the fact that it was a warm rain with temps in the 70s. But, it did detract from the pie and ice cream at the 80 mile RS. The folks at Salisbury do know how to party, though, and the after ride celebration when I was there in 2007 was awesome! Matter of fact, my avatar here was taken when we were enjoying the after ride party. Again, hope for good weather and an enjoyable ride!

I'll be there too, on a tri bike. It's my first century. My longest ride to date was 68 miles at the Reston metric. Much hillier course there that just about did me in.

I'm planning on a slow ride of average 14-15 mph, just to make sure I can do the distance. I'm gearing up for the B2B iron distance aquabike.

Question for past participants; is there enough to occupy adult family who may be hanging out at SU for 6+ hours?

I'm in! On a Felt Tri Bike, just like I did last year

I'd say yes. Assategaue Island is the 60 mile stop and has beaches and wild ponies...pretty cool. There's also a snack bar and a grill.
A little north of Assateague is Ocean City with a boardwalk. Recommend Thrashers fries, Dumsers Ice Cream and Fishers popcorn.....

Salisbury, MD
Saturday, 9 October
Sunny High
Low
53°F
Precip: 0%
Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the low 50s

Alright, who paid off Mother Nature and how much do you want for the fund?

Is the ride out to Assateague pretty flat?

There's a wicked 50' climb on the bridge to Assateague but other that that its pretty flat :-)

The whole course is a pancake. Well except for that one bridge.
It's the wind that'll make it interesting.
Good morning! Time to get going so I can get there.

Wow, what a great day!! Beautiful route, beautiful weather, great course support, excellent rest stops (though crowded at times), even private rest stops with brownies. Overall a fantastic experience. RR still to come.

PS - Who had the pie and ice cream? I went with cherry Some guy was ranting about how pie and ice cream is the worst thing you could eat at that point. I laughed at him and told him it was the best!

Apple for me!  It tasted soooo good.  :-)  It was a nice ride and beautiful day.  Just a few too many people for my taste.  I used to being a bit of a loner.