Three weeks before the Oceanside
70.3 I broke my foot. Six weeks later
the doctor cleared me for activities, but I had to ease into running.
Okay, but I was cleared to bike, so resume I did!
That takes us to the San Diego Century. 105 miles and 6100 feet of climbing, so says
the event information page.
My friend, Sugarmagnolia, was doing it. It was her first century. Her previous longest bike ride? 80 miles three weeks ago as part of her
preparation.
When I met her, she biked only because she wanted to do
triathlons, and biking was part of it.
She hated hills like nobody ever hated hills before. I suggested repeats once. I can’t print the response I got, but the PG
version is why would anyone do that?
But I think the bike has grown on her. Not unlike running has grown on me. So, she signed up for the century. And as it worked out, I agreed to ride with
her and encourage her along the route for the day.
At the start I also met her friends D&G. It was their first century too.
The early morning was promising with cool temperatures, and
cloud cover. Even a hint of fog as we
rolled out of Encinitas and into the rolling hills toward inland Carlsbad , Vista, San Marcos ,
and Escondido . I was happy to see the mile 18 aid
station. I guess I pre-hydrated
properly! Sugar was doing great, and in
good spirits. You can see her ride
report here.
< Churning up Paseo Delicious near El Montvideo>
Cruising along we flew down Del Dios Highway and hit the mile 30 aid
station. Topped off the bottles. We were still under overcast skies and
delightful temperatures. The bikes were
mechanically sound, and we all felt good, as we exited the aid station and
headed up the “Three Witches” I took
Sugar on this climb as part of a route about a year and a half ago. We stopped at every one of the mini-peaks and
she yelled at me. How much has she
improved? We hit Camino Del Sur, and she
is laughing at the once vaunted and scary witches. The witch is dead, long live the witch.
Camino Del Sur meanders into Camino Del Norte and its
endless rollers. Up, down, up,
down. So nice of the route to soften up
the legs before the climb up Scripps
Poway Parkway (SPP) .
Cruising down Pomerado we hit the mile 43 aid station. This would be Sugar’s favorite of the day as
her family met her there. After that, it
was up SPP. Fine time for the skies to
clear, the sun to come out in full force, so bright you had to squint with sun
glasses. Fine time for the temperature
to go up 20 degrees. Yes, fine indeed,
as we began the ~2 mile ascent. Sweat
dripping off me and pelting the top tube of my blue Roubaix as if a rain shower had
begun. Carnage all over the hill as I
lost count of the number of people walking up.
It was well over a dozen. I
looked over my shoulder and could see the once flatlander, chugging up the hill
with a determined look. She reached the
summit not long after I did, with just one question. Why did it have to get so BLEEPING hot? I had no answer, but Hwy 67 beckoned our
attention, so off to Ramona we go.
67 is mostly uphill to Mt Woodson. Sugar, are we at the top yet? Me, no.
Sugar, why not? How much
longer? How soon to the lunch stop? Me- about 9 miles. Sugar: BLEEP!
Sugar: Will they have soda. A
soda sounds good. Me: I don’t remember,
but a lot of rides do at the lunch stop.
Finally Mt.
Woodson
We get to the aid station at mile 63. Mediocre (at best) sandwiches. No soda. (BLEEP) and….they were out of sports
drink. That is inexcusable! The poor
volunteers looked dumbfounded as to why they were not supplied with enough
sports drink. How does an event in its
EIGHTH YEAR not have the planning to have enough sports drink at its furthest
point from the start, and the point where virtually all the 105 mile riders
would need and want refills? I wonder if
these people ever participated in an event?
How does that happen? Oh, and by
the way, since we are paying to ride, break down and get bottled water. San
Diego tap water tastes like crap. In
short, a big thank you to the volunteers, they were great. And a grade of D to the ride organizers for
under-supplied, poor aid stations.
Out of the aid station I told Sugar I knew there was a little
grocery store on 67 about 5-6 miles away, so we stopped there, got some proper
food, sports drink, and a soda. Ahhhh.
Fueled up for the climb out of the Ramona valley. Then the fun descent down 67. Just before SPP I had a first for me. While in my seven plus years as a cyclist I
have had the occasional driver yell at me, I never had one yell F**K YOU out of
a truck window, going the opposite way on a highway. Stay classy lady.
Down SPP: WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. 9% grade downhill!! (I did control the downhill speed, my max was
just 42 MPH)
We hit the mile 83 stop, picked Sugar’s friend D back up (my friend too, now) and
the three of us headed for the finish.
Of course, five miles later I had the obligatory puncture. I told them to go, I would catch up, but they
didn’t leave until I was putting the wheel back on. They took a breather! There were some struggles, especially on the
uphills, but as the finish got closer and closer spirits were picking up. Soon enough I pointed to the college and the
Finish banner. Hugs and tears, and
celebration. My friend is now a century
rider. Through the good, bad, and ugly
of the day, props to her for adhering to rule #5 when needed. And kudos, not finding a flat boring course,
but tackling the purple monster and well over 6,100 feet of gain. My Garmin showed 6,188. Hers showed over 8,000! Either way, it is a hilly and challenging route.
Bike:
Specialized Roubaix
Expert
50/34 crankset
11-28 cassette
Continental 4000S tires
Williams SX30 wheels
Nutrition:
Sun Rype fruit bars
PB&Js
Water
Sports drink
Coke Zero
Peanut M&Ms
