On Saturday I did my first century! The ride was from Virginia's modern capitol, Richmond, t0 Virginia's first capitol, Jamestown and back. Riding 100 miles is amazing to me in a couple of ways. First, back in the mid- 80's to mid- 90's I was a cycling fanatic. I trained constantly and raced cat 4's off and on. However, I can't remember ever doing a 100 mile ride. It's possible, as I didn't have a computer at times, but I'm fairly certain I didn't. Second, I've been recovering from a bad lower back injury that occurred in February so my mileage hasn't been what I'd like.
During the week I did rides of 30 (Sunday), 40 (Tuesday), and 42 (Thursday) and planned to do the half- century Saturday. After Thursdays ride my legs felt great so I decided to try the century Saturday morning as I registered. The routes I ride around Chesterfield County are somewhat hilly, and when I saw that the century course was pretty flat I knew I could do it. The only thing that concerned me was my back.
The weather was great! Mostly cloudy, starting in the low 60's and warming to the low 70's. The route was mostly down beautiful picturesque back country roads! Passing farmland, historical plantations, and Civil War battlefields.
Hundreds and hundreds of cyclists turned out riding everything from department store clunkers to top of the line professional road bikes on routes of 25, 50 & 100 miles. There were even a couple of recumbant's (ugh!), but to each their own. I love my fellow cyclists. I really do. There are very few that I've found intolerable. You can't hang with a nicer bunch of people. Old and young. Rail skinny and fat. Male and female. Vet and newbie. I respect them all. Why? Because they're trying something I love dearly. Riding a bicycle. I don't care what the distance or reason is, it's the act of riding itself that I respect.
I mostly ride solo, so I knew virtually nobody there. I hoped to jump into a pace line of some sort and work with others. I had a plan in my mind as to how I would pace myself so as to finish in half way decent condition. I broke it down into 25 mile increments, stocked my pockets with Fig Newtons, a few Power Bars and Power Bar gel packs, and started off on my own. There were several well stocked stops along the way. These were manned by volunteers from RABA, the Richmond Area Bicycle Association, and they did a wonderful job!
The first 25, absolutely no problem. I stayed in the small chainring for about 10 miles and warmed up, then jumped into the big ring and just cruised along. Mostly flat, with some very small climbs and descents. I made a note of those. I knew that they'd feel a little different on the way back with 75 miles in my legs! I rolled into the first rest stop (which would also be the last rest stop) and refilled my water bottles. I could've jumped into a pace line of about 20 people, but I noticed 3 or 4 were using their "Tri- bars" in the pace line. Stupid and dangerous unless you've got some serious experience. They didn't look experienced. I'll pass.
The second 25 was great! I worked with 3 or 4 other riders for awhile, then tried to bridge up to a pace line of about 20 riders. I chased for about 7 or 8 miles, but there were a number of cars that were in between me and the tail end of the pace line. The traffic made it impossible to safely bridge so I had to stop chasing, plus I didn't want to over exert myself knowing I still had quite aways to go! At the 50 mile mark, I rolled into the parking lot of the Jamestown high school rest stop feeling very good.
By the end of the third 25 I started feeling it a little bit. I got into a pace line of 9 or 10 riders and we were flying! Much of this part of the route back was entirely different from the route in. There were some small hills that I wouldn't have noticed at 25 miles that hurt at 70 miles and on one of the hills, I dropped off the back of the pace line along with a couple of others guys. I worked with them for a bit, they faded and I found myself alone, except for the occassional rider I would pick up every now and then.
At 75 miles I rolled into the last (first) rest stop, refilled my bottles, ate a little, grabbed a free Red Bull for my post ride celebratory drink, and headed out. The last thing you want to do at this point is stand around and let your muscles get stiff. You need to keep the legs moving!
The last 25 were exactly what I was expecting. Pretty painful! Especially the last 10. Those very small descents within the first 25 I mentioned now felt like HUGE climbs. My legs were in fuego! My neck and shoulders ached! However, I had absolutely no problems with my lower back! I took turns working with this guy on a sweet Cannondale (he did most of the work to be honest). He was quite impressive. He looked to be about 6'4 or 6'5 and had calves Thor would envy! I lost his wheel with a couple of miles to go and rolled in like I rolled out. Solo.
When all was said and done I did my first century in 5 and 1/2 hours, for an average speed of just over 18 mph. I was thrilled! I sat on a park bench for awhile and watched as dozens of my fellow cyclists rolled in. Old and young. Rail skinny and fat. Male and female. Vet and newbie. It made me smile to see them smiling. I really feel a sense of accomplishment, and look forward to doing another century soon.
Mrs. Roadie insisted. It'll be 10 times worse by the end of summer! 
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