*Bay to Bay Century Ride*
6/26/2016, Sunday
1638 climbing feet and max grade was 2.7%.
107 Miles
On 53 Bleriot. Sunny. 60’s -80’s. Wore one wool t-shirt, Nike Sneakers,
wool cycling shorts, RBW Summer gloves, Helmet, cotton socks, RUSA
reflective vest. Beautiful day and clear skies. Lots of sunlight. I got a
little sun-burned. I always thought wearing seer sucker was going a little
too far with the whole Riv thing, but after this sun burning ride, I can
see the wisdom if it.
*Background:* Because it was on Maryland's eastern shore, I thought it
would be flat, but it wasn’t. It went from Betterton, MD, to Woodland
Beach, Delaware, and back to Betterton in one loop.
*Climbing:* Nothing bad and no hard efforts, but this century was like one
step up in hilliness from the totally flat Seagull or Six Pillars in
Maryland I reported on here in the past. The roads were like tilted. Long
straightaways that were tilted a little up or down or flat. Ride with GPS
said 1638 climbing feet and max grade was 2.7%. But I thought there were a
couple 4% grades. But they were all easy. I could spin along fast on all of
them except a couple. I used my big ring most of the time, but sometimes
had to get in the middle ring, especially during the last 20 miles when I
started getting tired. So it was climbing that was between Seagull/Six
Pillars and Lifeline100/Indian Head 100 Maryland Centuries.
*The Roads: *Starting out the roads were pristine new tar looking. With
some kind of shiny stuff in them. In the early morning sunlight it looked
like thousands of stars on the road. It was very pretty and made it a fun
first part of the ride. There were only two bad roads I remember. One was
lumpy and had what looked like patchwork the same color as the main tar on
the road. Gave it a moon like landscape crater look. The other was lumpy
and harder to get through. Felt bumpier and slow. Then there were the
smooth but rough surface, bleached out roads. Almost all the roads were in
good condition, and only a few times saw short busted up sections. Good
shoulders. Quiet. Not much traffic at all.
*The Ride:* Started out on those starry roads. Clear, sunny skies. Just
beautiful and perfect weather. Had a great time starting and not many
people around at all. The whole ride I rode alone with only people
occasionally passing me and me passing them at times, though that was rare.
Maybe hundreds had signed up. Looked like most were not doing the century
from the roster I saw at sign in. As I got about 10 miles into the ride, I
ran through a field of glass and got my first flat. I took off the tire and
tube, and installed the new spare tire (field repair style), since the
tread on the old one was almost all the way worn down. Last fall I noticed
the tread wore off the old tire and decided, next flat I would switch it
with this new one. That or when the casing wore through, whichever came
first. So I replaced it with the new spare tire I had been carrying with me
since last fall. Yay! No more spare to carry around! Makes more room in the
handlebar bag! 650b Loup.
I got back on and started riding, knowing the first rest stop wasn’t far
into the ride. I moved quickly through the first stop. Trying to make up
the time I spent fixing the flat. Being a slow rider, I wanted to make the
last rest stop in time before they closed. And also thought it would be fun
to catch the people who went ahead of me when I flatted. At mile 19, I
crossed the MD/Delaware line at Caldwell Corners.
On to the next stop. The last 10 miles before the stop were in farm fields,
but also wetlands of some sort that had reeds and canals through them.
During the last 8 miles, which ended at the Woodland Beach, Delaware, flies
started attacking me. I didn’t know what was going on. I thought bees were
trying to sting me. But turns out they were flies. The flew along side me
and out in front of me and I think I got bit twice in the behind and they
kept hitting me in the back, and mostly on the back of my head just under
the bottom edge of the helmet in the center. I don’t know why they liked
that spot. At the rest stop, there were hundreds swarming, but they seemed
to mostly stayed up under the gazebo ceiling and not come down to us. There
was a beautiful view of the bay. There was a nuclear reactor off in the
distance. I was told that it was the Salem reactor in Salem, New Jersey.
After a short rest, I started up again, and went back to a town called
Smyrna by backtracking on the same road as the flies again attacked along
the way. There were headwinds during most of the ride but they were minor.
Just like breezes.
My right thigh had been acting up this last week or so and I was hoping it
would be ok, so I went easy during the ride and tried not to push things so
much, being very careful to not overdo it. My leg felt fine and was doing
fine the whole ride so far. I noticed that when I was warmed up and riding
into the miles, my leg felt even better. I got confident and pushed a
little harder. It only acted up once during the whole ride, right after
starting again after the fly rest stop. Then I was fine for the rest of the
ride. I prayed a lot. I was afraid to stop for long because I wanted to
stay warm and not tighten up. Leg seemed to be happier warm. So I went
pretty quickly through the stops, though I did sit at each one for a few
minutes. I saw a couple Oxon Hill Bike club people.
There were some quaint towns on this ride, Betterton, Smyrna, Chestertown.
Beautiful farm lands of corn and wheat. The canals and waterways. I
wondered what people did for a living out here since they were so far
removed from everything. Farming, of course. Real estate? Lawyer? Work in
shops? Own shops? Seemed very peaceful and quiet everywhere. There were
some areas where there were a lot of dilapidated looking houses.
The next rest stop was at the 60 mile point, then the 72 mile point, then
83 miles was the last rest stop. I thought about skipping the 72 mile stop
and just riding straight through to the 83 mile stop, but I did stop at the
72 mile stop for a short rest. Started out again and still felt great. I
had been getting sun burned as there really was nothing but open roads with
not much shady sections at all on this ride. They had sunblock available at
the stops, but I didn’t use it. I think I remember one or two shady
stretched but they weren’t long. The rest of the ride was wide out in the
open sunlight.
I got to the 83 mile stop and rested. When I started out again I felt
tired, and my legs felt like they had lost power. Maybe I rested too long
and they thought the ride was over. I had to go slow. As I got warmed up
again, I felt better and resumed pace. But still felt weak. I dropped an
electrolyte pill into one of the water bottles. Several miles later I
started feeling almost back to normal again. So I think it helped. I prayed
a lot, too. The power lull was over. Mood elevated. Being close to the end
and feeling strong again I pushed harder, and finally made it to the last
turns and to the finish at the firehouse.
*The bikes:* I saw mostly carbon fiber type bikes, a couple hybrids, one
recumbent, a seven (Ti?), and no steel that I remember.
*The comments:* That's a classic!
We were admiring your bike.
What's with the safety vest? Are you with the
organizers?
I had a great time on this ride. It was a beautiful ride with beautiful
weather and landscape and easily done. Highly recommended if you want a
smaller crowd and quiet, contemplative riding time. It was fun and easy. It
was fun riding alone. I passed the time singing “Good, Good Father”, and
other songs in my head and sometimes humming out loud, and thinking to
myself, and thinking about the cue sheet. Also taking pics as I rode as it
was easy to do because the roads were so straight and open and long between
turns.
I thank the Lord for healing me and getting me through the ride so easily
and quickly and safely and without hurting. It was so much fun. I enjoyed
the whole ride.
If you have done the flat Maryland Seagull Century and Six Pillars, this is
a good step up if you want to try a little more elevation. Support was
great. People cheerful. A few pics here. Enjoy! :
https://www.flickr.com/gp/70237737@N00/bdJH36
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