RecumBum

Yesterday was the second annual Cider Mill Century, an event organized by the Johnson County Bicycle Club. The ride starts and ends at the famed Louisburg Cider Mill, and winds through Miami and Linn counties in eastern Kansas. Along the way the route passes through Hillsdale, Paola, Osawatomie, and La Cygne, and crosses an eastern arm of Hillsdale Lake (see route map).

The big news here is that I completed my first century! That’s right, 100 miles for the very first time. I’m still rather amazed.

The day started early with a 5:00am alarm, a quick breakfast, and the drive to the cider mill. It was pre-dawn as I arrived, and the parking lot was just beginning to fill up. I got myself registered, snagging a nifty new Polar Insulated Bottle, customized with the JCBC logo, along with a white tee-shirt commemorating the ride. Nice swag.

Back at the truck, I unloaded my bike and set it up as people continued to stream in. Then it was a long wait before the 7:00am mass start, as the entire group surged west on 68 highway with a police escort clearing the road before us. We swung north onto Old Kansas City Road towards the first SAG at Hillsdale. After grabbing some snacks and spiking one of my water bottles with Clif Shot, I was back on the road, continuing north to 223rd Street, then west to Gardner Road before swinging south then east along Hillsdale Lake before returning again to the first SAG.

From there, the route headed due south to Paola, right into the teeth of a strong and gusting southwesterly wind. The second SAG was in Paola’s Wallace Park, then it was more southerly and westerly riding to Osawatomie. After crossing the Marais des Cygnes river for the first of many times, I arrived at Osawatomie’s historic John Brown Memorial Park, where a lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and watermelon was served. Then it was back on the bike, this time heading East, with a nice quartering tailwind at my back as I rode through downtown, crossed under Highway 169, then crossed the river again and continued east.

In a short distance I reached the decision point: keep going east on the 70-mile route, or head south and go for 100?

I was feeling good and spinning smoothly, so I took the right-hand turn and went for the century. What the heck, it was just an extra 30 miles, right? I could always SAG in if it proved too much for me, but if I was going to fail, I was going to go down fighting.

The southward trek moved along quickly, despite the growing heat and strong gusting headwind. After a SAG near the town of Fontana, the route grew hillier, and I began to see riders heading back north as they completed the out-and-back portion of the 100-mile route. At this point I didn’t know how many people were behind me, but I suspected I was one of the last riders to attempt the century.

At K-152 the route headed east, towards La Cygne, and there was once again a partial tailwind. At the La Cygne SAG, there were only a few riders left, and it was getting very close to the 1:00pm cut-off time. So I pressed on, this time into a partial headwind, and up two big climbs on K-152. As the route turned north again, the wind became my friend again, pushing me up a couple long but manageable grades, and on to my second stop at the Fontana SAG. There were a number of people here waiting to be SAG’d in, but I was still feeling strong, so I decided to keep going.

The 9-mile route between the Fontana SAG and the next SAG to Block Road proved to be one of the toughest segments for me. Despite a tailwind, and modest hills, this was a slow and hot section. At the Block SAG, I found several riders resting, and joined them for a short break. But I wanted to keep moving, so I left before they did, just as a few final riders came into the SAG behind me.

The next 10 miles were also pretty tough, as a few miles of it were heading west into a partial headwind, and the last few miles were on the slow, curvy, and poorly-maintained roads around Lake Miola to the last SAG.

The final 8 miles were challenging, with a newly-graveled chip-seal road making the going slow and treacherous. But by this time I was running on an adrenaline high, and nothing was going to stop me. As I pulled into the Cider Mill, the odometer hit the magic 3-digit mark. It was nearly 4:00pm, and I’d beaten the cutoff time by just a few minutes.

Total Distance: 100.12 miles
Total Riding Time: 06:55:41
Average Speed: 14.45 MPH

I hadn’t really trained with a century as a goal (although it had always been there in the back of my mind). My longest ride of the year had only been 61 miles, and the conditions were rather brutal: 95°F heat (102°F heat index), with 20 MPH gusting winds. And to do my first century with a 14.45 MPH average (which is very fast for me), and to still feel good at the end … I just find that incredible.

Looking back on it a day later, I’m still amazed. But very happy.