A never-ending century @ Davis

A culmination of training? Or a new beginning? Only time will tell. One thing for sure is that it was a job well done. And for that, hats off to TeamAsha coaches - Lyresa, Jeff & Stan - and all TA buddies. On my first ride, the very first ride, I had a nasty fall and scraped all my left side of the body. That I survived the entire season without another fall (well, there was one small one when I was stationary, but lets discount that) was surprising to me. And to think that at the end of the season I would have completed a 100miler would have seemed ridiculous at that moment!
Now for the Davis ride part..

Chasing Anshu

It's flat? Really? Sure, it was flat all the way till rest stop 1 @ 25mile but it wasn't easy. In all the rides so far, the roads were so smooth, the roads in Davis left a lot to be desired. :) It took almost double effort to tackle them. On top of it, the wind! After coach Lyresa's on-hands demo of cycle repair (no, she had a flat tire), we left in clusters. I took off & soon some more passed me. And then there was Anshu. For all his pre-race talk about him chasing me at Davis, I was the one left to chase him all the way to the first rest stop at mile 25. He caught on to a paceline and took off & just vanished. Looks like lot of people caught on to pacelines and had lot of fun. :)

I managed to get on to a paceline too towards the end of the first 25-mile segment (rest stop 1 was at mile 25). As we were approaching the rest stop, we had a right turn, and all of a sudden I realized how much headwind we were up against. As soon as we made the right turn, I felt the bike being displaced maybe a few inches. The girl leading our group was awesome! She was riding amazingly steady on her aero-bars and I just drafted behind her all the way to the rest stop.

Judgment time for Foxy's Century

Until the rest-stop, there was lot of support personnel on cars and bikes. And there were arrows on the road at every turn, which was awesome! No need to look at the route sheet at all. But our group was pampered on Tour of Napa Valley with food. :) Rest stops every 15mi with lotsa awesome food. So, the first rest stop was where I was gonna pass my judgment on the ride, and also set my expectations for the rest of the ride. Didn't leave a good impression. There were bananas and grapes, and some more food. But not enough stalls & not enough variety. I knew not to expect much support over the rest of the ride.

Chasing Lyresa & Sriram

After a lesiurely wait at rest stop 1, I started out with a bunch of other friends. The roads had changed for the better, and after a few short turns, I could see a long flat road straight ahead. I went on my aerobars and like cruise control, I was going at 80rpm cadence for I don't know how long. It felt awesome! Aerobars, you beauty! As I was going past lot of folks, I also passed coach Lyresa & Sriram who promptly started drafting behind me. After having pulled them for a few miles, I was passed over by a faster paceline and Lyresa & Sriram promptly jumped onto their group. :) I guess that should be the strategy. Get on to whichever paceline you can. :) After that point, I was chasing them until the second stop at mile 38.

Leaving them in the wake, or should I say, leaving them at rest stop 2 that was a fake?

As I was approaching second stop, I was passing a few TeamAsha folks. The second stop was at a dangerous junction with not much space for bicycles to stop. There was some water and porta potties. I stopped momentarily, filled water and started back again, leaving everyone while they had stopped at the water stop. Stop 2 (rest stop / water stop) lived up to the expectations! The next stop was 18mi away. The road was so rough, I was on a hunt for the path of least resistance. In one stretch, there was a small trip of good tar on the shoulder and I got on to it. It felt like I had got on to a pace line. :) After negotiating some hills, coach Lyresa caught up with me. And then we were playing cat and mouse for a few miles. It is always fun chasing Lyresa. I love going past her on an uphill, but again she eventually outrides me. Couple of miles before the lunch she passed me and went ahead.

Lunch? It was more like breakfast.. peanut butter and jam! But they had chips too! Yay. Finally some taste. :)

Chasing Pavan & Naveen

After re-grouping with everybody, I started out with Naveen, Mukul & Pavan. Or at least that was how it was supposed to be but Pavan led everyone else off. So, I started a few minutes after they left, and I was chasing them. I yelled out to Pavan but of course he did not hear me. The next 18mi was known to be a climb! I was in for the long haul. We were all in for it! After a time that seemed looong, I passed Naveen at the top of a small hill, and went ahead on the downhill. I love downhills but soon I started cramping. When you get cramps, I realized even downhills are a pain! :| After some time, I got some help from Naveen as he handed me 2 salt capsules. I meant to gulp a couple at lunch from Anshu, but forgot, and it seemed to be showing the due effect. After taking the salt, I started riding again hoping the cramps would go away. However, after a few minutes, I had to stop. I stopped by the road, took a little nap, stretched and massaged my muscles hoping the cramps to ease out. Soon, Lyresa passed me and waited for me to get back on the bike. I was on my bike again, and soon after that rest, I was ready to ride again! My cramps were gone after a bit, and I was so thrilled.

Counting Numbers Lots of water around, no where to drink Staying within limits

Hills are fun!

After a long climb (before I had gotten cramps), I was just curious how much we had done after lunch. I thought I would have had 6 more miles to go, but alas, I had done 6 miles! All of 6 miles. At least 9 more to go? Or was it 12 more? I had no idea, but I was going to go after them anyways. And after getting fresh legs post-cramps, I enjoyed the hills again. At least, they were scenic and had good roads. :) I charged at them when I could and when the longest climb stared at me.. I counted numbers. 100 pedals at a time. After the climb, I was looking for my reward (which was a long downhill) but it never materialized. There were downhills that I enjoyed, pedaled at 43mph(!!) but still was greedy for more. It was not just the cramps that put me within limits. It was also the road traffic. At one point I was cursing the truck in front of me for slowing me down on a downhill. :) I dug into my innermost reserves of mental fortitude but found the reward elusive.

After the cramps and uphills, I ran out of water and was thirsty -- and very eager for the next water stop. There was so much water in the scenic beauty around, but no place to drink. I kept looking for the waterstop or a lovely downhill. But soon I gave up on the water stop and stopped at the first store I found to buy some water. After I freshened up there, I found the water stop a stone's throw away. Stopped there again and found watermelon. Finally! Pickle too! Probably the best food of all the stops.

Riding with Sriram Riding without Sriram

Filled my water bottle & started the ride out with Sriram with a gentle climb. At the top of the climb though, I couldn't resist the downhill and took off. Sriram duly caught up with me and then we were pacing each other for some time until he found another paceline and I asked him to go ahead. After chugging along for some time, my mind shut off! Like it was telling me "that's enough!" As I reached mile 95, I heard someone say 7 more miles. I started counting again. I thought the finish would be 2000 revolutions away, but the organizers were teasing us. It just never seemed to end. And once I completed my 2000 revs (already close to 104mi done), I just decided to push on until the end. When it did arrive though, I had no idea that it was the end! Just another street, just another parking lot. Just like that, the finish was there! I almost lost it & rode right through! No fan fare, no finish line, it seemed like just another day in the park. And ironically, after having some pasta and freshening up, we (Pavan & I) were feeling fresh. It was a totally weird, yet, a happy feeling!

Maybe it was the familiar faces at the end, maybe it was the fact that everyone had a good ride, or maybe it meant that this is just a beginning!

Highlights

• The weather: Beautiful day to ride. Wouldn't want any other way! Gotta thank the Gods.
• The elements: Rough road. Wind helps, wind hurts.
• The dilemma: If I don't attack the uphills, they will eat me alive. If I don't attack the downhills, I can't get momentum for the uphills!
• The verdict: Cardiac hill is awesome! Hills rock, Flat roads in Davis suck!
• The weekend: Worth the wait, memorable.