I got a sense of déjà vu yesterday, when I began my 50-mile ride with laps around the local park. It reminded me too much of my first century. Wind conditions that day provoked me to ride endless laps round and round that park. I wanted to get in the miles; but endless circling is terribly mind-numbing!
Yesterday I decided to take that approach to make pit stops more convenient. To the park; six laps; and home made 14.50 miles; and that’s the same mileage that I typically ride to reach my first pit stop. (Note: this included a double-back of about 1.4 miles, while I waited for a train to move!)
At home I topped up my Camel-Bak; visited Mrs. Murphy; applied more sunblock; and ate a GU-Gel. Then I took off again.
Now that the weather is getting warmer, I’m drinking more fluid; and pit stops will be more important. That’s why I’m trying to think up a century route that will let me cover the miles; but not be too far from said pit stops. It will mean a lot of riding back and forth over the same stretch of bike path, aka plenty of déjà vu; but there’s a 4-mile segment that I don’t want to repeat too often in one day! It’s full of humps to climb over; and climbing isn’t my favorite thing.
More Prep
There’s a lot more prep that I need to do before I’m ready for a century; and I wonder whether anyone is ever truly ready. If they’re anything like me, they don’t ever feel ready! There’s yet more déjà vu — I always began a century ride feeling like I wasn’t properly prepared; and I guess it will always be that way. But maybe it’s better to feel I’m not ready, than to go too far the other way and brag that I’ll crush the Big Ride; and fizzle out at 40 miles.
I wish I could get a really long-range weather forecast. If I’m to try for that 100-miler during April, I want a day of no rain and calm winds; but who can foretell that several weeks in advance? And such a day is only too likely to fall during the week, when I have to be at work.
After April, it might be getting very hot; and that’s not a good time for me to tackle a century ride. If I had a shady path to ride, it might be different. Aim for a Fall century? That’s what I was doing last year; and then Ida happened! I’m not eager for déjà vu of that!