Two

Some rides really get into my head.  Foxy's Fall Century is one of those, largely because I broke down mentally at the midpoint the first time I rode it and struggled mightily to finish.  The Solvang Century is another.  I've ridden the Solvang metric twice, once intentionally, and then last year after I decided to abandon my attempt at the century because my knees were killing me, the wind had me demoralized and I opted for the shorter course.  But, more than that, everything I'd read about the Solvang century route speaks to all the tough climbing during the last 20 miles of the ride, and also the 5000' of climbing.  These challenges represent a daunting proposition for a rider who struggles to complete a century to begin with, and who is not a particularly strong climber.  I get there, but it's not flashy.  But I guess it's for situations like this that they have SAG on organized rides.....

The morning in Solvang was cold and moist.  I rolled out at 7:40 along with a steady stream of other riders.  The first fifty miles of the ride went well.  I felt strong, and the climb up to Vandenberg AFB--a long and steady but moderate climb--was much easier than last year.  Exiting Orcutt, however, the wind kicked in a bit and really sapped my energy badly.  I was under the impression that there was a lunch stop on the route, and I expected to tank up on a sandwich or something similar.  I was wrong.  The rest stops had the usual orange/banana/peanut butter and jelly/and so forth, but I really needed something beyond that to bring up the energy level.  So I ate what I could stomach and ground out the middle miles of the ride.  I had a flat at mile 54, and I had trouble re-seating the tire on the rim.  The time spent out of the saddle working on the repair led to a set of moderately problematic leg cramps that recurred throughout the day.  The ride was kicking my butt.

I gimped along pathetically, and crawled into the rest stop in Sisquoc at mile 70.  Aided by a couple chunks of bagel and a Gu gel, I caught a second wind of sorts.  Looming ahead was Foxen Canyon Road.  I'd ridden parts of this road before, and knew that it would eventually lead to The Wall, which is the fearsome climb on the route.  Foxen Canyon turned out to be a 15 mile or so of gentle but consistent and slightly rolling climbing accentuated by two very short, somewhat challenging climbs.  I started feeling a bit stronger as I rolled along, and I gained some inspiration in being able to keep pace with a couple clumps of riders.  Reflecting on how slow we were going, just gimping out the miles, I'm guessing we looked like a pack of zombies on bikes. Slowly, I began to feel that I would finish the ride--and not just finish, but finish in relatively good form.  Getting to the top of The Wall at mile 85 was an inspiration, for it turned out to be an easy achievement, and the short climb up Ballard Canyon Road, one of my very favorite few miles of road anywhere really capped off the ride. So ended my tenth career century ride.

So the Solvang Century is another challenge met.  I set a new personal best for climbing at 5005', but the climbing was different than most other rides in that the vast majority of work was accumulated over lengthy but mild climbs--in contrast to a ride such as the Chico Wildflower, which has three very distinct and challenging climbs.  I was so freaked out by this ride that I never stopped to take any photos, so all I've got is the shot of the monkey strapped onto the seat bag in 34 degree weather at the start.

One other item of note:  the DogMagnet completed his first century a mere four months after starting cycling, and he did it over an hour faster than I did.  I hate him even more.

The Numbers:
99.9 miles
7:42 ride time
9:25 total time
13.0 mph average
5005' climbing

Next up:  The Central Valley Vietnam Veterans Spring Century in Tulare.