I really do need to do a better job keeping this thing up to date.
On September 10, I completed the Amtrak Century--my fourth century of the year. This one was a challenge to register for. The event sold out in about 20 minutes, and there was a technical error when registration first opened, so it was a bit nerve-wracking getting into the event. But I made it, and was pretty excited about the chance to take on a point-to-point century. The ride started in Tustin, and I headed out at 6:30, just as it got light enough to see with my sunglasses on. I didn't really want to ride the train back (it's supposed to be a heck of a party ride), because I wasn't sure that I could complete the ride in time to catch the train back to Irvine, so Mrs. SockMonkey agreed to drop me off at the start and then pick me up at the end, in San Diego.
It turned out to be a pretty straightforward ride. Nothing too challenging, except a steady west-southwest wind all day long that provided a persistent and draining challenge for the knees. I'd heard that the prevailing wind was west-northwest, and had it been so the ride would have been fast and pretty easy. We had a storm, though, that blew in and messed up that part of the plan. About an hour after the start of the ride, it rained and thundered for about twenty minutes, making for a pretty sloppy ride up to the first rest stop.
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| A little liquid sunshine at the first rest stop. |
Except for the rain, things went pretty smoothly. The scenery was good, generally, and we got to ride through Camp Pendleton, which was interesting. The ride doesn't have any real challenges beyond some occasional rolling hills, and the one fabled climb on the route, the Torrey Pines climb at about mile 85, was about a mile and a half of 4% grade--so it wasn't really a tough climb except for being a steady piece of work near the end of the ride. As promised, they had popsicles at the top....
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| The rock-hard popsicle atop Torrey Pines |
About a half mile before the end of the ride, I encountered Mrs. SockMonkey standing on a corner, cheering on the riders as they made their way to the finish. I found out later that she'd been doing that for a couple hours while she waited for me to finish. What a girl!
The ride was fun, but I don't know that I'd do it again, for it didn't provide any standout experiences. I would highly recommend Amtrak as a first century: the ride was not particularly strenuous, the route was interesting, the rest stops were good, and the event was well-organized.
We capped off the event with a great dinner that night at The Palm Restaurant in San Diego, where one of Mrs. Sock Monkey's favorite students works as a member of the waitstaff.
Total time: About 10 hours (I forgot to write it down)
Ride time: 8:25
Average speed: 12.0 mph
Total mileage: 101.13 miles
Climbing: 3294'
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Two weeks later, I took on my fifth century of the year: The SLOBC Lighthouse Century. In a sense, this was a fitting ride to meet my original goal of five centuries, for the 2010 Lighthouse was my first-ever century. That first century was a great day: I overcame some challenging wind and heat, and knew, at mile 60, that I was absolutely, positively going to finish and become a century rider. So, from the outset, I knew that I could complete this year's ride and meet my goal for the year.
How close I came to not finishing.
The Lighhouse is a great ride. The course is relatively easy, very scenic, and extraordinarily well supported. The folks at SLOBC provide some of the best rest stops I've seen, they have a great lunch stop with sandwiches and pie, and SAG cars were frequently visiible along the route. The only ride that compares in terms of support is the Chico Wildflower--but that route is much more challenging. I believe that the Lighthouse is the best first-time century experience possible. But on to the details of my ride....
The day started a bit cool, and I debated whether or not to wear a long-sleeved shirt under my jersey. I eventually chose not to, and it was the right choice: the weather was cool and it was overcast all day, but it never turned cold, although it was pretty foggy/misty and sloppy for the first four hours. The mist was a problem in two ways: First, it kept my glasses wet and foggy for most of the morning, and, second, it caused all kinds of junk to float up in the road and turned the morning into a real flattirefest. I do not recall ever seeing so many riders with flat tires during the first twenty-five miles of a century. I counted myself lucky, until I caught a staple in my rear tire right before the second rest stop. A staple. As in a staple from an office stapler. Who the hell drops a staple on Highway 1? I bet there wasn't more than one staple on the road between Malibu and San Francisco. But I found it. After changing the tube and making doubly sure that there weren't any more sharp things poking through the tire, I headed into the rest stop for some water and a bite, and to borrow a floor pump from one of the SAG guys. It turned out that it was a jacked-up pump, and in using it to inflate my tire all the way to 100 pounds, it damaged the valve on the tube and I had to replace the tube again. Damn. I had two tubes in my seatbag, and now they were both gone and I still had some 60 miles to ride. Luckily, I bumped into a rider who helped out with SAG on my club's ride (The Hungry Buzzard Century), and was able to bum a spare tube. Emboldened by my new reserve, I headed back out onto the route.
I had hoped to reduce my ride time this year, and things looked auspicious. I had a tailwind while heading north (an oddity, with the prevailing wind generally south in the region), and was cooking along comfortably through the turnaround at the Piedras Blancas lighthouse. The wind was a bit tough heading south, but not nearly as bad as the headwind while riding north last year, so I figured I had a shot at a good total ride time, even with the two flats I had to repair. While at the turnaround, Mrs. SockMonkey, who, once again agreed to be my PSU (personal SAG unit), texted me and asked me if I needed some additional tubes. I said yes, and suggested that she stop by Art's Cyclery in San Luis Obispo, which was near our hotel. (A plug for Art's, which is a great bike shop that was very good and helpful to the Mrs. Highly recommended if you're in the area.) She got the tubes and handed them off to me at the lunch stop at mile 62. Refueled and restocked with spares, I anticipated a speedy trip to the end.
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| The lighthouse at Piedras Blancas. While it may not be the best or most inspiring photo, it does capture effectively the gray tone of the weather. |
Then the hand of fate delivered a deft slap: at mile 93, I had a blowout. The rear tire was irreparable, and I was done. Completely frakked. My guess is that the sidewall was damaged when the flat occurred, and it took fifty or so miles to cause it to fail. So, adios to 5 centuries completed. 4.93 centuries does not round up to 5 in cycling math.
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| A bit hard to see, but that's a 2-inch tear in the sidewall of that $60 Armadillo Elite. A photo of a heartbreak, if ever there was one. |
Again, Mrs. SockMonkey to the rescue. I called her and told her to pick me up, and she volunteered to get me a replacement tire. A bit over an hour later, I had a new tire on the rear of my bike, and I hustled into the finish--an hour and five minutes after the course closed, but a finish nonetheless. I would have bet a beer that I was the last one on the course, but at least seven other riders finished after I did. It was kind of cool to hear a group of three girls let loose a huge cheer as they reached their car, located in the middle of a near-empty parking lot. Courage and persistence warrant reward, even if only by one's closest friends.
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| A very dirty sock monkey at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. Barriers overcome, ride completed. |
So what I expected to be a relatively easy ride to meet my goal turned into a SAG challenge that I would not have met without the Mrs., who wanted me to finish every bit as much as I did. Thanks, Mel. It wouldn't have happened without your help.
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| Mrs. Sock Monkey: Lifesaver. |
The numbers:
Total time: 11:09 (including three flat tires and waiting for a replacement tire)
Ride time: 7:20
Average speed: 13.7 mph
Total mileage: 100.78 miles
Climbing: 2949'
Coming up:
- The Kern Wheelmen's Spooktacular (I'm riding the metric)
- Foxy's Fall Century (planning on the full century)
- Solvang Prelude (planning on the metric)
