Solvang Century update
Mar 13th, 2006 | By Fredcaster | Category: GeneralI am sure that I will discuss this on the podcast this week, but I wanted to give you an update on how the Solvang Century went this weekend.
The weather in Solvang was absolutely miserable. I started the century at about 8:00 a.m. hoping that by then it might have gotten a little warmer (it didn’t). It was cold (high-30s before wind chill), but at least it wasn’t raining. Within 20 minutes, the rain arrived. Soon after came the wind and hail. Later we had snow, thunder and lightning. I was wearing several layers of cycling clothes, along with a rain jacket and shoe covers, but I was soaked and within an hour and a half I couldn’t feel my toes or my fingers. I called my wife and asked her to come pick me up, but it turned out my buddy had abandoned within 10 minutes of starting and was already on his way to get me. I turned around and started back for the start line and got picked up by my friend about an hour and 45 minutes after starting. This was the first time I have ever DNF’ed an event, but I still feel that it was the right decision considering the circumstances.
For those of you who were there and who completed the ride . . . um, congratulations. You are definitely heartier than I.
i finished, but i can relate to all you went through….in addition i had 3 flats ….lost a contact lense…I was constantly shivering….this wasnt fun!
Wow! I think everyone who finished deserves an award. Well, at least you have a great story.
Sounds like a wonderful day on the bike. Two of the riders I coached this season through Team-N-Training were there and I’m anxious to hear their report. They’re not fond of the cold. 🙂
Yes it was wet, cold, and being pelted by buckets of hail was anything but pleasant. My shoes were soaked, my hands were wet and cold, my face was stinging. Easily the worst weather I’ve ever seen from a bike.
But as I rode, I thought to myself, if I am to face these conditions, this is the time and place to do it. There are plenty of other riders about, and SAG support should I need it. My confidence buoyed by that reassuring thought, I soldiered on, strangely finding enjoyment even in such miserable conditions.
I wasn’t alone. While droves of riders flagged the support van, and many others turned back (some of them yelling “It’s hailing!” as if the we couldn’t tell by the balls of ice hitting our cheeks) many of us continued forward. As it turned out, the intense part of the storm only lasted a few miles (up to mile 20 for me), and the rest of the day was blessed with better, if not perfect, weather for riding.
Foxen canyon was beautiful, and we had a steady, strong tailwind to help us along. I finished the ride feeling strong, refreshed, and yes, relieved.
I wouldn’t hold it against anyone for giving up during the storm or even for not showing up at all. But those of us who rode the entire course were rewarded with a glorious day of riding and an unequaled feeling of accomplishment.
Dominic you are a warrior! Kudos to you for sticking it out. But then again what else would you expect from a guy whose nickname is “The Tractor”?
If we were handing out awards, the “Toughest Fred” award would have to go to my riding buddy Brandon, who completed the full century starting at zero bike training miles 9 weeks ago. He and I were using the Solvang ride as the first major milestone in our training for the Aids/LifeCycle ride this June.
Brandon did his first ever century on Saturday, simultaneously reaching 1000 total miles since he started training in January!
Check out his comments on the ride here: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/6405
Ok, I’m glad I made it further than you did, but that was one of the most misable day on a bike I have had in a long time. I made it about 10 miles past the first rest stop when I turned around and went home. My feet were so cold it hurt for over 30 minutes even with the car heater on full blast.
I really enjoy your show and look forward to each new shop. Keep you the great work. See you at the next century.
spbikerider.
The real question is…
Any issue with your Garmin Edge 305 in such brutal conditions? I would love to see the stats out of your Garmin! Do you use MotionBased?
Jim
I just discovered your podcast and wanted to say that it is EXCELLENT!!!! Keep up the great work!
Wow! It looks like I lucked out. I decided Not to pre-register, (hedging my bet in case of foul weather), and decided not to drive up there from the desert, after seeing the weekend forecast. Congradulations, (I think), to the finishers. Ouch!
All I can say is WOW!
We got hit with everything including the kitchen sink.
When we drove up to Solvang Friday the weather looked great, we all thought it was the last of the cold front passing through. At most, we all thought we’d only have to put up with the cold. Wrong!
Saturday we started out at 630am, the sky was partly cloudy with the sun shining through occasionally. We thought our Friday observation was going to come true. Everything went great to the first rest stop about 20 miles into the ride. We refreshed ourselves and started out again. At that point we noticed a very dark cloud coming in from the west. Every one stopped while optimistic Bob put on his rain gear.
As we started to climb the hill towards the west, and towards the ominous cloud, a police officer shouted as we crossed an intersection, be careful at the “Yâ€Â, there’s snow and hail. Not even a few minutes after he stated this all hell broke loose. Rain came down in buckets, lightning and thunder with very cold winds gusting from all directions. Then the hail came in a vertical direction stinging as it hit my face. This went on for at least 15 minutes. As we reached the “Y†in the road the hail had covered the ground like it had snowed, some spots had a few inches. The worst of this was my feet. During the rain my shoes had filled with water, I could see it squishing out every time I pumped the pedals. This water was ice cold and became colder as I rode. Worried about my feet, I asked Gerald who had an altimeter and temperature device on his bike, what was the temperature, he shouted “31â€Â. When we got to the next rest stop I could not feel my feet and they stung when I tried to walk. The bad weather continued off and on through the entire ride except at the end going through Foxen Canyon.
All in all, it was a very exciting ride. The total miles was 107 which included riding back to our camp in Buellton, approx 7 bike hours, we averaged 15 miles an hour, and 40 miles an hour down some of the hills, this I found very exciting but not smart on wet roads.
This was my first century and thought to myself while riding that the bad weather was normal for any bike ride. Meaning, going back was never a choice, you take the good with the bad. I guess ignorance is bliss. I did say several times to myself “what the hell did you get yourself intoâ€Â.
Not bad for an old geezer! But I did get humbled while talking to a fellow biker as I was riding into the finish line area, he announced to me “not bad for a 72 year oldâ€Â. Although I must say he was an exception, I had noticed as we got to the last rest stop that 99 percent of the riders were young and in good shape. What did get my attention was the numerous amount of women who rode this century, and who kicked my butt passing me up the hills. Another humbling experience!
I came across your website by accident looking for people who might have taken pictures on the Solvang Century ride.
Which gets me back to my original reason that I came to this website, does anyone have pictures of the Solvang Century Ride. I am making a slide show and would appreciate any picture taken during the ride.
Please email them to me, it would be much appreciated.
Bob
Brrrrrrr. Brought back memories of a May Century ride here in Utah about ten years ago. It was wet and icy cold. We were dressed for rain and May but not for January tempuratures.
My girlfriend began to shiver uncontrollably so we DNF’ed at the first fast food place we found with a phone. I tried to call my parents for a rescue ride (collect) but my young son kept picking up the phone and hanging up when he heard the MCI operator, thinking it was a solicitor selling long distance. I guess my dis-taste of phone solicitors must have set a bad example for my 10 year old!
Since the ride was fully supported, I had left all cash in the car (50 miles away-not smart) but the good folks at the hamberger joint were kind enough to let us have a little hot water.
It was a great ride. Started out nice, turned to hail and rain, then pretty cold, then cool, then cold and windy. A lot of flat tires (not me thought, 650B’s are pretty thick)and a wide range of clothing. Some folks had trash bags on for rain coats, some folks had short pants, very few fenders. I wore Pearl Izumi’s neoprene foot covers, Ground Effects leg warmers, Kucharik long sleeve wool jersey with a vest, along with a Showers Pass rain jacket and the temperature was never an issue on the ride. I alternated between thin full gloves and Pearl Izumi’s four finger extreme weather gloves. It was a hard ride for me but it was beautiful and the riders, staff, Highway Patrol and Police were just great. It also helped that I put fenders on the bike the Wednesday before the ride. That hail was like getting pelted with pea gravel for a couple of miles.
Jerry Somdahl