Sequoia Century - June 07, 2009

This is the first century I have attended and it was successful and ended with relief and something to reflect on.

100 miles was no small challenge - but I signed up for one since it seemed reasonable for me to try and I believe it was the right choice. The route was very balanced with a lot of climbing and a few descents and plenty of scenic flats. I can't say that the century was easy but it was a great challenge and you should probably do one if you're willing to test your next level from just training rides.

I went with 2 college friends of mine and made it through 100 miles (uncertainty from resetting cyclometers). We stared around 7:50am and finished around 7:15pm taking it easy in the beginning and pushing time towards the end. I think most of our timewas lost in the resting spots and from incidents we had along the way. I was pretty scared from descents so the both of them usually waited for me after a long downhill course. The bigger one of us had a challenge with the uphills and the more experienced rider of us had a nasty "deserved" fall after goofing around.

So from the experience I need to improve my downhill cornering and also figure out a better "grip" on the downhills since I always seem uncomfortable on the drops. My climbing is very persist ant and I oddly enjoy the burn sometimes even when there are indications of near-cramping. On straights I need to learn to catch up with others and take advantage of wind-tunneling with others (peloton) .

After blogging about this I realize how much more i need to train and I will probably focus more on the drops and figure out a good angle on the handlebars.