Capital City Century

Sunday, September 12, the Springfield Bike Club sponsors their annual Capital City Century ride. It's a great event, offering something for everyone - I think there is a 15 mile ride for kids/beginners, all the way up to a 100 mile option.

We opted for the Metric Century this year (that would be 62 miles). Not a lot of to report here, we showed up at the Lake Springfield Beach house and met up with a fairly large group. I think there were 16 people. We let the really fast riders go first, then followed behind at 7:00 a.m. Temps were in the low 70s but as the sun came up, it heated up a bit. And the wind picked up.

I did ok for about 30 miles, hanging on toward the back. We were averaging about 19 mph, which is pretty fast for me. We stopped briefly in Auburn, at the main rest stop, then headed south out of Auburn. I guess the 19 mph was just some freakish warmup because the leaders picked up the pace. I hung on as long as I could and then just was like "screw it" and dropped off the back. I rode alone for about 8 miles. The wind had picked up, the scenery was mind numbing. Newly harvested cornfields stretching off into infinity. Completely flat. Except for a big overpass hill. With more wind.

At the next rest stop, I found most of the group. Evidently the wind had done a number on the tight little formation, as the really strong people who could ride through hurricanes and other natural disasters had not only continued on, but had actually picked up the pace and left the weaker riders to fend for themselves. This gave me some satisfaction.

Back to the Beach house. Being some of the first to finish the ride, we also had the luxury of enjoying lunch at its freshest. Fried fish, hot dogs, brats --- standard picnic fare that tasted so good. Oh, and did I mention Fat Tire and Miller Light?