09.22.08
2008 Pumpkin Patch Pedal Century
Yesterday, Johan, Jen, Rogelio, and I rode the 102-mile Pumpkin Patch Pedal for the first time, which starts out of Jamesburg (see map). This is the second of three century rides I’m doing every other week on my fixie. (The next one is the Bike MS NYC century in two weeks.) We were supposed to meet James (”007″) and his two buddies at the start, but we got there about 15 minutes late, had to wait on the pre-reg line, grab some bananas, and didn’t hit the road until closer to 8:00. The weather was very nice, the high reaching the low-to-mid 80s with low humidity. There seemed to be a near constant head wind for most of the ride.
Johan and I rode fixie. The biggest challenge for fixie riders on a flat course like this is that you can’t give your butt any relief, even for a few seconds by standing on the pedals to lift off the saddle, unless you climb a hill. When we got back to the car after the ride a guy came up to us and said that he was amazed that we did the ride on our fixies. He has a fixie himself and said that he would never consider riding 100 miles on one. Actually, I was actually surprised that someone even recognized that we were riding on fixedgear bikes. Most people don’t even know what a fixedgear bike is.
My legs didn’t cramp up, except for two times when my quads started to tighten up. On the NYC Century two weeks ago, I cramped a lot due to the constant slowing, stopping, and starting throughout the whole ride. Because of the cooler temperature and not needing to stop and go all the time, an “open road” century ride is so much easier. You just keep pedaling.
There were three rest stops on the route at the 25, 50, and 80 mile marks. All were well stocked with ample fruit, “carbstuffs”, water and undiluted Gatorade. Staying very hydrated helps keeping the cramps away. I’m still on a daily 50mg dose of prednisone.
Rogelio was ahead of us most of the time. When we got back to the car, he wasn’t there. He missed a marker and did an extra couple of miles, so he wasn’t around for this picture.
My GPS read 102 miles, 6:30 moving time, 15.4 mph avg speed, 2176′ total ascent.