2013 Wilson 100

The Southern Bicycle League Wilson 100 century celebrated its 40th anniversary on Sunday, September 8th in Senoia, Georgia.   The weather for the ride was perfect.  The morning started out with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-60's.  The high for the day would reach very close to 90-degrees with a few clouds.  I had ridden the Wilson the two previous years in 2011 and 2012.  Both years I started with the lead group of riders which rolled out as a mass start at 8:00am.  Unfortunately, both in 2011 and 2012 my performance was not up to snuff.  see 2012 Wilson 100 and 2011 Wilson 100.  I got dropped at mile 50 in 2011 when I had to take a needed water stop.  I hadn't prepared appropriately.  Two water bottles weren't enough.  In 2012 I lasted all the way to mile 85 when I went off road briefly and wasn't able to catch up to the pack.

To prepare for the 2013 ride Susan made me a green salad and spicy chicken breast for dinner on Saturday night.  I ate it and said "I have a big ride tomorrow, I'm supposed to eat pasta".  So, Susan made me a second supper of spaghetti.

For 2013, the Wilson 100 would follow a new century course.  It was at mile 50 in Concord, Georgia where a slight directional snafu stopped the peloton and then split the lead group in two.  Half the group went right to Molena and the other half went straight to Zebulon.  Unfortunately for me I decided to go right but only after the group had already left Concord.  I spent the next 50 miles riding solo and passing the discarded elements of that group.

During previous rides I was forced to stop for water.  The Beck team had a SAG wagon following their team.  I didn't have that luxury.  I carried 2 ice filled water bottles in my cages and 2 bottles in my jersey.  I wasn't forced to stop until the rest stop in Hollonville at mile 85 after my water was all gone. I filled one bottle with delicious lemonade from "Joyce the Rest Stop Queen" and took off again passing some of the same riders I had just gone by.

I have to say that I wasn't totally unhappy riding alone.  I had hoped that for once I'd finish with the lead group in some awesomely unattainable time for me as a solo rider but the stress of riding in such close quarters is too great for me.  I rode my 2010 Quintana Roo CD0.1 tri-bike and if there's one thing that I could say that's negative about the bike is its braking.  The rear brake seems wholly ineffective which is much of the reason why I stayed well to the back of the peloton providing plenty of room between me and the riders in front.  I brought my Giro Selector aero helmet but decided at the last minute to use my better vented regular road bike helmet instead.  It was a good decision because I saw plenty of tri-bikes but no riders in aero helmets.

My Southern Crescent Cycling brothers and sisters

Lino and Marcelo

John and Martha

Just before the mass start at 8:00am

The peloton got stopped by a cow crossing

The rest stop in Hollonville at mile 85 on the century course

The parents of Tony Seranno and Joyce the rest stop "Queen" 

Delicious Food

After my ride I felt great and decided to back track in search of some of my fellow club members.   Apparently this was one case where I rode the correct route, as marked, and everyone else got lost.   The scene in Concord was almost comical as one rider professed that he checked the Internet and the route went straight.  I had collected a map at registration but it was back in Senoia in my pants pocket.

2013 SBL Wilson 100 t-shirt artwork dedicated to Scott Wilson

I ended the day with 115 miles although the last 15 miles were just a leisurely ride in the park out and back on the course.  I could have run or done something else after the ride.  I felt great!  I think it was the pasta.

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Pedal for Pets 99

On Saturday, July 13th I finally got the opportunity to get some time in the saddle.  I signed up for the Pedal for Pets 99 a few weeks ago and ride day was here.  I hoped to find some of my riding buddies when I got to Senoia for the start of the ride at 7am.  The ride was not a mass start so some people left before 7am.  The shorter distance rides were advertised as having an 8am start time but many of those riders started with the 99 mile route riders.  I think I would have preferred a mass start at 7:30am with all riders.

Registration at Senoia United Methodist Church

I ran into some of my riding buddies in the church parking lot on my way to registration.  Even though I had already registered I still needed to check-in.  I ran back to my car to get my bike and gear ready for the long day.  As I took my sweet time a large group of thirty or so riders rode by.  Several of them were my guys.  I hoofed it to the street and hopped on my bike.  I decided to check the parking lot one more time for stragglers.  There weren't any that I knew, except a platoon of about eight Beck Cycling guys.  I knew I didn't want those guys to hurt me so I hauled butt to catch the other group which by now had ridden well out of site.  On my own I passed person after person, almost took a wrong turn, but the group stayed beyond my reach, until the Beck guys showed up.  John in their group, who I have ridden with before (see Naked Lady Ride), invited me to join in.  I did and the ten miles whizzed by until the group I was trying to catch were right there before me.  It was pretty cool that as we passed them I was doing my brief stint at the front.  "Yeah, I pulled these guys the whole way" I thought to myself.  Shortly after we passed the group I trailed off the back and only reconnected with a few of the riders at a rest stop.

Greg, John (in the back), Steve, and David (l-r) leaving a restspot

Riders at a reststop in Grantsville (I think)

Fortunately for us the rain held off and we had cloud cover all day.  I like the route for the 99 mile course.  The only thing I might change is the color of the road markings.  They were white paw prints with small white and/or blue arrows.  Unfortunately almost everything else someone wanted to identify on the road was also marked with white paint.

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Naked Lady Ride

Wednesday brought another long ride out of Peachtree City with the two fellow Ironman Florida 2013 entrants I rode with last week, Chad and Jared, and two new guys, John and Tommy.  Chad, John, and Tommy were wearing their Beck Janitorial team kit.  Jared had a kit that matched his bike colors.  I wore my Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project team kit.  Chad and I wore our CBSAP kit during Ironman Florida 2011.

Before the ride I applied some Chamois Butt'r.  More butt'r than I'd ever used before.  I was glad I did. Later, for a short run, I put some butt'r where my Garmin heart-rate monitor strap rubs on my "massive" chest.  I was glad I did that too.  The run was shorter for me than for Chad and Jared.  I was out of gas after the first mile and rode the golf cart with the women and children for about two miles before recovering enough for the final half mile sprint to the finish.

Back to the bike.  This would be a good time to include a disclaimer.  Here it goes.  At no time did I take the lead or pull during the seventy-six mile ride.  I was probably in the front a total of two miles and while there I was being pushed by the four beasts behind me.  I'm glad I got that out of the way.

Chad, Jared, John and I took off and headed north out of Peachtree City to meet up with Tommy.  With Tommy on board and John, for the most part, in the lead we crisscrossed through Fayette, S. Fulton, and Coweta counties.   The cities of Tyrone, Fairburn, and Chattahoochee Hills all came and went.  We stopped for a minute at Le Jardin, an abandoned high-end subdivision obviously started before the real estate bubble burst.  I took take a few pictures of the "Naked Lady" statute located behind the swanky iron gates and stone walls of the entrance.

(l-r) John, Jared, Tommy and Chad like the Naked Lady

I like her too

I came prepared for the ride with three water bottles, a Clif bar, GU Shot Bloks, and a banana.  After our stop at the statue I ran into an orange barrel barrier bending my rear derailleur hanger, lost my Camelbac water bottle on a gravel road, and lost my backup bottle of water.  Fortunately, we stopped to refuel at a gas station twenty or so miles before the end of the ride.  And fortunately for me, I didn't go down on the asphalt when I hit the barrel.  I recovered from the impact but had to stop briefly to clean my drawers (if you know what I mean).  My bike was rideable albeit noisy as the rear derailleur chattered as I pedaled.  One might ask how does one ride into a four foot tall, two foot wide orange and black barrel.  However, the more appropriate question would be how does one avoid one when it's obviously bent of destruction.  The answer to that my friends I don't know.

My rear derailleur

Chad's wife and kids followed us on the run and gave me a ride when I needed it which was soon after we started.

(l-r) Audra, Tamara, and Carter

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2013 Tony Serrano Ride

Saturday, April 13th marked the day of the 2013 Tony Serrano Ride.  The weather was perfect and I was ready.  I rode the full century with lots of my Southern Crescent Cycling friends last year.  Susan rode a shorter route.  This year Susan decided to ride with Kellie, and Diane, two of her WOW (Women on Wheels - McDonough) friends this year.  Check'em out on Facebook!  The Serrano family and excellent volunteers had all four routes well marked.  The WOW girls rode the 37 mile route.  Me and four other SCC'ers rode the 100 mile century route.  The rest of our group rode the 62 mile metric century route.  The fourth route was a 10 route.

Kellie, Susan and Diane

Allen, Peto, David, Eric, Josh, Mike, Diane, Kellie, Susan, and me

All the routes started in Monroe, Georgia a picturesque little town east of Atlanta.  From Monroe we wound our way up and down the rolling hills of Walton and Morgan County.  I hate to compare rides, and the Tour de Pike has a great century course but, this year the Tony Serrano wins outright.  Even though there was more pollen in the air than a normal person could stand, the bright green foliage all along the route was beautiful and made all the difference. 

The rest stops were packed with just about anything you could think of.  We stopped at three of them.  The sky was clear and sunny with the temperature in the upper-40's at the start and the high-70's at the finish.  I wore a windbreaker all day but only needed it for the first hour.

The rest stop at mile 34

Josh has his mouth full

Peto loves Hummus

Eric with something to eat

As the ride started and my group headed out onto the course there was an instant divide in the mass of 700 +/- riders.  The fast riders were up front and steadily getting farther away.  Me, Peto, Josh, and Eric were still together.  I was pretty sure that we were the leading four from our group.  At mile 50, or so, I would have to reevaluate my assumption as we would roll up on a lone Mike Dozier who had been dropped by the 23.5-mph lead group.

The rest stop at mile 80

Mike grabs a snack for the ride to the finish

2013 RAAM partners Kacie and Dani (I might have their names backwards)

Before we hooked up with Mike we were fortunate enough to hop on the tail of a Ride Across America (RAAM) Power, Pedal, and Ponytails training group at around the 10 mile mark.  As a group of about ten riders passed I told my three riding companions that I was hopping on the train.  Peto, Josh and Eric followed suit.  Dani, Kacie, their two friends, Maria, and Mike(?) pulled us, and other hangers on, for the next 80 to 90 miles.  The 90 mile point was where I finally got spit out the back.  I had tried 10 miles before to let them go but Josh wouldn't have any of it and guilt-ed me into sticking around a little longer.  The second time I tried to slip off the back I knew that I'd have to be a little more stealthy to succeed.  That happened at mile 90 and it worked like a charm.  Our club rules call for a rider who is falling off the back to let the other riders know so they don't notice he or she is missing 10 minutes later and wonder what happened.  My four SCC companions rode that train all the way to the finish.  I was happy to be alone as I dry-heaved about 2 miles from the finish.  I think it took 10 minutes for my heart rate to slow down after the ride.  Leave it all on the course - right!  That seems easier to do the older I get!

Overall, it was a great day to ride and a great event.  I finished in under 5 hours (moving time), 5 hours and 11 minutes including rest stops.  The last 10 miles of which I wasn't breaking any records.  My overall time was 5 hours and 11 minutes.  I'm hoping to improve upon that in June at the Jackson Brevet.

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2012 Wilson 100

I tested my legs at the Wilson 100 on Sunday, August 18th in Senioa, Georgia.   A week before the Savannah Century on September 2nd. This was the 39th running of the Wilson Century and as always it was well attended. It was my 3rd Wilson 100.  I rode it in 2011 with the peleton until the rest stop at mile 500.  I also rode the Wilson back in 1990, or so.  Unfortunately for me, I had to work until 6am on this Sunday morning so I started the ride a bit sleep deprived. 

Me with my friend Jim Banaski in the background

The weather this year was perfect at 8am for the mass start was perfect with the temperature in the low 60's. The heat would build throughout the day to reach the mid-80's by the time most of the riders finished the 100 mile ride.

My wife Susan and friend Kevi rode the 30 mile course. They had the opportunity to visit with the Serrano family (Tony Serrano Century) at the 15 mile rest stop. The whole Serrano family manned the rest stop. Susan said it was very well stocked with 60 or different items including, fresh figs with peanut butter, blueberry lemonade, fresh apples with caramel drizzle, zucchini bread, etc..  All the items were homemade.

Kevi and Susan

The faster 100 mile course riders wouldn't see any of the goodies the rest stops had to offer.  Tightly tucked into the peleton with the "Beck Boys" and other team riders pulling the group through the Coweta county countryside.  Averaging almost 25 mph the group was on schedule for a 4-hour century. It was later reported that they finished in 4 hours and 8 minutes. Unfortunately, the heat, and lack of water from not partaking of fluids at the rest stops took its toll causing some riders to be spit out the back of the peleton before the final sprint to the finish.  I was one of the unfortunate ones.  I stuck with them for 88 miles but that was all I had in me.  I got dropped like a bad habit and limped back to the finish.  My water bottles were empty somewhere around the 75 mile point.

The 8am Mass Start

The course was marked well and only once did the peleton almost miss a turn.  This occured at a left turn from Spring Road onto Old Zebulon Road at mile 65 just as an impatient driver tried to pass us on the left.  It could have been messy!

After the ride the participants were treated to a chicken or ground beef burrito, rice, re-fried beans, salad, cookies, fresh plums, lunch in the school cafeteria.

If I had one criticism of the event it would be that they didn't have any water for riders as they left in the morning or upon their return to the school parking lot.  There was a tent and table setup in the parking lot with those folks that tell you to pour your water out because theirs is better.  No one wants a sales pitch after a century, or even before for that matter, especially one so ridiculous.  There was plenty to eat and drink in the school cafeteria but some of the riders looked like they couldn't wait and needed a drink ASAP.  Susan and I had a stocked cooler so we were okay.  We handed out a few bottles of cold water the most needy.

So, 2012 was an improvement over 2011.  I stayed with the peleton 38 more mile than the previous year.

Bring on the Savannah Century!

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2012 Savannah Century

Members of the Southern Crescent Cycling club drove by caravan to the coast for the Savannah Century on Saturday, September 1st. Some members had left earlier in the week and were already there. In total the club had ten members riding the full 100 mile course. They were Ken Barbet, Jorge Collado, Junior Diaz, Mike Dozier, Greg Ferrie, Peto Fallas, Neil Farmer, Angel Reyes, Joel Simmons, Bill Strang, and Carlos Talbott. Joel and his family made for an additional half-dozen or so riders.

On the ride down we stopped at Grady’s Truck Stop & Grill in Metter, GA for a quick break.

Grady's Truck Stop and Grill

After that it was lunch at Toucan Café in Savannah. You’ll be a bit surprised by the signs to lock your car doors and secure your valuables but the restaurant was crowded and the food was good.

Toucan Cafe

After lunch we went to The Bicycle Link for packet pickup. The limited parking at the bike shop was full but they had plenty of volunteers so the process was hassle free. However, I would not leave my bike unattended or unsecured while I grabbed my ride packet.

The Bicycle Link

The caravan left the bike shop driving through a somewhat seedy part of town to reach its downtown Savannah destinations of the Hampton Inn and Suites and Doubletree Hotel. Our other club members were staying at the River Street Inn, and other hotels in the historic district.

Parking was valet only at the Hampton Inn, so unpacking (and later re-packing) was an exercise in the efficient use of the coveted luggage cart. The Doziers, Talbotts, and Farmers were on the same floor at the Hampton Inn. It should be noted that a hotel room at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and W Montgomery Avenue/GA-25 has a nice view of the street but is not the place to get a good night's sleep. The drag racing starts at around midnight and doesn’t end until after 3am. Poolside would be a better room location.

The view from the Hampton Inn and Suites

Carlos made reservations for Saturday evening for twenty at Bella’s Italian Café for a pre-ride pasta dinner. We ended up with a few more than that.  As most of us were carbo-loading at Bella's, the Simmons family was preparing for the Midnight Garden Ride.

The Simmons Family

Joel with "Poppa's Petelon"

Joel’s twelve year old grandson Dawson, and his youngest daughter and son-in-law completed the entire 100 mile course.

Sunday morning arrived with better than expected weather. The sky was completely clear and the temperature was in the low 70’s. After a quick breakfast the group suited and headed to the starting line at around 7:30am for the 8am start. Riders were already starting to gather at The Distillery.

Carlos, Peto, Neil and Mike in the hotel lobby on Sunday morning 

The Southern Crescent Cycling Crew

We took a few group pictures as we waited. The peleton rolled out right at 8am under police escort for the mile or so, than we were on our own. The petelon climbed the bridge over the Savannah River and raced down the other side reaching speeds close to 50mph, then it was on to the pothole filled section of the course. The drone of the constant refrain “Hole” wore out the group but within a few miles we were past that unwelcome section of the course. Traveling at a 25 mph pace the peleton stretched out on the back roads around Savannah. The wind, while present was not the factor it was the previous year.  However, as the sun rose in the sky, so did the heat and humidity also rise.  It took its toll.

The first member off the back of the peleton was Neil. He just wasn’t feeling it! Everyone else stayed with the peleton until either the 50 mile point, where Bill succumbed to cramps or the 80 to 90 mile point where all but Peto, Carlos and Jorge were casted out. All except for Angel who almost missed the mass start and never was able to recover after a flat tubular tire only 17 miles into the course. We were all much better prepared for this century than the Wilson 100 the week before. All of us were loaded down with four or more water bottles, gel packs, electrolyte supplement tablets, bananas, and more. This was going to be a nonstop sub-4 hour century but that wasn’t to be. Peto finished second in 4 hours and 10 minutes. He was right behind a rider who somehow was able to rejoin the peleton several times with the aid of a SAG vehicle. No, the rider wasn’t drafting behind the vehicle. He and his bike were all loaded up comfy and cozy in the back of a van, hatch open, speeding through the back roads of Georgia to somewhere just beyond the peleton. That’s taking SAG support to its limits. Carlos finished in 4 hours and 11 minutes. Jorge finished up front in the mix somewhere with Carlos and Peto.  Everyone else finished somewhere after them.

The first riders to finish the century

Overall, it was a great century. We had awesome club participation and were probably the largest single group in club kit. The rest stops were plentiful and well stocked. The riders were fun and friendly, except for the grumpy elderly gentleman that had words with Junior.  Junior's reply as described by Mike was that “Junior killed him with kindness”. Way to go Junior!

We ate dinner at Tubby’s at the River Street Inn on Sunday night. The whole of River Street was abuzz with people enjoying the Labor Day weekend. So much so that it took us almost an hour to decide where we’d eat and another 45 minutes to get a table for thirteen.

Susan and I offer our condolences to Junior and Johanna Diaz on the passing of Johanna’s grandmother. They received the sad news as we all waited at The Distillery for more riders to finish the century.

See the entire Savannah Century photo Album below.

2012 Savannah Century