To celebrate Independence Day, Instead of eating food and watching fireworks, I decided to ride a century in Bend. Even though obstacles bombarded me from every direction, the Web Cyclery-Sponsored Firecracker Century was my fastest ride ever! This ride further opened my eyes to my cycling potential,
First, I will detail the good points about the ride. The route was marvelous, only 102 miles total and mostly flat. One huge downhill to the Prineville Reservoir proved to be my favorite moment, as I zoomed at 40 mph for what seemed like a lifetime. In fact, except for one long car-infested hill, the whole ride seemed to be downhill. I felt like I could have coasted most of the way. Maybe this is why I went so fast! The desert scenery was great. I never rode in scenery like this before, and I welcomed the change. I kept a 19 mph average for the first 28 miles. I kept a 17 mph average for the first 60 miles, and managed to stay at 16 mph till about mile 85. This is remarkable to me. I never thought I would be able to ride at this pace in these conditions.
First I didn’t have enough money for the ride. Then, I noticed the crowd was all locals, and they all knew each other! For the first 10 miles or so we stayed in a nice group, all at the same pace, no passing. If was fun, and lots of chatting went on. Then the speed demons ensured. Rider after rider passed me while I passed no one. By the time I got to the first rest stop, I was dead last, even though I was riding nearly 20 mph! The problem here is I didn’t know where the ride went. Cell coverage was not good, the route was not well marked, and the map used different road names than the signs did. Even when the road was marked, it sometimes varied from the map! This meant, for fear of getting lost in the “middle of a desert” I had to keep riding fast, just so I could see the riders ahead of me! Exhausted by the heat (92) and the elevation (3000 ft) and by over-extending myself, I pedaled only for the sake of reaching the lunch stop, only to get there and find nothing there expect some cans of beer and a few M&Ms! Beside myself in hunger, I had no choice but to keep on riding 30 more miles till the next food stop. Needless to say, by mile 80 I got pretty worn out. The last 15 miles involved lots of stopping, sitting under whatever tree I could find, jumping in every sprinkler in every yard, and the need for a bathroom in the middle of a barren state highway (no further comments on that one…)
A personal best, the Firecracker Century was, even though I came in last (actually a hefty cycletourer and I rode in together). Bend has some of the friendliest strangers you will find anywhere. Everyone I met chatted and carried on and it seemed like the nicest day on earth. However, unless you can easily finish a century in 4 hours or less, do not take part in this ride!