After a summer of limited training for the Seacoast Century, I was uncertain how it would go. In fact, until about Thursday, we did not even know if it would happen because Melissa and I were not interested in riding 100 miles in the rain. Luckily the weather for Saturday shifted in our favor and we tried to get psyched for a long ride.
The Seacoast Century is not a race, it is a bike ride meant to be enjoyed. You can go at your own pace, but there are certain times the gates/rest areas are available. After getting up bright and early at a little after four, I headed over to Melissa's and we carpooled to Hampton Beach together. Our intention was to get on the road around 7 but it ended up being just before 8. I had very little idea of what to expect from this event as it was my first. We knew it was flat and also knew we definitely wanted to finish in under 10 hours. There was a bit of confusion as to how to start out because you could go two directions. We opted to head into Massachusetts first and then loop back past the beaches and over the bridge to Maine. We had a slight thorn in our ride early when we were told there had been an accident on the bridge that we were originally supposed to go back over into NH. We hastily turned around and followed a large group of cyclists who routed us through Seabrook to eventually loop back to the beach areas. We had no idea how serious the accident was until later in the day (I'm glad we did not or it may have caused us to call it a day right then). I'll follow up on that in a bit after the recap because it was a very tragic day for the event as a whole.
The crazy thing about this ride is the only guidance you have is to follow little orange arrows painted on the roads. However, with the detour, we had to rely on just following others--definitely not my usual planner style! Once we got back onto the regular route I was relieved. A few other mishaps included my chain falling off (not unusual), and a quick stop near the Rye rotary which caused Melissa to bump into me and take a small spill. Thankfully it was just an elbow scrape and we continued on our way. Melissa pushed us at a strong pace for the first 50 or so miles. We felt good going into the rest area in Maine. There we treated ourselves to PB sandwiches, cookies, and plenty of water. After fueling up, stretching a little, and a bathroom break, we hopped back onto the bikes bound for Nubble Point Lighthouse past York Harbor. This part of the ride had more hills than the previous flat stretches. I was pleased that the time spent on hills in New Hampshire over the summer paid off. It was a bit funny how groups would race past us on the flats but then slowed to near stops on some inclines. It actually got a bit annoying after awhile because it is much harder to pass on a hill than a flat. There was a thick stretch of fog in York that made the ride a bit unpleasant in that section. By the time we got to Nubble, we were definitely ready to head back to NH.
The journey back through Maine was definitely more taxing than the trip in. We again hit up the rest stop--this time for a longer stretch as our necks were really bothering both of us. It was exciting to know we were well past the halfway point, but your body definitely starts to feel it more after mile 70 :) The route back through Portsmouth was a bit precarious as we had to go through some small, narrow New England streets with a fair amount of traffic and a festival going on. My favorite part of the ride was the short stretch through Newcastle (my dream town!) and then we began to make the much more ardous ride up the beaches again. This time the wind was definitely against us and it seemed as though those last 15 miles would take forever! I'm not going to sugar coat that my training buddy Melissa got quite cranky in this stretch. I thought she might deck any group of cyclists who tried to pass us without giving the proper "on your left" shout ;) I write this in jest, but we were so ready to get off our bikes!
We hit our 100 miles slightly before the Hampton Beach Park due to the detour. Our finishing time was 7 hours and 18 minutes which seemed very respectable given our training (or lack of). I'm not sure if I'll do another one, but it is certainly something to check off by bucket list!
I wanted to end this blog post with a reminder to drivers to share the road. I recognize that not all cyclists obey the rules of the road, but far more drivers seem to have little concern with making room for those who are out enjoying a ride. I can say this from my experiences as a commuter and as a cyclist. I have been nearly knocked off the road several times despite the fact that my friend and I always move to single file in narrow spaces. Unfortunately, this year, there was a tragic accident during the century. Although the details are not confirmed, it would seem that a driver tried to get around some cyclists and slammed into another group across the way. It was so sad to hear that these two ladies just out for a ride had their lives ended due to careless driving. There may or may not have been texting involved, but it is so important that people pay attention while driving. I don't condone cyclists riding side by side in busy stretches impeding traffic--it is annoying and unsafe. However, even when I have followed the rules of the road, I've found myself in dangerous situations. These cyclists are friends, parents, and people setting an example of healthy fitness habits--you can wait a few extra minutes for an opportunity to pass.
Week of September 16th- September 22nd
Monday- AM Yoga/Mini Boot Camp / PM xfit
Tuesday- AM Spin / PM xfit (Brick #67)
Wednesday- AM Walk / Lunch Walk/Run (Brick #68)
Thursday- Xfit
Friday- AM Yoga/ Mini Boot Camp (Brick #69)
Saturday- Seacoast Century (100 mile ride)
Sunday- Rest Day
*Pushups 5 sets of 20 for 6 days and 3 perfect bricks*
