It was a record for us anyway, yesterday, when 15 unicyclists showed up for a local organized bike tour called 'Strawberry Fields Forever.' (http://www.strawberryfields.org/) The tour threads through the hills south of Santa Cruz, California. There are 3 distances: 100 miles, 100km and 25 miles and around 950 riders total. We had 10 unicyclists on the 100km course and 5 on the 25 mile course. Quite a few personal distance records were set. The 100km course had 3500' of climbing and descent, steep in a few places, but several managed it without a brake. Beau had 125mm cranks without a brake and did fine.
We all met at 7am at the Aptos High starting line. After registration and a quick photo, we headed off. The 100km course does about 10 rolling miles to the first rest stop, then about 20 more miles with a couple of steep hills (all bikers I saw were walking) to lunch. It was great passing the bikes on those steep climbs. In the afternoon, we had two more rest stops then a final 8 mile stretch to the finish. Each rest stop goes all out with a particular theme and incredible food/drink. The coffee people especially liked the Italian stop with espresso and biscotti among many other things. I liked the Turkish stop with many exotic foods.
Since we had started early, we didn't feel any pressure to ride fast and took our time, stopping often. I rode mostly with Beau, Zack, Corbin and Daniel. When one person wanted a stop, someone had to go ride up to the leader to "deliver the mail" - ie the message to pull over. Usually that was Zack. He has real speed in his legs. Even with 140mm cranks, he pushed one downhill to 24mph but crashed on another at around 23mph. Luckily when you're 17, you can complete a 60+ mile ride after hitting the asphalt at 23 mph on mile 3.
Here are some 'photos I took' (http://community.webshots.com/album/346448870hYCjQe) and here is a 'GPS track of the ride with elevation and heartrate info.' (http://tinyurl.com/8q2aq) The coolest way to view it is to click the "Export to Keyhole" button from the "Dashboard" if you have 'Keyhole' (http://www.keyhole.com) installed. Also if you're using IE6 on Windows and have the Adobe SVG plugin installed, try the "Map Player" tab.
This ride was long, but TONS of fun! My previous longest distance was 20 miles. Going 64 miles wasn't that much more difficult, although towards the end I was starting to really feel it in my legs, and today my left leg is really sore.
What an outstanding turnout. It's fun to ride in a herd that size. Passing walking bikers on hills is a treat we have also relished. When we did the "Chilly Hilly" in Seattle we had 10 riders on Cokers so we were missing only one area Coker rider that I know of. Even then we represented only 0.2% of the total riders with an entry list of 5000 bicyclists. Have any idea how your rider figures compare?
-- harper - TANKED at GASWORKS
-Greg Harper
B L U E S H I F T
"My world view has come crashing down like a drunk clown on a giraffe, riding through a cactus patch..." -evil-nick on "Entry of the Gladiators" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ harper's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/426 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40424
This ride was seriously a lot of fun! One of my highlights is when a 70 year-old 100k rider told me that she found new heros in us. I'm not sure I'm willing to accept "hero" status, but I enjoyed the compliment just the same.
There were a total of 934 registered riders, of which we represented a whopping 1.6%
Looks like it was a blast. Wish I was there for the ride, but California is a long way from Pennsylvania.
Congrats to all who busted out new personal distance records. And kudos to those who rode the pace of the "slower" riders. That companionship and support is really helpful when one is working on a long distance ride.
Sweet ride, looks like allot of fun with that size of group. Way to go to all on the long ride, it is an awesome feeling to finish such an event. I bet you can't wait until next year. Congrats to all.
corbin wrote:> *Bronson, Scott, Mike, Chris, Megumi, Beau, Nathan, John, Corbin,> Daniel, Mark, Scot, Shel, Mark.* Last names will cost you extra.
I rode the whole 25 miles with Scott Bond, a little less than half with Mark and Shel (Michelle?), and about 2 seconds with Megumi.
The original plan was for Jacquie to join me on her recumbent, possibly with her sister. But we kept getting rained out of every training ride we planned, and Jacquie hasn't actually ridden her bike yet this year. So she bailed, but I still wanted to go since I've missed so many rides out in that area. Much as I'd love to do the 100k, without training for the higher mileage, I know my knees would start to fall apart before I could finish.
The 25 miles Scott and I did turned into more like 30, as we made a wrong turn somewhere and had to backtrack. We were both proud to ride the whole thing, including some pretty steep climbs. I was very glad to have my brake, and got my first really serious use of it on some long, steep descents. My 125 cranks are great for cruising, but pretty bad for anything steep. Beau is an animal for doing all the ups and downs on his!
At the (Turkish?) rest stop, which was the only on on our loop, we caught up with Megumi, Mark and Michelle. They had really good baklava, pita bread with spread, and other cool goodies.
Then Scott and I rescued a bike from between a small tree and a car that had rolled into it. The bike was leaning against this little tree (less than 3" diameter) and a parked car, which had been left in drive, rolled back and smooshed it. Ouch! Destroyed front wheel, bent fork and handlebar. Ride over for that guy. Good thing for that little tree. If it were not there, the car would have rolled another 50' or so to the street, picking up speed all the way, and who knows what would have happened!
Megumi said she was worried about being slow, which was why she started before the rest of us. She took off again on the way back, and was the first unicycle to finish!
Scott and I rode with mark and Michelle for a while. They've only been unicycling for six months or so, so they were doing really great to be on Cokers in such a long ride. Riding at their slower pace was much more relaxing than what I know I would have done on my own, which would be to try to ride the same speed I do on my 8 mile commute. Which doesn't have hills.
All in all it was a great ride for me as well, and I still felt great at the end! Then it was back to Santa Cruz to pick up Jacquie and friend, and do two rides on the Giant Dipper roller coaster. That ride is great from any seat!
I had a great time, too. Thanks to everyone for helping me to improve my long-distance skills. And thanks so much to Scot who let me crash at his place. We had a GREAT time the next morning riding around the bluffs of Capitola!
Wow, that looked like a cool ride. Question 1: the 25miles that you guys took. Would I have to be in top shape to do this? And did you guys stick together? Or ride seperately in smaller groups?
Question 2: which crank size did you guys used? I have 150mm on my new Coker which I would think is too big for such long rides.
WOW, I am truely amazed at how far you guys can stay on a uni. Sixty plus miles in one day is amazing. Reid and I did 50K yesterday for the Tour de Cure, and that was a personal best for both of us. I can't wait until my hill climbing ability is as strong as all of you guys. Hearing people pass bikers on hills so steep that a biker has to walk is mind bogling. I really would love to see that in person someday. I walked 2-3 hills that were doable on a bike, just to save my legs and rest my seat. My problem is keeping my momentum as I climb. I seem to stall and fall. Lately I am just happy that isn't followed by massive cramping of the thighs! Congrats all of you who did your personal best on this ride. I am planning for a 50+ mile day this summer.
-- bugman - Survivor 2004 Wolfman Duathalon
-* [ F O N T = c e n t u r y g o t h i c ] ' H e l p C u r e D i a b e t e s b y S u p p o r t i n g M y R i d e ' ( h t t p : / / t i n y u r l . c o m / 6 8 m k v ) [ / F O N T ] * -
I have never really looked into GPS, but the info you are able to get on each ride is amazing. What type are you using? Does it come with all the software you need to make the maps etc...
-- bugman - Survivor 2004 Wolfman Duathalon
-* [ F O N T = c e n t u r y g o t h i c ] ' H e l p C u r e D i a b e t e s b y S u p p o r t i n g M y R i d e ' ( h t t p : / / t i n y u r l . c o m / 6 8 m k v ) [ / F O N T ] * -
Hey guys! It was such a great ride. It was a personal distance record for me. Being able to ride with such other notables as Nathan and Zack was awesome. I expected them to go flying by me and not see them till the next CMW. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able keep up with the other riders (or at least they let me keep up).
I did the ride on a borrowed coker, because I have yet to buy mine. Many thanks to Geoff for lending me the purple beauty, Nathan for finding contacting him for me, and Zack for painting it. Also, thanks to Megumi for letting me borrow her Coker for a few training rides.
I can't wait till I get mine built up so don't have to keep borrowing others.
nathan wrote:> *The GPS I have is the 'Garmin Forerunner 301.'> (http://www.garmin.com/products/forerunner301/) it comes with software> to download the tracks and plot heart rate, elevation, speed etc. But> even better is the software you can download for free from> 'www.motionbased.com' (http://www.motionbased.com/) This reads> directly from the GPS via USB and besides the nice charts and maps> etc, integrates directly to 'keyhole.' (http://www.keyhole.com/) The> other mapping software I've used is 'Topo!' (http://www.topo.com/)> which also reads the GPS tracks directly. It has very detailed contour> maps and does 3d fly-bys etc. Yes it's a whole new world for map geeks> these days.>
---Nathan *
Looks great. Thanks for the info Nathan. I checked around looks like they can be had for about $220. Not too bad.
-- bugman - Survivor 2004 Wolfman Duathalon
-* [ F O N T = c e n t u r y g o t h i c ] ' H e l p C u r e D i a b e t e s b y S u p p o r t i n g M y R i d e ' ( h t t p : / / t i n y u r l . c o m / 6 8 m k v ) [ / F O N T ] * -
bugman wrote:> *Looks great. Thanks for the info Nathan. I checked around looks> like they can be had for about $220. Not too bad. *
Make that $211 and Free Shipping.
-- bugman - Survivor 2004 Wolfman Duathalon
-* [ F O N T = c e n t u r y g o t h i c ] ' H e l p C u r e D i a b e t e s b y S u p p o r t i n g M y R i d e ' ( h t t p : / / t i n y u r l . c o m / 6 8 m k v ) [ / F O N T ] * -
johnfoss wrote:> *For U-Turn, note that Zack and I drove 2.5 hours or more to get to> this ride. I"m sure you have plenty of riders within that range,> though I know that's not very convenient for an after-work ride. > * Riding is part of my work
Glad you guys could make a trip of it. I head to NYUC when I can; between 4 and 8 hours round trip depending on road conditions and accidents (such as the recent Henry Hudson wall collapse, which is on my route). The Unithon will be hmmm about 5-6 hours each way, especially since some of the travelling is rush hourish. These days I'm going carless, so I have to borrow Dad's truck for these trips. Someday I hope to be able to attend more events!
Just awesome. You distance riders continue to be a huge inspiration to me. Thanks for continuing to post your accomplishments. I'm still riding a 24 but will have a 29 by summers end. Then I plan to start doing a bit more distance.
BTW, I do lots of century bike rides and I continue to be amazed at the food fest that usually goes along with the ride. I've known people who've actually gained weight on a long ride. Personally I can't eat too much when I'm working hard or I start to feel a bit ill. For a hundred mile ride over 6 hours a couple of Cliff Bars and a gallon or so of Gatorade usually suffices.
