04/24/05- My second Wildflower Century; last year I rode with
Jeff, one of our reps, while this year it was Sal, one of our
customers and all-around good guy (he ran our "secret" soft-drink
stop last year at the Sequoia Century). Not shown in these photos is
Troy, a really strong rider I came across several times during the
ride.
Chico Velo's support is wonderful, with a huge number of volunteers
at the rest stops and most (but not all) confusing intersections.
Better road markings would be nice, as the 100k & 100m routes
criss-cross each other and you're not always sure which way to go.
Food at the rest stops was great, especially the lemon-poppyseed
bread at the 47 mile stop near Oroville. The food at the end was...
well, I dunno, I really wanted something with meat, not a vegetarian
burrito. I know, everyone said it tastes just like chicken!
6:54am
Motel 6 in Oroville. Cheap, about 25 minutes away, and if you don't
wait until the last minute, you might get a non-smoking room!
7:41am
We're off-and-running. We started fairly late, apparently missing
the rain that hit the earlier riders. The earlybird got the worms
today!
7:54am
Approaching Humboldt Road, the day's first climb. Think about
drawing energy from the powerlines overhead.
8:11am
Sal climbing Humboldt Road. Yes, the surface is as bad as it looks,
a cross between Tunitas and Tripp Road.
8:14am
Nearing the top of Humboldt Road, where you turn left and head back
down Highway 32 (right photo) for a fast descent back to where you
started. Fortunately, it has a much-smoother surface. Unfortunately,
the great view you'd normally get was obscured by the
always-threatening clouds.
8:49am
First rest stop, at the covered bridge on Honey Run (before the
climbing starts).
9:07am
Honey Run Road is much-feared but actually a very pleasant climb to
(literally) Paradise.
9:19am
About halfway through and some are just not having a good time at
this point.
9:19am
Continuing up Honey Run, with Howard (on the left), a customer of
ours thankful for his new triple crankset!
9:28am
The first full-service rest stop, with a selection of food & drinks.
About 25 miles into the ride, and hardly seemed necessary.
9:55am
Heading down Pentz road I caught up to (and eventually passed) this
father/young son tandem unit. They were moving!
10:05am
After that fun descent on Pentz comes a small rise before you start
the dreaded "Table Mountain" loop.
10:06am
Due to the rain, there were a lot of flats! I had
stopped and helped Kate finish inflating her tires; she'd flatted
both tires.
10:08am
If not for the cloudy skies, I'm sure I would have been nailed for
speeding. Yeah, I wish! Actually, I rode very strongly all day.
10:16am
Table Mountain Blvd begins! A nice, twisty road that takes you past
a lot of cows. What do they eat that makes that awful smell???
10:29am
Affordable housing? In the Bay Area, these would qualify as
fixer-uppers at about $600k each.
10:56am
At 47 miles you hit the Oroville/Table Mtn rest stop, and your first
glimpse of sunshine. Off go the leg warmers & base layer!
11:19am
Heading across the Thermalito Power Canal on Cherokee Road- the
start of the most-dreaded climb of the ride.
11:24am
So how did he get that Lance wristband around his hub? Cut & glue
back together? No, he actually built his wheel around it!
11:37am
On the right is Peggy, a great customer, in exactly the same place I
found her last year on this ride! Howard H is next to her.
11:47am
At last, the top of Cherokee Road. Not all that long a climb, at
less than 30 minutes at a moderate pace. Not being 94' like last
year helped.
11:58am
I waited a bit at the top for some others to catch up, and found
David, another customer happy to be at the top of the last big
climb.
12:49pm
The BIG rest stop at 59 miles, with special sandwiches
that seemed designed to go down fast. The best fast food anywhere.
1:06pm
Back on the road to Durham, I spotted this woman pulling her friend
along (never mind that it looks like she's being pushed from
behind).
1:44pm Pulling into the final rest stop at Durham. 73 miles
into the ride, with theoretically 24 miles to go. Funny thing
though; my computer shows a total of only 95 miles for this ride.
That's OK; those last flat miles just grind you down. Sal & I picked
up a pair of Mtn Dews at the local store for motivation.
2:27pm
Yuck. What can I say? I'd much rather that a ride didn't end with 30
flat miles! But you get rhythm going and try to get as many people
hanging onto your wheel as possible and take them for a ride.
2:53pm Cruising back into "downtown" Chico. This was the
easiest century I've ever ridden, probably due to the cool weather
and partly because I'm a bit lighter than last year. We finished
about 3pm; by 3:45, it had begun to rain, and by the time we were on
the road home, it was absolutely dumping. But while we were riding,
it was, overall, pretty darned nice. Doesn't hurt that I came across
quite a few friendly customers too!
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