Mark B
Zen MBB Master
Today was the day. I set up my first century in a few years and the first century on the Silvio. I'm extremely happy to report that the bike and the pilot both did extremely well!
The day started early at Backwoods BBQ in Corona, CA. I got there a little before 7:00 AM and met our club president, Diana. We were beginning to think nobody else was going to show up, but about five minutes before we were due to show, everybody showed up. We headed out and rolled hot and heavy toward the meeting place with the Yorba Regional Park group. The first part of the ride was a big downhill on which I hit 38 miles per hour. I knew, from doing this ride many times before, this would be a big "ouch" later in the afternoon. We arrived at the park where the others were waiting, used the bathroom, shot the breeze a few minutes, then headed on down the bike path. We had close to twenty people in the group and we pacelined all the way down. Truthfully, a few fell off after the first stop, but the biggest portion of the group hung together and rolled hot and heavy down to the beach, where we had better than a twenty mph average. As we approached the beach, a serious marine layer became evident. It was seriously socked in as we hit the coast and waited at the prearranged meeting spot (the potties). After everybody got there, we divided up and went our own ways. Some of us went to eat before heading back to the ride start. Others turned back directly without eating. The century group that I was leading was to head up the coast north toward Long Beach, to pay homage to the Queen Mary, which is anchored there. We lost a couple riders that were afraid to ride up the Pacific Coast Highway with the fog being so thick. The visibility on the highway was actually excellent, so we set sail again and moved right on up the coast towards Long Beach. Eventually, the fog got thicker and we had to take our glasses off to be able to see. We still kept a good pace until the turn off point in Seal Beach. We took some quieter streets to avoid left hand turns off of busy Pacific Coast Highway to get back down to the coastline. We wound our way through the back streets and ended up on the bike path in Long Beach, destined for the grand old boat anchored in the harbor. Our destination was at first shrouded by the fog, but as we neared, the fog rose and the Queen Mary stood out big as could be. The place we stopped was actually across the bay from the Queen, so we paid our respects, made a potty stop and turned back around. We had decided ahead of time we weren't stopping to eat. I had brought along a couple Cliff Bars and nibbled on them all day long as we rode.
Our return trip was a little different. Instead of the quiet back streets, we decided to take the direct route back to PCH and head right straight down her. We did make a quick stop for water at a convenience store, but otherwise made a hard and fast return back to Huntington Beach. A couple times along the way, I completely dropped the three I was riding with. In fact, as we headed across Bolsa Chica, I kicked it up to full tilt boogie and lost them completely from sight. I made the slight climb up to dog beach, which is the entrance into the city of Huntington Beach. At this point, there are many cars parked along the highway; people coming, people going, doors opening in front of you, so I wound it down to more manageable speeds. As I worked my way through HB, I began to pick up the faint color of yellow, our club jersey color. It was Diana catching back on just as we were getting to the point where we could open it back up again. We rolled to the potties at the start of the bike path, where we usually meet and had met earlier in the day. As we sat there, waiting for the other two, we visited with some friends we met there. Apparently, we missed as the other two passed and got back on the path heading for the ride start. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, we finally connected via cell phone and discovered that they were two miles ahead of us down the path. So, we headed off to try and play catch up, which we eventually did. We found them at the bathrooms across from the Anaheim Pond, now called the Toyota Center. They were looking pretty haggard, half beat to death. I was still feeling good, but I could tell that Diana was getting tired, too. I nibbled on my Cliff Bar again, had a drink before heading down the path. We got clearance from the other two to leave them to ride their own pace, so we set sail again. I didn't spare the wood and kept a 20+ pace as much as I could. I got back to Featherly Park and stopped for water and a break off the bike. I waited awhile and Diana caught back up. We headed off again and did pretty good until we got off the path. Here's where we hit the hill. The climb was hard, but not as bad as I expected. We got back to Backwoods BBQ in fine fashion with 100 miles on the computer and a 17.7 mph average. I was hoping for 18, but don't feel bad with what I got.
This marks one of my faster centuries ever and the first I'd done in a few years. I had one that was just over 18. I was much fitter, so I consider this a major accomplishment and a testament to the Silvio. Don't let anybody tell you the Silvio isn't all day comfortable, either. I was comfortable all day long and aside from a tight right calf, feel pretty darned good. The Silvio is an amazing bike and it continues to amaze me.
Mark
The day started early at Backwoods BBQ in Corona, CA. I got there a little before 7:00 AM and met our club president, Diana. We were beginning to think nobody else was going to show up, but about five minutes before we were due to show, everybody showed up. We headed out and rolled hot and heavy toward the meeting place with the Yorba Regional Park group. The first part of the ride was a big downhill on which I hit 38 miles per hour. I knew, from doing this ride many times before, this would be a big "ouch" later in the afternoon. We arrived at the park where the others were waiting, used the bathroom, shot the breeze a few minutes, then headed on down the bike path. We had close to twenty people in the group and we pacelined all the way down. Truthfully, a few fell off after the first stop, but the biggest portion of the group hung together and rolled hot and heavy down to the beach, where we had better than a twenty mph average. As we approached the beach, a serious marine layer became evident. It was seriously socked in as we hit the coast and waited at the prearranged meeting spot (the potties). After everybody got there, we divided up and went our own ways. Some of us went to eat before heading back to the ride start. Others turned back directly without eating. The century group that I was leading was to head up the coast north toward Long Beach, to pay homage to the Queen Mary, which is anchored there. We lost a couple riders that were afraid to ride up the Pacific Coast Highway with the fog being so thick. The visibility on the highway was actually excellent, so we set sail again and moved right on up the coast towards Long Beach. Eventually, the fog got thicker and we had to take our glasses off to be able to see. We still kept a good pace until the turn off point in Seal Beach. We took some quieter streets to avoid left hand turns off of busy Pacific Coast Highway to get back down to the coastline. We wound our way through the back streets and ended up on the bike path in Long Beach, destined for the grand old boat anchored in the harbor. Our destination was at first shrouded by the fog, but as we neared, the fog rose and the Queen Mary stood out big as could be. The place we stopped was actually across the bay from the Queen, so we paid our respects, made a potty stop and turned back around. We had decided ahead of time we weren't stopping to eat. I had brought along a couple Cliff Bars and nibbled on them all day long as we rode.
Our return trip was a little different. Instead of the quiet back streets, we decided to take the direct route back to PCH and head right straight down her. We did make a quick stop for water at a convenience store, but otherwise made a hard and fast return back to Huntington Beach. A couple times along the way, I completely dropped the three I was riding with. In fact, as we headed across Bolsa Chica, I kicked it up to full tilt boogie and lost them completely from sight. I made the slight climb up to dog beach, which is the entrance into the city of Huntington Beach. At this point, there are many cars parked along the highway; people coming, people going, doors opening in front of you, so I wound it down to more manageable speeds. As I worked my way through HB, I began to pick up the faint color of yellow, our club jersey color. It was Diana catching back on just as we were getting to the point where we could open it back up again. We rolled to the potties at the start of the bike path, where we usually meet and had met earlier in the day. As we sat there, waiting for the other two, we visited with some friends we met there. Apparently, we missed as the other two passed and got back on the path heading for the ride start. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, we finally connected via cell phone and discovered that they were two miles ahead of us down the path. So, we headed off to try and play catch up, which we eventually did. We found them at the bathrooms across from the Anaheim Pond, now called the Toyota Center. They were looking pretty haggard, half beat to death. I was still feeling good, but I could tell that Diana was getting tired, too. I nibbled on my Cliff Bar again, had a drink before heading down the path. We got clearance from the other two to leave them to ride their own pace, so we set sail again. I didn't spare the wood and kept a 20+ pace as much as I could. I got back to Featherly Park and stopped for water and a break off the bike. I waited awhile and Diana caught back up. We headed off again and did pretty good until we got off the path. Here's where we hit the hill. The climb was hard, but not as bad as I expected. We got back to Backwoods BBQ in fine fashion with 100 miles on the computer and a 17.7 mph average. I was hoping for 18, but don't feel bad with what I got.
This marks one of my faster centuries ever and the first I'd done in a few years. I had one that was just over 18. I was much fitter, so I consider this a major accomplishment and a testament to the Silvio. Don't let anybody tell you the Silvio isn't all day comfortable, either. I was comfortable all day long and aside from a tight right calf, feel pretty darned good. The Silvio is an amazing bike and it continues to amaze me.
Mark
