05.11.2010 | 12:29 pm
Yesterday, a couple of us rowers got on the bikes & trainers to do the 100 Miles of Nowhere. We set up camp on the balcony of Lake Washington Rowing Club with a view of Lake Union, the ship canal, some of the best people watching in the city, and most importantly – shade.
It was 70 and perfectly sunny, rare for early May in Seattle. We set up the laptop to play through the Bourne trilogy, but the sun was actually so bright that we couldn’t see the movie.
Plan B: music. We had a handful of visitors throughout the day, but they all seemed to be more interested in the view than bringing us snacks. Lot of good they were.
I felt really good through about mile 55, then there was a steady decline in energy and speed until about mile 87, when I got my second wind and finished (fairly) strong. Joe claimed it was his “rest day” and that he was going to “heart rate limit” himself, which just resulted in me finishing 13 miles and 40 minutes ahead of him.
But at the end there were plenty of brats & beer to go around, and cancer still got the finger.
– Jeny P, Seattle
PS from Fatty: Want another story? Check out CyclingProject365’s excellent writeup!
Comments (1)
05.11.2010 | 12:01 pm
100 Miles of Nowwhere. I’ve been looking forward to this since late March. Sometimes winning is everything and this time I’d given myself every chance within my category (the dodgy knees holding a Guernsey Passport division). Reasonably rested, carbo loaded and ready to go I slept soundly the night before the off knowing I’d be difficult to beat. As long as I beat 5 hours I’d be the winner.
After all, these 100 miles were to be raced over my (literally) home turf. No one could possibly beat me. Could they?
Whats more, I had a special bike too.
A Cervelo S1 aero frame (borrowed for a week from my LBS) with deep section Mavic wheels. An absolute must for any turbo based endurance event. Try it. You will never look back.
Pre race supplies
A Shaky Start
Amazingly, and rather embarrassingly due to late decision on behalf of my bowels who with only a few mins to go before the off decided to demand a movement, I missed my start time at the gate by 6 mins.
Mortified and with jeers and cat calls from the crowd (Mrs T) ringing in my ears I finally set off at 11.06 am. Given my lack of common time keeping I decided upon a simple strategy.
To keep pedalling for the next 5 hours.
Simple and yet immensely effective. Turn those circles so to speak & never, ever, turn in squares..
The Race Proper
So thats how it went. Minute by minute and hour by hour the drill remained simple.
Pedal. Drink every 10 mins and eat every half hour.
For 5 hours.
Simple.
Actually thats not quite the full extent of the truth. It wasn’t that simple at all. These 5 hours were rather long. In fact, they were very, very long…… A man can watch only soooo much Snooker on TV before feeling quite vengeful to almost anyone.
The End
And so it came to pass. With 160kms on the clock and nearly “home” I noticed my pace was slightly off the target. It dawned on me I’d probably fail. That I wouldn’t break the 5 hour mark.
As you can imagine with 160kms in the legs it took some effort to summon the strength needed for a sprint but sprint I did.
But to no avail. I finished in 5 hours and 5 secs.
I had failed. I had lost and in my mind I’d lost big…….
Next year…. I’ll do it next year……
The mess afterwards. Drink bottle, food wrappers and sweat towels everywhere.
The proof. 5 Secs from victory
– Stuart T.
Comments (3)
05.11.2010 | 11:29 am
Just thought I’d give you the race report from the Cypress, TX 100 (or less) Miles of Nowhere. Our race got off to a late start due to a morning trip to the Houston Zoo that lasted much longer than had been planned. So the race start time wasn’t until sometime around 4:30pm.
Attendees at the race were Momma, Georgia (age 5) and Sam (age 7).
.
Georgia and Sam took turns because Daddy only made 1 stand for the kids’ bikes. The race took a brief intermission after viewing of Ride the Divide was complete – the racers were famished and a Tex Mex break was required.
After refueling, the younger racers were sent to bed and Momma toiled on until her knees told her they could take no more, having gone much further than they’ve ever gone on a bike before. Momma managed to make it 30 miles, and based on how fast the kids managed to get the rear tire on Georgia’s bike to spin they probably went at least 10 miles each. So we’ll call it 50 Miles of Nowhere, right?
Although the kids’ rig is still set up in the bedroom and they continue to jump on it and add a few more miles every day, so in another week or two we might finally complete the 100 miles.
Next year, Momma will do a bit more training and will make it at least 31 miles before calling it quits. And maybe Daddy will make another stand so that the kids can bike at the same time. And maybe we’ll figure out a way to play Rock Band while riding our bikes. That would be the ultimate!
– Tracy W, Cypress, TX
Comments (7)
05.11.2010 | 11:18 am
I know everyone is used to Fatty’s constant comments on how he lives in the best place in the world for bicycling. I’d like to offer some….”competing” evidence. When I first found out that the 100 Miles to Nowhere was the same weekend as my planned trip to Yosemite National Park, I was a bit dismayed. And then I realized, why not do it on the small bicycle loop on the valley floor? And won’t everyone in basements be jealous? :) And when I mean jealous, look at this!
How can you not plan your next vacation here (and bring your bike) with evidence like this! You’re pedaling along, frantically scrambling away from people attempting to drive rental motorhomes, and you spot this through the trees.
Waterfalls around every turn.
Unfortunately, it’s a pretty small loop… so, these waterfalls are stalking me!
Unfortunately, it was a spectacularly unsuccessful 100 Miles to Nowhere. I made it a whopping 18 miles. I might not have (this is me being very generous to my abilities) finished anyway, but considering all the pedestrians I needed to dodge, and the 113 photos I took, those 18 miles took over 3 hours. The loop is a very popular footpath in the summer. Average pedaling speed was 6 mph. If I tried to do a full 100 on it, I’d probably still be out there.
And bringing trainer/rollers to a national park is just criminal!
– Judy from San Jose
Comments (4)
05.11.2010 | 10:59 am
This year’s 3rd Annual 100 MIles of Nowhere was the 2nd Annual and final Lusail, Qatar edition. I will be moving back to Canada at the beginning of July and waving goodbye to the heat, dust and wind that is the Persian Gulf.
I packed the cooler after the alarm went off at 1:00 am. I ate some quick oatmeal, loaded the car and headed to the Lusail International Speedway for some well-lit and low-traveled access roads.
I got there and found that this Friday night was teenage race night and I was going to have some problems. I planned on starting at 2:00 am and I was right on track.
Unfortunately, about 35 Toyota Lancruisers and other assorted trucks were ripping up and down my race course at about 120 mph.
But I needed to get started, so I suited up and started riding laps around the parking lot hoping things would settle down soon. After 45 minutes of tight loops and the sounds of unmuffled exhaust and backfiring, the locals started to dissipate and the road seemed less life-threatening to head out on.
My course was a straight line, out and back with roundabouts on either end. Total distance of one lap was 2 miles.
I worked by myself until the 2-hour mark, stopped to refill and give the butt a rest. Got back on for a half hour and at 4:30 a friend came out to put in some laps with me. Ryder showing up gave me the boost I needed just as I was starting to think too much about my saddle, legs and back. He pulled me through some of the headwinds and took my mind off of the monotony. 30 miles later, he peeled out and I was back to the podcasts to occupy my mind.
Another hour and my wife and another friend made it out to cheer me in. I limped through the last few laps (amazing how that headwind has a cumulative effect and that tiny bump starts to feel like a real hill) and finished with a smile on my face. The temperature was great this year, only 95 degrees at my 8:30am finish time!
I’m super grateful to friends and family who have donated over $1000 to my Livestrong page in only the last three days. After a hard year of my mother-in-law yet again battling cancer and undergoing chemo and radiation, I’m thankful for Fatty putting on the event again and giving me a chance to feel like I’m doing something to help her fight and THE fight from so far away.
Can’t wait to see everyone again in Philly for the next 100!
– Aaron Peterson
Comments (6)
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