Chico Century Report - April 26, 2015
This was our first Total Body Fitness Women’s Cycling Class destination event! After 3 months of coaching our twenty-five beginning riders, we were definitely ready for a Big Event, and our plan all along was the Chico Wildflower Century.
Early arrival, cool conditions, friendly faces! About 2,000 participants in this event. Our riders divided into groups based on their chosen distance and each had one to two coaches for assistance. My group of five all chose the 100 mile route, and off we rode! As we rolled out through the town of Chico, we reminisced over the many fun times we’d had on our Sunday morning training rides. Soon we hit the infamous Honey Bear Climb, a long and shady country road that had steady climbing -- and my gals did a great job! Photo op at the top and we turned our attention to a fast and fun descent! Although I often ride 100 miles without ever getting off my bike, the rest and lunch stop were a welcome sit to my gals! Good snacks and and back on the road! The final forty miles faced the wind, and our group broke up, leaving me with just one rider to bring in. She had worked hard on pacelining and it paid off as we traded pulls. Before long, a couple of men joined us, until one of them decided to just sit in, making my rider, Beate, mad! In the end, we said adios, and continued on our own.
With thirty miles remaining, Beate was suddenly dragging. I pulled up and asked if she had eaten recently and how much water she had left. She was out of snacks and low on water, so I refueled her - with Hammer Espresso Gel, of course, and a Fizz Tab in water. We stretched for a few minutes in the shade, and off we rode, hoping she would regain her stride. Well - that took about ONE MILE, and she was again taking strong pulls! THANK YOU< HAMMER!! Beate cam in strong and happy, and in fact, when the race ended at just 94 miles, she (and i) was miffed! We’d signed up for 100, and this was her first century, so 94 was definitely not good enough! We doubled back out on the course and got in the remaining miles, all the while with that energetic smile on her face. She is convinced on how well Hammer works and uses it on all her rides now! And having shared that with the other members of our class, many are doing the same. (Right now they are buying from their local bike shop.)
This was just the first of three centuries that our Total Body Fitness Women’s Cycling Class has on the calendar -
Next up: Napa Century, followed by the Foxy Fall Century.
This was our first Total Body Fitness Women’s Cycling Class destination event! After 3 months of coaching our twenty-five beginning riders, we were definitely ready for a Big Event, and our plan all along was the Chico Wildflower Century.
Early arrival, cool conditions, friendly faces! About 2,000 participants in this event. Our riders divided into groups based on their chosen distance and each had one to two coaches for assistance. My group of five all chose the 100 mile route, and off we rode! As we rolled out through the town of Chico, we reminisced over the many fun times we’d had on our Sunday morning training rides. Soon we hit the infamous Honey Bear Climb, a long and shady country road that had steady climbing -- and my gals did a great job! Photo op at the top and we turned our attention to a fast and fun descent! Although I often ride 100 miles without ever getting off my bike, the rest and lunch stop were a welcome sit to my gals! Good snacks and and back on the road! The final forty miles faced the wind, and our group broke up, leaving me with just one rider to bring in. She had worked hard on pacelining and it paid off as we traded pulls. Before long, a couple of men joined us, until one of them decided to just sit in, making my rider, Beate, mad! In the end, we said adios, and continued on our own.
With thirty miles remaining, Beate was suddenly dragging. I pulled up and asked if she had eaten recently and how much water she had left. She was out of snacks and low on water, so I refueled her - with Hammer Espresso Gel, of course, and a Fizz Tab in water. We stretched for a few minutes in the shade, and off we rode, hoping she would regain her stride. Well - that took about ONE MILE, and she was again taking strong pulls! THANK YOU< HAMMER!! Beate cam in strong and happy, and in fact, when the race ended at just 94 miles, she (and i) was miffed! We’d signed up for 100, and this was her first century, so 94 was definitely not good enough! We doubled back out on the course and got in the remaining miles, all the while with that energetic smile on her face. She is convinced on how well Hammer works and uses it on all her rides now! And having shared that with the other members of our class, many are doing the same. (Right now they are buying from their local bike shop.)
This was just the first of three centuries that our Total Body Fitness Women’s Cycling Class has on the calendar -
Next up: Napa Century, followed by the Foxy Fall Century.