Siskiyou Century

For starters, I only did the 61k ride. Yeah, 61k. Read on.

Activity: Road Bike
Area: Shasta Valley: Yreka, Little Shasta, and Montague, California
Weather: Chilly, low 60's, big puffy clouds being broken up by the coastal range.
Distance: 37.9 miles
Avg spd.: 16.2 mph
How I felt: Great. At the end of the ride my legs were more or less wiped, I had itchy lungs, and just felt great. Still dealing with a little groin numbness, and big toe numbness... maybe time to try a different saddle? Otherwise, the bike fit felt great.
Thing to remember: Hmm... the course was absolutely beautiful - rolling hills through a giant valley surrounded by towering mountains on all sides. Lots of cattle ranches, one lumber mill, and humans were far and few. The first half of the ride I finished at a 17.5mph pace, and the headwind on the second half slowed me down quite a bit. What else... the general vibe at this century was lame. Lots of grumpy ass rodies, and the locals weren't exactly a bowl of cherries either. I can't count the number of times I said "HOWDY!!!" to someone on my bike, only to be met with silence, scowls, or both. The maps/directions/painted arrows on the road were all screwed up as well. Their distances were off, and one painted arrow was flat out wrong - it pointed to turn left, and the map said to go straight. That said, the folks that put on the race were personable, polite, and their post-ride food was good, down-home cookin' - beef, chicken, baked potatoes, pasta salads, all the fixins.

Overall a fun ride, but I don't think I'll be going back next year.