Tour of Poway–Riding A Century

by David (my cousin)

My first century (100-mile) road bike ride!

Alan, Walter and I did the 24th annual "TOUR OF POWAY" fun ride together, it took us just under six hours to do 100 miles averaging 17 mph.

The weather turned cold, cloudy and windy that morning with a possibility of rain. But none of the more than 2,000 riders seemed to mind.

The ride started at 7:00 a.m., but we left 15 minutes late because I had to find where to pickup my number patch and fill out a waiver. I'd registered just a few days before the ride and my patch was in will call.

The ride started off flat for the first mile (not quite warmed up yet). Then came a steady 4.5 mile climb on a narrow Poway road up to Highway 67 – it was good that this road was closed going east for the ride. Then it was a steady 6-mile climb on Highway 67 to Ramona.

After going around the outskirts of Ramona, we stopped at an Aid Station for snacks, beverages and restrooms before going 13 miles downhill on Highway 78 to Escondido. We came to a point around 35 miles where we could turn left and do the balance of 50 or 62 miles, or turn right and do the 100 miles.

After a short conversation we decided that we could do the 100 miles and Walter said we should do a slower average speed (a century pace) to complete the ride. Our average speed was around 19 mph at this point.

The ride then took us through my city of San Marcos (yes, I wanted to go home but didn't), then scenic Carlsbad. When we got to the coast we went south to La Costa, then turned to go through Rancho Sante Fe Estates, Carmel Valley, and Rancho Bernardo. This is where I hit a rise in the road for an underground drain lid. I must've hit it going 30 mph or so and my rear wheel spoke broke at the hub. My rim was now wobbling out of alignment at this point 15 miles before the end. But it was still rideable with some brake rub. Great, but now my average speed was dropping!

Alan at the finish line.

We made it back though, without any other problems.

The ride was a good course on a cool and windy day. And I'm glad it did not rain. I didn't notice very many flats. It seemed as if they swept the road of any debris in preparation for this ride.

This was Walter's first century too, and Alan's second. We'll see if maybe this is not the last!

David

From Me: Thanks David, I enjoyed this experience very much!