I decided to ride the Sequoia Century 100km on Sunday, June 3, 2007 on my new Merlin Works CR 3/2.5 although its lowest gear is a 39×25 vs. the 34×25 on my Trek Madone 5.2 SL. The Merlin seemed to be a very good climber in a test ride on the Los Altos Hills loop, so I decided to go with it on the 100km ride. In retrospect, I should have gone with the Trek since I had to traverse the steepest sections on Pagemill and West Alpine road. The previous weekend, I had climbed up West Alpine on my Trek, and I didn’t need to resort to a traverse to clear the steepest sections. On the less steep sections though, the Merlin was a very good climber and very sure on the fast descents on 84, Skyline and Highway 9. The two rest stops put on by the Western Wheelers were a very nice break with their fluid and food refreshments. At the first rest stop at Sam McDonald Park, I filled my water bottles with Gatorade, and took a break sitting down while I ate some fruit and Fig Newtons. I then went on the West Alpine climb which is a beautiful narrow road overshadowed by redwoods which soon becomes steeper and sunnier. I’ll definitely have to ride West Alpine more in the future since it’s a very quiet road with glorious scenery. There were some downhill sections at the top of West Alpine which had a layer of loose gravel and sand over them, but fortunately, those sections weren’t too twisty and steep.
On Skyline, my legs felt a little sore from all the climbing, and I felt some slight cramping in my right thigh, but I alleviated the cramping with rests on the downhill sections of Skyline and a Mocha Mocha Clifshot. I followed the rolling terrain until the next stop at the Saratoga Gap fire station and decided to take another break for food and fluids. I ate some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the second stop since I needed something a little more solid. Right before I left the rest stop, I felt a sharp twinge in my inner thighs as I pulled my knees up to my chest to stretch out my legs, but I was fine after walking around a little. At this point, the finish was only 20 miles away and mostly downhill, so I wasn’t too concerned about finishing. When I entered the descent on Highway 9, I had the unfortunate luck to be riding behind a lady who going very slowly and constantly applying her brakes. I wasn’t able to pass her safely until 2/3 of the way down to Pierce road, and then I had a lot of fun descending. I overshot the Mt. Eden route on Pierce road, but I realized it soon after I passed Quarry road so I didn’t have to backtrack too far. As I backtracked, about 10 other people on the ride shot past me, so I don’t think I was the only one who missed the left on to Mt. Eden. There was a steep short section on Mt. Eden, but it was over pretty quickly, and after that, I was on automatic pilot on Stevens Creek and Foothill back to the VA. There was a mild headwind on the way in, but nothing too serious.
Between riding to the start and the 100km ride, I rode 70 miles that day according to the bike computer (I had attached a Cateye Strada Wireless the day before, and it has a small size and nice stem mount). I could have ridden home, but I was fortunate enough to have my wife and kids come pick me up at the finish and drive me home. It was a welcome sight to see my daughter bringing me my sandals, and I split an It’s It for her and her brother. The two big revelations for the ride were that I definitely need the lower gearing of a compact crank if I decide to do a long ride again through the local hills, and that the Fizik Arione is a very comfortable saddle for long rides. I rode the Trek to work today, and the Bontrager Race Lite saddle on it seems way too fat, so I’ll be replacing it soon with an Arione.
Western Wheelers did a great job with the rest stops and finish, and the many sag vehicles. At the finish, it was good to see and say hi to Terry Morse whom I haven’t seen since he dropped off some Myrmidon software at the office many years ago. At the rest stops and finish, there was quite a display of nice rides with a high concentration of Colnago and Calfee frames. The weather was warmer than last weekend when a layer of fog covered the ridgeline and everything west of it, but it was probably good for the overall safety of the ride since the ridgeline was also pretty wet at some places last weekend. I was happy with how the ride turned out, and I look forward to completing my first century after doing my first 100km ride.