Escape NY Century

This was my first century. It was supposed to be my girlfriend, her friend and myself on the ride. My girlfriend got sick, and her friend had to back out at the last minute. I did a solo mission.

I rode from my place in Brooklyn over to the west side highway bike path, and up to 122nd street for the start. The event was well coordinated, catered and sponsored. Tons of freebies, great food and coffee to start the day. You could start whenever you wanted. I waited until I saw what looked like some more experienced riders, then set out behind them.

The street markers were very well placed and it was easy to follow without a map (even though they gave us one). After about 5 miles, I started riding with a pretty fast group. A few of them were from team NY velocity. I rode with them for about 30 miles until we hit the first rest point. I felt fast and strong, and I hit my top speed on that first ride , 45mph. The hills were insane. I consider myself a strong climber but these really kicked the shit out of me.

The rest points were efficient and had all the essentials. Peanut butter and jelly bagels, sandwiches, bananas, oranges, and gatorade o'plenty were consumed.

After stop 1, I decided to take it a bit easier. I was already feeling fatigue, and I knew there were many more hills to come. I set out on my own with no intentions of finding any group. There was so much great scenery, and ridiculous houses on the ride. Plenty of SUV's and soccer moms, and obviously lots of money in Rockland county.

Stop #2... I ate a ton of food but the best thing here was the public bathroom with a sink! It was like a fucking oasis. I washed my sticky hands and arms, and just sat there for what felt like 10 minutes splashing water over myself. By this time my neck was in pain, and my right knee as well. I stretched out for a few minutes, then hit the road again.

The 3rd leg of the ride wasn't as intense on the climbing, but by this point I was pretty beat. It took everything out of me to keep going, but at this point you know there is no other choice. I met a couple guys that were riding a considerable pace, so I just rode with them for a bit and chatted it up. I missed the last rest stop somehow, but I don't think I could have eaten any more food.

Towards the end of the 3rd leg, the best part was seeing the GW bridge and knowing you had made it through. Sakura park, the finish point wasn't far from there. Once I got to the park, they had a huge amount of food waiting, gelato, and more handouts. I ate a bit, and then ventured back to Brooklyn, ailing. My totals for the day were 124.7 miles and a 16.2 MPH pace overall.

A few things I learned on this ride:
Even though you feel strong at the start, pacing the fastest group in the beginning is not smart. It made the rest of the ride that much harder.

Even though I consider myself a strong rider, rolling hills will kick your ass.

I need to make some adjustments to my bike for longer rides. My neck and right knee are still fucked up!

I snapped a few pictures along the way:

start:

GW Bridge:

Rest stop #1:

re-fueled after rest stop:

Finish!