The Long and Windy Road

This weekend's adventure involved a trip to San Luis Obispo with some friends, old and new, to ride the Wildflower Century. This was to be the first century (100-mile ride) for three of them; a couple of us pointed out that the Wine Country Century would have been a friendlier option (shorter, with less climbing). But that's just not how we do things, is it?

I was grateful for the opportunity to tag along and bike through new terrain. Strange as it may sound, it is easier for me to bike 100 miles than it is to drive 100 miles. San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, and Solvang - tantalizing, but out of range. Unless I can be a passenger.

Three loops of rolling hills comprised the route, which covered about 107 miles and 5,750 feet of climbing. I was able map the first half of the route before my G1's battery ran out of juice.

Favorite street sign of the day: Random Canyon Road. I missed the wandering pig, but met the cows on Shell Creek Road. (The creek, by the way, was utterly dry.) The San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club volunteers were wonderful, warning us at the cattle grates and regularly cruising the route with SAG vehicles.

I would soon learn what so many others already knew: strong headwinds on the road to Shandon. Shift down. That didn't help. Shift down. That didn't help. Fifteen miles of this? Luckily, I found a buddy (Jerry) who suggested we work together. We took turns pulling and drafting; my average speed actually went up through this section, as a result. Gradually we caught and passed other riders, who turned down our offer to rotate in with us (because they didn't know how). Moral of the story? Learn to draft. It works for pro racers. It works for mere mortals.

At the end of the day, our group of five spent cyclists celebrated together; every one of us completed the long route. I slept for ten hours that night.