Yesterday I did my first metric century event. The Cool Breeze Metric Century is held every August in Ventura, CA. It is hosted by the Channel Islands Bicycle Club. There are a few different rides to choose from, they have 38, 63, 100 & 125 miles rides.
A few guys from work had signed up for the Metric Century, 63 miles. I decided to join them. We left my house at 5:20 am aiming to get up there to start around 7am. We made good time and even stopped for some coffee but the traffic at the off ramp was too slow. By the time we went and parked and got over to registration to pick up our bib and map it was passed 7am.
We met up with the rest of the group at the start line and crossed it at about 7:30. We kept a nice pace and made our way along the route following the green arrow markers. The route went up some small hills and there were some great views around. The marine layer was inland so the temps were pretty cool, some people even claimed it was cold! I told a couple it's not Scotland!
After about 15 miles we hit the first rest stop. It was well prepared and there was plenty of food and water. I took a quick pit stop and grabbed a cookie and half a banana and then we were on our way. The route was now heading along the coast and we got to see the ocean. This part was nice and flat so we picked up the pace a bit. I got some practice drafting and taking the lead. I was hanging back the first 15 miles checking it out as this was my first time riding in a bigger group setting.
I learned a lot just watching fellow riders and the things to look out for and the things to alert others to while riding.
The route now went inland a bit and then we hit a category 4 climb! I was feeling good so I powered on ahead up to the top and waited for the group. I surprised myself getting up there! My practice is starting to pay off. That just means I need to try more climbs!
Once we hit the halfway mark there was another rest stop. Again really well stocked with food and water and ready to go. I grabbed a PB&J sandwich and another banana. I finished my water and filled my bottle up for the next half of the ride. I bumped into a fellow bikeforums.net member, I recognized the jersey he said he'd be wearing. I went over and introduced myself and it was who i thought, it was calimarichris. We chatted for a bit then I went to join my group.
We hit the road and headed on out again. This time we started to head back towards the start. It was nice riding along the ocean and a little scary riding on the bike trail on the freeway as trucks whizzed by! Now the sun had burned off the marine layer and it was warming up. Still not too hot though. There were plenty of people out camping along the beach and enjoying summer. We then hit the final rest stop were there was more food and popsicles! Perfect timing now it was warming up!
Once we were done with the popsicles we headed back to the road toward the finish. I tagged behind one of the members of our group who was chatting with a fellow rider and we split from the rest of our group. We waited near the end so we could all cross the finish line together.
At the finish line they had a nice lunch for everyone. It was chicken and tri-tip with pasta, salad and some veggies. It was yummy. After we were done with grub I picked up my finisher's patch and we hit the road home.
I thought that this was an really good event and very well organised. There were only a couple of spots were the markings were a little confusing. The one annoying thing was the Metric Century Route was about 10k short of being a metric century! I will definitely be doing this once again, maybe the 100 mile next year! The one thing I forgot to bring was my camera! Must remember that next year.
