Lost on the Roads? Mike becomes a cycling newbie!

(photo courtesy of SVBC)

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." Ah, the famous line by Doc Brown from Back to the Future. Actually, where I'm going is entirely on roads. So that quote was completely pointless, other than an opportunity to quote one of my favorite 80's movies.

On Sunday September 11, 2011, I will be riding in the 29th annual Shenandoah 100 century ride. I thought it would be nice to spend time reflecting on beautiful country roads on a day so many people will be remembering the tragic events of ten years ago. In case you were wondering when I started cycling, the answer is about two weeks ago. I am borrowing a friend's road bike, and have only completed two rides of 16 and 14 miles each. Other than riding through campus on my mountain bike in college, these are the only road rides I have ever done. Hardly enough experience to merit wanting to ride 100 miles, but lack of experience has never held me back. Afterall, I'm the same lunatic who completed a 50 mile ultramarathon having never run further than 6 miles.

That being said, I know very little about cycling. After 60 ultramarathons, I can say I am a somewhat intelligent source of information regarding running. Starting from scratch in a new hobby has really appealed to me recently. The desire to complete a century ride came in the same summer I began taking Zumba classes because I thought they were a unique physical challenge, especially for a guy with no rhythm. So, I'm taking what little I know about cycling, mostly obtained from my "coach/friend" Benjamin Jacobsen(a strong local cyclist), and seeing what I can do in a 100 mile ride. I'm pretty confident I can ride 20-30 miles without much effort, but 100 should be a formidable challenge. Given that every 3 miles of biking uses up the same energy as 1 mile of running, I will treat this like I would a 50k. Nutrition will be somewhat different, clothing will be much tighter, and my butt, neck, and shoulders will hurt.

I have no clue how long this ride will take. It's not a competitive event, yet I hear the fastest riders will be done in 5 hours, or less. The slowest riders will finish in 10 hours, while the average should expect to finish in 7-8. My only real "goal", other than to finish, is to see how well I can stay with the mid pack. I'd like to see what I can do, knowing I'm still hesitant to blaze the downhills, and my pacing will be all over the place. At any rate, it should be a lot of fun trying something new. I love taking on new challenges, and I love that this summer I have really diversified my physical goals. My goals were to complete a 100 mile run on trails, almost pass for someone who can do Zumba, bench press 250 lbs, and complete a 100 mile century ride. Only the century ride is incomplete. As my friends joked, I'm like Lance Armstrong in reverse :-)

Wish me luck!