I very nearly completed 100 miles on a guni today (11 Sept, 2005), held
back at the end more by time constraints than physical exhaustion or
discomfort.
"Transportation Alternatives" sponsored the annual event, which takes
bicyclists and me thruout NYC. The ride was set to start at 6am for
100-milers, but due to terrible planning and disorg. on their part, most
of us weren't able to get our bibs till 6:30 or later, so I didn't leave
the starting area till 6:45. The ride starts in Manhattan at 110th
Street, the upper limit of Central Park.
The first leg of the ride mysteriously took riders uptown for a mile
before heading down to Brooklyn. As I did two years ago, I didn't bother
with the ride route thru Manhattan, which took people down the streets,
with lots of start-and-stop due to traffic lights; rather, I rode down
the beautiful West Side Path, a few miles longer but much faster. This
path also put me very close to the site of the World Trade Centers,
which I thought was important on this terrible anniversary.
I caught up with the riders at the Brooklyn Bridge and was able to zip
past many of them, allowing me to use my favorite phrase of the day, "On
your left!" By now, I was really enjoying the speed of the geared 29"
uni. The ride wended its way thru the part of Brooklyn that I use on my
daily commute, so it was great riding on familiar streets, and soon we
were at the famed Carousel in Prospect Park, drinking Accelerade
(courtesy of the Accelerade company, one of the sponsors of the ride).
This was the only time I was able to get ahold of the drink, which is
like a protein-enhanced Gatorade, because the sponsor hadn't supplied
enough drink mix to meet the needs of the 5,000+ riders.
Leaving the Carousel, the ride headed right past my house, so I had to
drop in and squeeze the kids. It was also a nice chance to use a
bathroom that didn't smell like a blue chemical. A few minutes later, I
was on my way, my drink bladder as full as my own bladder was empty.
Next the ride took in the outer limits of Brooklyn, which accounted for
about 45 miles of the route. It's mainly flat and a bit bumpy, and I
noticed (when I had to stop now and then to stretch my vegetables) that
I was maintaining an average speed of 11.6 mph, not including rest
stops. Bicyclists routinely gave me thumbs up and were verbally
encouraging and curious ("How far you planning to ride?" the most
popular question of the day). Their praise was just as important as the
bananas and Gatorade that I consumed along the route.
As for the actual riding, it was also encouraging that I continually ran
into the same people, many of them fairly fit, suggesting that their
average pace was about the same as mine. It's neat to be able to ride a
unicycle as fast as many people can bike. I never switched gears during
the first 50 miles of riding because the roads were pretty flat and
because I was feeling good. These factors came to an ugly ending in
Queens, the worst part of the overall ride.
Queens is hilly. It's not as well-known for its hills as the Pyrenees or
the Alps, but that's only becuase it's on a smaller scale. It seems that
there aren't two consecutive residential streets in Queens that are
flat, and at this point I began having to use the low gear, tho I still
used high gear most of the time. I saw my average speed slip closer to
11 mph as Queens wore me out. Worse still, the ride disorganizers had
chosen to skip a traditional rest stop point, so we were riding
"straight" for 35 miles. Most of us stopped at least twice to replenish
drinks, stretch our veggies, and give our aching seats a rest, and I was
lucky enough to meet a generous biker who gave me a spare minitube of
butt cream, a moment that definitely proved pivotal in my ability to
continue since I was developing some serious saddle soreness. Finally
the rest stop appeared, and I applied the cream, chatted with friends
(including a colleague and some members of my uni club), complained, and
rested. At this point, I had to decide whether I was really going to go
for at least 75 miles or maybe just 55, as the ride has different routes
depending on your goals. I chose to go the 75-100 mile route.
There were a few more rest stops left, tho as usual I created my own as
my legs were jellying somewhat and my saddle soreness was only
moderately under control. I continued seeing familiar faces and hearing
encouraging words, both of which continued to inspire me greatly as I
headed for the mile-62 rest area, but at this point, I was strongly
considering taking a taxi back home because I suddenly remembered
another fault of the ride officials. They always list the ride options
as "15, 35, 55, 75, or 100 miles," but in fact, no route except the 15
is even close to the stated distance, suggesting that they just really
like having numbers that end in 5. In fact, the routes are more like 15,
40, 62, 86, and 109. When I realized how much riding I had left and how
little time (thanks to that late start), I knew that a Century was out
of the Q, so I set my sights on meeting my family after the 86 mile
route -- they had driven into Manhattan to pick me up. Along this
stretch of Queens, I realized the the organizers had gotten one thing
right. They planned the route to include a long stretch on "9/11
Memorial Way," a street that commemorates some of those who died 4 years
ago in the WTC attack. Every few blocks, another side street had been
renamed for a local person who had died that day, a very somber reminder
of what day it was.
There was a final rest stop at mile 75, but it was mile 79 for me on
account of some extra riding I'd done on the day. I gobbled down another
peanut butter pita, replenished my water supply, and rested with friends
before heading the last 6 miles to the finish. Somehow even this
distance was off, and it turned into 11 miles, getting me to the end
with a total of 90 miles under my belt. I also had nothing to drink for
the last hour of the ride because my water system malfunctioned.
I was disappointed at not being able to go the whole hundred on my guni
(I wanted to be the first to ride a Century on a guni, another of my
inspirations during the ride), but I was happy that I'd been able to
maintain an average speed of 10.5 mph while riding just under 9 hours.
Including the rest I took, my average speed was a more pedestrian 8 mph,
but who's counting. I also consoled myself with the fact that the night
before the ride, I'd ridden 13.5 miles from my house to my mom's, so in
24 hours, I'd managed 103.
Arriving at the finish, to my amazement, there were still free water
bottles and tee-shirts to be had at the end, the only items they had not
run out of. Sponsors who didn't come up with enough of the goods
included Accelerade, Ben and Jerry's, and Naked (fruit drinks).
I bought more Gatorade and drove the family home, where I too a lengthy
bath before putting my youngest to bed. A few minutes later, I was
asleep, too, tho by 1:45 I was up again, writing this note. I'm glad
that I can still take stairs two at a time and that my back isn't sore
and that my butt is healing well, and I'm amazed that it didn't hurt to
pee all day (when I did the ride two years ago, it hurt for 2 days).
Maybe a KH seat trumps the more comfortable Sem seat I rode in 2003, or
maybe it was the 2nd pair of cycle shorts that I was wearing.
I don't think I'll be attempting another Century any time soon, but it
was a blast being able to put in so many miles in one day on my guni. It
held up great. It was also fantastic to put to the test my own idea that
at a given moment, I could ride at least 50 miles even tho my commute is
only 9 total miles a day.
Good night!
--
David_Stone - New York Unicycle Club
Dictator for Life,
NYUC
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