who did the rain and wind blown Seagull in 2005 [Archive]

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Smiley

10-09-2005, 02:04 PM

well call us slightly NUTS as we arrived at Salisbury University at about 7:45 AM , to see many other crazy people taking off on the century , mind you it was raining cats and dogs and the wind was howling all day long at gust up to + 20 mph . Once we got out of the car were got so wet and soaked we said what the heck and decided to find Paul who was driving up from DC to do the ride ( he knew it was raining and still drove up leaving at 5 AM ). Anyway we connected with Paul decided to do the Metric course and by the time we got to the first rest stop we were DRENCHED and water logged. My wife suggested a detour to cut the ride short to 40 miles and she did not get too many arguments from me as it was hard to refuel being so wet , thank heavens it was not cold with air temps in the mid 70's . Anyway glad we did the ride and they should have given us two T shirts since we need dry clothes to warm up in the car with . So where were you guys anyway ??

sc53

10-09-2005, 03:26 PM

Hi Smiley, no Seagull for me this year! I'm sorry it happened to be scheduled on the one day of rain we've had in 2 months. I had day in the city yesterday going to bookshops, sushi bars, bike shops, and the movies. Today I rode my fixie on the FIXED side of the hub and tried to heed all the advice I've read on the forum about clipping in, not coasting, pedaling through everything, etc etc and ended up on the asphalt only once. . . . Tried to go up a 45 degree incline from a standing start. Duh. Down on the ground in no time at all. Road rash on the shin and bruise on the hip. Rest of the ride I was smarter and got better. Still it's somewhat SCARY knowing you have to anticipate every stop way in advance. No wonder Sandy is reluctant to take the plunge!

Smiley

10-09-2005, 03:44 PM

Sandy is a WUSS !!! Bravo to you sc53 , what does not kill you will make you stronger and trust me it will only get better with every ride from here on out .

Rapid Tourist

10-09-2005, 04:06 PM

Congratulations both to SC and to Smiley! Bravo for going for it at Seagul. I can't even imagine what that was like. I got 7 to 8 inches of rain over the past two days, so my hat's off to you and Karen because all I did yesterday was stay inside and nap!

Good for you SC! It gets a lot more fun once you get the hang of it and that will come after the next ride. I promise. :)

spincycle

10-09-2005, 06:00 PM

My brother-in-law and I rode the Sea Bass/Weed Century. We weren't as smart as Smiley, we rode the full 100 water logged miles. If it wasn't for the fact my riding partner came down from Syracuse, NY I might not have braved the rains. Over the couse of the day, Salisbury, MD got 5+ inches of rain. We can attest to every driving, soaking inch of it. Not only was I water logged from a day of drenching rain and very strong winds but my Spectrum was as well. When I pulled the bike out my trunk last night I could hear the water sloshing around. Today was spent cleaning, disassembling and relubing all the moving parts. Now I have a frame and a pile of hardware strewn around the place.

The race is very well organized and well marked. The major intersections all had local or state police controlling traffic and the route is very rural with little traffic. Maybe that's because the weather was miserable. The rest stops were well stocked and staffed. The locker room and showers at Salisbury University were available to change in before and after the ride. Most welcome to be dry for the trip home to Northern Virginia last night.

Smiley wasn't kidding about the wind it was well over a steady 20 MPH with gusts to easily 30+ in some of the squalls which went swimmingly well with the heavy driving rain. When we crossed over to Assateague Island folks were having a tough time maintaining their bikes upright in the gusting crosswind.

Perhaps one guy I overheard in the locker room summed up the day when he said (he apparently rode with his wife for the full century) "at one point my wife turned to me and said this is by far the most stupid thing we've ever done". I guess the Forest Gump line of stupid is as stupid does applied to many of us. Actually, I can attribute the fact that we rode to staying in the Days Inn. Had we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express just up the road I'm sure we would have been smarter just like in the commercials and would have decided to stay dry. Right??? It does work doesn't it?

In spite of the rain and wind it was a very good ride and I'm glad we did it.

Frank

roadie7

10-09-2005, 06:05 PM

My friends and I also rode the Seagull but did the Metric Century. My wallet, which was under my rain jacket, was still wet this morning as were my shoes. How many of us didn't want to go home to our significan other and face:
"What, you didn't ride becuase it rained?!" Too bad I missed you Smiley, I'd like to meet you as you met my son a few months ago.

Zoomie80

10-09-2005, 07:21 PM

I drove to my hotel in Cambridge Friday evening thinking good thoughts that rain Saturday will be relatively light. Went to the pre-ride dinner and chatted with an older gentleman. He rode his first 100-miler two weeks ago with a 15.6mph average speed -- later learned he was 70 years old (didn't look it!). I'm hoping I get to 70 and can still ride my bike! I drove back to the hotel in a steady downpour.

I woke up at 5am Saturday and rain was coming down in wind driven sheets. Went back to bed and deliberated about riding or going home...even went down to the lobby at 6:30am to get cofee and get a better look outside...I saw several cars with bikes on racks heading back, West on Rt 50...maybe they knew something I didn't. Well, I finally decided to head to Salisbury to check out the ride...the steady rain and wind was not helping my morale! I got there at 9am and the parking lots at the university were "empty" compared to previous years but I saw a small but steady stream of riders heading out.

I thought about the gentleman that ate dinner with me. So...I took my bike out of the car and got ready...was totally soaked before the first turn of the pedal. I rode the metric century instead of the 100-miler; I did not want to be in the rain and wind for a 100 miles! The conditions made this toughest metric century I've done...didn't seem logical but every turn seemed like you had a headwind. I missed a turn since standing water covered some turn markers--rode an extra 4 miles to make sure I fully covered a metric century. :) I rode a few miles with a guy that lived in Salisbury since 1979...he started riding this year and this was his first organized ride (he was riding in a cotton t-shirt and regular shorts...ouch!) Saw a couple of families and folks on mountain bikes and hybrids like they were out riding around their neighborhood. The live band at the UMES rest stop was entertaining...a few middle-aged "rockers" having fun ("Play that Funky Music White Boy", "Brick House", etc.). BTW, they had great bagels at the rest stops! They may have had them in the past, but they were especially good this year.

It was a tough ride...mentally and physically...glad I rode Seagull...will do it again next year! I cleaned the bike today...took the tires and tubes off the wheels...amazing how much water seeped in!!

Cheers,
Zoomie

billrick

10-09-2005, 07:33 PM

I had some viral crud that left me with a fever, stuffed sinuses, and a wicked cough for the past five days, so no Seagull for me. I've been training for this ride all summer and now it feels like I'll be starting from scratch once I'm back on the bike.

Kudos to all who rode in that storm! Just curious, how many of you were riding with fenders?

Zoomie80

10-09-2005, 07:33 PM

Spincycle...I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express..."it" didn't work! Congrats on the 100-miler.

Zoomie

Sandy

10-09-2005, 08:24 PM

Sandy

10-09-2005, 08:28 PM

I have total respect and admiration for anyone who even did part of that ride in the torrential rain. Those that did the full century accomplished quite a feat.

Swimming Sandy

Dekonick

10-09-2005, 10:37 PM

I chickened out as I did not have a lawful registration - I did ride my fixie for an hour in Columbia before I decided I was just being stupid...and went home. My dog was looking at me with one of those RCA 'you are nuts..' looks

Sandy - I'm telling you fixie riding is not that hard!

I think I have a new guage to tell if it is ok to ride...

If my dog won't go out to chase deer it is a non cycling day. :D

Grats to those who did brave the Seagull... but I'm glad I only rode an hour in that misery.

Lifelover

10-09-2005, 10:44 PM

Since it was on my son's 9th birthday I decided to bag it last weekend.

I know quite a few who planned on doing it but I'm willing to bet that most of them didn't ride.

As a replacement I'm planning on doing "Between the Waters" on the 22nd

Between the waters link (http://www.cbes.org/events_biketour.htm)

pbbob

10-10-2005, 08:48 AM

It was too dangerous to drive up there sat morning so stayed home.
9 inches of rain.
savage century this weekend. should be dried out by then.

Ray

10-10-2005, 09:04 AM

It was too dangerous to drive up there sat morning so stayed home.
9 inches of rain.
savage century this weekend. should be dried out by then.
I was going to suggest the Savage as a make up exam for those who mised the Seagull. Such similar riding :rolleyes:

My wife's birthday is always right around the weekend of the Savage. I can never do the ride. Oh darn! I've only tried it once and it was the ONLY time I've ever had to sag in from a ride when my knee said "ENOUGH" and said it loudly enough not to be ignored. And just the mere taste of the climbing I got before that point was enough to talk me out of doing that entire ride. It's sort of like Mt. Washington - all about challenge and surviving, not about fun. I live in the area and do a lot of those hills as part of my regular rides. No desire to string them all together into one torture-fest.

-Ray