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Saturday 10/20/07

It's called the Foxy's Fall Century and it's been hosted by the Davis Bicycle Club for years. I've wanted to attend this event but with birthday's and anniversaries during the month of October it's just never worked out.  This year it worked out and I was able to get away and play for the day.  A number of us in the Bike Club decided to meet up and give it a try.  We started out bright and early at 7 am.  The sun was just coming up as we were getting organized.  Soon enough we hit the road and headed out of town.  It was a little on the cold side but considering what it was earlier in the week it would be just fine.  As long as the wind didn't kick up today I'll be fine. I made my way along the boulevard moving along the with the pelotons that were starting to form and break ahead.  I picked up on the back of one moving along at a good pace and slipped right in.  For the next 15 miles we moved along at a 21 to 22 mph pace.  It was nice to be tucked right in.  It was a rather large group.  About half of them knew each other, the rest were just along for the ride like me.  Things were going just fine until another peloton, no huge train, came along and others decided to try and get on that one as well.  The problem was it wasn't just any peloton it was a peloton of ricers, Davis Bike Club, University, and a number of other teams I'd heard of before.  It's one thing to hear about these guys, it's another thing to see them come right along side of you, moving like a train, fast, powerful, and all at 26 to 28 mph.  The peloton I was with soon broke apart trying to keep up.  What a mistake.  Some of them were able to keep up but the rest just couldn't do it.  I didn't even try.  So over the next mile or so you would see a couple of riders break off, then trail back to were I was at.  A couple more miles and we were at Rest Stop #1.  Time for a break.

Rest Stop #1 was at Elmira Elementary School, we're about 24 miles into the course and I'm feeling fine.  It's still a little on the cold side but the sun is starting to come up.  The wind is still blowing a bit.  There is plenty of things to snack on at this rest stop, bagels, fruit, cookies, trail mix, and liquids to fuel up with.  The only bad thing about this rest stop was that both courses headed to this stop so you had a glut of people waiting to use the restrooms.  Other than that the volunteers were bright and cheery and very helpful.  A couple of the club members arrived a bit after I did and then it was time for me to move on. 

The course headed North towards Vacaville you wouldn't have known it though because we skirted around town keeping to the farm roads.  Once on the other side of town is when the small hills began.  That is when I saw the polka dot jersey ahead of me.  I figured that would be a good carrot to head up the hill after.  Once at the top I decided to just scream down the other side.  Once at the bottom of the hills the climber came along side and said I was a real carrot to her going down, she figured if I could go that fast she could to.  We spent the next 5 miles riding along.  Before long it was time to for Rest Stop #2.

Rest Stop #2 was near the Cherry Glen Road exist from I-80.  It was weird coming up around this bend.  It was like going back in time two years ago when I did the PacWest Ride.  This is the route that I followed coming through this area.  I would find a number of roads I would follow this day would be that same feeling.  Rest Stop #2 was just a water stop.  I was still full as I hadn't had much to drink yet.  It was still cool enough and I wasn't sweating much.  I'm sure if the weather was hotter this would have been a much needed stop but not today.  After about 4 or 5 minutes I decided to just push on.  I could tell that others weren't staying long either.

Up around the bend we were coming into Fairfield.  It was a little strange because all of a sudden we were in the suburbs and then within a mile were were back out into the country.  I met up with the climber again and found out her name was Sherri.  We talked about cycling, events we had been on, and the clubs she rides with.  We came around through a small area called Wooden Valley and the wind really started to kick up.  I was leading ahead and Sherri was following.  After a few miles she came around to pull and said she didn't realize how much I was blocking the wind.  We came up around another bend and the hills started to climb, about that time a group of cyclists came moving along doing about 24 to 25, Sherri decided to tag along, I told her good luck!

Soon enough it was time for lunch at Rest Stop #3.  Wooden Valley School was at 61 miles into the course at lunch was very needed.  In coming into the school playground one couldn't help but noticed the music, lots of it.  There was plenty of food, snacks, and something new, blankets, couch cushions, large squares of carpet, and chairs.  It was like a big living room with all the fixings you needed to get comfy.  Maybe too comfy, it wouldn't be hard to find a spot and take a nap.  The sun was out now without any clouds and it felt good to just sit in a chair and enjoy the warmth.  I ate a large deli sandwich, cookies, and grapes, lots of grapes.  After enjoying the sun for a bit it was time to get ready to move out again.

As I was getting ready to go I heard a cyclist telling his friends about the hills that were coming up.  "This is were the serious climbing will come in guys so just take it easy."  Sounds like good advice.  And so hitting the road again all I could think about was the "serious climbing" up ahead.  I came up around a corner and saw the hills winding up and around, this must be the serious climb.  After making it too the top passing cyclists along the way I decided to scream down the other side again.  Once at the bottom I thought if that was the serious climb then I'll be just fine.  But it wasn't the last of the hills.  The next hour or so was spent going up and down a few times.  There was only one hill that I saw as I came around the top that I made me stop and say, that a serious climb.  I'm not sure if it was cardiac hill or not but it could have been.  It was one long steady climb.  With not much room on the shoulder, because of all the rocks falling down, as I was pedaling along, you could hear little pebbles just falling down, not the best thing to hear.  Keep moving.

With all the climbing I was starting to work up a sweat finally, but not enough to want to take off the arm or leg warmers.  The wind was still a bit on the nippy side so I'll just leave them on.

Once we pass Lake Berryessa it's time for a few more hills and then we finally hit Lake Solano which is Rest Stop #4, the last stop before we head back to Davis.  The area is a nice place for a stop.  There are plenty of fixings for another sandwich but I decide with only 20 miles left I'll wait until I get back for more.  So I just fill up on a few snacks, more grapes, cookies, and a soda.  After 15 minutes I hit the road again.

We've been following Highway 128 for some time, as we continue on it takes us down out of the hills and into the orchards of Winters.  There is were I remember the roads again as we turn onto Putah Creek.  This takes us through a number of farmlands, in doing so it's nice because the orchards act as a wind barrier.  When you get to the end of an orchard and come to a wide open field, that's when you feel the wind.  Again it's not bad, but it's still there.  I catch up to a rider in front of me and then pull ahead.  He decided to draft off me for a while and then he falls back.  It's back to Road 31 where we began this morning.  This time we're going against the wind and the traffic is much heavier.  We finally come into the West side of Davis and make our way through the neighborhoods.  One final turn and it's back into the parking lot I started out 7 hours ago.  But the best was yet to come, the after ride meal.

After putting the bike away I headed to the meal area.  On the way I ran into Robert and Marley.  They had finished about an hour earlier and had a fast ride.  They said the food was great.  I make my way into the hall and grab a plate.  Pasta with sauce and meatballs, salad, bread, apple cobbler dessert with Baskin Robbins vanilla ice cream and sodas.  I made my way over to the tables and got waved down by Sherri.  She invited me to sit with some of her friends.  We chatted a bit and then I ate it up all the food, it was really good.  We talked more about the ride and how it went.  Her friends were from Rocklin and we knew some of the same friends as well, small world indeed.

Soon enough it was time to go.  I packed up the car and headed for home, another successful century ride under the belt.  This had been one I wanted to ride for sometime, it was definitely worth it.  A very nice route, the support was very good, nice snacks, plenty of sag support all day long, and new friendships to add.  Can't wait until next year!

Epilogue: So when I got back I was talking with a friend of mine about the Climber I met.  They told me that Ophir Milan was a serious group and that I hadn't just cycled with just anyone, but a serious cyclist.  So I decided to see if I could find out more about Sherri.  It didn't take long to find out a few more things about her.  Soon enough I found out that I hadn't just met any cyclist, I had met a very elite cyclist.  Sherri has been cycling for years, has earned the California Triple Crown twice, was the top female cyclist for mileage two years in a row for the Sacramento Wheelmen and the list goes on.  An amazing person indeed and I had the privilege of sharing the road with her.

Copyright © 2003-2013 Devin Holmes