In 2008 I attempted my very first century (100 mile) bike ride. It was the Tierra Bella in Gilroy. The Tierra Bella is put on by the local cycling club there and had been a staple in the area for about 30 years. That year it was on April 19th, just 4 days after our big deadline at work. I ended up camping at the top of Henry Coe park the night before to get an early start and did not sleep well during the cold night at fairly high elevation. During the ride I "bonked" out around mile 60, meaning I pretty much ran out of gas. After a bit of a break at the top of the ride's big climb up Henry Coe, I rode back down the mountain and through to the finish line, but I cut out a 20 mile loop around the Gilroy Hot Springs.
I've always had a chip on my shoulder about not finishing this ride. So far, it's the only one that's beaten me. I started riding seriously in 2014 and have checked on the Tierra Bella every year to see if it was reasonable for me to attempt again. One year it was on April 12th. That's not happening. This year it was on April 30th. This was the best shot I was going to get to beat this ride. In February I registered for it and booked a local hotel room the night before so I would be as fresh as possible.
THe course opened at 7:00 am and I wanted to be starting at 6:45. I ended up starting at about 7:45 because the
trip from my hotel room to the start line was a comedy of errors. I locked my
key in the hotel room as I was leaving with one bag still left in there,
decided I needed to stop at a store and buy a couple of things I don’t think I
ended up even using, and missed my exit from the freeway to the starting line going about 10 miles out of the way. Then when I got I have all my repacking and
pre-ride rituals that have to happen before I can even clip in and roll out.
SMH.
I was with the main group for the first half but got started falling
behind up the climb to Henry Coe at mile 50. When I climb Mt. Diablo I can usually do it with just stopping once at the Junction campground for water, but I had to stop 3 times on the way up to Henry Coe. I forgot how steep it is. You're basically on the ridge line, so there are descents mixed in with the steep climb. I took a little longer break up there at the top than I wanted to. I felt tired, but strong. After a cup of ramen noodles and some other snacks I headed back down the mountain.
After the decent down Henry Coe there is an ~8 mile flat section leading north and there was a nasty headwind. On mile ~70 this woman on an aero bike passed
me on this stretch. I hopped on her wheel to draft her for a bit. I didn’t even bother offering help pull her at that point as she clearly had more legs than I did and I would have been way to slow for her. She pulled me
for about 6 miles before I couldn't keep up with her anymore.
During the final loops on mile ~80, I started noticing that
the people riding my pace were starting to get rides in from the support and gear (SAG) vehicles. SAGs start rolling up on me
fairly regularly now asking if I need anything or want a ride. No thank you! I
gotta do this! I don’t care if I miss the meal at the end. I gotta do this. If you need to close the course you can have my wristband!
Mile ~86 I came to an intersection with no route markers. This is never a good sign. I
pulled over to check the route guide sheet and this guy in a truck rolls up with a bike in
the bed. “You lost?” No. I’m good. “You’re on the Tierra Bella today?” Yeah.
“Bad news, brother: you’ve got 8 miles of headwind that way” No, I already did
that part. I’m on mile 86 headed back to Gavilan College. “Oh, then you missed
Llagas. About a mile back you shoulda turned on Llagas.” *checks route* You’re
right! Thanks man!
Tailwinds and adrenaline
launched me past a few worn souls on the last 10 miles. The final tally was 104.8
miles, 6,643 ft elevation, 8:23:03 moving time, 10:56:11 total elapsed time. I
got in about 20 minutes after they stopped serving dinner. Not bad for what
amounts to about 5 training rides since the end of tax season. If there was an
official finish line it was taken down by this point. I took a hobo bath in the
men’s room at the sink and rode over to my truck, stretched, had a protein
shake and changed right there
in the empty parking lot.
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