First Century on the Trice Monster

Yesterday I completed the Sweet Onion Century in Vidalia, Georgia. I had planned to ride the Bacchetta Carbon Aero, but since rain was forecast I decided that the trike was a better choice. While it rained heavily the night before the ride, so much so that the electricity went out in my motel room, there was no rain during the ride. We started just before 7 a.m. and the weather looked threatening, but as we rode throughout the day the clouds disappeared and it actually became very hot and humid about noon.

I rode along with an acquaintance, Roger Zoul, who I met on BentRiderOnline. Roger is relatively new to recumbent cycling and he was aiming for his first full Century. We had a very pleasant time riding together. Roger rides a RANS Stratus dual 26. We had a very pleasant time riding together. We were engaged in interesting conversation most of the way and were able to help each other out at certain points of the ride. I had some fender problems, which cost us some time. Additionally, we were so engaged in our discussion that we missed a turn and went 3 miles out of our way. In all, that missed turn cost us about half an hour of time. Together with the fender issues, our finishing time was rather slow. Nevertheless, I did prove that riding a trike on a Century is a very pleasant experience.

Except for my perennial hotfoot problems and the heat in the afternoon, I was completely comfortable during the entire ride. I do lose a little speed on the trike, but if speed is not a major issue, riding long distances this way has some real advantages. Not having to unclip at stops, not having to be concerned about balance during climbing and being very fast and stable on descents offset some of the loss of pure speed.

I wish I could find a way to solve the hotfoot problems, which significantly detract from my comfort and speed during the latter parts of a long ride on a hot day. At the end of the ride, we were talking to two female riders who told Roger and me that they now ride without cycling socks and that seems to alleviate their problems with sore feet.

One of the really nice parts about this ride or the rest stops. Although we did not stop at every one, the people who staffed the rest stops were very pleasant. Our last rest stop was staffed by a Girl Scout troop and they were very attentive. My trike attracts a lot of attention, especially among children. At the end, as people were winding down, a couple of the race organizers took my trike for a spin around the parking lot.

If I ever do brevets in the future, trikes maybe the best way to go.