Sea Gull Century 2010 - Snow Hill Route

I've riden the SeaGull Century 3 times previous to this year.  We actually tried to ride it another year, but a hurricane went through and we decided to not ride.  

Before heading to Salisbury, Md. this year, I was a bit concerned.  I hadn't done all the training that I had done in years previous.  I figured I could make it from start to finish, but I didn't know what shape I would be in at the end.

Mark and I stayed at the Salvation Army gym this year.  All the hotel rooms anywhere near Salisbury were sold out and all they were renting well above their regular rates.  The Salvation Army charges $30 per person and is mere blocks from the start of the ride.  We got showers, a place to sleep, and a continental breakfast.  Not a bad deal.

Around 7 a.m.  Leaving the Salvation Army. It's about a mile and a half to the start of the ride.

Mile 0 -  The weather was perfect.  I expected that I would be wearing at least a pair of arm warmers, but thankfully, I was comfortable without.

We were off to a fast start.  18 - 21 mph mostly for the first 25 miles.

Around 25 miles.  First rest stop.  Awesome jazz music live.  The porta potty line was loooooooooong.  The folks waiting were friendly though.  I had good converstion with the guy behind me.  Mark did the same with the folks where he was.  I admit that there was quite a bit of chatter when the lady with the triathlon clothing went in and out of the porta potty with bare feet.  We were in awe that someone was so brave!  I think I'd walk on hot coals or broken glass well before I ever went in a porta potty barefooted.

Folding bike.   This one is a Tikit.   I want one!  I saw four on the ride including a couple of Bike Fridays.

This field looked neon green.  The photo doesn't do it justice with how bizarrely bright it looked.

Typical DelMarVa scenery.  Lots of farms.  Lots of fields.  Lots of old houses.

Oh.  Lots of old cemeteries and old churches too.  I was so sad I couldn't carry my nice camera on this ride.  The possibilities were there, but the time wasn't.

One of many pace lines.

The obligatory Snippety Gibbet silhouette of Mark and Jan.

.....cemetery.

.........another cemetery........another church.

....another pace line

You gotta love this.  This porta potty company is "#1 in the #2 business."

Rest stop around mile 40.  Just water and porta potties here.

"Uncle Al"   This guy stayed at the Salvation Army too.  He looked for the world like Mark's Uncle Al.  We both hope we're riding centuries at his age!

DelMarVa Scenery

Snow Hill is quaint.  Lots of neat Victorians.

Truck at the 50 mile mark with well wishes.

Nice silhouette of Mark.  Might be "snip" worthy.

Rest stop around the 60 mile mark.  This is on the Chincoteague Bay.

This was a gorgeous stop.  We liked it much better than the one on the Assateague Route.  Shade is a lovely thing.

My trusty steed.  I adore this bike.  Its been good to me.

This was taken around the time the charlie horses started kicking in.  They traveled with me for the next 40 miles, making this my slowest century ride ever.  Mere moments before they kicked in, Mark asked if I minded if he took off on his own.  I remember seeing him 20 feet ahead of me and the demon horses grabbed hold of my quad.

Tyson chicken plant.  I hadn't seen another rider for a while when I got here and wondered if I had gone off route. 

PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   My favorite part of the Sea Gull Century.  When else can a person on a perpetual diet eat pie without guilt? 

Mark had waited for me for a few minutes here.  This is at the Nassawango Golf Club.  Another lovely stop.  More live music was provided by a couple of guys playing acoustic guitar.  I wanted to just lay down and nap.

After the last rest stop, I passed this unicyclist. 

100 mile mark.  This shot is of my odometer when it read 100 miles.  I took it at this point because I knew I would be riding more than 100 miles total because of a navigational error on the way to the starting line.

100 miles.  6.54 hours.  Slow.  But, hey...  I did it.

Striped cows.  They all had a white ring around the middle.  I'd never seen cows that looked like that before.

After the finish line.  Bikes, worth big $$$ laying around everywhere unprotected.  Blows my mind.  Anywhere else we cyclists go, we lock the heck out of these.  Here, amongst our own, we are trusting.  I wonder if anyone has ever lost a bike here.

Ta da!!!!!!!!!!!!  Done!  Not excruciatingly exhausted.  Very happy.  Charlie horses still running rampant.  Ugh.

Total miles, once I rode back to the Salvation Army, 107.55.  Thankfully, my dear Mark volunteered to load up my bike in the truck and I went off to get a nice shower.  So, next year, if I plan on riding again, I will train more beforehand.  I knew going into the ride this year, that I had not prepared as much as I had in previous rides.  Perhaps, more training would have beaten my quads into submission, and the charlie horses would not have haunted me for so many miles.

It was a great day.  Thanks so much to the folks at Salisbury University for another top notch ride.   I had a great time.

Photos of the Seagull Century 2010

Photos of the Sea Gull Century 2010

Images of the Seagull Century 2010

Images of the Sea Gull Century  2010