PALM SPRINGS CENTURY

About a dozen of us from my Tri Team did the Palm Springs Century Ride: 100 miles through the desert. I've done running races and triathlons but this was the first time I had ever done a bike-only event. It was a little chaotic getting 10,000 cyclists to start all at the same time (there were several distances to choose from) but we battled the crowd to find some open road. This was very specifically a "ride" and not a race, so although we weren't lazy along the course, we didn't exactly go all out either.

Most of the course was pretty nice. Very moderate hills and wide open roads. I was able to spend a lot of extended time on my aerobars; many of my rides are on winding hills or city streets so I don't get to stay down in the aero position for too long. It was a good feeling.

When I think of support stops along a race, I think of a few folding tables with water and Gatorade on them. But with this ride, every twenty miles they had giant rest areas with school bands playing and TONS of food. Sandwiches. M&Ms. Pretzels. Protein, sugar, carbs... Everything you wanted. We probably spent far more time at the rest areas than we should have, but it did allow the faster and slower riders from our group to meet up. And it had by far the best group of support volunteers I've ever seen. People were coming up to me out of the blue and asking if they could fill up my water bottles with water and gatorade. The volunteer were mostly students and they did a tremendous job. They were helpful, friendly, and they anticipated our needs before we asked.

Because this was not a race, the roads were open to traffic. It didn't make much of a difference when we were out in the desert but it became pretty frustrating for the last 10 miles when we came back into town. It seemed that there was a traffic light every quarter mile or so. Often more frequently than that. We would get bunched up at a light, try to clip back in and break free from the pack to get back up to speed and then just have to stop again. After 90 miles, I just wanted to be done.

I think we all felt pretty good after the ride. (Partly because we took our time at the rest stops and partly because of the post-ride margaritas.) I don't think I'd want to try it again in August, but riding through the desert can actually be pretty nice.