I hadn't done the Salisbury Seagull Century in several years and, even though kayaking has seriously cut into my biking mileage in 2007, I decided this was the year to do it again. I managed to convince Carole and the MILFs (well, most of them) to come out and do the metric (65 mile) century ride. Since Carole's aunt has a condo in Ocean City, we managed to sneak out early and also work in some kayaking on the way out. Carole had already done Blackwater, so I decided we would check out the Transquaking River.
In order to do all this, I had to get two kayaks and two bikes onto my Ford Ranger. The Thule rack system is great for that, except that if I put two long kayaks on the kayak cradles with the rack in the low position there is a minor inconvenience - you can't open the doors. I could raise the racks to the high position, but then you have to lift the kayaks another two feet in the air. I manage to rope the Ookpik Carole is now paddling onto the truck bed and we were off.
About 120 miles later we reached Cambridge, MD and the Fishing Bay Wildlife Management Area, after passing by Carl's favorite airport/restaurant. The launch ramp was nearly deserted, except for one guy manning about 10 fishing poles, each with bells rigged at the tip - when a bell would go off, the guy would run to the pole with his fishing net, but never seemed to catch anything. It was gray and actually fairly cool, with not much wind - pretty good paddling weather.
From the launch point, the Transquaking River runs a loopy 4 mile course down to Fishing Bay. However, years ago they apparently dug a shortcut called "The Canal" that cuts across the marsh and allows you to paddle a 5.5 mile loop, which is what we did. Half a mile from the ramp you turn right at The Canal and see the lone tree among the marsh grasses. The scenery is actually pretty monotonous - you are just paddling along through the grasses and it all looks the same, except for that one solitary tree.
After about 1/2 mile The Canal ends and you are back on the Transquaking. We turned left to head upstream and loop around back to where we started and began to see herons and eagles and egrets. A crabbing boat came downstream and Carole got to experience her first big boat wake and handled it just fine.We passed by Chance and Guinea Islands, which were a break from the marsh grasses, and Carole managed to convince me to give her a tow for a while. We saw lots of small wooden structures that were either ATM machines, small Starbucks stores or bird shelters.
We were soon back at the launch point and back on our way to Ocean City. Unfortunately, Carole hadn't actually brought the actual key that opened the actual door to her aunt's condo, but after a few threats of being forced to hitchhike back home to get the key, she made contact with her aunt and the condo management place gave us keys. Ocean City had been invaded by restored cars - the main drag was clogged with GTOs, Mustangs, old Camaros, etc. Well, they were all restored except for their mufflers, since every car was letting out a deafening roar. After a good meal at The Blue Ox and a horrible movie (The Heartbreak Kid) it was off to bed.
By 0550 the next morning, Carole and I were out the door and made a quick breakfast stop at Bagels and Buns and then off to Salisbury. We parked at my secret spot and biked about .5 miles to the start at Salisbury University just as the ride got started at 0700. It was foggy and drizzly - and would stay that way until almost 1130, requiring me to periodical do the "finger windshield wiper" trick on my glasses. Carole went off to find the other Biker Chix to do the 65 mile ride, while I went off on my own to do the 100 mile century ride. This century ride is pretty much table top flat - the only hill is the bridge into and out of Assateague.
My goal was to finish in under 7 hours, which meant trying to keep my moving speed around 17 mph. That turned out to be a bit faster than many and a bit slower than many - for the first 50 miles or so I never latched on to any groups of cyclists. Mass rides like this one bring out the worst in cyclists, and not just the newbies, either - lots of $2,000 bikes with skinny tires were riding four or five abreast, passing without saying a word, and stopping without warning. But in general it was a very well behaved crowd - I didn't see any collisions or even many near misses.
I decided to skip the first rest stop at the 24 mile mark because, while Milburn Landing is a beautiful spot, getting in and out of the park is real slow, and I was feeling pretty strong anyway. I emulated a Tour de France rider, not by speed but by eating a granola bar as I rode along and was soon at the 42 mile rest stop. A short break to exchange some used Gatorade for some new and to down a bagel, and I was off for the rest stop at Assateague. The sky was starting to lighten and the fog was finally burning off. I latched onto a pace line that was doing 18-20 mph and stayed with them until the rest stop at 62 miles at Assateague. The food here was great - many different types of homemade breads, lots of Fig Neutrons and bananas and peanut butter.
I was really feeling strong after all that homemade bread and I started passing more and more riders - a few even latched on behind me for a draft, which is very unusual. We rode through the scenic downtown of Berlin and headed west towards the 82 mile rest stop at Adkins Pond. Once the sugar high from that bread burned off, I started to drag a bit - my longest day previously had been a 65 miler. Many of those I passed caught up just as we reached Adkins Pond and the famous home made pies - I had a huge slice o' apple pie, more figgy pudding and a ball of ice cream that was frozen as hard as a rock. The sun was out full force and it was getting hot now, with 20 more miles to go.
Leaving Adkins Pond, the route went into a slight headwind and I started feeling wimpy. However, a group of cyclists doing about 17 mph came by and I latched onto them. Just as we passed some policemen who said "Only 5 miles to go", the group slowed a bit and I decided to break away - I really cranked at about 20-21 mph and left them behind. I was surprised how much gas I still had left in the tank - I think I could have maintained a higher speed earlier on without bonking. A few of them caught me just at the finish back at the University, but I could have kept going.
I finished in about 6 hours and 45 minutes, with an average rolling speed of 16.4 mph. There's a natural length to things (movies: 90 minutes/sitcoms: 30 minutes/prostate exams: never) and 6 hours on a bicycle seat exceeds that. But if you are going to do 100 miles on a bike, the Seagull Century is a great way to do it.
Nothing like a trip with a Ford Ranger =)
Posted by: Ford Ranger Forum | 03 December 2008 at 03:12 AM