2007 Sudden Century

(Seven of us rode, including the person taking
the picture - Momi, a club member.)

I wasn't planning on riding the Sudden, but something came up, and at the last minute I decided to do it. Plus, some members of my club were planning on doing it, and they're a great bunch of folks to ride with.

I arrived in Joliet, IL around 6am to register, and too hook up with my club for a 7am start. The registration is in front of the Rialto Theatre in downtown Joliet. Unfortunately, registration didn't open until 7am, which is also when the course opens up. Registration should have been open at 6am, and they should have had more porta potties at the registration area.

Anyway, it was a sunny day, but it was also pretty cold for May 6. But that wasn't the worst part, can you say WIND! I have ridden in worst wind, but not 30+ winds for 75 miles. I'm glad I brought a base layer with, plus my arm warmers, because it didn't warm up until we got back.

We finally took off around 7:30am, and soon realized the wind was going to be a major issue. Before you hit the main route, there's a NASCAR track in Joliet, and it's open for all the riders to ride it. Pretty cool, to bad it can't be used for bikes all the time. Once we got back on the 100 mile route, some of my club decided the wind was going to make for very unpleasant day, so they took a shorter route option - never to be seen again. I decided the wind was doable, and so did Larry and Tom. When we arrived at the first rest stop, everyone there had something to say about the hideous wind. Note, this early Spring in farm country, and there's no wind breaks out in the middle of no where. Actually, there were times on the route, you felt like you were in the Wizard of Oz, it was that windy. Plus, and I kid you not, there were women crying, because they couldn't handle the wind.

After the first rest stop, it was back into the wind. If you could manage 16mph you were doing good. Most people had trouble doing 10mph, and a lot people couldn't hold a straight line. So, you had to be careful when passing on the left. When we arrived at the last rest stop, before you 100 mile loop, which was the best rest stop, we decided to skip the century and just head back doing the 70 option. The wind was getting to everyone, and I also heard the 100 mile loop isn't worth doing, because the roads are in poor condition.

We left the rest stop, saw the arrow for the 100 mile option, and wished those doing it luck. As we made the turn to head back (doing the 70 mile option) the wind was now at our backs. I started to pickup speed, I thought Tom and Larry would stick to my back wheel, and soon I could no longer see them. When you have a tailwind of 30+mph, you just have to go. There was one last rest stop, before heading back to downtown Joliet, and I was there in about 30 minutes, doing 30-35mph like it was nothing - well not like it was nothing, but it felt great.

Tom and Larry arrived at the last stop about 10 minutes later. Tom said it must have been the meat you ate at the last stop. After a little break, the three of us headed to downtown Joliet. At this point you ride this paved trail, all the way into Joliet. Unfortunately, the route was poorly marked, so we weren't sure if we were going in the right direction.

When we got back, there was no food, or a gathering place for the riders. I really like invitationals that have a reception for the riders, food, etc.

The rest stops weren't bad. Only one had decent food. SAG was good, and they did have some people directing traffic for the riders also a plus.

Overall there wasn't anything special about this invitational. Except for the wind, the course was flat, and not very interesting. The day was fun, because I got to ride with my club, not sure I would do this one without a group of friends. Note: Because of the wind it took us 5.5 hours to do 75 miles - keep in mind we we're in a pace line.

To learn more about the Sudden Century visit:
http://www.jolietbicycleclub.org