# Ojai Century



## cwg_at_opc (Oct 20, 2005)

is tomorrow - anyone doing it besides me?

i'm hoping i have enough food and electrolytes,
and i'm not looking forward to the last climb which
will hurt 'cause it's within the last 15 miles.

any hints, gotchas, or warnings?


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

cwg_at_opc said:


> is tomorrow - anyone doing it besides me?
> 
> i'm hoping i have enough food and electrolytes,
> and i'm not looking forward to the last climb which
> ...


The last climb is coming up the 150 out of Santa Paula, right? Don't sweat it. It's long but gradual. A few steep pitches near the top but nothing that'll kill you.


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## cwg_at_opc (Oct 20, 2005)

*Ojai Century Fail*

holy mother of whatever, Casitas Pass about killed me; getting to the top
wasn't horrible but i was smart to put on a 12-27 cassette this week in
anticipation of the hills. the hill repeats i've been doing helped, but i'm going
to have to find some long hills(1/2 hour going up) to train on.

going down was treacherous - the temps had dropped to about 55 and it was
raining/fogging/heavy-misting. a couple of people dumped their bikes on
the way down, it was so slippery. i feathered the brakes most of way 'cause
i couldn't see(sunglasses were useless) and the surface was too slick.

so the up and down of Casitas took half the ride out of me - in less than 25 miles.
i bailed at the lunch stop and followed the metric return cutting off the route through
Santa Paula on the 150, which means i didn't do the final climb.

and of course, no bike computer. i have no idea where it is, although it's
probably someplace in the house. SO, i have a general idea of how far i
rode(more than 60, but less than 80)

do we have a patron saint of bicycle riders? i need to make amends and
submit my tithe.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Wow, sounds like a tough day. What happened to the bike computer? 

You gonna join us for our century?


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

il sogno said:


> Wow, sounds like a tough day. What happened to the bike computer?
> 
> You gonna join us for our century?


I think the fact that he didn't do the full century in Ojai _obligates_ him to do the SD ride.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

DrRoebuck said:


> I think the fact that he didn't do the full century in Ojai _obligates_ him to do the SD ride.


If he's got some sort of a wayward lounge kit curse going he can take the opportunity to personally make offerings to atp and svend to get rid of whatever bad joo-joos he's got.


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## kirkB (Jun 25, 2008)

Sorry about your misfortune CWG.

I did the Ojai ride - it was pretty fun (however only my second century). It was super wet going over the pass, but it made the decent a little more interesting trying to keep from sliding out in the corners.

I was soaked the rest of the day, but was able to buy a pair of socks at the lunch stop - made all of the difference.

The last climb, while coming at the very end was not so bad after all. I had seen the ride profile and it looked like it was going to be terrible but was gradual and easy.

I am just a slow mountain biker - it took me 6:15 of ride time - 6:45 total.


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## cwg_at_opc (Oct 20, 2005)

Kirk,
yeah, there was a very remote chance i could have finished the whole tamale,
but after getting chilled on the decent it took a really long time to warm back up.

i was hurting the whole way up the return leg of the Metric(which is basically a
13.5 mile long false flat), so i think i made the right decision not to try to tackle
SR150. even though i made the first summit with some effort, i see that i need
to find a nice long hill to do repeats on.

OH yeah, i found my cateye sunday under the bed. go figure.
p.s. sunday also took apart the bike for a thorough cleaning, replaced ALL
the brake pads(after riding them the whole way down in the rain.) feel much
better.


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## grrlyrida (Aug 3, 2006)

cwg_at_opc said:


> holy mother of whatever, Casitas Pass about killed me; getting to the top
> wasn't horrible but i was smart to put on a 12-27 cassette this week in
> anticipation of the hills. the hill repeats i've been doing helped, but i'm going
> to have to find some long hills(1/2 hour going up) to train on.
> ...


I learned that lesson last year after my Pyrenees tour. I did GP a lot and only Angeles Crest once. Now for the Big Bear century I do Angeles Crest or GMR every chance I get. Was up in AC doing Big Tujunga today. All the climbs are at least 9 miles with a minimum of 5% gradient. Big T is 11 miles then you get to hit upper Big T for another 9 mi. You should join me sometime. 

And answer to your last question, yes, Madonna del Ghisallo, the saint dedicated to the well being of cyclists.:thumbsup:


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