# 2008 Centuries



## JMac (Oct 23, 2005)

All,
Trying to plan for some organized rides in 2008. Would love to sign up for a few century rides or charity rides within a couple hours driving time of DC. Please post any recommendations for rides. Thanks in advance.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

JMac said:


> All,
> Trying to plan for some organized rides in 2008. Would love to sign up for a few century rides or charity rides within a couple hours driving time of DC. Please post any recommendations for rides. Thanks in advance.


Mountains of Misery, Blacksburg, Va, Memorial Day weekend. The ride lives up to its name. It always is one of my favorite rides of the year -- I have done it every year since 2002. The ride has great support and if you like to climb, this is the ride for you.

Civil War Century, Thurmont, Md, usually the weekend after Labor Day. Not as hard as the Mountains of Misery, but a good, hilly course. One big advantage is that Thurmont is a lot closer to DC than Blacksburg is.

Seagull Century, Salisbury, Md, usually sometime in September or October. I never have done the Seagull and have heard lots of negative comments about it (too many people, etc). But, if you want a flat course, supposedly the only climb on the whole ride is the hump on the bridge to Assateague Island.


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## ibfeet (Jul 13, 2006)

*Century*

I did the Seagull this year for the first time after reading tons of negative press. It was by far the best Century I have done. Great ride put on by great people. The weather was perfect, which I know has not been the norm.

The Blue Ridge Extreme is another great ride if you want the mountain challenge.

Also there is also a Tour de Cure early in the year and the one from Va to NC is a good one.


FeetOut


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## mxer505 (May 3, 2006)

MarkS said:


> Mountains of Misery, Blacksburg, Va, Memorial Day weekend. The ride lives up to its name. It always is one of my favorite rides of the year -- I have done it every year since 2002. The ride has great support and if you like to climb, this is the ride for you.
> 
> Civil War Century, Thurmont, Md, usually the weekend after Labor Day. Not as hard as the Mountains of Misery, but a good, hilly course. One big advantage is that Thurmont is a lot closer to DC than Blacksburg is.
> 
> Seagull Century, Salisbury, Md, usually sometime in September or October. I never have done the Seagull and have heard lots of negative comments about it (too many people, etc). But, if you want a flat course, supposedly the only climb on the whole ride is the hump on the bridge to Assateague Island.


The only negative thing about the Seagull, was the fee. For the amount of people that did the ride it was very organized. But when you pay $75 I would expect some better food at the rest stops.


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## lawrence (May 17, 2005)

Looking at the Seagull Century website - The ride is the first weekend in October. The cost is $55 if you register prior to 8/31, the cost is $75 prior to the event, it didn't say the cut off date, the cost is $90 the day of the event.

Much of the money goes to the food (rentals if there are any, that is they aren't donated) and the remainder goes to charities including a scholarship fund at the University of Maryland at Salisbury. All of your donations are going to good causes but hey, it's a bike ride, it is getting a little expensive. I'm sure they get repeaters but they'd probably get many more repeaters if they would lower the price, $35-$45. $35 may not be doable and run it the way they want to. BUT $90 the day of the event, WOW!!!

The problem I have with these Centuries, I'd rather just use my $25-$55 and use that money to stop at food places and buy the food, especially if I know the area. For those who don't belong to the local club or aren't familiar with the roads in that state, this becomes more difficult. It's just easier to pay someone else to determine the roads and set up the food stops.


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## rsatriale (Nov 19, 2005)

*Civil War Century*

This challenging, well-organized event put on by the Baltimore Bike Club is one of the must go to events of our club's season. It starts in Thurmont, MD and covers 100 miles and 6,000 vertical feet. Wrapping around the mountains that stretch from Gettysburg south, it courses through Crampton's Gap, Antietam, and Gettysburg battlegrounds. Here's the link: http://www.baltobikeclub.org/index.pl/cwc


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## VaughnA (Jun 3, 2003)

I agree with Mark on Mountains of Misery. It's a tough challenge century but well worth the effort to see the finish line. The wilderness ride is the companion ride the day before, a bit more doable for a casual rider but still a good 78 mile ride with excellent scenery.

I'm on the board of the Central Virginia bike fest in .Lynchburg. We're planning on a century route for the first time this year in May. This is an absolutely beautiful route including the climb up Thunder Ridge on the parkway and riding to the Peaks of Otter. I'm biased but I think it is one of the prettiest rides around. About 2.5-3 hours from DC. 

There are a lot of great centuries in the Shenandoah Valley in the fall. Tour De Valley, Shenandoah Valley Century and My favorite "The Artie" near Roanoke. It may be a bit more than 2 hours from DC but worth the trip.


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## hoovypedals (Oct 16, 2004)

*Montain Mamma*

Don't forget this one. Great ride in a VERY scenic area of Highland county. The roads are great the stops are well stocked and the people are second to none. The 100 mile loop has over 10000 ft of elevation. Worth checking into trust me! 
RIDE ON !! Hoovy


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## VaughnA (Jun 3, 2003)

hoovypedals said:


> Don't forget this one. Great ride in a VERY scenic area of Highland county. The roads are great the stops are well stocked and the people are second to none. The 100 mile loop has over 10000 ft of elevation. Worth checking into trust me!
> RIDE ON !! Hoovy


Yes, that's another classic in the area. Where mountains of misery beats you up with a couple of big climbs, mountain momma just has climb after climb. It's as tough as MOM in my opinion.


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## HikenBike (Apr 3, 2007)

VaughnA said:


> I'm on the board of the Central Virginia bike fest in .Lynchburg. We're planning on a century route for the first time this year in May. This is an absolutely beautiful route including the climb up Thunder Ridge on the parkway and riding to the Peaks of Otter. I'm biased but I think it is one of the prettiest rides around. About 2.5-3 hours from DC.


Vaughn, a century would be a nice improvement. I was registered for the 2007 ride, but work required me to be in Chicago that weekend. My family lives in that area and I ride Thunder Ridge every chance that I can. I agree that it is the most beautiful riding in the area. That 13-mile climb is long, but not too steep with great views.


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## hbarrmd (Jan 21, 2008)

The Bay Country Century -- held on the Bay's western shore in Calvert County -- is a nice one that has not gotten any mention. It's usually the weekend before labor day or thereabouts.


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## VaughnA (Jun 3, 2003)

HikenBike said:


> Vaughn, a century would be a nice improvement. I was registered for the 2007 ride, but work required me to be in Chicago that weekend. My family lives in that area and I ride Thunder Ridge every chance that I can. I agree that it is the most beautiful riding in the area. That 13-mile climb is long, but not too steep with great views.


We had a board meeting last night. The century is on! We're going to do the same route up Thunder ridge and add 40 miles or so by going into the city of Bedford and back to Lynchburg through Bedford and Campbell counties in the Huddleston Area. It should be a great ride with excellent scenery. I'd like to see a few RBR riders join us. I'll be posting details soon.


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## hemmie (Jun 15, 2004)

The Delaware-Maryland Flatlands ride in early June is usually pretty good. It is cheap (~$5-$10, I forget the exact amount). No SAG or anything extra, but there has been some food at the start/finish--bananas, cookies, etc. No pasta lunch or anything. Mostly quiet country roads.


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## mattotoole (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks for the kind words about Mountains of Misery! We try very hard with it. Every year our club members are torn between working on the event or riding it, because we love riding it so much ourselves. But we love working on it too. Either way, everyone has a great time.

Anyway, registration for 2008 is now open. I just updated a few bits on the website, especially the volunteer page (we can always use some help if anyone's interested). The website will be getting a makeover in the next week or so.

I urge everyone to register early because there's a good chance we'll sell out this year.

Don't forget Wilderness Road Ride on Saturday, which is a great event too, with a ride for everyone. Not everyone is in shape to do MoM!

I hope I'm up to it myself!

See you there!


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## khill (Mar 4, 2004)

There's a month-by-month list of mid-atlantic cycling events here:

http://www.suburbancyclists.org/calendar.htm


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## newridr (Mar 7, 2003)

rsatriale said:


> This challenging, well-organized event put on by the Baltimore Bike Club is one of the must go to events of our club's season. It starts in Thurmont, MD and covers 100 miles and 6,000 vertical feet. Wrapping around the mountains that stretch from Gettysburg south, it courses through Crampton's Gap, Antietam, and Gettysburg battlegrounds. Here's the link: http://www.baltobikeclub.org/index.pl/cwc


+1 on Civil War. Very well run, plenty of food and stops. Other than the hills, the toughest part is the last 20 miles as they're mostly out in the open - translated as being out in the scorching sun. But for me, its one of the rides I don't miss.

Another one that I did for the first time last year and will definitely be going back to is the Cheat Mtn Challenge. 106 miles and about 10K feet of climbing (the finish is at the top of the mtn, a 6.5 mile climb). As an added bonus, they time you so you can see how you fare against everyone else. Very well run and a great group of ppl putting it on. The only drawback is that being in WV, its not exactly easy to get to.


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## spielnicht (Feb 13, 2008)

There is the Reston Century on August 24th. I'll be riding it for the first time this year.


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

I've done all those, except the MoM, several times. They are all fun. The Seagull is great for catching a fast pace line and just hammering. But you need to get out early to avoid the cluster-#[email protected] of slow riders. Also, you need to book your hotel way, way, way in advance. They all fill up pretty quickly.

There are a lot of decent rides around here. I've never done the Lnacaster Covered Bridge ride in PA, but have heard good things about that one, as well as the Eat A Peach ride.

Oh, and the Reston Century can be a nasty scorcher. They do it in July or August, and it was over 100F a few years ago.


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