# CivilWarCentury - Holy crap....



## lostPixels (Jun 12, 2012)

This was an phenomenal ride! The route was perfect, besides a bit of traffic. The climbs were challenging but rewarding... And for everyone who attended, how did you deal with the storm? 25+ MPH wind gusts as tailwinds are awesome!

Here's my ride: Bike Ride Profile | Civil War Century! near Thurmont | Times and Records | Strava


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## Pug (Sep 20, 2011)

lostPixels said:


> And for everyone who attended, how did you deal with the storm? 25+ MPH wind gusts as tailwinds are awesome!


I made it to the Fairfield rest stop about 3 minutes before the heavens opened up. I got a bonus when the group I was with made a wrong turn and wound up adding 9 miles to the route.

Nice ride, btw!


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## lostPixels (Jun 12, 2012)

Sheesh... I was really afraid I was off-route too, between the debris, disintegrating cue sheets and the low visibility.


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## scottma (May 18, 2012)

It was crazy. Unfortunately, in the chaos of the storm, I followed the wrong group of riders and mistakenly got on the bailout route and only did 75 miles. I was very disappointed since the last part of the ride is very easy. I also rode the Reston Century a couple weeks before which was a total downpour soaking extravaganza. I'm hoping the Backroads will be nice.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

lostPixels said:


> This was an phenomenal ride! The route was perfect, besides a bit of traffic. The climbs were challenging but rewarding... And for everyone who attended, how did you deal with the storm? *25+ MPH wind gusts as tailwinds *are awesome!
> 
> Here's my ride: Bike Ride Profile | Civil War Century! near Thurmont | Times and Records | Strava


You must have been at a different part of the course than I was when the storm struck. I was initially hit with a sidewind and then the rain was coming directly in my face. I was about 15 miles from the finish when the storm started.


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## lostPixels (Jun 12, 2012)

MarkS said:


> You must have been at a different part of the course than I was when the storm struck. I was initially hit with a sidewind and then the rain was coming directly in my face. I was about 15 miles from the finish when the storm started.


Ugh, that sounds awful. It was in open fields, and after awhile I did get struck with some extreme gusts from the side as I crossed a bridge.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

I hope that everyone made it through the storm without injury. I stopped for about 10 minutes during the worst part of the storm. When I got back on my bike, there were tree branches and other debris on the road. Everyone in my group made it through OK.


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## lostPixels (Jun 12, 2012)

MarkS said:


> I hope that everyone made it through the storm without injury. I stopped for about 10 minutes during the worst part of the storm. When I got back on my bike, there were tree branches and other debris on the road. Everyone in my group made it through OK.


There were definitely some points where I felt unsafe, mainly because I have never rode in rain before(lol) and this was my first experience. I didn't see anyone injured so hopefully everyone made it through alright! I did see some poor souls who got flats in the rain...


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## scottma (May 18, 2012)

I had some friends that were quite a bit behind me just getting to the top of the 2nd big climb when it hit.There were trees and power lines down. They had to carry their bikes over and under trees and take that long decent in that cold rain navigating all the debris. They made it back ok but were pretty fried.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

lostPixels said:


> There were definitely some points where I felt unsafe, mainly because I have never rode in rain before(lol) and this was my first experience. I didn't see anyone injured so hopefully everyone made it through alright! I did see some poor souls who got flats in the rain...


What we experienced on Saturday was a lot more difficult and dangerous than just riding along in the rain. I usually do not ride in the rain, but I have put in more than a few rain miles. I did the entire 2003 CWC in the rain. I never have experienced anything like the first few minutes of the storm on Saturday. 

Flats always are more frequent when the roads are wet. I helped a guy who had a flat about 4 miles from the finish. He never had changed a flat, but he had watched a video on how to change a flat. I'm sure that he would have figured it out eventually. But, changing a flat in the rain is no job for a newb. Just as I was finishing up, a SAG came by with a floor pump, which also helped to expedite matters.


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## gevad (Jul 28, 2011)

I made it to mile 78 (about 5 miles after the second-to-last rest stop -- the Fairfield rest stop?) before the storm hit. It was actually pretty awesome watching the squall line marching across the fields from the right, but a bit scary when it hit from the side. I rode a couple of miles looking for shelter (incredibly heavy rain, strong wind, and the thunder and lightning were nearly simultaneous) and then accidentally took a small detour intended only for folks on the 50 and 63 mile courses. Good thing, because it included a covered bridge where I ended up sheltering with about 10 other cyclists until the worst of the storm passed. 

One of my co-workers was on the second big hill (Ritchey Road, at about mile 60) when the storm hit and had to work his way past three trees that had fallen across the road and then go down the other side on a wet road with all kinds of debris on the road. Glad I missed that.


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