The Marin Century

Last weekend, I road the Marin Century. Good times and bad times. My goal was to beat 6 hours for 100 miles. The ride was 105 miles (according to the computer), and at the 100 mile mark I was at 5:57 of ride time. So, I hit my goal.

Don't those folks in the background look like they're hurting? This is ~mile 78. Brings a smile to my face. ;-)

I also managed to hit a barbed-wire fence. At 31.8 miles into the ride, I managed to find a huge pothole on the downhill side of the Marshall Wall and throw the bike off the road. Went straight over the handlebars and into the fence. My arm has seen better days.

Fortunately, not much damage to the bike -- I destroyed a Ksyrium. It was a 2005, so I managed to get a replacement from Excel Sports Boulder for $219. Can't say enough good things about these guys. Every purchase experience has been flawless (and competitvely priced).

I also managed to split my front derailleur cable, so for the last 75 miles, I only had my bottom 10 gears.

Learn to love high cadence.

In fact, I learned to love it so much that I got an early birthday gift in a compact crankset.

I've read so many bad things about people's experience with the FSA compacts (see here), that I decided to go with the Shimano R700. Two separate mechanics voted for it over the FSA.

First ride this weekend (with a 12/27 in the rear), so review forthcoming.