100 Miles of Nowhere Ride Report

It was with some trepidation that I prepared for The Fat Cyclist’s 100 Miles of Nowhere. The nowhere in the name literally meant a ride going nowhere on a bike trainer. About 8 years ago I rode my trainer for 5 hours and said I’d never do it again. A realistic century with my current lack of fitness would mean 6+ hours on the trainer.

Given that I had said I wouldn’t ride that long on a trainer, you’d think I wouldn’t have had any interest in riding the 100 Miles of Nowhere. The thing that got me though was it was for a good cause.

It was a fundraiser with most of the entry fee donated to Livestrong. Fatty’s wife, Susan, has been battling cancer for a long time. Unfortunately most of us have also been touched by cancer. My brother-in-law lost his battle with cancer last year.

Since I was going to be on the trainer so long, I decided I’d do it on the CompuTrainer. It allows you to load courses and then it varies the resistance to simulate ups and downs. You can also use a pacer to keep from slacking off.

It was afternoon before I got started on the 100 Miles of Nowhere. It had been a while since I used the CompuTrainer and I failed to revive the old computer with the software.

During the first couple hours of my ride, there was quite a bit of rain. That kept it cool and also kept me from wanting to be outside. It also made it very humid for Colorado.

The time and miles ticked by faster than I thought they would. I did get a few strange looks from neighbors but no one came over. A cyclist rode by a couple hours apart and looked at me and gave a smile the 2nd time he went by.

I’d be lying if I said it was all easy. You don’t generally shift around on the bike as much while on a trainer. I was certainly feeling it in the seat and my legs seemed to get tighter. My left shoulder is also sore today.

It ended up taking me 6 hours and 12 minutes plus some break time to ride 100 miles on the CompuTrainer. That’s over an hour longer than I said I’d never do again. It was worth it though to raise money for the fight against cancer.

The entry fees raised over $20,000 and many of us are working to raise even more money. Please donate on my page for a virtual ride of the Seattle Livestrong Challenge. Even donating $5 will make a difference.

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Tags: century ride, cycling

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