February 2009 Century Ride: To Auburn and back

The routeFebruary can be a tough month for a century, but I lucked out this year.

Last week I'd picked out Monday as a likely day; it was supposed to be sunny and not too cold. But in picking my route I also wanted to be sure that winds wouldn't be too bad.

At first forecasts said that there'd be minimal wind, so I thought about riding my December century ride route, North up Rt 34 to Fleming, back home, then out down Rt 96b to Candor and back. But then the weather reports changed and said there'd be a north wind. So I plotted another loop course: 60 miles down to Owego and back home, then out to Genoa, over to King Ferry and back.

But when the day came, the winds were calmer in the morning and were supposed to pick up a bit in the afternoon from the north. So at 8:40am I headed north, along Rt 34 towards Fleming, thinking I'd do my original plan of repeating the December route. But by the time I got to Genoa, 18 miles out, I felt great and the wind was not bad at all, so I decided I'd continue on to Auburn and do the entire 100 miles without looping back to Ithaca.

It was a beautiful day, temp in the 30s, and it was sunny! The sunshine was amazing. There were a few periods headed north on 34 when clouds rolled in, but for the most part I was just soaking in the sunlight.

I stopped in Auburn for pizza at about 11:30 or so, and thought about which way to go. I decided to head west on Rt 20. I hadn't planned this route, had never ridden 20, and I didn't have a map, so I wasn't sure how far I'd have to go before turning back south in order to hit 100 miles. I knew it would be at least to Seneca Falls.

Rt 20 in Auburn is not a good biking road, two lanes and no shoulder (anyone have a suggestion for an alternate to avoid this stretch?). Fortunately traffic wasn't bad, and eventually after about a mile or so a shoulder appeared. The road starts out flat but turns rolling after a while.

When I got to Rt 89, it was clear that I had to continue west to get to 100 miles; same when I got to Seneca Falls. I thought about going all the way to Geneva, but then I remembered that Waterloo was right at the junction of Rts 20 and 96, and 96 headed back down to Ithaca. The mileage seemed about right, so at Waterloo I headed south and continued on down Rt 96 through Ovid, through Interlaken, and into Trumansburg.

A few miles after Trumansburg I cut over to Rt 89 on Perry City Rd, partly because Rt 96 into Ithaca is not a good road - no shoulder - but also to add a couple extra miles to get up to 100. I cruised down P.C. Rd, getting that spectacular view of Cayuga Lake in the last 1/4 mile downhill before 89. I then turned onto 89 and headed south back into Ithaca.

This was a great ride. I felt really good the entire time. My legs felt great, and by the end, the last mile, I was able to just tear down Cascadilla and Cayuga Streets. I felt the way I usually feel after a 50 mile ride, maybe even a bit better. The weather was warm enough that it was very enjoyable, and the sun was absolutely great.

This was definitely one of my best winter century rides. Now if I can get through March, I'll be set for the year!

Route: Ithaca - Auburn - Waterloo - Trumansburg - Ithaca
Total distance: 101.10 miles
Ride time: 06:35:38
Avg speed: 15.33 mph
Total climb: 3,482 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1258 ft, on Rt 34 north of Genoa
Avg climb: 34.44 ft/mile