ABRT did the Bike Doctor/St. Michael’s Century on the eastern shore this past weekend. It was a beautiful day for it; low humidity, sunshine and cool temperatures. This is one of the things I love about the “century season” in the fall and I try to do as many as possible (Bay Country, Civil War, Seagull). Such a welcome change from the typical summer conditions. While these are not races, it is fun to do them with teammates and friends in a challenging, but not “dog-eat-dog at all costs” kind of a way.

The Seagull Century last Saturday marked, at least for me, the end of both the “Century Season” and the season as a whole. I think that is especially true given the very fall like weather we are having this week.

This year I did 4 centuries along with a number of ABRT riders: Rick’s Solomon’s Island ride, our Bay Country Century, the Civil War Century and the Seagull Century. In reflecting on the season during a chili ride yesterday, I realize one of the reasons I did more centuries that races this year is that I really enjoy the longer, steadier effort rides (including our Saturday Training rides) much more than I do the shorter, intense efforts of our typical summer crit schedule. Not that there is anything wrong with those type of events, it’s just that they are not really my thing. For me, especially when there are stronger riders in the group (like almost always), these rides are “races” in the sense that they are physically challenging and they simulate certain aspects of road racing. While the focus of the club is on attending, participating in and winning races, I think there are a lot of riders that have this shared sense of purpose in the Club.