TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
Worcester, Mass.
August 10, 1997
Century season expanded
By Lynne Tolman
Century season, the summer-fall stretch when cyclists make it a
goal to ride 100 miles in a day, is starting earlier and earlier every
year. With only so many weekends in September, many New England bike clubs
have booked August dates for their big events.
Most centuries
offer shorter options, and the point is not to race to the finish but to enjoy
the route. These rides are a chance for clubs to show off their favorite
roads to folks from different areas, and for all riders to share the challenge
and camaraderie of a healthy day out.
Mountains are often
featured. Some are summits to be conquered, as in the Cadillac Mountain
Challenge in Mount Desert Island, Maine. Others are scenic backdrops, as
in the Mad River Valley Century that runs amid Vermont's Green Mountains or the
Major Taylor Century with a view of Mount Monadnock from Cathedral of the Pines
in Rindge, N.H.
Organizers of the Great River Ride in western
Massachusetts, which has more than 7,000 feet of climbing, have yet to determine
whether they will use the traditional starting point in Westfield or last year's
stand-in site in nearby Woronoco, a section of Russell.
The gentlest
terrain is at the seashore, on the Tri-State Seacoast Century starting in
Hampton Beach, N.H., and The Flattest Century in the East out of Tiverton, R.I.
Except for the Steeple Chase, the Oceanside Bike Fest and the
Dan Michaud Century for Cancer, the following centuries are not fund-raisers, so
you don't have to collect pledges. In some cases, the fee includes a
souvenir, such as a water bottle or T-shirt, or a post-ride barbecue. Call
to find out starting times and signup procedures; if a mailing address is
listed, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to get an entry form.
- Aug. 16 -- STEEPLE CHASE BIKE TOUR, 20, 50 or 100 miles, St. Mary's
at Jillson Square, Jackson and Valley streets, Willimantic, Conn.; $25 to
register, $50 fund-raising minimum for Windham Area Interfaith Ministry and
Perception Programs Inc. 860-450-7122.
- Aug. 16 -- APPLE COUNTRY CENTURY, 100 or 100+ miles (add Middlebury
and Brandon Gaps), Churchill House Inn, Brandon, Vt.; $20, $25 day of
event. Churchill House Inn, mailto:rciatt@sover.net 802-247-3300.
- Aug. 23 -- MAD RIVER VALLEY CENTURY, 25, 50 or 100 miles, Mad River
Bike Shop, Routes 100 & 17, Waitsfield, Vt.; $30, $35 after Aug. 10, $5
discount for bike clubs of five or more. Hyde Away Inn, RR1 Box 65,
Waitsfield, VT 05673. hydeaway@madriver.com, 800-777-HYDE or
802-496-2322.
- Aug. 23 -- Merrymeeting Wheelers' DAN MICHAUD CENTURY FOR CANCER,
50 or 100 miles, Brunswick, Maine; $20 to register, $50 fund-raising minimum
for Mid-Coast Hospice. Tom Legare, 207-725-7314.
- Aug. 23 & 24 -- North Shore Cyclists' BLAZING SADDLES CENTURY,
25, 62 or 100 miles, National Corporate Park (Salomon), Route 133, Georgetown,
Mass.; $10 members, $12 nonmembers, before Aug. 20; $12 members, $14
nonmembers day of ride. Tony Salerno, 508-289-3934.
- Aug. 24 -- VERNON TO VERNON, 80 or 100 miles from Vernon, Vt., to
Vernon, Conn.; bus to start from Cycle Center, Route 30 Post Road Plaza,
Vernon, Conn., leaves at 6:30 a.m. with bicycle loading on Aug. 23; $36 by
Aug. 11. Cycle Center, 860-872-7740.
- Sept. 6 -- NASHOBA VALLEY PEDALERS Fall Century, 25, 50, 62 or 100
miles, Metrowest YMCA Wayland Community Pool, Route 126, Wayland, Mass.; $8,
$10 after Aug. 30; $5 quarter century. 508-266-1NVP. http://www.ultranet.com/~nvp/
- Sept. 7 -- Narragansett Bay Wheelmen's THE FLATTEST CENTURY IN THE
EAST, 25, 50 or 100 miles, Tiverton High School, North Brayton Road,
Tiverton, R.I.; $18 NBW members, $23 nonmembers, by Aug. 23. NBW
TFCE, PO Box 428, Tiverton, RI 02878. 401-435-4012. http://www.aljian.com/nbw
- Sept. 7 -- MAINE FREEWHEELERS CENTURY, 62 or 100 miles, Maine
Square Mall, Hogan Road, Bangor, Maine; $10. Harrison Clark, 44 Warwick
St., Bangor, ME 04401. 207-942-7974.
- Sept. 7 -- Franklin-Hampshire Freewheelers' CONNECTICUT VALLEY
CENTURY, 25, 50, 75 or 100 miles, Hadley Village Barn Shops, Route 9
and Bay Road, Hadley, Mass; $5 FHF members, $10 nonmembers. Sally
Peters, 23 Gaston St., Easthampton, MA 01027. 413-527-4877.
- Sept. 14 -- Pequot Cyclists' TOUR OF EASTERN CONNECTICUT, 50 or 100
miles, Groton Cyclery, 1360 Route 184, Groton, Conn.; $10 century, $7
half-century. Donna or Michael, 860-739-2681.
- Sept. 20 -- Stowe Bike Club's INTERNATIONAL FALL CENTURY, 62 or 100
miles, Johnson State College, Route 15, Johnson, Vt.; $25. Guy
Amundsen, 802-229-0192.
- Sept. 20 -- Casco Bay Bicycle Club's WHITE MOUNTAIN CENTURY, 100
miles, Covered Bridge parking lot, Kancamagus Highway (Route 112), Conway,
N.H.; $10, $13 after Sept. 13. Rachel Farrington, 207-865-3950 or
207-797-5551.
- Sept. 20 -- OCEANSIDE BIKE FEST, 25, 50 or 100 miles, Duxbury
Intermediate School, Duxbury, Mass.; $20 to register, $25 after Aug. 8, $50
fund-raising minimum for National Multiple Sclerosis Society. 508-291-2169.
- Sept. 20 & 21 -- Granite State Wheelmen's TRI-STATE SEACOAST
CENTURY, 25, 50, 62, 75 or 100 miles, Hampton Beach State Park, Route 1A,
Hampton Beach, N.H.; $10, $15 after Sept 1. Dave Topham, DSTopham@msn.com, 603-898-5GSW.
- Sept. 21 -- Charles River Wheelmen's SOUHEGAN RIVER TOUR, 25, 50,
62 or 100 miles, Hart Barn Ski Touring Center, Lowell Road, Carlisle, Mass.;
$8 CRW members, $10 nonmembers. Tom Lynch, toml@kurzweil.com,
508-877-2238. Mail check to Jack Donohue, 26 Fox Run Road, Bedford, MA
01730. CRW Hotline 617-325-BIKE. http://www.crw.org/FallCentury.htm
- Sept. 21 -- Mad About Cycling's DON McCULLOCH MEMORIAL RIDE TO EAT,
25, 62 or 100 miles, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Route 28, Falmouth,
Mass.; $22, $25 after Sept. 10; $12 adults, $6 children under 10, for 5- or
10-mile Family Fun Ride. Mad About Cycling, PO Box 491, Falmouth, MA
02541. 888-235-2300. http://www.vsp.cape.com/~mac
- Sept. 21 -- TWO FERRY METRIC CENTURY, 100 kilometers, Cycling
Concepts, 825 Cromwell Ave., Rocky Hill, Conn.; $13, $15 after Sept. 16.
Cheryl Parker, 860-563-6667.
- Sept. 28 -- Seven Hills Wheelmen's MAJOR TAYLOR CENTURY, 25, 62 or
100 miles, Chocksett Inn, 59 Laurelwood Road, Sterling, Mass.; $8 before Sept.
20, $10 at start. Dick McNamara, 9 Montvale Road, Worcester, MA
01609. Dick McNamara, mcnamara01@aol.com, 508-753-4471. http://members.aol.com/shwworc/index.html
- Oct. 5 -- Maine Freewheelers' CADILLAC MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE, 25, 62
or 100 miles, Acadia National Park Visitors Center, Mount Desert Island,
Maine. Tony and Anne Mourkas, 171 Patterson Road, Hampden, ME
04444. mailto:frankenstein@telplus.net207-862-5990.
- Oct. 5 -- SLATE COVERED BRIDGE CENTURY, 25, 50, 75 or 100 miles,
Swanzey Town Hall, Route 32, West Swanzey, N.H.; $10, $15 after Sept.
25. Penny Rogers, 454 Homestead Ave., West Swanzey, NH 03469. Penny
Rogers, 603-352-6085.
- Oct. 12 -- GREAT RIVER RIDE, 25, 62 or 100 miles, Westfield, Mass;
$20. Don Podolski, 413-562-5237.
~~~
Wolfgang
Fasching from Austria won the Race Across America,
crossing the finish line Aug. 2 in Savannah, Ga., after 9 days, 4 hours, 50
minutes on the road. He was one of nine solo riders to officially complete
the 3,050-mile race; 21 had started in Irvine, Calif.
Seana Hogan of San Jose, Calif., was the first woman to finish, placing fourth
overall, in 10:01:35, for her fifth RAAM victory. The other female
finisher, Muffy Ritz, came in 10 hours behind Hogan for fifth place overall.
New England entrants Ed Kross, 38, of Framingham and
33-year-old Rob Morlock of Brookfield, Conn., did not officially finish. Kross
was 120 miles from the finish on Monday afternoon when the official race clock
stopped running (48 hours after the winner's finish), and he withdrew.
"The problem was I kept falling asleep," Kross said
Thursday. "We could have finished and earned an honorable mention, but we
were already two days behind what we expected to do, and it wouldn't have been
an official finish. It was very disappointing to me."
The
course was longer and hillier this year. Lightning storms out West threw
off Kross' sleep schedule, he lost some time when a tire blew out in his follow
van, and he suffered from bloating. "But no saddle sores this time," he
reported cheerfully. "And I can't say enough about the crew."
There were also two New Englanders in the team division:
Ray Collins, 36, and Tiffany Tretschok, 31, both from Plymouth, paired up on a
co-ed tandem team called 2 Mixed Up that finished in 6:21:13, less than nine
hours behind the other co-ed tandem team, Lightning Velo. Collins was one
of two blind stokers on his team.
All nine of the four-bike
relay teams finished the race, and so did a two-man mountain bike relay team
from California.
~~~
TIP OF THE HELMET -- To Frank
McCormack (Saturn) of Leicester, who finished second overall in the Tour de
'Toona stage race last weekened in Altoona, Pa. Saturn's Norm Alvis was
the winner.
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