2023 Marin Century
The Marin Century is among the most well-known century rides in the Bay Area, and this year AV members rode both variants (the Classic Century and Mt Tam Century). Here’s a summary of their experiences in a few words (TL;DR: it was great!)
Classic Century (written by Ed Stewart)
With Chloé Nguyen, before the start of the ride. We’re ready to do 100 miles!
(photo credit: Marin Century)
This course was very much rolling without any long hills but many short and sometimes steep climbs. It took it out of you after a while, and even though it wasn’t really hot (It got into the upper 80s on the inland part of the course), you did feel its effects in dehydration and cramps. At least I certainly did. I lightly turned circles for the last 25 miles as I tried to avoid cramping up.
What a beautiful course. We started from a park west of downtown Novato and headed west. The park had plenty of parking but there was a traffic jam to get there. This caused the AV peloton to leave about 30 minutes late. We had about 15 of us at different times riding together during the event, and it was great to have it feel like a B/C ride. We stopped at each rest stop although not all actually partook. However, as we got further into the ride, we all stopped and got water, food, etc. At the last stop they had ice cream cones. So good! It was great to rest, talk with our riding friends, and hear that I wasn’t the only one tired.
That’s me in the middle with Janene Ostrow in front and Xiong Chang following
(photo credit: Marin Century)
Since this was a ride to build camaraderie among our team there are no race tactics to describe. Rather there is a description of how to get through 100 miles with over 6k ft of climbing. “Just do it” – to steal a phrase. I could tell the day before that my body was tired, and the inadequate sleep I had been getting that last couple of days wasn’t helping. I knew that I would have to manage my energy. I noticed from the beginning that my HR was higher than it should be so I just tried to deal with it. I felt okay up to the 2nd rest stop but from there to midpoint in the ride I suffered a lull. However, the Nicasio rest stop provided me with a second wind. About 8 miles after the mid-ride break you make a left and head up The Wall. It is a stair step climb but nothing as hard as RWG. It also had the wind at your back so that helped. We rested shortly at the top but most came and just pushed over as they didn’t want to stop and wanted to headstart on the technical descent. That rolled us into another rest stop. For me the rest of the ride was providing company with others as they worked through their fatigue and cramps, and then fighting my own exact demons. The course is basically 2 loops, and you can make the course about 70-75 miles if you don’t do loop 2, but you will miss the most beautiful part of the course: Samuel Taylor State Park. This is a nice rolling descent along a very well paved road with a stream and many beautiful redwood trees. I wish I had felt less tired and more energetic but it was still amazing scenery. Finally you pop out into the open landscape that brings you back to the lake and up the final hill. Here I finally really started to cramp and had to stop and drink. I only made it up the hill by putting it in the smallest gear and applying as little pressure as possible. I got pretty far behind everybody but they very nicely waited at the turn off for the lake. The final 5 miles are up gently with an awesome descent into the lake and finish. Time for a welcome rest.
At the finish line, ready to replenish my lost calories
(photo credit: Marin Century)
The best part of the day is sitting around eating the awesome food that has been produced for us riders. Fresh pizza made onsite. BBQ chicken and Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Burritos. Watermelon. Beer. Soda. I could go on and on. We sat around and talked about our shared experiences; how we should do this more often and could we do it again in later summer / early fall. I suffered from stomach aches and cramps at the very end, and yet the energy of this group and sitting around chatting turned this event into something fun for me.
Mt Tam Century (written by Akin Dirik)
Fearing a forecasted heatwave, several groups of AV riders decided to do the Mt Tam Century, not only to avoid the heat but also to enjoy iconic climbs up the northern slopes of Mt Tam, including Alpine Dam and Ridgecrest Blvd. One group, including Louise Thomas, Soren Holm, James Biddle, Kevin Lin and Marco “Spaghettiman“ Mariutto, went slightly off-course and did an out-and-back to the Mt Tam summit. My group, including Leslie DeBoer, Roger Pai, Jonathan Lewis, Matt Flanzer, Stephan Ummels, and Simon Parton, rode the “regular” Mt Tam Century which ironically excludes the Mt Tam summit. We were occasionally joined by James Porter, who was “tapering” for his upcoming 1200k PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris) and eventually left us in the dust. Along the way, we encountered other AV riders as well. For the most part (until the last rest stop), our group stayed together and regrouped at rest stops, making it an extended version of a typical B/C ride.
The highlights of the ride included…
Riding out to the Alpine Dam, where we stopped for a group photo and were regaled by a bagpiper in full Scottish gear
(photo credit: Simon Parton)
Climbing Bolinas Fairfax Rd under the shade of the redwoods
(photo credit: Simon Parton)
Climbing up the steep stair-steps of Ridgecrest Blvd (also known as the Seven Sisters), famous for being featured in many car commercials
(photo credit: Simon Parton)
Smiling for the camera on one of the Seven Sisters despite the gradient being over 10%
(photo credit: Marin Century)
A long winding descent down Panoramic Hwy with views of SF, the redwoods and a fog-shrouded coastline, followed by rolling hills along Hwy 1 to Stinson Beach, and a sweet flat section along the Bolinas lagoon
(photo credit: Simon Parton)
Along the way, we regrouped at rest stops with great food, including an impromptu coffee stop at the Due West Tavern in Olema.
As the day got hotter and some of us got tired, we had varying experiences for the remainder of the ride:
riding into a fierce headwind on Hwy 1 between Point Reyes Station and Marshall – Simon, Stephan and Leslie were able to stay together, leaving the rest of us to ride in solitude
Matt Flanzer suffered a flat tire on the turn from Hwy 1 to the Marshall-Petaluma Rd, which caused him to arrive late to the final rest stop
the infamous “Marshall Wall” which was the last significant climb of the day and made that last rest stop a welcome sight after an exhilarating potholed descent
Of course, the best part of the ride was the caloric gorging at the end, including getting reacquainted with the other AV riders who had done the Classic Century. The organizers of the Marin Century have always been known to provide hospitable service and great food, and they didn’t disappoint in that regard: BBQ chicken and pulled pork, handmade pizzas, burritos, hazy IPAs, gelato. With live music in the background, we relaxed and shared our experiences from the ride, a nice ending to a most awesome ride.
Louise Thomas leads a group up Ridgecrest Blvd on the way to the Mt Tam summit (photo credit: Louise Thomas)
Louise Thomas, Emily Chen and Xiong Chang at the finish line! (photo credit: Xiong Chang)
Post-ride relaxation (photo credit: Chloé Nguyen)