Century ride

So I keep thinking about doing a century ride, and one of my Facebook friends suggested the Amtrak Century ride from Irvine down to San Diego, which I would LOVE to do, but then I got to thinking.... logistically there are problems. I'd probably want to spend the night in Irvine because the ride starts so early - 7:00. That is an expense. Then there's the need for someone to watch my dog. Another expense.

The truth is, I'm also not geared for it - riding the hybrid for 100 miles would be painful. I'm already thinking of changing the seat out as it is. But I don't yet have proper riding shorts with the padded chamois crotch, and I don't have my arm warmers and leg warmers yet - and also no velcro shoes. Also, although they say to do an average of 12 mph, which isn't a problem, one would really have to do 12.5 to get there in 8 hrs and catch the train back. That's with no stops. If you stop for refreshments, you're dead in the water. Truth is, I need a faster bike, a true road bike, for long distance runs. Yes, I did the half century on the hybrid last summer, but that was killer on my butt and wrists, and that probably took me 8 hrs, but I also was not on open road and couldn't get true decent speed.

So, right now I am working on short sprints forcing the bike to a minimum of 12.5 mph and up to 15-16mph, but ideally I'd want to be doing 15-20 mph on a road bike on a long distance trip like that so that I can get down there in plenty of time to catch the train back. So, I don't think this is the year for THAT trip, but maybe next summer. I must focus on getting a road bike.