Dempsey Challenge 2018

Year number 10 and also a new coastal route.  At first I was grieving the loss of the old nostalgic Dempsey Challenge route. After all, I had done if ever year so far.  A couple of things led up to how I chose to ride this year.  Mostly the Thursday before the event my other 3 road bikes were all out of commission.  Don't worry, they are fine.  I fixed them all.  But it gave me a chance to ride my 30+ year old Viva Sport.  I decided that with the new route I would take the ride relatively easy and ride with my wife.  Riding a bike that was about 1/3 heavier with 1/2 the gears and less gearing range than modern bikes would keep me from wanting to catch the speedy riders.  Incidentally I had done the old route on this bike back in 2010 but I've become a little more "Performance Oriented" since then.

Nice start to the day

While we were waiting for the start we got to see a hot air balloon do a touch and go on the surface of the Androscoggin River. He was descending pretty fast so it must take some skill to time it just right not to submerge.

I missed the touchdown.

The ride got underway and all the fast riders sailed passed us.  I gave a quick chase to try to say hi to some friends.  After a few miles I decided it wasn't worth toasting my legs at the start of a 100 mile ride.  So I eased up and was very quickly caught by my wife.  The first 45 miles to Bailey Island we did with a group at a pretty quick pace.

Seaside Photo Opp

It turns out the new course was spectacular. I'd say it was a definite upgrade and a good draw to people that don't usually get to cycle by the ocean.  I should have taken some more pictures. I'd previously done a solo century to Harpswell and wasn't that impressed. This side of the island seemed to be more scenic and I enjoyed the ride more. The ride back was just the 2 of us at a slower pace and we were wearing down a little.  Overall I was feeling pretty good at the end of my first 100 mile ride of the year.

Round ???

Once we got back and changed we found the rest of our Dempsey team and it was time for drinking beer.  Each participant gets ONE free beer ticket.  Luckily our captain and his friends know a lot of people.   There were plenty of spare tickets and there was no reason to pay for beer.  I don't feel bad about that.  This year my wife and I raised over $1000.  I think it is a fair trade.  Thanks to all that donated.

Click here to see where we went.

Dempsey Challenge 2018 Flyover

I did learn that "The Big Boys" turned in a century time of  a little over 4:40.  Maybe next year.  Although I've also got this idea of doing the 100 on the fatbike.  I think either might be just as demanding.