Burnsville Metric

I did the Burnsville Metric (a metric century of about 60 miles, or whatever it equates to) many weekends ago. It's a ride, not a race, and about two thirds of it is flat and fast along a river, with the last third climbing back up to the town and fairly hilly. From the way people were talking about it, I was expecting some really challenging stuff toward the end, but it was more like Wisconsin-style hilly than it was North Carolina-hilly. Sorry, WI. You know I love you, but you don't have mountains that one has to grind up for sometimes literally hours. (Nobody's saying that's a bad thing, mind you.)

So to start, I'm not in very good shape. (Actually, we can just go ahead and start all of my cycling related posts like that.) The somewhat flat course was pretty sweet. For the first 20 miles I was in a big group and was flying right along. I doubted that I would be able to keep up the pace, though, and wanted to be conservative with my remaining matches, especially with the unknown 'super-intense hilly section' yet to come. So at the first checkpoint around mile 20, I stopped and mowed down some cookies and such. After that I rode by myself for much of the rest of the ride, stopping to chow down at the excellent checkpoints. As I said before, the hills were not so terrible, but I was still grateful that I had gotten out of the big group and gone at my own pace.

Here's a shot from a nice overlook in the last third of the race. The morning had started out a little chilly and overcast, but by this point it was getting downright nice out, and the arm warmers had been stashed away in a pocket.



I'm on the fence about these metrics and centuries, to be honest. I showed up at this one alone and rode solo, and it was a good time, but I think if I had some company it would have been a lot more fun. They tend to cost a few bucks, but it's usually for a decent cause or group... It makes it easier to get out and ride, though, knowing that the route is all set up, and that you'll be fed and watered at regular intervals. Like I said, I'm on the fence! I don't think this'll become a blog about century rides anytime soon.