102.74 Miles on my Trike. Another Sea Gull Century

I had not been down to the DelMarVa peninsula in a couple of years. For my 54th century I decided to return this year for the Sea Gull Century out of Salisbury, Maryland. This is a flat century over good roads in farmland. The traffic volume is very low, and the excellent Maryland State Troopers are at every major intersection, stopping traffic for the about 6,000 riders registered for this event. The weather cooperated brilliantly, with great cloudless skies, lots of sunshine, and a maximum temperature of 80F with low humidity.

There is a choice of two century routes, and a 100km also. I chose the Snow Hill Century, which is more scenic and less crowded than the original Assateague Century. We started off at 7AM, with the sun just rising. The starting temperature was 51F and clear.

Thie was my second recumbent trike century, and I was well trained from a good summer of riding both upright bikes and my trike. Compared with my LOOK KG381i road bike, the Catrike expedition is slower by about 3mph, but much more comfortable during the last 50 miles of the ride. As I was not in a hurry and the weather was fabulous, the trike was the best choice. I met up with several other trike riders on the road and at the rest stops. I met Dirk from the DC area. He had Catrike Expedition #880, while mine is #3385. About six years of production separates the two frames. Fortunately, they are still made in America.

The ride is largely rural, and passes through many small towns of the Eastern shore of Maryland. I would have to say that all of the people and automobile drivers that I came across were quite friendly, in contrast to the drivers of Suffolk County, who can be quite hostile at times. I felt safe.

The last rest stop was at the Nassawango golf club. Of course, they had pie and ice cream for the eager riders to consume. Due to the amount of exercise during the ride, which comes to about 5,000 calories, I felt justified in having a big piece of cherry pie. The power curve of the trike and most recumbents is different than an upright bike. Due to the fact that general body fatigue is low, my average speed actually increased during the last half of the ride. I have found this to be true with my two wheel recumbent also. All in all, this years Sea Gull Century was a great ride.