Registration is now open for the Fall Century, which will start at Carpenter’s Brook at 9:00 on Saturday, Sept. 8. Some items of note:

  • The distances are 66 and 102 miles. As several people have asked for a 40-mile option I’ll add that too.
  • If you register before September 1 it will cost you $25; after that it will run $35. This buys you a marked route, 2 water/food stops, a souvenir gift for the first 60 registrants, and a donation to SUNY ESF in the name of Bill Johnson, who served in many club positions, including president, before his death in 1999.
  • The route and many of the roads are new to OCC. When making up the route, I usually kept us off state roads so much of the route is on quite county roads. I also did my best to take out hills. The 66 mile route climbs some 2,400 feet and the full century climbs some 3,800. To put the latter in perspective, the almost July 4th Century climbed some 1,400 feet, last year’s Fall Century climbed some 3,000 feet, and the 2005 Fall Century climbed 5,700 feet. In the OCC classification system, both the metric and full century routes are “rolling to hilly” (which is below “somewhat hillier” and “very hilly.” The most sustained climbing for both routes is between Cayuga and Owasco Lakes. There are also some notable climbs past Skaneateles near the end. However, the last 5 miles are flat or downhill. The full century also features a nice descent. The full century rides along about 13 miles of Cayuga Lake (but it isn’t always seen) and the metric barely goes along it. Both ride along Owasco Lake for 15 miles and Skaneateles Lake for 2 miles (I planned more, but there are rollers I ended up taking out).
  • You can register on-line via BikeReg or by mailing in a form. The latter was in the most recent newsletter and you can also find it on-line. There is a service fee for on-line registration and at the ride you’ll need to sign a waiver.
  • Please see the fall century section of the club web site for more information.
  • I’d like to think Jeff Palmer for a great job with the maps.