ULCER stands for Utah Lake Century Epic Ride. It’s an annual ride traveling 111 miles around Utah Lake. It has been on my calendar for more than a year, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s ride.
The morning of the ride I donned my FatCyclist jersey — it’s my favorite, and not just because it’s a sweet jersey. My wife and I have been following the saga of a local “fat” cyclist (it’s a must-read blog) and his wife, Susan, who recently passed away after a long, hard fight against cancer. Together they’ve raised over half a million dollars this year for LiveStrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation dedicated to fighting cancer. So I proudly wore my FatCyclist jersey and my wife “tattooed” my calf with a tribute to Susan we have seen around the web.
The ride started at 8AM and it was downright chilly, not at all typical weather for August in Utah. There were over 2000 riders, so they started us off in different stages to minimize the chaos and crashing. I got started later than I wanted and spent most of the first 25 miles passing slower cyclists. I saw one pretty bad crash, but thankfully wasn’t involved.
The course headed south down the east side of the lake. It was pretty smooth sailing. One quick food stop, and then lunch at mile 50 (near Genola). We took our time at lunch to refuel and stretch. I felt good and strong; I was thinking this was going to be easy. Then we hit the mile 70 food stop, where the route turned north and directly into a brutal headwind.
The last 40 miles were brutal. Fighting headwinds the entire way made for a long, slow haul back along the west side of Utah Lake. It was exhausting. The wind never stopped. I tried to tuck in behind someone, stay out of the wind, and just keep pedaling. Just keep pedaling.
At about mile 100 I got a phone call from my wife saying she and the kids were waiting for me at the finish line. That gave me something to look forward to as I trudged toward the finish line, which was a very welcome sight.
I made it across the line and gave the kids high fives for patiently awaiting the arrival of their slow father. Manina even asked me, “So, I saw a lot of old, fat guys cross the finish line before you did — did you get a flat or something?”
No flats, no mechanical issues of any kind. Just took it easy, stayed out of trouble, and finished my first century ride. I wasn’t trying to get first place. Besides, with a family as great as this, who needs podium girls?
MightyJohnsons 
Woo-hoo for you!!! That is terrific! MoM
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Hey, Seth… Congrats! Holy-shmoe-man, 111 miles is like way far – wind or no wind. And, you are right. You do have a GREAT family! 🙂
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finally took a look at this article…quite the accomplishment….you are now in a pretty select club–that, “century” group. I can remember coming into the Provo Boat Harbor sometime like midnight or 11 or something dark. Just fell into the VW Rabbit and was driven home. Your experience was a trifle quicker and probably lots more fun…although, I remember THRONGS of cheering people…a fact Jan has apparently forgotten in all the confusion and flashbulbs popping. Anyway…Great job, son! Now for a better time next year…or a real fast fat gal who you can ride behind.
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