2011 Stagecoach Century

On January 15th, some friends and I competed in our first race of the year. It was supposed to be a long training ride for me but it wasn't; it was a real race.

This race was a 100 mile four-man team time trial. My 3 friends definitely kicked my ass on the ride. I came close to backing down because I didn't think I had enough power but instead, pushed myself to keep in the their draft.

The course was in Ocotillo about 80 Miles east of San Diego. The scenery was really beautiful and the desert roads were full of long gradual climbs. The course ran though in the desert where the air was dry. Additionally, even though it was the middle of winter, there was about a 30 degree swing in temperature during the day and by noon, the temperature it made its up to about 85 (26 C).

Ocotillo is really close to the Mexican border and far away from any large cities making it an ideal place to do some longer distance training due to the extreme weather conditions and absence of cars on the road.

I highly recommend getting together with friends and taking a trip to Ocotillo for a long training ride. Though the race was difficult I am sure it helped improve my riding and am glad I worked though the difficulties I faced.

The summary of the race: 100 miles covered in 5 hours and 17 minutes. Total ascent/descent totaled 4,900ft. Our average speed was 19 miles/hour and I burned approximately 5,500 calories.


I'd like say thanks for my team, they did a real team work helping me and motivating me the whole time. Adam, Charlie and Joshua, thanks so much for the amazing experience.