Civil War Century

Getting Pre-race info and maps to carry on their bikes

Tom signed up to ride the 100 mile Civil War Century which rode through 5 Civil War battlefields.

Prepping Pre-Race

 They started around 7 AM but could really start whenever they wanted; they just had to be finished by 6 PM.  Tom was riding with some Coast Guard guys and they got kind of a late start.

I decided to sign up to volunteer so I dropped him at the starting line and drove out to my post.

 We were at the Fairfield rest stop in a firehouse which was about the 75 mile mark. We set up the area for snacks, fruit, drinks, pb and j and tomato sandwiches which the other volunteers kept telling me the bikers went crazy over.

 So basically we built tomato sandwiches all day and yes, the cyclists were crazy for them.  Tomato sandwiches.  Like, we had invented the thing.  Some said this was the only reason they rode the 100 miles.....so they could have a tomato sandwich.  Some asked for the recipe and I was told to tell them it was secret.  I will however share it with you.

 A slice of wheat bread, spread with a little mayo and 2 slices of tomato.  Yes.  THAT is the recipe.

 If they wanted the special version they added salt and pepper themselves at the table! 110 loaves of break, 5 tubs of mayo and endless bushels of tomatoes later we were done.

 We were lucky we were in the shade all day but it really was a gorgeous day for riding.

 Tom, and everyone else was pretty beat by the time they got to us.  Some pretty big hills completely wiped them out.  Fortunately, the last 25 miles were mild so the ride home from our rest stop was much easier.  And, Gettysburg was between us and the finish line so they had that to look forward to.

After I helped clean up our area I drove back to the finish line to pick Tom up.  Overall he rode 104 miles in 8 hours.  Crazy!  Got there in enough time to grab an ice cream with him then we loaded up the bike and started the 90 minute drive back home.