FitEgg.com Multisport Reviews
On Saturday 2 May 2009 I had the pleasure of riding the Sweet Onion Century in Vidalia, Georgia. The Sweet Onion is a multi distance event: 31 miles; 54 miles; 63 miles; 100 miles; and a double metric century at 125 miles. Don’t judge this race by it’s website, www.letsride.net. The event was a great course, well organized, and for the most part, well staffed.
The race starts at 8am for us mortals, though the century and double metric riders get started an hour early. Leaving from the campus of Southeastern Technical College, the ride is well marked and the roads are in very good condition. We hit the first Rest Stop at St. Matthews Church, roughly 14 miles into the race. Well stocked, Gatorade, cookies, pretzels, and really friendly folks. The volunteers at the rest stops really made the race a hit. They were always really nice, though many of them couldn’t understand why we were spending a beautiful day riding a bike for 60+ miles….
Leaving the first rest stop, we turned right and headed out for another 14 miles or so to the next stop. This was the most interesting part of the ride. About past the first rest stop you start to notice the massive fields full of bright green onion sprouts. Rich green mature onions spread out as a carpet from the road as far as you can see. In other fields, the onions had matured and the tops, what you purchase as ‘green onions’ in the store, had fallen over and started to brown. The fields were full of migrant laborers, families of laborers, men, women and children, all picking onions from the ground and filling up large wooden boxes in the fields. The onion boxes, stacked like bee hives, speckled the landscape, as the workers continued to pull the onions from the ground. I can only imagine what a strange site we were to our guest workers. Imagine, just another day picking onions, nice clear sky, crisp breeze. Then, out of nowhere, hundreds of cyclists, clad in spandex and helmets, come blazing by your field. Strange indeed.
My riding partner and I were feeling pretty good and passed the second rest stop at mile 28 and continued to the third stop at the courthouse, mile 39. To this point, the course was pretty flat. A few hills here an there, but overall, the hills were really ‘rolling’ and not too brutal. The sun, however, was a bit tough. Most of the ride is through onion farm country, so there’s little shade for us weary riders. My recommendation is to bring plenty of spray on sunscreen. By the time we stopped at the courthouse rest stop, I was ready to walk around a bit. All riders had a chance to vote for the friendliest rest stop and I have to say it was really hard to pick. Every volunteer was over-the-top helpful and each rest area was well stocked with fruit, snacks, and Gatorade. For most of the ride, Charlie and I had been basically on our own. We’d see someone a bit ahead or a bit behind us, but we were alone for most of the ride. At the courthouse stop, we met up with about 25 other riders and finished the ride in a loose pack.
Leaving this rest stop, fully loaded on Gatorade and sunscreen, we headed out. Nothing too eventful for the final 20 miles or so of the race. We hit the last stop about 15 miles from the end, topped off our water bottles and tucked in for the final leg. Parts of this leg took us through neighborhoods and the less rural parts of Vidalia, which was a nice change of scenery. Nothing against onion fields, but with almost no shade in the onion field part of the ride, I was happy to have a bit more shade for the last bits of the race.
Cruising back into the Southeastern Technical College parking lot, we were greeted by more friendly volunteers and the race organizers. We received our coffee mug, a special prize for those of us who did the Metric Century or higher. Then a great Vidalia onion burger and sides in the parking lot. Finally, STC opened their locker rooms for any riders desiring a shower before the trip home.
If you’re thinking about doing this ride, I highly recommend it. The course is interesting, but not impossible. The views are great. The staff and volunteers are excellent. My final vote for friendliest stop was the St. Matthews Church stop. It seems that we, my riding partner and I that is, missed one of the stops. I don’t know if we totally missed it, if we had bad directions, or if the stop closed before we got there. I don’t think we were that late or slow hitting the other stops, so I don’t think it was our fault. No matter, really, we didn’t die on the way. At $30 for early registration, this event is a deal and supports the local United Way, so it’s a great cause too. We highly recommend the Vidalia Sweet Onion Century. For more information, please contact the Sweet Onion Cyclists at www.letsride.net.
