Before I get into the Sea Gull Century ride recap, I’d like to share what led to the Bike R purchase and rebuild to begin with. I have ridden my 1998 Porsche Bike S mountain bike on two 100 milers and the 2004 Porsche Bike X (converted into a road bike) on one 100-mile Century and the 129-mile Death Ride. But I have long wanted the road-racing and purple/blue and yellow Porsche Bike R from the late 1990s. This bicycle had a retail price of $10,000 back then, was super rare, and not many are seen for sale these days. Then in June this year, I got a message through the Porsche Bike Group Facebook page that someone wanted to sell a 1999 Bike R. I tried to find a buyer for what the bike was worth. It was in well-used condition, but even so, these rare bikes are still worth some money. When I couldn’t find a suitable buyer, the seller offered to me for a price I couldn’t turn down.
Not only was the price too good to pass on, but the bike was also a large frame size and was two hours from my house. All of this was too good to be true. Quickly picking it up, I realized I had some work on my hands to get it rideable. The bike had two flat tires, didn’t shift well, and was dusty and dirty.
I spent the next couple of months working on the Bike R. I changed the tubes, tires, saddle, brake pads, chain, cassette, shifters, bar tape, all cables, and pedals. I also added some touch paint, and washed and waxed the bike. Everything I changed or added were OEM parts and matched the original bike colors.
Once the bicycle was road-worthy, I started testing and training. Switching from the mountain bike Bike S and touring bike Bike X to a full racing, drop bar road bike was a mind scramble. The Bike R is ultra-light, fast and super-maneuverable. It was like going from a Porsche Cayenne to a Porsche Boxster. This bike is amazing, smooth, and fast to ride.
With testing wrapping up, it was time to dream up a ride worthy of this bike. After a bunch of web research, I came up with the Coast & Coast idea … Sea Gull Century in October 2023 and the Sea Otter Classic in April 2024. Since I’m no stranger to long distance riding, I knew what training I needed to complete, and I got to work.
On the day of the Sea Gull Century ride, the weather forecast showed morning intermittent rain turning into full rain by the afternoon. I estimated the 100 miles to take about 6-6.5 hours. Starting at 7AM (earliest start time allowed) I would finish around 1-1:30PM … right into the heavy rain.
The Sea Gull Century is famous for its mostly flat and fast course through amazing rural and farming country, with a rest stop at the Atlantic Ocean. Starting early at the Salisbury University campus, I decided to ride as fast I could, only stopping at the rest stops for as short as possible and try to beat the rain. At first, the weather was cool with only a little bit of light rain. I made some good time. I even jumped into some pace lines to get a draft from some of the faster cyclists.
The Sea Gull Century is famous for its mostly flat and fast course through amazing rural and farming country, with a rest stop at the Atlantic Ocean. Starting early at the Salisbury University campus, I decided to ride as fast I could, only stopping at the rest stops for as short as possible and try to beat the rain. At first, the weather was cool with only a little bit of light rain. I made some good time. I even jumped into some pace lines to get a draft from some of the faster cyclists.
Even though the Sea Gull course is generally flat, the rain and wind made it challenging. My training carried me to the finish with a total ride time of 6 hours and 14 minutes.
I was hyper-focused on my speed, ride time and the weather. But once I was finished, I realized the 1999 Porsche Bike R performed perfectly. It was fast, smooth, reliable, and best of all it didn’t have one flat, didn’t miss one shift and could keep up with modern bikes without issue.
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