Thanks guys. These responses are quite reassuring. When I did the GFNY two years ago, I received a lot of comments:
"Are you crazy?" "You've got big balls!" "You're my hero." "You're a badass!" "Do you have to pedal twice as hard on that thing?" One idiot said, "I don't know what you're trying to do?" I just gave him a dirty look and said, "I'm riding a century!" and walked away.
For the first half of the event, I kept telling people how well made these bikes are. I told them that riding my BF wasn't that much different than my Cannondale CF bike. It was a little slower, but definitely still fun. By the end of the ride, I got tired of that. I just coyly told people that I had Herculean strength and endurance. But the best part was anytime I passed someone. Honestly, it wasn't often. I'm a Clydesdale, and I was on my folding bike-- it was a sight. I was like Chris Farley in the movie Tommy Boy. "Fat guy on a little bike!" Instead of "Fat guy in a little coat!" But I'd hear the huffing and puffing of pissed off riders behind me trying to catch up. It wasn't often, but it was fun.
I'm currently successfully losing weight. I'll hopefully be out of the Clydesdale category and only about 20-30 pounds overweight for the Crater Lake Century. Either way, I'll do what I gotta do on my Bike Friday.