It is a popular cycling event, and I was lucky to get in. I have done this ride twice in the past, but this is the first time I had friends to ride with. Melanie and Andrea both did 100 miles with me. Hooray!
There we are, looking fresh and excited at the beginning of the ride.Of course I had to wear my Little Red jersey from my first century a few years ago.
We had a great ride! One of the reasons the ride is so popular is that the course is awesome! It is very scenic and does not have a ton of hills. It was supposed to be in the upper 80s Saturday, so we were pleasantly surprised to have a cloudy morning. So instead of worrying about the heat, we had on our arm warmers!
I loved having friends to ride and chat with this time! I also enjoyed having Joe along as our SAG vehicle and personal photographer. He is the one who took all of these nice photos.
The first 50 miles went pretty smoothly and were making good time. We skipped the second rest stop, and were going so fast that I missed seeing the kids when Joe tried to bring them out to find me! The rest stops were well stocked and had fun, friendly volunteers and were having a great time. Then we stopped for lunch, which tasted pretty darn good after working so hard. My only complaint was the line to use the bathroom.
Seriously, with 3000 women doing a bike ride, you think they would realize we need MORE bathrooms!
It was nice to take a lunch break and get to sit and stretch for a minute. It was also nice to see Joe and hang out with him for a minute. Here is a picture of the three of us at lunchtime. We still look pretty good, don't you think?
After lunch we hit the road again.The sun came out, and for a while it was pretty hot outside! The heat got to me a little bit, but we were all still doing pretty well. These are my favorite pictures of the day, thanks Honey!
It really was a scenic and fun ride!
There were so many women out riding that we were constantly riding past and with other riders. You can kind of tell that in this picture:
There was a nice, friendly atmosphere, and I talked to quite a few other cyclists. We actually picked up a fourth rider for most of the ride, just because she didn't have anyone to ride with.
The hardest part of doing a century ride is after you hit mile 70 or so. By then we were pretty worn out, and quitting is pretty tempting. But we persevered and luckily the sun went back behind the clouds. That helped a lot. It also helped to have my hubby along the course and at the rest stops, cheering me on.
We finished a little later in the day than we wanted to, but we made pretty good time on the bike. We finished the 100 miles in under 6 hours of riding time. Pretty darn good! I can tell you that by the end of the ride I had sweat so much that I had salt crusted into my hair. Yuck!
What a great ride. I am so proud of us. We did it! I can't wait to sign up for next year's ride! In the meantime, I guess I need to find some other rides to do this summer.
Lots of great pictures, thanks Joe. I looks like you really enjoyed the ride. It's great that you are in such great shape!
ReplyDeleteYou ladies are awesome and inspiring! I'm lucky to count you all as my friends!
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