Yesterday I rode my first century with Andy Steelman and Lawrence Lightner (of the Catalyst community). It was exactly what I expected; fun downhills, quick flats, and grueling climbs. We left from Riverbank High School at first light when it was a bone-chilling 43 degrees outside! By the time I began to feel my hands and feet we had reached the first checkpoint. It was at this point that I thought the ride was fairly smooth. Then we hit stage 2.
The hills were a bit more lengthy and gradual at first and then they just got brutal. At one point I think I heard it (the hill) laughing at me. Hope was found in reaching the hill crest with legs and lungs burning. But the downhill was a 2000+ foot, 12% grade over a mile. Let me just say that I was actually scared that my brakes would burn up and I would go flying off a cliff. A bit extreme, but you weren’t there! Then came lunch… thankfully!
Stage three began with a 2 mile back track to get my sunglasses that I left on the water cooler. My legs were fine, I was refreshed and ready to move on. However we had an eight mile ascent that seemed to go forever. The rest of the stage was blended with little down and a lot up! The stage ended with a brisk ride down 108 and a brief stop in Knight’s Ferry.
Stage 4 was the endurance mind game stage. You’re so tired that your mind says stop, but you press on either way. After toughing it out, I arrived at the school to see my family cheering for me {which was an extreme blessing!}! What a ride! The stats read: 110 miles, 7.5 hours, 14.5 average speed (which sounds slow until you see the terrain/41.5 max, approx. 7,500 calories). I have to say that I’m proud of myself… set a huge goal, trained hard, and accomplished it. That’s a sweet feeling.
A huge thanks to Andy and Lawrence for attacking this ride with me! And a huge shout out needs to be given to Joel Boone and BlamelessClothing.com for the coolest jersey in the ride!
Click the Photo for More Photos of the day!
