Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment. -- Thomas Carlyle
I did it! I rode a full 100 miles on my bike - and I even did it by myself. Yeah, it was a supported ride and there were feed stations every 12-15 miles, but I rode without company...a whole 7+ hours on my own. This century taught me an awful lot - most importantly 1) the 56 miles for the HIM is, without question, doable, and 2) I can get into my head and exert myself for a long time -- I can mentally do the HIM. This was an awesome experience for me and I'm so glad I chose to do the whole century.
Here's the start of the century. For the first mile or two we had a police escort out of town, which was pretty neat - it was like riding in a peloton, all crowded and stuff. Things did spread out after that, but for the first half of the ride, I was near folks, even though I rode alone. The course was beautiful, riding through battlefield parks and along a road that passed a number of plantations.
My plan was to go out strong for the first half (the turn around was at 52 miles) but leave enough in the tank so I could get back. The wind was at my back for a lot of the way out, but I didn't realize how much until I was on the way back. At the feed zones, they had powerade and water, as well as pretzels, granola bars, and other snack food. I was also carrying a lunchable that I ate at mile 25 (second breakfast - I am a hobbit you know) and some pretzels of my own. At the turnaround, they also had turkey & cheese roll ups.
You can't see my watch really well, but I was at 3:17:57 at 52.58 miles at halfway. Yeah me! Averaged about 16 mph on the way out, time on bike -- I stopped my watch at feed zones so I could get my riding speeds. Unfortunately, this was a problem, because after I finished my lunch and started back on the route home, I forgot to start it again for about 3.5-4 miles. Damnit.
The route back was less interesting - it was still pretty, through some tree-covered areas, but some of it was through farm areas...fields on both sides, flat as can be, and hot with sun. But not too hot, because the wind was coming straight on at me - sometimes the gusts almost blew me backwards. It was crazy. The wind definitely slowed me down on the way back and I believe the route back had more elevation changes than the way out. It was mentally hard, but I wasn't going to stop 30 miles from home. I just kept riding from feed zone to feed zone and all of a sudden, I was only 15 miles from the end. I was so jazzed I picked it up again and did well til the end.
Here I am back at my car after the ride. I'm not usually into taking selfies, but I was pretty damn proud of myself at the moment and figured it was worth documenting. Besides, check out my pretty jersey. You would think I was vain based on how much I care for the appearance of my athletic equipment. It doesn't actually carry over into real life though...I called my family and my brother to brag about how awesome I am and then I went and got the food they provided at the finish. BBQ, beans, brownies, and beer. I guess the lunch was brought to us by the letter "B" and the number "100." :-)
Final data - 97.13 miles over 6:22:34 ride time (average 15.2 mph) - plus the 3.5 miles or so I missed, probably at the same pace, so we'll call it 100.4 miles ridden. Counting the time for feed zones and lunch at the turnaround, I went under 7:30. I was hoping to get in before they packed up the food at 4pm and I was already done eating by 3pm, so I definitely exceeded my goal. Self-esteem and self-confidence...HECK YEAH!
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