So I finished the ride in 7 hours and 3 minutes. Apparently I crushed some souls, because after the ride a guy I passed on the final climb of the day told me my riding made him feel like he had never ridden a bike before. Which really made my day. I took the most popular advice and took the first few miles easy. And to jayp, I wish the first climb had an average of 5%. The way that climb goes is a steady 3%, and then it kicks up to 9%, back to 3, and then back to 9. It does this a few times. This is the ride if anyone wants to see it. http://www.mapmyride.com/s/routes/vi...leton/36655054