Well, today was the day. I've been riding for just under 3 months now, and I've been putting a lot of time and effort into it (and seen a lot of improvement) with hopes of riding a century next year. Something inside just sort of hit me, and even though I wasn't sure I was ready, I decided I would try and get one in this year before it gets cooler.
My friend/trainer
took me on this ride, it was just the two of us.
Anyway, for anyone familiar with Western Washington, we started south of Arlington (at a parking lot on the Centennial Trail) and rode up to just past Snoqualmie Falls and back. The way there we went down through Monroe. The way back we took High Bridge Road.
For those not familiar, the ride was a combination of rollers and the occasional short steeper hill -- except for the climb up to Snoqualmie Falls and the first hill on High Bridge Road, those were more serious climbs -- though not the worst I have done.
It was VERY cold this morning, in the high 30's, and we rode SLOW to minimize the windchill. We probably averaged about 10mph for the first 10 miles. That I'm sure killed the average, but that wasn't what I was looking for today.
Stats:
Time 6:54:52
Dist 100.35 miles
Avg 14.5 mph
We stopped for a few minutes about 3-4 times (mostly just to relieve ourselves, a couple times just to break). We stopped at the half-way point for lunch (Turkey Sandwich). Even though we were well-supplied with Clif Bars, Bananas, etc. we did not eat anything else. I went through about 3.75 bottles of Gatorade.
I didn't finish as strong as I had hoped, but I finished and that was good enough to meet my goal.
Only carnage: I lost a spoke on my front wheel (nipple just unscrewed ???).
All in all, I am exhausted, but so happy that I did it. As I've mentioned before, I picked this up for exercise and then I fell in love with it. This board has helped not only educate me - but to inspire me to work harder and do more.
I feel like a real roadie now -- even more than when I got my clipless pedals!
Thanks everyone!
Adam