It's actually very long, which is why I posted the link. I basically opened up my journal entries including describing some of the rides we did to prepare. Those rides are short entries, but the metric is longer. I know that we are both impressed with ourselves, with how much we were able to improve in a short time, and I was hoping that by sharing the details, maybe some other newcomers would find some small degree of motivation.

In short though, the ride started cold, rainy, and windy. It stayed windy all day. Many riders decided not to start and we didn't meet but a couple of other riders, they just looked at us funny on our comfort bikes for the most part, but not all. The wind and the hills were brutal, but we made it!