When we woke up to pouring rain, Katy and I were damn close to bailing on this ride. So, we slept for another hour until the rain let up a bit, then decided to give it a go.

Ten minutes into the ride, the rain was steady and our feet were totally soaked. This was going to be her first century: not a good start. That said, our spirits were high and it was actually fun to ride in the rain (despite the abuse my components were taking).

We signed in at the car-free start in Tilden Park, and there were several people huddled under the REI tent shivering. Yikes.

Onward. It rained for the first hour, but the damage was done. We were wet the entire ride. The feet were the worst: soaked and squishy. Luckily, the air temperature was decent and we never got too cold.

After 60 miles, we stopped for lunch and decided that three more hours in wet gear didn’t sound fun, so we finished the north loop and headed home.

Despite the conditions, it was a really fun ride and the volunteers were great.

My final stats: 77 miles, 7400 vert., 15.5 avg. speed.