Sunday, June 23, 2013

My First Century Ride

I put the word first in the title because I can totally imagine doing another one!  Overall it was a great experience.  If it wasn't for the weather and my hand hurting it would all be good.

Random thoughts are the best I can do.

  • It was nowhere near as painful as I expected it to be in the second half.  I thought I would be ready to quit after 60 but I never felt like I just couldn't keep going.
  • It's fun to do an organized ride where it is all planned out for you.  I think the fact that others were out there too contributed to the "I'm not going to cut this short attitude."
  • I rode this one alone and would like to do a century where I rode with someone.
  • I had friends there but they were faster or doing a different length.
  • I took nowhere near as many pictures as I thought I would.  I thought maybe I'd take one picture each ten miles but didn't want to stop every ten.
  • I love riding in the Islands but did not love all the hills on the other side of the lake at the end.
  • Love love love having aid stations where people make sandwiches for you among other things. Peanut butter and jelly.  YES PLEASE!
  • I was glad it was cloudy as it was cooler but unfortunately it was cloudy because it was going to dump on us.
  • Note to self: if rain is in the forecast bring dry clothes to put on afterwards. Duh.
  • I'm not one to stop short on a goal I have made.
  • Going to a party after where everyone thinks you are a rock star is quite fun. It was not a party for me, it was for my BIL who is visiting from FL.
  • If you're going to be out there for 7 hours pick a scenic route.
  • It's very easy to start out too fast in a ride that is not a race and try to keep up with the faster bikers.
  • I loved my 14 mile pace which I checked as that is the distance in my sprint.
  • I was pleased with my pace overall. It was 14.5 for 100 miles and in my world that is great.
  • My left hand was killing me.  It has happened on the other longer rides I have done too. I can't get it comfortable even with lots of changing of positions. I don't know if it is left over from the broken wrist or just a repetitive stress thing. The other hand was fine even though it was in the same position.
  • It is hard to shift when your hand hurts and I found myself avoiding it. This made the last miles slower.
  • It is also hard to brake hard when your hand hurts but a couple of steep hills that ended at stop signs made this necessary.  My brakes weren't liking the whole downpour thing so this was interesting.
  • I hit a small pothole and lost my second water bottle. I stopped and looked but could not find it and I was not going to go on my hands and knees looking through the tall grass.
  • It may have poured but it did not thunder and lightning which was in the forecast.  That was a huge worry for me.
  • I was ravenous all night last night.  On my way home I stopped   at McDonalds  (don't judge) as it was exactly what I wanted.  I got a quarter pounder, french fries and a shake!!  It was glorious.
  • I kept eating at the party we went too.  Man, was I hungry!
  • Today even though I would have said I felt just fine I have done nothing and had no energy.  I finally got myself to Burlington to leave off my camera which I won't have for two weeks!  I am not happy about that. My phone doesn't take good pictures either.
  • And I just signed up for the triathlon I've been thinking about next weekend.

    Here I am before the race well rested and raring to go.

    These two pictures are on the East Shore where I have taken many pictures,
    It is my favorite part for sure.



    I always like the look of these round bales scattered 
    through a field.

    Now I'm on the West Shore heading toward Alburg.
    I'm not yet halfway.



    I think this is around 80ish miles.  It is the first of the hills.
    You are looking back at St. Albans Bay I believe. It is worth
    the stop to look and take a picture, nothing to do
    with needing to rest.



    All four of the above pictures are from the same spot.

    Loved these yellow arrows which showed me the way, let 
    me know I wasn't lost, let me not think.  Right
    after I took this it started pouring.

    Just looking back at a hill I had just come up.


    Back at the beach where it started and it is continuing
    to pour.


    The shirt!



17 comments:

Paul said...

Awesome!

EB said...

Congrats! Great job in staying tough through the rain. Love the picture of VT in the summer. Makes me miss home! Also, after a big ride like that, you can eat anything you want (at least that is my philosophy)!

Kate Geisen said...

You did so great!!

I know what you mean about shifting and braking. My left ring finger and pinky have gotten numb on some of my 80+ mile rides, and shifting is pretty non-existent on that side when it gets bad.

Teamarcia said...

WooHoo! Here's to many more centuries!

Amy said...

Congratulations Andrea! I totally get the craving for McD's after that kind of exertion. You must have burned a ton of calories!

Johann said...

That is really amazing, well done! You handled it very well and I'm sure it is the first of many.When I first started reading your blog I don't think you biked at all.

Michael said...

Awesome! I still haven't managed a century yet but its on the list. ..not this year tho. You totally deserved some MCDs if thats what you wanted. You rode a 100 miles!!

Fran said...

Congratulations, so awesome! You did great.

As you know I do an organized walk sometimes now and I like it that I don't have to think about the route. Besided that the people that made the route know the area better than I do.
If you should do a century ride on your own I think it would take a lot of planning to do.

christa said...

You are awesome!! I love McDonald's milkshakes, but don't tell Travis because I tell him not to eat there.

Darlene said...

Congrats! Love mcdonald's shakes... haven't had one in awhile. I think I'm due.

HappyTrails said...

Awesome! I believe the only way it would have been a more perfect day would have been no rain and a few more peeks of sunshine??? That is such a beautiful area. Ha - and we won't judge you for McDonalds - sometime you just have to eat what sounds good - we ate hot dogs a few weeks ago - the super nasty, full fat kind - and they were delicious!!! :-)

Alisa said...

Awesome awesome awesome! Sounds like a great first century experience. 14.5 avg pace is a great pace for that distance, especially your FIRST one.

Learning which foods to eat out on the bike is important, some things agree and others don't.

Way to power through the rain at the end of a long day. Riding in the rain is not something I enjoy doing and try to advoid it at all costs but sometimes it is inevitable.

(PS Emily sent me your email address, I wanted to respond to some of your comments on my blog but when I hit reply it bounced back from a "do not reply" blogger account. I have much appreciated your kind words.)

Giorgio said...

Great job: congrats again! Of course you can eat anything after that fantastic ride.
Beautiful report!

Char said...

My son did a century ride yesterday too. But his was 100k not 100 miles. You rode 60k more than him and his legs were shot afterwards. You're amazing!

Liz said...

I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Well done!

Unknown said...

You're so tough! I laughed about the p and j sandwiches, they taste so good when you're hungry!
Sorry :( you don't have a principal. We didn't...off and on for five years but it's worth the wait. I hope you get someone WONDERFUL!

Kandi said...

What an awesome accomplishment! Congrats again, Andrea!