I spent yesterday doing something I most likely had no business doing; I completed my first century in over a decade! Going from a six mile commute every day on my single speed to a 110 mile ride is something I wasn't preparing myself for and to be honest, I wasn't planning on doing... Let me walk you through the chain of events a bit.
The century crew was 5 people strong: Chris, Brett, Erik, Jeremy, and myself. We got a late morning start so it could warm up a bit. It was a good idea because when we started it was sunny with clear skies. The air was still a bit chilly, but the polar fleece was more than enough to keep the upper body warm as we rode through the chilly air.
Although I was riding with the century crew I had it in my mind that I would be only hanging on approximately 25 miles before breaking from the pack and heading home. As we approached Golden I was feeling really good, which is when I was really second guessing my plan to ride only 25 miles. I was thinking maybe I could make the century at this pace and this rolling terrain. When we reached Golden I heard Chris and Jeremy talking and then decision was made to tackle Lookout Mountain as part of the century. My first reaction, which I verbalized, was "Oh, Shit!" I haven't climbed a mountain all season and again my thought of completing the century was gone. I conceded to the notion of climbing the hill with the group and then heading back home from the top.
I was certainly the slow man up the mountain, but the cool thing is that Chris, who can ascend Lookout in sub 20 min, hung back and chatted. Taking my mind off the climb and helping me climb. When we got to the top we took our first break and it was there I made the decision to ride the full century.
My decision seemed sold since the next 10 miles were all down hill and I felt great! Feeling like I made the right decision I rode with the crew towards Morrison, more downhill. Here we got on the c-470 bike path, which is up and down. As we continued to go up and down and up and down I felt my legs getting pretty tired. At this point we were at the 55 mile point and I was having serious doubts if I could finish the century.
The group stopped at a gas station and we filled up on water and I munched on a couple snickers bars. Even with the refuel, the next ten miles were miserable. I felt like a tank and my legs were made of lead. This is where the group really pulled through for me.
Most groups I ride with just let the weakest link fall off the back, never to be seen again. Not this crew. We rode as a group the entire way and the group only moved as fast as the slowest rider. That impressed me! Chris, once again pulled through for me and rode along side and talked to me. Offered me food and in general kept me turning the pedals.
Once we got to the 70 mile mark the snickers bars started kicking in and started feeling a lot better. The terrain leveled off and I no longer felt like a tank. I did however, know my limit and I assumed a position of draft and seldom took a lead position. Again, the crew was great at allowing me to just hang on and didn't expect (or judge) me based on my inability to take point.
At mile 82 we got our only flat tire of the day and we took a nice break. At this point I knew I was going to ride the century. Once we got back on the bike I loved watching the odometer as the miles ticked away. With each tick I would do the math in my head on how much more I had to get to the 100 mile mark.
As we passed the REI on the bike path in Denver the odometer read 92 miles and according to estimates the distance from REI to home was about 15 miles. I compartmentalized the extra 8 miles we would need to do beyond the 100 mile mark and decided to deal with it after I reached 100 miles.
When I reached the 100 mark on the odometer a feeling of pride and contentment filled me. At this point I knew where I was on the bike path and just knowing exactly where I was and how far I still had to go in order to get home made the last 10 miles of the ride obtainable.
All in all it was a great ride an and I couldn't have asked for a better crew of riders to join me in accomplishing this major riding milestone.
