AWESOME RACE. MUST. DO. AGAIN. FANTASTIC!

started about 100 yards back from start. anthem played, planes flew over and cannon sounded and we were off...well, it was about 10 mins later we made it to the start line...then, we were off! :)

met up with mtmoi and flomomango just after the start line and the 6 of us (bird, fasttoad, mahan, flomo, mtmoi and i) started our journey together. for about 1/2 mile. :) then murph and mahan bolted to go speedy and mtmoi/bird/flomo and i stayed together.

course was flat and fast and smooth at the start. looked down and was easily travelling at a 19/20 mph pace with little to no effort. was loving life. loving the crowd. loving the scene. loving the weather. just awesome.

no rest til mile 40 when we pulled in to our first pit stop. loaded up with some more h20, ate 3 fig newtons...mmm, enough orange slices to make a whole orange...mmmm and we were off. in the meantime, mtmoi and flomo went on ahead of us as birdy and i were enjoying the scene/fueling up. :)

mile 50, a quick pull in to adjust some stuff...but off quickly.
mile 60, another longish stop to load up on more oranges, icey cold water and pickles...mmmm pickles. they were delightful.
btw mile 60 and 70, the rolling stones (team of about 6 horses) came flying past bird and i. i yell out a "bird...you in?" and i hear a confirmation squack and we jump on the back tire. i'm telling you, these dudes were awesome. for 10 miles we rode their tire and had a line of others behind us. they kept taking turns pulling, i kept following. :) 23 miles an hour with very little effort. hr was so low it was awesome. totally felt like i was in the peloton of the TdF. :) loved it. could hear phil liggett commenting in my ear. just awesome.
mile 70...the stones pull off. bird and i tear up...but stick to the plan of keep on keeping on til mile 80. so we did.
80...quick stop for more pickles and icey h20 and we're off again.
btw 80 and 90 we pull up beside flomo and mtmoi. awesome. the crew is back together! :)
mile 90...flomo can't stop b/c she's afraid she won't get back on. her and mtmoi go on, bird and i get one more pickle :) and we're off too.
mile 98...very tempted by the free beer stand, however, we got peeps waiting at the finish line for us and we need to get to them...we carry on.
mile 100...WTF? where are the people cheering us in? oh yeah, that's right, the toad that is fast texted birdy at mile 85 to tell her that it's really 101.8 in length...holy hannah...get here!! :)
101.8...CROSS FINISH LINE. 1ST CENTURY DONE. BEST PART? I FEEL FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!! just awesome.

nutrition was spot on. between gu's, shot blocks, the other blocks that my very sweet bf picked up for me (can't remember name, but loved them) and the oranges/pickles/fig newtons at rest stops, i never bonked. don't get me wrong. when 101.8 came, i was certainly ready to get out of my saddle, but if i had to go another 20 + i absolutely could have. i cannot get over the feeling of greatness i felt post ride. i was so pleased.

side bar. my new infinit nutrition came on friday. was asked by my dear boyfriend if i was going to use it for todays race. i say yes. he scowers and tells me "never do anything new on race day." i justify why it's ok and conversation is done! :) moral of the story...it so worked and i'm soooo happy i infinited vs. gu2o'ed. that schtuff is awesome. never had a belly issue (like i've had with gu20). it tasted perfect as far as flavor/mixture. it never felt heavy in my stomache (like gu2o has for me)i sooooo love the infinit. greatness.

absolutely nothing.
perfect day.
perfect route.
perfect volunteers.
perfect crew to start together.
perfect riding buddy all freakin' day.
perfect end hanging out on the lawn chatting with each other about how each of our days were individually.
love love love love love love loved it!
cannot say enough about how much i loved this day!

hung out on lawn. drank a HUGE beer (see photo). chatted with the gang about our days. so much fun. got back on the bike after about 45 minutes to ride over to the car and wait for meems in the parking lot.


nada. perfect first century. HIGHLY recommend to anyone wanting to do a century as the volunteers are fantastic. pit stops are perfectly spaced apart. course is flat flat flat. just amazing.


will absolutely be back. absolutely.