First metric century ride! I rode with Jenn Griggs, Karin Sanderson, Judy Hudson, Tom Lakotos, and another club member named Anton who I hadn't met before. We started out behind the crowd because Karin had mechanical issues with her bike right in the driveway of the brewery, so we ended up lagging for most of the event (I didn't mind the lack of crowds, though). Once we got going, the first twenty miles were great. I tried to keep my traps relaxed and my shoulder blades pulled in as much as I could. Everything felt great until around mile 20 when my neck started to get stiff. I kept having to look down at the road to release it, which isn't optimal - especially riding in a group. The first rest stop came around mile 25 and I really needed it. I was able to stretch a little (though some of the testing of my neck and shoulders was not a good idea - things were cracking that should not have been, so I probably shouldn't have pushed it when I knew it was touchy) and just relax in a different posture. I really wasn't sure at that point if I could do the next 20 miles, let alone another 20 after that. When we got going again, my neck was still iffy and I could feel my traps getting tight. I tried to focus harder on keeping everything relaxed and pulled back. At one point, Jenn ran into a Strava segment she was familiar with and decided to turn up the pace. I went along with her and rode really hard for several miles, which felt great. We stopped after the segment to wait for the rest of the group and I realized that my neck was feeling better. After that, it stopped bothering me in more than a minor way. (Maybe it just needed more vigorous activity?) We had another rest stop at mile 40 where I bought some pies. Since Tom was struggling at that point, I hung back after the rest in order to let him draft off of me a bit (which only partially worked) and get some rest. After that I went back up to the front of the group. I was really feeling good through the last twenty miles. The last rest stop was at about 10. Some of the ladies needed to pick up the pace because they had other things to do that day, so our group split, with the guys staying behind. This improved our group pace tremendously - if the four of us could have ridden the whole thing together, we would have done really well, since we were really going at similar paces. I definitely started to feel it in my legs over the last five miles, but also felt like I could have kept going. When we pulled into the finish, it was a great feeling.

I'd pay more attention to fueling for future reference. I don't think I was eating or drinking enough toward the beginning, but I know I ended in pretty good shape. Still, I didn't pay attention to what I was eating or when, so I don't know how to repeat this good experience in the future. The only thing I know is that a combination of real food and sports supplements worked nicely.

Walked around for a bit, ate two slices of pizza, and drove home.


Just the logistics of riding in a group. As for myself, I'm thrilled with how well my body held up during this. When I finished, my neck felt good, my hip didn't hurt at all, and my right foot was fine. I felt better after 66 than I had after 20. Later in the day, my neck started getting tight - something was clearly pushed out of alignment during the ride - but I was able to hold off any spasms or serious issues as I rode by focusing on posture. My hip still feels perfect. I also didn't have much stiffness in the morning - just a little in my calves and a tiny bit in my quads first thing. Overall I'm thrilled.


Really nice cycling event on relatively flat roads with great support.