Unlike the weather we'd experienced during previous weeks, this day was cold (30's in the early AM hours) and windy...not good. Fortunately I was in good company with Corey and Jay and looked forward to riding with them, though they were only riding 50. Corey and Jay are both training for IMLP and are a big part of the reason I decided to give tri a try. As it turns out, the 50 and 100 routes were completely different so we spent exactly 0 minutes riding together once we exited Camp Twin Lakes. Oh well. My goal was to complete a Century, my first, and help raise some money for a good cause.

Of the 200 or so folks that braved the chilly weather to ride, I'd guess that maybe 30 were doing the Century. As this was my first and most of the riders looked a bit more experienced, I had visions of riding alone for a good bit of the day. Once on the road, the century group stayed together for the first 5 miles and Saul Raisin rode with us for a few of those. **Side note, if you don't know his story, Google him - incredible to see what he's doing after almost losing his life!!** It was neat to meet him and chat for a couple of minutes - great guy and he's very thankful to be cyling again.

At ~mile 5, I found myself with the "lead" Cent group, but they were picking up the pace already and the headwinds were starting to kick in. At mile 10, I was dropped from that group and found myself on a nasty stretch of road, riding dead into the wind, and hating every minute of it! The second Cent group bridged and passed me at about mile 17 and I was "alone again..." At mile 21, I hit the first rest stop and to my surprise the second group was still there - hoo-rah! I put some nourishment in my body, topped off the Gatorade, and shoved off with the group. Despite a higher pace, I was warmed up now and had no problem keeping up with them. From mile 21 to 60 we stayed as a group, forming loose pace lines to cut the wind. At mile 60, a couple of guys really started to tank and the lone girl in the group took off. At this point, I was feeling the best I'd felt all day and decided to go with her. She was riding a Madone 5.2, had fire-hydrants for legs and was a very strong/impressive rider!! (Apparently her boyfriend was in the lead group, so it made sense that she was as strong as she was)

She upped the pace to +20MPH and FINALLY, with little to no headwind, we rock and rolled. After a few miles of pulling she slid over and let me take the helm. I felt strong and upped the tempo significantly - at times I looked down at my cyclometer and we were moving along some flats @ +25-28MPH - and Madone 5.2 was glued to my back wheel like a pro. By far, this stretch of the ride/road was the best part of the the day!!

As we motored along, we kept a loose eye out for the ~mile 73 rest stop. At mile 80, knowing that somehow we'd missed the stop, we finally pulled off to take a much needed break. During the rest I learned this was her 7th Century for 2006. Yikes! Surprisingly, after 5 minutes or so, a couple of guys from the group we'd left at mile 60 came riding up. They made some comments about how hard we'd been riding, but they must've busted their own a$$es to catch us that quickly. Anyway...the four of us hit the road and picked up the pace where we'd left it. Three miles up the road it happened - we hit our last climb of any significance and I bonked. My legs simply said "no mas" and that was it. I spun up the hill and watched the gal and two guys ride away - what a helpless feeling.

So, "alone again..." and knowing the guys behind me were too far back for me to to expect any company anytime soon, I focused on keeping the legs moving and getting home. If miles 60-83 were the best part of my ride; miles 83-107 were the worst. Between the headwinds that once again battered me no matter the direction I pedaled, to the insidious gradual upward grade of the road, I grew increasingly tired and frustrated. After a quick glance at my stopwatch, I set a goal - reach 100 miles in under 6 hours - to help stay focused. It worked. Despite feeling like I was pedaling in sand due to the wind and road grade, I hit the 100 mile mark at 5.57 and change. At this point, I pulled over for a quick break and my body was shaking - in retrospect, I was probably experiencing a bit of shock due to lack of proper nourishment and due to being 28 miles over my previous longest ride - ever.

Regardless, I climbed back on the bike thinking I only had a few miles to go. Turns out I had almost 7 miles to pedal and those 7 were pure torture - headwinds, continued gradual climb, and tired, tired, tired.

Thirty-one minutes after hitting the 100 mile mark, I finally was back at the start. I'd done it, I'd successfully completed my first Century (actual 107) and I helped raise money for a great cause!

As a buddy had warned me to do beforehand, I'd definitely make sure to not miss the rest stop in the mile 70-75 area. I REALLY wanted something other than GU or trail mix and believe one of the Uncrustable sandwiches they were serving or something similar would've made a huge difference in how I finished.

The first part was in the parking lot: Some people who'd ridden the 50 were in the parking lot and offered me a beer and some pretzels. I was fine hydration-wise so took them up on the offer and spent about 15-20 minutes chatting. Nice folks and good way to wind down.

The second part was in the post-race canteen: I grabbed some wraps provided by Taco Mac, a banana, and Coke and hit the road for the hour+ ride back to Alpharetta


Headwinds from Hades!! and lack of proper nourishment late in the ride.


If they hold it next year, I'll be back. Hopefully the cold temps and wind will stay away.