Started off with Greg and Neal and we rocked down the road. At the first SAG,others from our group - Jonathan, Kraig, Courtney, Amy, Heather, and Kirk - eventually showed up as well. Cool. Greg, Neal, Kraig and me headed back out and kept it together. Eventually though, the group whittled down to me and Kraig sharing pulls and Greg and Neal riding a bit further back. At some point, Jonathan and Amy joined them. When Kraig turned left to follow the 80-mile route, I was solo so hung out at the next SAG until the others arrived. From that point on, we stayed loosely connected until the end of the ride.

Much of the road surface was smooth, but quite a bit was pretty rough too. One of the organizers said they hope to have the worst sections repaved in time for next year.

If I do this one again, I'd like to go out with one of the lead groups and see how far and fast I can go before I "blow up." A friend rode it in 4:40-something today, so he was 20+mph. Not sure if I could do that for the entire 100, but perhaps for 50+. If I recall correctly, I believe I noted a tad over 19mph through the first 50 and I wasn't going full-bore; so, 20mph avg for 50 is probably doable.

Gathered my senses, loaded up the car, and changed into some dry clothes. Connected with Jonathan and Greg and grabbed some pasta (meat sauce for me), garlic bread, salad, and lemonade in the "canteen." It wasn't Ippolito's good, but it sure hit the spot!


More consistent long rides. This was only my second Century. Under the conditions - high heat and not a big base of long (75+ miles) rides - I was very happy with today's effort.


Good SAGS - lots of volunteers and *something* available to eat at each one, but they'd do well to be a bit more deliberate about some of the menu items. I concur with others who noted that a lot of the food was simply sugar-laden junk. And yes, if the weather forecast is calling for "muy caliente," how about stock-piling some ice for the late SAGS? Nothing like drinking warm Heed, Gatorade, and/or water, eh?
Also, some Uncrustables or hand-made PB&J's (it's actually pretty easy to produce hundreds of sandwiches) would've been well-received by the Century rides late in the game too. Still, the Project Adventure Kids volunteers did a great job of trying to do whatever they could to make the ride a good one.
Epic Bikes and other support vehicles were VERY evident and did a great job of helping people out as needed.