Met my friends in Berkeley. There were five girls including two girls I hadn't met before. I rode up with my friend Sarah and her friend Stephanie. Jenny and her friend Ann were in the other car.

Sarah, Stephanie and I ended up tying our three bikes to the back of Stephanie's SUV with one of those trunk carriers. I had never used one of those carriers before and was quite skeptical but we made it to Chico just fine. We were supposed to leave Berkeley around 3:45 but it was closer to 5pm by the time we picked up everybody's gear and grabbed a frozen yogurt for the road.

Check-in the night before ended at 8pm and we just made it in time. They were closing down the kitchen and let us eat for free since most of the food would have probably been tossed anyway. It was a $16 meal otherwise. That was a nice way to start our Chico adventure.

While in Berkeley, I had asked the girls who would be doing what ride. Jenny was the only other person who said she would do the full century with me, but she ended up changing her mind after we got to Chico, so she could ride with her friend Ann who only wanted to do the 30 miler. I was stressed out all night because the other four girls didn't want to wait around for me to finish up the 100 miler. My option was to "compromise" and do the 65 mile ride or take Amtrak back to the Bay area. I tried calling Nancy "bike goddess" to see if I could hitch a ride with her but she doesn't have voicemail on her cell phone.

After not sleeping most of the night, I decided to get up earlier than the rest of the girls and try to finish the full century before they finished the 60 miler. I got about a hour head start and just cranked through it. This ride was much better organized than Tierra Bella and I didn't get lost once. I had left my map (a souvenir handkerchief) at the hotel, so I was reliant on the signage and other riders. Guess I didn't learn my lesson on the last ride (see Tierra Bella post). The food at the rest stops was pretty good and they had very hot very strong coffee at the first rest stop. The coffee was great considering it was pouring rain at this point.

I had started riding at 6am and it started raining about 1/2 hour into the ride. And then it started pouring! My feet were soaked by the time I made it up Honey Road - a very long ascent - to the first rest stop. At first I was about ready to give up, I was wet, cold, and worried about getting back to the Bay Area. But I pushed myself through it and it finally cleared up after about 2-3 hours of riding. I got to the second rest stop and then climbed another long ascent. I made it to the lunch stop by 11:30. This would be where the extra 35 miles ends and I finish up the ride with the 65 milers.

I called to see where my friends were and I was only 1 hour behind them at this point. Sarah and Stephanie said they would wait for me at the end which was a huge relief. Jenny and Ann would soon depart back to the Bay Area. Not wanting Sarah and Stephanie to wait longer than necessary, I pushed a little harder and managed to gain another 1/2 hour on them over the next 40 miles, so that I arrived at the finish only 1/2 hour later than they did. They were still eating when I got there and I was so relieved to see them and to finally get off my bike. I was sooooo tired. I had finished the 100mile ride in 8 hours including rest stops.

Overall it was a great ride. The only wildflowers I remember seeing were at the top of table mountain (only the 100miles took this route). I have to admit that the Tierra Bella ride, while poorly organized, was a more beautiful ride, with all the reservoirs and green hills. I'm looking forward to the next century - not sure what that will be - maybe the wine country century - or Grizzly Peak?????