I am a total newbie, thank you for the welcome Having not even completed, let alone STARTED my first century ride, I find myself wanting to plan the next one . . . Will be riding alone (with 700 other people) on Saturday, and I am hoping to meet some buddies along the way. It is so much easier when I have been riding when I go with a friend, the hills are always easier, why is that? I just want to complete the ride.

Wa state is so lovely, I was born and raised there (spokane, walla walla, tri-cities, puyallup, seattle), moved just a few years ago to NM. I used to come back to visit Seattle, but now I can see it will all be about biking trips.