timed century experience?

[tangentgirl]

on that note, off to train...

[indysteel]

It might be helpful to find out how crowded the rest stops are. My general rule for 100+ miles is to keep my stops as brief as possible. When I did the RAIN ride in 2007 and 2008 (a 160-mile ride across Indiana), I spent all of about 45 minutes at the rest stops, including lunch. There are only four official stops (and one unofficial one), so that sort of makes it easy, but it also helps that they have enough port-a-potties to get in an out fast. Remember that you don't have to stop at every rest stop. So, think about using them strategically. Seven rest stops for a 103-mile ride doesn't strike me as excessive, but I, personally, likely wouldn't stop at every one of them. I find it especially hard to stop frequently on hilly rides as my legs have a tendency to turn to lead when I stop.

[maillotpois]

This is a fun, well supported ride. I've done it 3-4 times (the full route). The cut off times are pretty generous. It's really pretty flat to Cazadero (the first cut off).

Like other timed rides I've done, the mass start is very crowded. You should be confident riding among other people. The crowd doesn't really thin out noticeably til Cazadero, and even then it thins to large bunches. The first part of the ride is very flat, and so there are a lot of people really trying to get an advantage. If you haven't done a lot of pack riding, I suggest lining up toward the back.

Last time I did the ride (2 years ago), I found the ride crowded even on the climb of Kings Ridge, which I really hadn't noticed in prior years. I suspect that it might be a little less crowded this year (post doping revelations), which would be good.

The rest stops are great. Though crowded, they are well stocked and amply volunteered.

Any specific questions? Are you local? - I forget (sorry).