I rode a short century (90 miles) through some very hilly terrain. It was a small group, started out as six riders and quickly dwindled down to three. There were only two store stops along the way and boy did I welcome both. Our biggest and longest climb took us up the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Our ride captain was very knowledgable about the area and share tid bits here and there along the way. A the top of this long and what seemed endless climb (it was approximately 1 long) we stopped at a lookout sight to catch our breath and take in a beautiful sight. From there we had only 25 miles to go but I swear they were the toughest 25 miles I've ridden in a long time. I found myself counting off the remaining miles. We found ourselves racing an approaching storm the last 10 miles or so and those dark clouds helped all of us dig a little deeper and push a little harder to the finish. The heat and humidity were tough today. I drank 8 bottles (20 oz) of gatorade during the ride, a liter of water and felt somewhat dehydrated (mild stomach/intestinal cramps).

Our ride captain today had ridden a century on Saturday and was riding strong today, boy I hope I can do that some day. He also shared that he has ridden at least one century every month for the past 63 months - I found this amazing to say the least and so very cool.