Well, I did it!

[Owlie]

Doing a century while you're in the process of moving is probably not the best idea that I've ever had, but it was awesome and far better than cleaning the apartment.

I went with some friends from work. We were going to ride from Xenia down to downtown Cincinnati for lunch (about 130 round-trip), mostly on the Little Miami trail. I was a little unsure of this plan, because the longest I've done ever was 70 miles, and the longest this year up to that point was 52. Perfect weather--sunny, mid 70s for the high. We set off later than we intended, since my friends have concepts of neither time nor alarm clocks (I love them dearly, but...), around 11. We kept up a good pace, though I made it clear that my goal on long rides is energy conservation, so I wasn't about to push it unless I had to. Lots of stops to eat, stretch and refill water bottles along the way. We got into our major stopping point (a trail access point in a northern Cincinnati suburb) around 3. We stopped for a while at the bike shop next to the trail for some snacks (Bonk Breaker bars are tasty!), water and chamois cream (in my case).

The next leg would have been trails and then onto back roads to head downtown. This is where we ran into trouble. The road that our ride leader (such as he is) usually took was closed due to construction, and we couldn't find a reliable alternate route. Between that, concern for my knee and the hills that would inevitably be an issue on the ride back, and the time (we'd be getting into downtown around rush hour, and then riding back in the dark), we decided to just go for the century and head back to our last stop for lunch. We did, and some tasty sandwiches and a beer each (and a very long time sitting around afterward!) later, we were back on the road.

The second half was rocky--one friend nearly threw up, another did, and my legs were starting to feel it. Some more rest and a can of Coke shared between all of us helped a bunch. Didn't do much for the fact that it was getting dark and for some reason, all but one of us had forgotten to bring headlights. I was starting to flag at mile 78 and just did my best to keep the rest of the group in sight. I missed the benefit of the pull (and the single light!), but there we go. We ended up getting back into Xenia at 10pm or so...and realized that we were three miles short of a century. So three of us went back out (after retrieving lights from cars) and rode the extra three on another trail. My legs, by that point, felt okay, but the rest of me didn't.

We finished the day by heading back to someone's house, ordering three pizzas, consuming them, and then passing out. I fell asleep in my jersey and shorts. And the next day, I pretty much ate everything I could get my hands on.

Not the century I had planned back in April or May or whatever it was, but it was certainly more fun!

[thekarens]

That's fantastic, congrats!

[Wahine]

Wow, nice work. That's one heck of a day!!

[murielalex]

Wow, nice work. That's one heck of a day!!

This!

[tealtreak]

How fun! Most of my epic bike rides have been spur of the moment when I really "didn't have time" ...like "better than cleaning the apartment" the fact that you "should" be do something else makes it more fun (: