First Century
The first two days of our Big Ride are back to back 100-milers (aka “centuries"). Having never ridden 100 miles in one day, I got the bee in my bonnet last week to try doing it, just to see what it was like.
Let me tell you - it’s no piece of cake!
Nick and I started our ride bright and early at 7:10 a.m. this morning. We left our house on Rose Hill and rode down through Kirkland, over Finn Hill to Log Boom park in Kenmore. Ten miles over relatively easy hills; no problem. We met up with several of Nick’s bike racing teammates at the park and continued west on the Burke Gilman Trail to the University District and then south to Leschi. This section was almost completely flat and quite enjoyable.
I sort of lost track of the miles between there and Issaquah, but our route went over Mercer Island, south to Renton, and over Newport Hill to May Valley. For those of you who live and bike in the greater Seattle area and haven’t been in May Valley yet, I have one word: GO! It’s an inspirational rolling, twisty road through beautiful farm country that connects Newport and Issaquah. Early in the morning traffic is virtually non-existant, making it one of the best Puget Sound area roads to ride on.
On this particular day, however, traffic was heavier than normal. Not that we minded though, because all of the cars that passed us were 1920s vintage race cars! We were buzzed by 50 or so of these neat (loud) old cars before getting to Issaquah. (I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera.)
With 55 miles under our belts, we treated ourselves to lattes at Tully’s Coffee - a much needed break - and continued back towards Redmond.
At this point, we knew we needed to get about 30 more miles in...but where to go? Most of the fun rides from Redmond are too long and I don’t really feel up to much more than 100 miles. We ultimately resorted to riding out to Fall City and back. On the way out there we passed the Happy Valley Grange where we were reunited with the vintage race cars. They were so cute all lined up in front of this classic country grange. (I kicked myself harder for forgetting to bring the camera.)
By the time we got back to Redmond, my legs were toast. It was all I could do to ride up the hill (4 miles) to our house. The kicker came when I got to the house and realized I still had 2 miles to ride to make it an even 100 miles. Nick left me to ride this last bit on my own. (Where’s the commitment?)
Finally at 3:30 in the afternoon, we finished our ride.
In retrospect, I’m glad I did it. I know what it takes mentally to keep going for when your legs are screaming at you. Will I do it again willingly before the ride? Forget it.
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