Century Ride

We could not ask for a better day to do a century ride than Sunday. It was perfect... not to cold when we started and it really didn't get too hot (as long as we were riding). 

But lets start from the beginning: 
The morning started a little frantic for me though. I hit the snooze button one too many times. I was dreaming that I was already out riding when I woke up in a panic realizing I was still in bed. Oh CRAP, at 7:30 Diana was going to be at my house, here it is, somewhere between 7:15-7:20... no coffee no breakfast... not even dressed yet... UGH... this is not good. Threw the dogs out so they could do their dog thing, put some coffee on, got the top of me dressed, dogs back in and fed... Diana is here... coffee has grounds... grr... dress the bottom of me, blow up tires, fill water bottles...OKAY... let's hit the road. Damn, chain falls off in the driveway... This all would not be so horrible if there was not someone waiting for us on the rail trail... nice first impression I am making. So, we get on the road, stop and grab a bagel and he:re we go... hit just about every red light on the parkway. I think we finally met up with Brian at 8:30??? 

We head over the bridge and pick up 26 to route 38B, this is where we get our hill climbing in and out of the way. My goal is to keep a nice HR... Staying in low Zone 3... did a good job of it. It was slow, but I knew I had a long day ahead of me. Diana's friend Brian is a speed demon and I feel bad, but I would rather have him deal with my poke ass now than deal with my crying later! (this was declared as a no whine ride...) We get over 38B and then take 38 to Richford. Nice, easy riding, nothing exciting. I am dreading the climb out of Richford, but I am trying to embrace the hills. We stop at the gas station on the corner for a potty break, this is also our chance to turn around and go back if any of us were not "feeling" the ride, but we were all good, so we head to Ithaca on 79. To my surprise, the climb was a piece of cake. Route 79 was the best part of the ride...FAST to Ithaca! We met up with Brian's wife by Flat Iron Rd. She was meeting us for lunch, so after a brief chat, we sent her on ahead to scout out food places with seating outside so we didn't offend the other patrons. La Taquaria (I know it's spelled wrong) Not a minute too soon, we were starving. It was about 49 miles and took about 3.5 hours. I inhaled my food. I am not sure what it was, but it was a lot of meat wrapped in a tortilla shell and some pickled veggies. It was good, but I was not thinking... I still need to get back on my bike and ride 62 more miles... OH MY...

Well, we walk our bikes through the commons, you know, to giggle the food down... take some back roads through Ithaca and head to Spencer on 96. That is the worst road EVER... or maybe I felt like a slug with my full belly. There was the hill that would never end, the who who was getting very unhappy, in general, we were pretty quite, heads down and just kept pedaling. Finally I had to stop and break out the butt butter....ah, much better! Once we got through West Danby, it was better. We took a well needed break in Spencer, got some nice cold water and did a little stretching in the park. The perfect pick me up. Time to head to Candor, but as we come around the corner in town, there is Brian's wife... aw, we were hanging at the park and she was just around the corner waiting for us. So sweet of her, we apologized and headed. Quick stop in Candor to refill water bottles. It is warming up now and we are getting tired. Legs felt okay, but the butt and between the shoulder blades are getting sore. The bike is getting uncomfortable, but I am still in a good place mentally. 

Cool tattoo to commemorate my first century??

Ah.... Owego... Finally I feel like we are headed for home... 90 miles in, but I never felt like we were headed back until we crossed the bridge and were going up 434... Next stop, BIG DIPPER... yay!! Just keep spinning... holy frick... where did Apalachin go... just keep spinning... we there yet?? Just keep spinning... do I have a flat?? WTF... who moved Apalachin??? Ah, finally... Oh Ice Cream, how I do love you... (but only on bike rides or after swimming) It was the best damn soft serve vanilla with sprinkles ever... 

Almost done... hit 5 corners in Vestal...exactly 100 miles... say our good bye's to Brian and 8 more to go and we are home!! I think it was the longest 8 miles ever! 8.51 to be exact. Felt good. I finished my first Century Ride!! 

The day after...
Feeling fine...just don't ask me to go on a bike ride =)

A BIG thank you to Diana and Brian. It was fun, even when I hated it at the end.