One down... Two to go

I made the decision a few weeks ago I would ride three century (100+ miles) rides in three weekends. I have never done more than one big event ride in any summer. I did do the Seattle-to-Portland (STP) ride in two days in high school but that was quite a while ago. The Salem Bicycle Club hosted the Peach of a Century yesterday. My goal was to finish and not put myself in too much difficulty in the interest of recovering for the big LIVESTRONG Challenge next weekend.

I tried to get out as early as I could and was on the road before 8:00 a.m. The morning was very cold and warmth did not really come until much later in the day. Despite making earsicles, fingersicles and toesicles early, I had a good pace going despite being solo most of the ride. At the second stop, I ate either too much or the wrong food and went sluggish for the next hour or so (miles 55-75). It didn't help that I was heading into the only real hilly stretch of road on the route. Once I got the lead out, I was riding well into the third and final stop. The guys from Portland Velo were nice enough to invite me to join them as they caught me heading back into town. I managed to hang with them to the outskirts of town but pooped out and pulled out of line to cruise in a few minutes back.

I finished in 6:10 total time and 5:41:12 rolling time. I'm pleased with my fitness level, especially now that I am into the day after, when the body really starts complaining. I have a little soreness in the tendons behind my right knee and climbing does not seem to be my strong suit right now. All in all, I think next weekend will go well, especially if I can find a group to hang with a bit more than I did yesterday.