The Harvest Century was last Sunday. I survived.
The morning started a little slow. I got to Champoeg a little later than I had intended, picked up my packet and layered up to take off in the cool morning. In the half-hour I was poking around the park, the temperature rose quite a bit. I peeled layers off and set off as one of the last group of 100-mile riders out.
The route wound around to the Canby Ferry, where the first rest stop was conveniently located for the long wait at the ferry. About 30 minutes later, I was across the river and off again. All the stops were well stocked with excellent food and drink so I was able to remain nice and full.
Lunch was at mile 45 and was excellent. The stretch of the route near lunch was the route for the 70-mile LIVESTRONG Challenge last weekend. Knowing the route ahead, I rocked it pretty hard, but had no draft.
The wind picked up on Saturday and got worse on Sunday. Battling the headwind brought me down to 10-12 mph for the last 45 miles or so. I wasn't the only one suffering and several people were calling spouses at the last rest stop to let them know we were all running much later than anticipated. I got in after 4:00 p.m., meaning I was on route for over seven hours. I was pretty exhausted but feeling pretty good at the accomplishment. Three big rides in three Sundays, two were full centuries. I'm ready to wind down for the season.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
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