Results of Gridley Half-Century and Century Ride

We started the race at 9:20 this morning. The temperature was good. I had packed three Powerbars, two Buzz Bites and a 16 oz Powerade. Mom, Dad and Cathi decided to just stay together for moral support on the ride. I immediately went ahead and wanted to get a good pace going. Cathi enjoyed the visiting and the moderate pace right from the beginning.

When I got to the pay station at the causeway, I had a pleasant surprise. It's "free park day"! Perfect timing! The ride on the causeway was nice and the smell of salt was pretty intense in a couple of spots. When I got on the island heading towards the Ranch it was very hilly. Much more than I had anticipated from the elevation graph on the map.


When I got to around Mile 30 I saw Dad, Mom and Cathi. I continued on home. When I got home my GPS registered 49.7 so I went around the block once. I filled up my water bottle, got another Powerade and continued on for one more lap. I saw Mom, Cathi and Dad at their Mile 30. Mom was struggling up the last long hill. Poor woman.

I continued on to the Ranch. At my 80 I noticed I was only going 15 mph on flat. My front tire seemed wobbly. So I stopped and sure enough it was dead flat. I'm SO glad I bought a CO2 cartridge last week! I sat by the side of the road and repaired the front tire. It took me about 20 minutes to finish and get back riding again. In a way it really increased my confidence knowing that when I get a flat that I'm prepared and fully capable of fixing it and moving on. Hope I don't have to do that next week, but if I do, I'm ready.

I was running out of water and it was very hot so I stopped at the Visitors Center on the way home and refilled my water bottle. By the time I got to mile 90 I was out of energy so I ate my last Powerbar. I had to gag down the first two, but the third one hit the spot! It got me through to the finish. So now I have a new personal record for the longest ride - 100 miles. But this record will only last a week as I'm going for 157 next Saturday!

I did it in 5:25 (18.4 mph). The first half was slightly faster. Got slower near the end and I was riding on a flat for a while I think.

Cathi, Mom and Dad did the half-century ride in 4:45. Good job Cathi, Mom and Dad on a difficult ride! Next time we'll do a completely flat ride.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO CLIPS AND PICTURES OF THE RIDE.