Share The Road - Training #14

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the newest member of the 100 club! Woo Hoo!

I did it! Today I rode a century ride -- beginning in the homestead and rolling all the way up to Oxnard AND BACK! I had been to Oxnard last week with the lovely Annamaria joining me in Malibu. That ride was about 60. This one was the whole ball of wax -- probably a solid 35 more than I've ridden before and I pulled it off in five hours. Cruisin', boy!

There were many phases on this ride, but most of them were handled with focus on breathing or the phrase "pick 'em up and put 'em down". I thought about many things, not the least of them being Stephen King's (as Richard Bachman) novel, "The Long Walk". If you haven't read that, I highly recommend it. I'm working on getting to meet Frank Darabont (Dir/Writer, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) so I can be involved with his adaptation of "The Long Walk".

When I began the ride, it was quite moist outside -- not wet, really. The morning marine layer was thicker than usual and my helmet and sunglasses (which I wear even when it's not so bright because I know it will get there -- plus bugs bounce better off my glasses than my eyeballs) were dripping.

It was a bit cool -- but I prefer that to the heat any day.

I had in the back of my mind that this might be the day to do it -- to roll out 100. In the meanwhile, I concerned myself with keeping a good pace and making sure there were no more grates in the road -- GRRRRR !

The ride was relatively uneventful, frankly. I felt the desire to keep going once up in Oxnard, but I had to remind myself that every mile travelled had to be returned. Once I was sure I had gone far enough to qualify for fifty (best estimate based on time and distance travelled last week), I pulled a U-E and started the comeback.

The sun began to emerge and it was warmer, but not hot. By the time I was in southern Malibu/northern Santa Monica, I felt incredibly empowered. There was never more than a creeping doubt, but just knowing I was well on my way to completing this goal was a wonderful feeling.

A half-hour or so later, bam -- at the homestead. Great food, a great shower and now sharing it with you. Here's to hoping the body bounces back well tomorrow .