What a great ride! The weather was perfect and the turnout was great. I met up with Danny and Michelle just prior to the ride, but lost them shortly after the start. I choose 100k route, which had been change to 88k (54 miles) due to some bridge construction. I found the distance to be perfect considering the large amount of hills on the later part of the route.

The start was very fast and I had the pleasure of riding with Nathan for most of the ride. We hooked up with a fast group about five miles in into the ride and rode with them until the 25 mile mark. All it took was one big hill to break up the group. But that was just a preview of what was to come.

We stopped at rest stop #4 for a few minutes and then carried on. My Ave was 17.6mph at this point and it would only drop from here on out.

The rest of the ride was tough..... we encountered a number of steep rollers and one hellacious hill on the new portion of the route. It was a tough climb but we were rewarded with some killer views when we reached the top.

Although Nathan could have easily dropped me at any point during the ride, he stayed close and rode with me to the finish. The past few rides that I have done I have been pretty much on my own. These rides are much more enjoyable when you have someone to ride with.

The organizers did a great job with the last half of the route. The views were great, the terrain was challenging and the traffic was light. I look forward to doing next year!

My Final Numbers were 53.84 Miles, in 3 Hours and 16 minutes, with an average speed of 16.48 mph.