105

Mountain bike, $1800
New wheels and tires, $400
Race registration, $60
Powergels & Hammergels for race day, $20
Riding my first "century", priceless

Yep, that is right, 105 miles. A "century" as it is known in riding venacular. Yesterday I rode 105 miles, all forest-service road, as a participant in the mountain bike event, Tour of the White Mountains. It is the most I have ever ridden in a single day or even in a weekend. My longest single previous ride was the 60 mile Soul Ride. I am very pleased with my accomplishment, it was intense and exciting, and finishing required physical and mental endurance.

The event was planned with courses that combined single track trail with forest-service road: a 35 mile ride on all forest-service road, and rides of 41, 52 or 66 miles combining forest-service road and single track. However, it rained heavily the week leading into the ride which left the forest-service road as the only rideable section of the course and the race organizers were forced to make severe course changes. The single track was saturated and having 450 bikers ride through would have caused the trail to become a muddy morass, damaging the trails, making it nearly impossible to ride and ruining bikes.

The race organizers decided that all riders would utilize the 35 mile forest-service road course and those signed up for longer distances would ride multiple loops of the the 35 mile course. Due to the twist and turns and technical nature of single track, it typically takes longer to ride single track than it does to ride the equivalent distance of forest-service road. With this in consideration, those signed up for the 52 mile course would instead ride two loops of the 35 mile course and those, including myself, signed up for the 66 mile course would ride three loops of the 35 mile course, or 105 miles.

The assumption was made that it would take the same approximate time to ride a 105 mile course of only forest-service road as it would to ride a 66 mile course of single track and forest-service road combined. I finished the ride in about nine hours and had hoped to finish the 66 mile ride in under eight hours. I was either slower than I anticipated or the courses were not quite equivalent from a time perspective. But I finished, I rode my first "century" and that is all that matters to me!

As a matter of fact, out of the seven of us from my mountain biking team, I was one of only two of us who were signed up for the 66 mile ride who completed the 105 miles. I never would have guessed that would happen. As of late I have felt equal to, instead of less than, my mountain biking team mates and this accomplishment solidified the sentiment.

We started the ride as a team, moving as a pack through the mass of riders. I was full of adrenaline and exhilaration, and a little nervous as we pushed a fast pace through the first five miles. I knew I could not hold the pace for long and still have energy left for the full ride, so I pulled back my speed and let the team pull away. It did not matter to me that we would not ride the course together, only that I finished. In fact I knew going in it would be better to go my own pace and apparently the decision paid off.

There was never a doubt that I would ride the entire course. Our team was assembled for the pre-ride meeting Friday night when the race organizers announced the course changes. Our, what I would consider, unofficial team captain and my mountain biking mentor and unofficial coach looked at us and said, "alright, looks like we are in for 105 miles." My decision was made; I knew it would be tough but I knew I could do it.

The mindset carried me through the next day and when I arrived at the turn for the last 35 miles and the volunteers working the checkpoint asked if I planned to continue on, my response was a hearty "hell yeah!"

Each loop started with 15 miles of gradual climbing, then, after a rest stop complete with food and water, came a moderate mile-long climb, several miles of rolling hills, a quick steep climb which was followed by approximately five miles of fast steep descent before the course flattened back out for five more miles until the turn for the next loop. The course wound through the picturesque White Mountains, a beautiful setting with dense forest broken by wide meadows. Had I not been so intent on finishing I could have spent hours soaking in the scenery.

But finish I did and I had some help along the way. As odd as it may seem my studying for the GRE came in handy. Using my bike computer I tracked my mileage from check point to check point. As each mile ticked away I would calculate, in fraction form, how far I had ridden and how far I had until the next check point. So at mile 15 of 35 I would think, "okay, that means I have ridden 3/7 and have 4/7 left to ride," and so on. Part of the challenge of riding so many miles is finding a mental focus and working fractions in my head served that purpose.

The other, and more significant help I had was from two riders I met along the way. On the second lap I found myself pacing with another rider, Kent from Tucson. I "rode his wheel", which means I followed right on his rear tire, using his energy to pull me along. Then, I pulled in front of him and returned the favor. We continued on in this manner for much of the second lap, making small talk and encouraging each other. He pulled away about three quarters through that lap and I didn't see him again until the finish. He had ridden the 70 mile course and was there to greet me when I pulled in. At first I didn't recognize him without his helmet and sunglasses. He offered me a beer and I thought, "well, how nice of a stranger to give me a beer." Then it hit me who he was and we shared a laugh and reminisced about our rides and thanked each other for the support.

My second riding buddy was a woman named Michele from Denver. She knew the race organizers and had volunteered for several of their previous events. She and I were the last two riders to leave the final check point before the cutoff and paced together for most of the last lap. At one point, half way through the lap, I had a pretty good lead on her. I thought I could either leave her behind or ride through with her. I decided it would be nice to have someone to ride with so I waited and we continued on together. She was a strong rider and after the half way point we rode at the same pace. We didn't talk much, we were both worn mentally and physically, but just rode along together.

The last five miles were painful. We rode on hard, dusty road, uphill into the wind and the sun. It was hard to believe how far we had come. We passed one other rider and pushed ourselves silently to the finish. Every part of me ached and my mind was numb. Side by side we rode through the finish line to surprisingly little fanfare. We exchanged a half high five, half hand shake and that was that. We were done, 105 miles, an amazing accomplishment. I joined my team and she joined her friends. Kent and Michele, my brief friends and riding companions, I thank you. I could not have gone so far without you.

And, the thank you's don't end there. As I came through the finish my team mates were there waiting. They congratulated me and praised me. I didn't know what to say, my mind was numb. I muttered my thanks and we wandered together to the picnic area to have a beer and sit by the fire.

So let me say now what I was to drained to say then; thank you, thank you, thank you. I could not have gotten so far, could not have completed this ride without my team. Sure, we did not ride the course together, but they helped me get to the point where 105 miles became a reachable accomplishment. They have encouraged me through my training, they have taught me new skills and they have pushed me, over and over, beyond my limits. To a person they each played a part in my accomplishment. Thank you, each of you, thank you.

Completing 105 miles is priceless. Having my team mates and friends meet me at the finish line is worth all the money in the world.

Thank you.